Gratitude: Gifts from the heart

    According to legend（传说）,a young man while travelling through the desert came across a spring of delicious water.The water was so sweet that he1his leather container so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.After a four-day journey he2the water to the old man who took a(n) 3drink,smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water.The young man4to his village with a happy heart.

    5,the teacher let another student taste the water.He spat（吐）it out,6it was terrible.It7had become stale（不新鲜）8the old leather container.The student9his teacher, "Master,the water was stale.Why did you10to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You11tasted the water.I tasted the12.The water was simply the container for a(n) 13of loving-kindness and14could be sweeter.Heartfelt gifts deserve the15gift of gratitude.

    I think we16this lesson best when we receive innocent gift of love from young children.Whatever they are, the natural and proper17is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea18 the gift.

    Gratitude doesn't always come19.Unfortunately,most children and many adults value only the thing given 20the feeling hidden in it.We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.

    Should Parents Teach Children How to Tweet?

    Social media is a seemingly endless source of concern for parents, with worries that it weakens their children's confidence and attention spans. But others counter that it could also be broadening their horizons.

    The latest round of worry was sparked by a study of the impact of social media use on 8-12- year-olds published by Anne Longfield, Children's Commissioner for England. The report focused on 32 children, who said they used social media to stay connected with friends and family and to have fun, by watching videos for example. But they also described pressures from constant contact, online comments that weaken their self-esteem, and the need to shape offline activities to make them shareable. "You see your friends going ice skating, partying or talking about how much revision they have done, and it can make you feel inadequate," says Bea, a junior school student from Bristol, UK. "It's just so hard to get away from."

    Children have to take risks on their journeys to adulthood, and desires to fit in and be popular existed before Mark Zuckerberg came along with Facebook. However, in previous generations these pressures came largely from people they knew, and they mostly stayed outside the home. Now the pressures could come from any one of the nearly 3 billion people online, and follow them from school to home, and can even continue through the night.

    The pressures do get on parents' nerves, among which the utmost concern is how their children can be protected from harms, given that social media is now integral to the way many young people interact. A good starting point is a basic understanding of childhood development milestones.

    Broadly, children have a high dependency on carers for security and guidance up to the age of 5, increasing independence and self-care from 6 to 11, and increasing autonomy and growing reliance on peers from 12-18 years old. Against this background, the suitability of social media for children of different ages should be considered respectively.

    According to Longfield's study, children should be taught about online safety from an early age, better before secondary school. There is growing evidence that efforts need to be extended to provide earlier guidance on less extreme but more common risks, including oversharing, low selfesteem, addiction and insomnia. The evidence suggests she is right. However, approaches that focus merely on the potential negatives are unlikely to work.

    "My school has tried to do a lot, but it often involves trying to drill into us how bad social media can be," says Bea. "People of my age really like social media, so I think a better approach would be if they said ‘Although it is good, here are some negatives'."

It is reported that a new subway station in Moscow with a number of Chinese design elements has already become another landmark for Sino-Russian friendship and  (cooperate). In other words, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited has completed the construction of the Michurinsky Prospekt Station in the southwest of the Russian capital, and it had  (official) opened by the end of the year, 2021. The station and the other two on the southwestern section of the Moscow Metro stand on the  (three) transfer line of the city's subway system. This route, known  the Great Ring Line, was also built by CRCC, and was the first European subway project  (design) by a Chinese company. To show respect for  friendship between China and Russia, Chinese-style designs have been adopted for the platform at the new station, including cloud-shaped lamps, red pillars and a suspended ceiling. Red is the dominant color of the platform design,  features plum blossom and the Eight Immortals - a group of well-known  (figure) in Chinese folklore and Taoism. Up to now the photos of the Chinese-style subway platform   (appear) on social media platforms, and Russians are eager  (see) the new station.

Throwing away unwanted food has become a big issue in the world. While some of us throw away unwanted items, people in other parts of the world face food shortages and are starving. It's a shocking fact that a third of the world's food is wasted each year, which is enough to feed a billion hungry people.

You may think supermarkets are the main contributors to this mountain of food. After all, they do desert stuff that is past its sell-by-date and they often refuse to sell fruits or vegetables that are in the wrong shape or look damaged. They've also been criticized for encouraging customers to buy more than they need through promotions such as "buy one and get one free".

But the biggest culprit for creating food waste is us human beings. In Europe, an incredible 53% of food waste comes from households, which results in 88 million tons of food waste a year. So instead of filling our bellies, our food is filling up landfill sites.

In Denmark, a woman called Selina Juul has been working hard to solve this problem. She moved from Russia many years ago and was amazed to see the abundance of food available in the supermarkets. But despite so much availability, she found that people were buying more than they needed and throwing too much away.

She convinced some supermarkets to stop selling their items in bulk (大量) so that people bought only what they needed. She produced a leftover cookbook and set up an education program in schools, which has helped create a significant 25% reduction in food waste.

Clearly, we need to think twice when we buy something in supermarkets or online, and when we're at home we should make the most of the food we have — using recipes that use up our leftovers or even sharing our remaining food with our friends and neighbors.

    My dear grandmother passed away 18 years ago. However, I still1 her every single day. She is such a(n)2part of my life. My Mom, Dad, brothers and 1 lived in her old house for most of my3. And when I close my eyes and open my heart, I could see her4face. I could hear her say “HELLO” in a high5 ， as I opened the door after school. And then she would open her6to give me a big hug and kiss. And when she7me, I could feel the love and joy coming from her8into mine.

    I thought I9  everything about my "Nana" but10I am still learning more about her even today. Just yesterday a(n)11family friend stopped to talk to me at the local post office. She told me what happened once when she12my Nana when I was still a little boy. They were13around the dining -table, chatting. Our14noticed the lovely earrings my Nana was 15. She told Nana how much she liked them and asked if Nana could16them to her in her will. Without a second17my sweet Nana took them off and gave them to her on the spot.

    After our friend left, I stood there for a few minutes in18. I had never known this and as far as I could tell, Nana never19it to anyone. That was just like her. She may have been excited and temperamental (喜怒无常的) at times but she was the person who loved others deeply and she20freely. She lives in my heart forever.

Growing up, I was often the first Jewish person my classmates had ever met. I lived in Mississauga, Ontario, and was the only Jewish student in my grade — sometimes the only one in the whole school. This difference set me apart.

Every September, I hated presenting the note my parents had expertly made to a teacher I was just getting to know. The note explained that I would be absent during the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I fretted that my teachers would label me the "Jewish kid".

The real trouble always came as the local new year's festival approached. I was Jewish and celebrated Hanukkah, not this festival. At school, on one day before the winter break, every class would sit in neat rows in the gym and sing songs from the festival. However, the music teacher sometimes played Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, a Jewish festival song, and I would feel hundreds of eyes staring at my red cheeks. As my friends counted down the days until the festival, I counted the days until it was over and I could go back to feeling normal.

Each year during primary school, my mother would coordinate (协调)with my teacher to come to my class and tell the story of Hanukkah. She would prepare treats and materials depending on my age. Every time I would proudly stand beside her as she told the story of Hanukkah and explained the symbols. The children who had attended the presentation previously competed to answer questions. After my mom left, I would overhear them showing off their fried treats to kids in other classes.

My mom's annual visits to my school sparked (激发)interest from other parents as well. Over the years, we had visits from parents who shared how festivals were celebrated in Germany and Italy.

My mom showed me, my classmates and their families that what sets us apart should be celebrated and shared, an intention which I continue to set for myself as I cycle through another holiday season.

It was a snowy day. I 1 the friend who sat with me on winter evenings, talking about our experiences and thoughts—a true 2.

I had almost given up hope of finding another 3 like that after I 4 to this city. I wanted to invite a woman I'd met only twice to come share my dinner, 5 she lived an hour away, and it was snowing. I was sure she wouldn't 6 to come. However, I decided to have a try. So I made the 7.

"Don't feel you have to come if you don t want to."

"Is it snowing? I have a 8, and I'm in bed. I'll think about it later, if that's OK with you"

"Of course it is. And here are your 9, if you decide to come. I've just been shopping, so I can 10 you macaroni and cheese or fresh vegetable salad."

There was a 11 for a moment. She was thinking

 "Since I'm sick, not the macaroni and cheese. Too rich for a cold. I 12 the vegetables," she said, "Vegetables. If it's not snowing too hard."

An hour before dinner, the phone rang.

"I've 13. I've been in bed all day. Looking forward to the 14."

I was 15.

An hour later, she 16, holding a piece of chocolate.

We sat by the fireplace, eating and chatting. The smell of the vegetables filled the house. And we 17 love, art and travels. Everything was warm and good.

As she left, she said. "Those vegetables were delicious. They kept me from 18 I didn't choose macaroni and cheese."

"Next time," I promised. And I went inside, quite 19, because I knew there would be a next time, and I didn't feel 20 anymore."

你希望你的朋友能再次来北京吗？