One day, while I was walking to work, I decided to bring some flowers that I had picked from my garden that morning. On the way, I 1 a stranger and presented the bunch to him with a smile card. 2 by the sense of joy I felt from giving flowers to another person, and may be 3 his day, I wanted to do it again.
When I got to my office, I had the 4 of anonymously(匿名地) leaving flowers around the workplace. The impersonal(无人情味的) 5 of the building where I work makes me 6 . It just feels a little boring sometimes, 7 it's a nice building with great light. I 8 lots of people might feel the same way, so why not put a little 9 there, and throw in an inspirational10 while I'm at it? After all, who doesn't like flowers?
So, for the past month, I've been 11 flowers in a little cup on the sink in the bathroom.
Each week, I 12 the flowers and the quote. It always feels 13 for me to read quotes like Henry David Thoreau's “If one advances 14 in the direction of his dreams, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” and Gandhi's “The fragrance(香味) always 15 on the hand that gives the rose.” If anything, I figured, it at least makes me 16 each time I visit the bathroom.
Then today, when I walked in, I noticed 17 flowers in the cup, and a quote that someone else had written! It 18 , “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”—Gandhi. This little act 19 me that, at the end of the day, we're all just people with hearts 20 the various roles and different hats we may wear in the workplace.
I did a little dance and I am smiling wide for the rest of the day!
The summer before I went off to college, Mom stood me in her usual spot behind the ironing board (烫衣板)and said, “Pay attention: I'm going to teach you to iron.”
Mom clearly explained her1for this lesson. I was going to be2and needed to learn this vital skill. Also, I would be meeting new people, and properly ironed clothes would help me make a good3 .
“Learn to iron a shirt,” Mom said, “and you can iron anything.”
But ironing shirts was not4work. It didn't make use of long muscles we used to throw a baseball，and it wasn't a5operation like ice-skating. Ironing was like driving a car on a street that has a stop sign every 10 feet, Moreover, an iron produced steam and it carried an element of6.If you touched the wrong part of it, you'd get burnt. If you forgot to turn it off when you 7,you might bum down the house.
As for technique, Mom8me to begin with the flat spaces outward, always pushing the iron forward into wrinkled (有褶皱的）parts. Collars had to be done right. Mom said they were close to your face, where everyone would9them.
Over the years, I've learned to iron shirts skillfully, which gives me a sense of 10Whatever failures I suffer in my life, an ironed shirt tells me I am good at something. 11,through ironing I've learned the method for solving even the most troublesome problems. “12wrinkles one at a time,” as Mom might have said, “and before long everything will get ironed out.”
I teach biology at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my 1 how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so 2. He had his wisdom teeth removed. Then he went on to ask me why I always seemed to be so 3.
His question4 me of something I'd read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a 5 about how you want to deal with life that day,” I said. “I choose to be cheerful.”
“Let me give you an example,” I continued, 6all sixty students in the class. “In 7 to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at a 8 in Henderson, 17 miles down the 9 from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the highway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car10. I tried to start it again, but the 11 wouldn't work. 12 I turned my flashers on, took my books, and 13 down the road to the college.
“As soon as I got there, I called and14 for a tow truck to meet me at my car after 15. The secretary there asked me what had happened. “This is my 16day,” I replied, smiling.
She was17. “What do you mean?”
“My car could have broken down anywhere along the highway. It didn't.” I replied.
“18, it broke down in the perfect place: off the highway, 19walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient 20.”
I ended my story. In spite of the early hour, no one in my class seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them.
Almost everything was fantastic in the nature camp except for a girl, Elizabeth. When I saw her sitting alone in the hot sun at lunch, I asked her to eat with us under a(n) 1 tree. However, Elizabeth refused my kind 2. When we invited her to play volleyball with us, Elizabeth 3 our invitation, too. After a few more 4 refusals like that, I decided to stay away from Elizabeth.
It 5 that we were going on a nature 6 and that our instructor paired everyone up with a partner. Guess who my partner turned out to be. It was Elizabeth!
“What do you like to do 7?” I asked, trying to make small 8 as we started out. “I like to 9 in peace and quiet,” Elizabeth 10. So we had the quietest and most peaceful hike in the world 11 we saw a bird. “I think his wing is hurt. Poor little bird,” Elizabeth said 12. “He might be taking a rest over there.” I said. Elizabeth nodded. Then she whispered, “But what if he's in13, like my granddad?” “Your granddad?” I said. “He 14 and broke his leg the day the camp started. He's 15 in hospital and is in so much pain,” Elizabeth explained. I noticed she was 16. “I'm sorry for what I have done. For some reason, whenever I get really sad, I act 17 and want to be alone,” she added.
“I get it,” I said. “I don't always know how to 18 it when I'm feeling down, either.” “Thanks,” she said, wiping off her tears.
After that, Elizabeth seemed to get along well with us, and I think she actually 19 the last few days of the camp.
Next time, if someone is unfriendly, give him a second 20. Maybe he's going through a tough time.
During my second year in high school, I got sick and missed a few days. When I1, I was greeted with two essays due, three days of math and history homework, plus several tests2I went home from school that day exhausted, I had to stay up really late to finish them all.
The next day at school, I got a rude awakening: I'd totally forgotten to prepare for the 3on Romeo and Juliet, which I' d take4my lunch hour! Worse still, I had 5the in-class discussion and all the notes. When lunch came, I went to the English room to face my certain doom(厄运). All I could do was try to 6on the questions I didn't know.
As it turned out, I didn't know the majority of the questions. I was just about to give7when my pencil accidentally fell and broke. Standing by the blackboard sharpening my pencil, I 8down and there in full view lay the answer sheet for the test! What good fortune! I can kiss good-bye to all my9of failing the test! My heart started beating, and my brain 10. Yes! Read over the answers-quickly! This was quickly followed by another voice, No! You'll get caught! My mind turning back and forth, Yes! No! Yes! No! This went on for ten of the11seconds in my entire life.
Finally, I decided to finish the test on my own, without 12! I was satisfied with my decision but pretty 13I had failed the test.
The next day when I walked into the English room, my great joy of having been an 14soul changed into a wave of doom as I saw my test paper lying face down on my desk. I knew what awaited me. I stared at it a few seconds before I got up the15to turn it over.
You can only imagine my 16when I feared that I had passed the test! I have never in my whole life been so happy to see my17, a C.
My mom says the victories that18the most courage are won within. Now I know 19what she means Now not only can my conscience(良心)rest easy, but I don't have to worry about getting caught and meeting a sad20 like Romeo and Juliet.
Computer hackers have now got their hands on mobile phones. "A phone virus programme can 1 your phone do things you have no control over", computer security experts 2. It might 3 the White house or the police. or forward your personal address book to a marketing company. Or it could simply cat into the phone's operating software, turning it 4and erasing your personal information. Similar viruses have already made mobile phone owners 5in Japan and Europe. Ari Hypponcn, chief technical officer of a computer security company in Finland, said a virus "can get your 6 and send them elsewhere. And it can record your password". Mobiles are now able to surf the Net, send emails and 7 software. So they are an easy target for the same hackers who have sent viruses to computers over the past decade.
"It's technically 8 now. "said Stephen Trilling. director of research at anti -virus software maker Symantec Corp based in the US. "If the phone is connected to the 9, it can be used to transmit threats and attack targets, just as any computer can."
In Japan, if you opened a certain email message on your mobile, it would cause the phone to repeatedly dial the national emergency number. So phone operators had to cancel emergency calls until the fault was removed. In Europe. mobiles' short message service, or SMS, has been used to send codes that could damage phones. Mobile users can 10 viruses, of course, by sticking to their traditional phones without Web links, some experts said.
Eleven-year-old Angela suffered from a disease involving her nervous system. She was unable to 1 and her movement was restricted in other ways as well. The doctors did not hold out much 2 of her ever recovering from this illness. They 3 she'd spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. They said that 4, if any, were able to come back to normal after catching this disease. But the little girl was brave and confident. There, lying in her hospital bed, she would 5 to anyone who'd listen that she was definitely going to be walking again someday.
She was then sent to a specialized rehabilitation hospital in the San Francisco Bay area. Whatever therapies (治疗方法) could be 6 to her case were used. Things didn't work as the therapists expected. Still they were charmed by her 7 spirit. They taught her about 8—about seeing herself walking. If it would do nothing else, it would 9 give her hope and something 10 to do in the long waking hours in her bed. Angela would work as hard as possible in physical therapy, in whirlpools and in exercise sessions. And she worked just as hard lying there 11 doing her imaging, visualizing herself moving, moving, moving!
One day, as she was twisting with all her 12 to imagine her legs moving again, it seemed as though a 13 thing happened: The bed moved! It began to move around the room! She 14 out, "Look what I'm doing! Look! Look! I 15 it! I moved!"
Of course, at this very moment everyone else in the hospital was screaming, too, and running for 16. People were screaming, equipment was 17 and glass was breaking. You see, it was the recent San Francisco earthquake. But don't tell that to Angela. She's 18 that she did it. And now only a few years later, she's back in school.
19 her own two legs. No crutches (拐杖), no wheelchair. You see, anyone who can shake the earth between San Francisco and Oakland can conquer a little disease. You never know what's around the corner until you take a 20 step.
An elderly woman is crediting (归功于) her neighbor's 4yearold dog with saving her life during last week's dangerously cold temperatures.
Tim Curfman was 1 his garbage with his dog Midnight when he felt its 2 was unusual. It had its ears held up looking at him. It didn't 3 do that. Curfman got the feeling that something's 4. So he observed how his dog was acting and 5 it to a spot on the other side of his house. There, he saw his 87yearold neighbor, Noreen, 6 in the snow. She was trying to fill her bird feeder when she fell.
Curfman 7 she was out there at least half an hour. She could not get up because she didn't have enough 8 to push herself up, and there was nothing around the corner to get a 9 of, either. The temperature was one degree below zero, but Curfman and Midnight were able to 10 her quickly.
Noreen, who didn't have serious injuries, was lucky to 11 frostbite (冻伤) even though her clothes were wet. Curfman called his wife and they together helped his neighbor up from the snow and into her 12, where his wife helped the elderly woman get into 13 clothes.
Noreen was 14 to Midnight for saving her life. "A dog like this 15 to be proud of because it's not every dog that pays attention to things like this," Noreen said in an interview.
I had just started my second year studying at Cambridge University when I was faced with the news I had never expected. A lump in my neck turned out to be cancer. I would 1 six months of chemotherapy (化疗).
After the shock, I was struck by this thought: my 2 didn't have any room for cancer. I had so much I wanted to achieve and so many goals I wanted to chase.
I was faced with the 3 job of telling my friends and family. Then, I had to decide whether to 4 in Cambridge and take five exams at the end of the year. My doctor advised against it, and so did my parents and teachers.
My doctors and teachers tried to convince me that taking some time off to 5 and relax would be the best thing for me. I could not think of anything 6. I did not want to 7 a year of my life receiving pity from those around me.
Together with my parents, I tried to persuade the university to 8 me to stay at Cambridge and study only half the courses. At the end of the year I would take two exams. It was really a 9 to persuade them to agree.
Treatment began and I was up and down from Cambridge to London every other week. It made me feel 10 ， but to a much lesser degree than I had expected. I was able to read, eat and socialize exactly as I used to. I slept a lot and rested a lot, but I also worked hard at my studies. It gave me focus, and it also gave me purpose. Completing my 11 at the end of the term felt like a great personal victory.
I took a 12 of continuing studying while undergoing treatment, and it 13. I was successful in my exams—and more 14 ， I made a full recovery.
Every person facing a disease like cancer must make the 15 that are right for them. I am proud that I made the decision that was right for me.
Scott loved his basketball team and always played hard for it. Last year, they had won the state finals. This year, they were finding things much 1. Three 2 were left before the finals and Scott's team needed to 3them all to go to the finals. They made two but near the 4 of the third game, they were behind by six points. Scott had also hurt his5 when he fell on the court.
"Are you okay to 6?'' asked his coach. Scott looked at the injury on his knee.
''I'll be 7,'' he said.
Scott knew the 8 of his decision. He could hurt his knee even more. Or he could 9 not to play. He knew that not playing might cause his team to10. As he rested before the final quarter, he decided to play through the pain. He11 that he was going to win this game for the team he12.
As the quarter began, he caught the ball after the other 13 made a mistake. He bounced the ball down the court and threw the ball into the basket. Scott 14 towards his coach. They were only four points behind now. Scott kept playing 15 during the final quarter. He 16scored a three-point shot from the center of the court. With just two17 left, Scott's team was still one point behind. Scott was passed the ball by his teammate. He 18 the pain in his knee and ran forward. He 19 towards the end of the court. His feet left the ground. He sent his shot into the basket and earned his side two points. The final whistle (哨音) blew seconds after. Scott's20 decision had helped his team reach the finals.
Kim Stemple was a special-education teacher. In 2012, she found herself in a Boston hospital being1for one of several diseases she had been diagnosed (诊断) with. The normally energetic Stemple was naturally getting very2. And then a friend gave her a medal.
Before she got too3to exercise, Stemple had been a marathon runner. The medal came from a4partner who had just5a half marathon in Las Vegas and hoped the medal would act as a kind of6. It worked like magic. After Stemple hung the medal on the wall, other7said they wanted medals too. That got Stemple8."A medal is a simple way to give a9message," she told others. And so was born her charity, We Finish Together, which10medals from strangers — runners, dancers, swimmers, singers, and even spelling bee winners — and gives them to all sorts of people11.
People who have received the medals have12hospital patients, people from homeless shelters, etc. Part of the process involves the13owner writing a personalized note on the ribbon (绶带)."This helps them14with someone," says Stemple. "If they receive a medal, they know someone15."
Can a simple medal16make a difference? Yes, says Joan Musarra, who suffers from a serious lung disease." When I17my package containing my new18and the notes of positive, warm thoughts, I was very19,"she wrote to Stemple. "At that moment, I was sitting on my sofa breathing through an oxygen cannula (氧气管) because my lungs were so weak. It20so much to me to feel that I am not alone."
For several years, we lived at the end of a long Texas country road. Every evening when I was away from home on business, my little boy would ask permission of his mother to take his black 1 and his daddy's walking stick, to make the half-mile 2 from the house to the fence which 3 the beginning of the dirty driveway.
One day, I was busy with my business and was 4 for about an hour, completely forgetting about the 5 little boy down the road who might be 6 for his daddy.
On my way home, the rain was so thick that I could not 7 ten feet in front of me. All I could 8 was finishing my journey and getting out of the rain. 9 , the downpour began to abate(减弱). It was only a drizzle(细雨) by the time my car turned the last 10 and approached the final street between me and a warm home and nice meal.
11, I caught sight of my little boy, who was 12 an umbrella in one hand, a walking stick in the other, and was wearing the biggest and most beautiful smile ever to lighten the 13 of a little boy.
As I stopped the car and 14 the door, he ran into my arms and held me long and hard. He was wet and 15 with cold, but he never 16the rain, nor the hour-long wait. He simply said, "Daddy, I missed you. I am so glad you are home."
Last year, we 17 to a wonderful new home provided for a special season in our lives. We no longer have a long country road. 18 , I have never forgotten the rainy day and the little boy and his black dog. Often, perhaps a thousand times, that 19 has occurred in my mind20all events in our lives, it happens once, and must be treasured.
The Parents' Lifesaving Touch
On March 25, 2010, Kate and David heard the words every parent feels frightened of: Their newborn wasn't going to make it. Their twins—a girl and a boy—were born two minutes apart and 14 weeks premature(早产的), 1 just over two pounds each. Doctors had tried to save the boy for 20 minutes but saw no 2. His heartbeat was nearly gone, and he'd stopped breathing. The baby had just minutes to 3.
"I saw him gasp(喘息) weakly, but the doctor said it was no 4," Kate told the Daily Mail five years later. "I know it sounds stupid, 5 if he was still gasping, that was a sign of life. I wasn't going to give up 6."
In an effort to cherish(珍惜) her last moments with the tiny boy, Kate asked to 7 him. The couple knew this was likely a 8.
Kate removed the hospital blanket 9 the boy, whom the couple had already 10 Jamie, and ordered David to take his shirt off and 11 her and the boy in bed. The first-time parents wanted their son to be as warm as possible in their arms and hoped the skin-to-skin contact would improve his 12. They also talked to him.
"We were trying to entice(说服) him to stay," Kate told the Daily Mail. "We explained his name and 13 he had a twin who he had to look out for and how hard we had tried to 14 him."
Then something completely 15 happened. Jamie started 16 again. Finally, he reached for his father's finger.
The couple's lost boy had made it.
"We're the 17 people in the world," David said.
Eight years later, Jamie and his sister, Emily, are happy and 18. The parents only recently told the kids the story of their 19. "Emily burst into tears," Kate told the Daily Mail. "She was really upset, and she kept hugging Jamie. This whole 20 makes you cherish them more."
I had a quick thirty-minute stopover (中途停留) in Detroit before heading home to Toronto. After1up the passage in a hurry, I realized that my gate was on the opposite end of the airport. Luckily, I got there with five minutes to2and stood waiting to be called.
I was tired and had a3scheduled right after I was home. But then came the4, “It seems we have overbooked the flight. Would anyone volunteer to stay for the5flight?” There were 100-plus people and not a6person said a word.
The next flight was in four hours. I7and saw businessmen needing to get home for work, mothers to see their kids, kids to see their friends, and more8, I saw people that needed to be helped. Even though I9to be home just as much as anyone, something inside me said that I should volunteer and offer some10to this group of strangers. The gate attendant (服务员) had said that the flight couldn't board until someone volunteered.
I picked up my bag, 11to the gate attendant and said, "I volunteer!" A big12spread over her face.
As she was13my ticket, I got my meeting rescheduled. The attendant14me my new boarding pass. All the15boarding their flight, I was happy that I had been able to16.
When boarding the plane, I was surprised to17that I was arranged (安排) to be seated in first class. How18I was for everything that had happened. With no thought of19, I gave with the intention to serve others, and that kindness was20to me with an upgrade to first class!
It was her giggling that drew my attention. Note-taking really wasn't
all that funny.
Walking over to the offender, I asked for the 1. Frozen, she refused to give it to me. I waited, all attention in the classroom on the quiet 2 between teacher and student. When she finally3it over she whispered, "Okay, but I didn't draw it".
It was a hand-drawn 4 of me, teeth blackened and the words "I'm stupid" coming out of my mouth. I managed to fold it up calmly. My mind, 5 , was working angrily as I struggled not to 6. I figured I knew the two most likely candidates for drawing the picture. It would do them some7to teach them a lesson, and maybe it was high time that I did it!
Thankfully, I was able to keep myself 8.
When there were about six minutes remaining, I showed the class the picture. They were all9as I told them how hurtful this was for me. I told them there must be a reason10and now it was their chance to write down anything they needed to tell me. Then I let them write silently while I sniffed in the back of the classroom.
As I11 the notes later, many of them said something like, "I've got nothing against you, " or "I'm sorry you were 12. " Some kids said, "We're afraid of you. " But two notes, from the girls who I13 were behind the picture, had a list of issues. I was too 14, too strict…
Reading those notes, I realized that over the course of this year, instead of15my students, I had begun commanding them to 16. Where I thought I was driving them to success I was 17driving them away.
I had some apologies to make. But the next day in the classroom, one boy and one girl each handed me a card. The one 18by all the boys expressed sincere regret for the ugly joke. The one from the girls asked for 19.
This was a lesson for both the kids and me. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the 20.
Some years ago, a young man came to me for advice. He told me that reading a whole paragraph 1made him tired. His2was that he was working at a dead-end job for two years. All his friends, none of whom enjoy reading, were in the same3They were all working at low-level jobs with no4.
I told him he had to learn to read well. However, he said he wanted to be successful at something that didn't5reading. I told him that this was not a matter of6. The only jobs that have7 to do with reading were the jobs they were doing. And they would even soon be8by younger people with better education. He finally accepted the9that he had to become a good reader. He began taking courses in reading. He10a technical institute( 技 术 学 院 ). Because of his poor education, it took him almost three years to ___11a two-year program in biomedical engineering.
A small company employed him at $22, 000 per year. It was not much, but he12it. He13 to read and studied. In his third year, he was14by a company with $40, 000 per year. Two years later, an international company15his success and employed him at more than $50, 000 per year, with other16.
In eight years, he17a lot, from a low-paid worker to a high-paid one. He led a18life. The interesting thing was that as he went around19his old friends, he found they were still working as before. Eight years seems like a20time in life, but it passes quickly when you are busying doing something and getting continually better at it.
I have played soccer and other sports since I was about 5 years old. When I was younger, I thought I would be able to 1 doing all the sports I love into my teen years. Then I 2 that once you get into high school, you have to just 3 a sport as coaches require pretty much training in the off season (比赛淡季). If you are doing three to five days of 4 a week, this leaves little 5 for other activities.
And that one 6 then turns into a year-long commitment (投入).
When I decided to play soccer year-round, we were 7 five days a week, and we had games on the weekends. After about three months of this, I experienced a knee overuse 8. Four other players had knee injuries as well. We had worked so 9 for so long, and then we went directly into club soccer in the off season. There was never a 10!
This injury really pushed me 11, and I stayed at home for eight weeks. Because of this, I12 soccer training.
I also 13 to take part in many activities while playing. 14 widening my social circle and joining some clubs, I am on the field.
But even with these 15, I still keep playing soccer year-round. It is an enjoyable experience that really lifts my spirits.
British Cycling had recently hired Dave Brails ford as its new director. At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had1nearly one hundred years of mediocrity(平庸). In fact, their2 had been so poor that one of the top bike companies in Europe3to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the British people using their bikes.
What made Brails ford different from previous coaches was his4of searching for a tiny improvement in everything they do. The whole principle came from the idea that if you5everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, improve it by 1 percent and you will get a6 increase when you put them all together.
Brails ford and his coaches began by making small 7. They redesigned the bike seats to make them more8. They asked riders to wear electrically heated over-shorts to9ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to10how each athlete responded to a particular workout.
But they didn't stop there. They11to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked areas. They hired a(n) 12 to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the13 of catching a cold. They even painted the14of the team truck white, which helped them15little bits of dust that would normally slip by16but could affect the performance of the 17tuned bikes.
As these and hundreds of other small improvements were 18, the results came faster than anyone could have19. Just five years after Brails ford took over, they20the road and track cycling events in all the important Games.
I devote myself to music because of my grandmother. My mum and I lived with my grandparents from the time I was two until I was eight. And even then, I was at their house before and after school every day while my mother was 1.
Grandma loved music. It was she that first 2 me to Elvis Presley as a very young child, and once I heard his music, I was truly in3with it. Most five-year-olds ask for toys for birthdays, but I wanted Elvis' albums. I would play them non-stop and 4 to the music in my grandma's family room though my movements didn't look5.
Grandma played the piano and 6 me to sing "America the Beautiful" and "Somewhere over the Rainbow". I finally started playing music on the piano, and soon grandma was paying for me to take piano lessons from a lady living in the 7. I would come home from8 and walk there for my lesson. I 9 took about nine months of lessons, but it was enough to give me a foundation and allow me to continue to teach myself.
Last month when I came home to visit grandma in the hospital, I brought along my guitar with me. She was in great pain, but the music seemed to 10 her soul. She had me sing some songs and when I started to sing "Somewhere over the Rainbow", her weakened voice11 in with mine for a few lines. That experience was one of the most 12 of my lifetime and one I will certainly cherish forever. I told her of my music career and she was very 13 and said, "That's wonderful!" I 14 to play for her throughout the week I was home.
My grandma passed away two days ago. In my opinion, part of her will live on through every 15 I write or sing for her in my life.
Last year I ruined my summer vacation by bringing along a modern convenience: the iPad.
Instead of looking at nature, I 1 my e-mail. Instead of reading great novels, I stuck to reading 2 newspapers each morning. And that was the problem: I was acting as if I were still in the office. My body was on vacation but my 3 wasn't.
So this year I made up my mind to try something 4: getting away from the Internet. I knew it wouldn't be easy, 5 I'm not good at self-control. But I was 6. I started by handing the iPad to my wife. Then, a stroke of luck: The mobile phone 7 at our house was worse than in the past. I was 8, forced to carry out my plan. Largely cut off from e-mail and my favourite newspaper websites, I had little way to 9 the world. I had no 10 but to do what I had planned to do all along: read books.
With determination and the strong support of my wife, I succeeded in my vacation struggle against the Internet. I finally 11 that it was me, of course, not the iPad, that was the 12.
I knew I had 13 when we passed a Starbucks and my wife asked if I wanted to stop to use the Wi-Fi. "Don't need it," I said. 14, as we return to work, a harder test begins: Can I continue when I'm back at work? I don't plan to 15 my iPad completely. But I hope to resist the temptation (抵抗诱惑) to use it every five minutes.
