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　　Young people and older people do not always agree．They sometimes have different ideas about living, working and playing．But in one special program in New York State, adults and teenagers live together in a friendly way．

　　Each summer 200 teenagers and 50 adults live together for eight weeks as members of a special work group．Everyone works several hours each day．They do so not just to keep busy but to find meaning and fun in work．Some teenagers work in the forests or on the farms near the village．Some learn to make things like tables and chairs and to build houses．The adults teach them these skills．

　　There are several free hours each day．Weekends are free, too．During the free hours some of the teenagers learn photo-taking or drawing．Others sit around and talk or sing．Each teenager chooses his own way to pass his free time．

　　When people live together, they should have rules．In this program the teenagers and the adults make the rules together．If someone breaks a rule, the problem goes before the whole group．They talk about it and ask,“Why did it happen?What should we do about it?”

　　One of the teenagers has said something about it,“You have to stop thinking only about yourself．You learn how to think about the group．”

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　　London’s Chinese community(社區(qū))dates back to the 18th century, when a small number of Chinese sailors moved to the city to work in Limhouse, east London．As time went on, other Chinese people came to this area and Limhouse began to be known as “Chinatown”．However, London’s Chinese community remained very small for many years：at the start of the 20th century, there were just 545 Chinese people in Britain．

　　After the Second World War, many farmers in Hong Kong lost their jobs and came to London．As Limhouse had been almost destroyed during the war, they settled(定居)in a different area－a part of central London near Leicester Square．This area is now what Londoners call Chinatown．

　　At first, the new immigrants(移民)found it difficult to get jobs．In the 1950s, however, a small Chinese restaurant opened in London．Many British people visited it and said that Chinese food was wonderful! Suddenly, Chinese restaurants and take-aways started opening in every part of the city．Instead of too little work, the new Chinese immigrants now found that they had too much! They worked as cooks, managers or waiters．Most of them enjoyed their lives and arranged their friends and relatives to join them from overseas．

　　As time went by, London’s Chinese community became more and more successful．The sons and daughters of the original restaurant workers studied and worked very hard．And most went on to get highly paid jobs．Many Chinese families left Chinatown and moved to the more expensive outskirts．Chinatown, however, is still as lively as ever．

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　　Do you like chocolate? Maybe most people do．A box of it can be a great gift．Buy one for a friend and give it as a surprise．See how happy that person gets．

　　Say you just got a box of chocolate．Which piece do you pick first? A man has studied people’s choices．He says they tell something about the person．Did you choose a round piece? You are a person who likes to party．Did you choose an oval(橢圓形的)shape? You are a person who likes to make things．Picking a square shape shows something else．The person is honest and truthful．You can depend on him or her．

　　What kind of chocolate do you pick? Maybe you like milk chocolate．This shows you have warm feelings about the past．Dark chocolate means something else．A person who chooses it looks toward the future．What about white chocolate? Would you choose it? If so, you may find it hard to make up your mind．Some people like chocolate with nuts(果仁)．These are people who like to help others．

　　Do you believe these ideas? Can candy tell all these things? It doesn’t really matter．There is one sure thing about eaters of chocolate．They eat it because they like it．

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　　Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed a boy ahead of him．He had tripped(絆倒)and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with some clothes, a baseball bat and a glove．

　　Mark knelt(跪)down and helped the boy pick up the things．Since they were going the same way, he offered to carry some things for the boy．

　　As they walked, Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill．He loved video games, baseball and history, but he was having trouble with some of his subjects．

　　They arrived at Bill’s home first．Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television．The afternoon passed pleasantly with some laughs and talk．Then Mark went home．

　　They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior school．

　　Three days before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk．

　　Bill reminded(提醒)Mark of the day years ago when they had first met．“Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill．

　　“You see, I took away all my things from school．I had stored away some of my mother’s sleeping pills(安眠藥)．I was going home to kill myself．But after we spent some time talking and laughing, I realized that if I had died, I would have missed so many good times．So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more．________”

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　　My granddaughter, 10, was very happy the day before yesterday because her mother and the mother of one of her classmates took them to a park and a Pizza Hut(比薩餅屋)to celebrate Children’s Day．For a whole day, the two girls played heartily – no homework, no extra-curricular(課外)skills training．The happy life lasted only for one day．Yesterday, everything returned to normal：doing homework till late at night and going over lessons learned at last weekend’s English and “Olympic mathematics”(數(shù)學(xué)奧賽)courses．

　　Every time I went to my daughter’s house in the evening, I saw my granddaughter sitting by the small desk in her room doing math exercises or writing a compositions given by her teacher．On the white wall behind the desk are some words she wrote．One sentence reads：“Why is the exercise endless?”

　　Poor girl!

　　Although teachers have stopped giving after-school homework to primary school children, parents have been forcing their kids to take part in different kinds of extra-curricular training courses-learning English, painting, music instrument(樂器), weiqi, “Olympic mathematics” and so on, every Saturday and Sunday．

　　Are these extra-curricular courses really necessary in children’s education? The answer is certainly “No”．Take the so-called “Olympic mathematics” for example．These courses are very difficult for the children to understand．Often, they are difficult even for adults(成年人)．

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　　Here are some tips(建議)on how to stay safe in earthquakes(地震)．

　　1．Stay inside and duck and cover．Get under a desk or table, or stand in a corner or under a doorway．Cover your head and neck with your arms．

　　2．Move against a wall if in a high building with no protective desk or table nearby．Cover your head and neck with your arms．

　　3．Try to get into an open area away from trees, buildings, walls, and power lines(電桿)if outdoors．

　　4．Pull over(�？�)to the side of the road away from overpasses(天橋)and power lines if driving．Stay in your car until the shaking ends．

　　5．Get away from shelves or other areas where objects may fall if in a crowded store or public area．Do not run for the door．Lower your body close to the ground and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms．

　　6．Stay in your seat if in a cinema or a theater．Get below the level of the back of the seat and cover your head and neck with your arms．

　　7．If you take cover(躲避)under a strong piece of furniture, hold on to it and be prepared to move with it．

　　8．Try to stay away from kitchens, where there are often many objects that might fall or get burnt．

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　　A neighbor of mine, while visiting his mother in Boston, took her to a shoe store to buy a new pair of shoes．While she was trying on different styles(款式), my neighbor took the manager aside．“When she picks out a pair that she likes,” he said, “just tell her that the price is 12 dollars．I’ll pay the regular(正常的)price．I don’t care how much it is．”

　　The following week, my neighbor was walking by the shoe store and the manager recognized(認(rèn)出)him and called him in．

　　“What’s the problem?” asked my neighbor as he entered the store．

　　“Wasn’t my check any good?”

　　“That’s not it,” answered the manager, “The problem is that your mother is bringing all her friends in for those 12-dollar shoes!”

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　　One day, Jack’s parents told him that his grandpa would retire(退休)after working for forty years．Jack said in surprise, “I’m only seven, so it means Grandpa has been…er…A really long time!”

　　His parents said, “Yes．That’s why we are going to have a surprise party for him．”

　　Jack loved his Grandpa and wanted to do something special for him．He remembered the business card his grandpa had given him two years before．He knew that his grandpa would no longer have the position(職位)on that card, so he decided to build a new one for his grandpa．

　　When the big day came, Jack was ready．But he didn’t want to put his gift together with others’．He carried it around with him the whole evening．

　　When all the other people left, he took his grandpa’s hand and brought him over to a chair and gave him the gift．

　　His grandpa smiled, “Well, it must be a beautiful gift．May I open it now?” “Sure!” Jack said excitedly．

　　As Grandpa opened the gift, tears(眼淚)came into his eyes．Jack gave him the greatest gift he had ever got! They were business cards with his new position：FULL-TIME GRANDPA! Jack said, “Now your full-time job is my grandpa!”

　　“Well, how much do I get paid? ”his grandpa asked, smiling．“As many hugs(擁抱)as you want!” With these words, Jack gave Grandpa a hug．“Well, I guess that means I’m the richest man in the world!” said Grandpa．

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　　Being safe in your everyday life needs knowledge(知識)．If you remember the following information, your life will be much safer．

　　●Always notice the environment around you．You shouldn’t walk alone outside．Make sure where the public phones are．If anything dangerous happens, you can find them easily．

　　●Your bag should be carried towards the front of your body instead of putting it on your back．When a bus is full of people, it is easy enough for a thief to take away the things in the bag on your back．

　　●If you are followed by someone you don’t know, cross the street and go to the other way, let the person understand that you know he or she is after you．Next, don’t go home at once．You are safer in the street than you are alone in your home or in a lift(電梯)．

　　●If you have to take a bus to a place far away, try to get to the stop a few minutes earlier before the bus leaves．This stops other people from studying you．On the bus, don’t sit alone．Sit behind the driver or with other people．Don’t sleep．

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　　I remember my seventh grade math．teacher’s name very well．It was Mr Young．He was missing one of his fingers．

　　For some reason 1 was not very good in schoo1．Math was my worst subject．There was just something wrong with my brain．No matter how hard I tried, I just could not figure out why I did not understand what all the other kids found to be so easy to learn．

　　One day, I was told that if I got one more E on my report card, I would be sent away to a very strict schoo1．I tried really hard for weeks to learn math．I just couldn’t understand the math problems no matter how hard I tried．

　　The day before report cards were to come out, I knew that Mr Young would give me an E, just like he always did．After class ended, 1 went to him and told him that they were going to send me to another school if I got another E on my report card．He told me that there was nothing he could do．It would be unfair to the other kids if he gave me a better grade than I had actually earned．

　　I looked at the teacher and said,“Mr Young, do you know how the kids laugh at you because you’re missing your finger?”He looked at me and said nothing．“They shouldn’t do that to you because you can’t help you not having a finger, Mr Young．It’s just like I can’t help not being able to learn numbers and stuff like that,” I said．

　　The next day while on the school bus, I opened the report card envelope and looked at my math grade：D．

　　That math grade was my favorite one I ever received in my whole life, because I knew that someone in the world finally understood what it was like for me to be missing a finger inside my head．

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