I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better thannormal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing. Ittakes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me theperspective to deal with the surprises of the future.
Lets benchmark the parameters: Yes, I will die. Ive dealt with the deathsof both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of thesedeaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing. Bad stuff, andit belongs at the bottom of the scale.
Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person;having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my sons baseball team,paddling around the creek in the boat while hes swimming with the dogs,discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails,his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile ofLegos.
But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad and thegood flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the50-percent theory.
One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomland so flood-prone thatneighbors laughed. I felt chagrined at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal-- the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioner died, thewell went dry, the marriage ended, the job lost, the money gone. I was livinglyrics from a country tune -- music I loathed. Only a surging Kansas City Royalsteam, bound for their first World Series, buoyed my spirits.
Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeedinggood things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldnt last long. I amowed and savor the halcyon times. They reinvigorate me for the next nastysurprise and offer assurance that I can thrive. The 50 percent theory even helpsme see hope beyond my Royals recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown sothat some year soon we can reap an October harvest.
Oh, yeah, the corn crop? For that one blistering summer, the groundmoisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination before heat witheredthe tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That wintermy crib overflowed with corn -- fat, healthy three-to-a-stalk ears filled withkernels from heel to tip -- while my neighbors fields yielded only brown, emptyhusks.
Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation,and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the cropthat flourishes during the drought.
我信奉对半理论。生活时而无比顺畅，时而倒霉透顶，好坏参半。我觉得生活就像来回晃动的钟摆。读懂生活的常态需要时间和阅历，也正是这样才练就了我面对未来荣辱不惊的生活态度。
让我们掂量这些点点滴滴：是的，我注定会死去。我已经经历了双亲的仙逝，一位友人的亡故，一位敬爱的老板的离逝，还有心爱宠物的死亡。当中一些变故突如其来，直击眼前;有些却长期折磨，痛苦不堪。糟糕的事儿，它们驻留谷底。
当然生活也不乏熠熠光彩：坠入爱河缔结良缘;养育幼子身为人父，训练儿子的棒球队，当他和狗在水中嬉戏时，摇桨划船前瞻后顾，感受他如此强烈的同情心——即使对蜗牛也善待有加，发现他如此活跃的想像力——即使零散的积木也能堆出太空飞船。
但在它们发生期间有一片宽广的草坪，在那儿上演的各种好事坏事像耍杂技一样地翻新。这就是让我信服对半理论的原因。
有一年春天，我在一片容易被淹的低洼地过早地种下了玉米，邻居们都为此嘲笑我。一番心血付之东流让我懊恼不已。接着我生命中最难熬的酷暑来临了——热浪袭人，酿至旱灾。空调失灵，水井枯竭，婚姻破裂，惨遭失业，积蓄挥空。我正经历某个乡村调频描绘的情节，我讨厌这种音乐。只有一支人气攀升的堪萨斯皇家棒球队的小组因他们的第一次出征世界大赛团结起来使我精神振奋。
回想那个可怕的夏天，我不久就明白了所有的好事坏事不过是正负抵消。不顺心的境遇不会延宕过久。太平时光是我应得的，我要尽情享受。它们给我新的活力以应对突如其来的险境，并确保我再度辉煌。对半理论甚至帮我在我喜爱的皇家棒球队最近的低潮中看到希望——这是一块艰难行进的新手们耕耘的土地，播种了，假以时日我们就可以收获十月的金秋。
哦，对了，玉米收成?就那年炎热的夏天，庄稼地的湿度恰到好处，过早的种植使授粉避开酷热在顶梢干枯前完成，雨水稀少使地里长着的玉米免遭水灾。那年冬天，我的粮仓里堆满了玉米——饱满结实的玉米每株秆上结三个，每个玉米从底到顶端长满了玉米粒——而我的邻居们地里长出来的只是暗沉干瘪的壳。
尽管过去播种的收获没有达到50%的期望，而且将来也可能是这样，我仍然要为经历旱季依然丰收的玉米而坚守阵地。
There was once a guy who suffered from cancer, a cancer that can’t becured. He was 18 years old and he could die anytime. All his life, he was stuckin his house being taken cared by his mother. He never went outside but he wassick of staying home and wanted to go out for once. So he asked his mother andshe gave him permission.
He walked down his block and found a lot of stores. He passed a CD storeand looked through the front door for a second as he walked. He stopped and wentback to look into the store. He saw a beautiful girl about his age and he knewit was love at first sight. He opened the door and walked in, not looking atanything else but her. He walked closer and closer until he was finally at thefront desk where she sat.
She looked up and asked, “Can I help you?
She smiled and he thought it was the most beautiful smile he has ever seenbefore and wanted to kiss her right there.
He said, “Uh... Yeah... Umm... I would like to buy a CD.
He picked one out and gave her money for it.
“Would you like me to wrap it for you? she asked, smiling her cute smileagain.
He nodded and she went to the back. She came back with the wrapped CD andgave it to him. He took it and walked out of the store.
He went home and from then on, he went to that store every day and bought aCD, and she wrapped it for him. He took the CD home and put it in his closet. Hewas still too shy to ask her out and he really wanted to but he couldn’t. Hismother found out about this and told him to just ask her. So the next day, hetook all his courage and went to the store as usual. He bought a CD like he didevery day and once again she went to the back of the store and came back with itwrapped. He took it and when she wasn’t looking, he left his phone number on thedesk and ran out...
RRRRRING!!!
One day the phone rang, and the mother picked it up and said, “Hello?
It was the girl!!! The mother started to cry and said, “You don’t know? Hepassed away yesterday...
The line was quiet except for the cries of the boy’s mother. Later in theday, the mother went into the boy’s room because she wanted to remember him. Shethought she would start by looking at his clothes. So she opened the closet.
She was face to face with piles and piles and piles of unopened CDs. Shewas surprised to find all these CDs and she picked one up and sat down on thebed and she started to open one. Inside, there was a CD and as she took it outof the wrapper, out fell a piece of paper. The mother picked it up and startedto read it. It said: Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me?Love, Jocelyn.
The mother was deeply moved and opened another CD...
Again there was a piece of paper. It said: Hi... I think U R really u wanna go out with me? Love, Jocelyn.
Love is... when you’ve had a huge fight but then decide to put aside youregos, hold hands and say, “I Love You.
从前，有一个少年患了癌症，根本无法治愈。他只有18岁，随时都可能死去。他每天都待在家里，由母亲照料着。他从来都没出去过，但在家实在待烦了，想出去走走，母亲也就同意了。
他走在大街上，看到了很多商店，经过一家音像店时，他透过橱窗盯了一会儿。然后他停下来，又折回音像店向里望去。他看到了一个非常美丽的同龄女孩，并对她一见钟情。他打开门，走了进去，眼里始终只有她一个人。他不由自主地走到了柜台前，走到那个女孩坐着的地方。
女孩抬头问道：“你想要点什么?
她微笑着，他觉得这是他一生中看到的最美的笑容，其实这时他最想做的就是吻她。
他结结巴巴地说：“是的，嗯，那个……我想买一张CD。
他随便拿了张CD，连同钱一起递给她。
“想让我把它包起来吗? 女孩问，依然带着可爱的笑容。
他点了点头。她回到后面，出来的时候，手里拿着包装好的CD，然后交给了他。他接过CD，离开了商店。
他回家了。从那以后，这个少年每天都到那家音像店去买一张CD。女孩每次都将CD包好交给他，他也总是把CD带回去，放进自己的衣柜里。这个少年很羞涩，不敢约她出去
他真的很想，但却不能。母亲知道后，不断地鼓励他。第二天，他终于鼓起了勇气，像往常一样走进了音像店，买了一张CD，她也像往常一样，到后面去替他包起来。他接过CD，趁她不注意时将自己的电话号码放在柜台上，然后跑了出去……
叮铃铃铃!!!
有一天，电话铃响了，母亲接起电话：“喂?
是那个女孩打来的!!!母亲伤心地哭了，她说：“你不知道吗?他昨天死了……
电话线那端沉默了，只能听到母亲的抽泣声。那天晚些时候，母亲来到儿子的房间，她想念儿子了，就想看看他的衣服，于是打开了衣柜。
母亲看到的是衣柜里一大堆包好的CD，这些CD都没有打开过。母亲大吃一惊。她坐在床边，打开了一个包装，从包装盒中拿出CD时，盒里掉出一张小纸条，她拾了起来，上面写道：嗨，你好，我觉得你真的很可爱，愿意和我一起出去吗?乔斯林。
母亲深受感动，她又打开了一个CD盒……
里面仍有一张小纸条，上面都写着同样的话：嗨，你好，我觉得你真的很可爱，愿意和我一起出去吗?乔斯林。
爱是什么?当你作了巨大的思想斗争，最终决定抛开一切束缚时，那就攥紧手，说出“我爱你 。
In China, there is no doubt that English is very important, because it has been the indispensable subject for students to learn since they go to school.
As our economy develops so fast and our country plays the more and more important role in the world, a lot of foreigners have started to learn mandarin. There is even a big TV show for foreigners to compete to be the one who speaks mandarin best. I have watched the show, I am so impressed that the foreigners can speak mandarin so well, for mandarin is such difficult to learn. My foreign teachers told me that so many people in their countries wanted to know more about China and they were interested in our culture.
The popularity of mandarin shows that our country has become stronger. We should be proud of that.
justice story: "impeachment" is attended -- "is intended for occasional and extraordinary cases where a superior power acting for the whole people is put into operation to protect their rights and rescue their liberties from violations." we know about the huston plan. we know about the break-in of the psychiatrist's office. we know that there was absolute complete direction on september 3rd when the president indicated that a surreptitious entry had been made in dr. fielding's office, after having met with mr. ehrlichman and mr. young. "protect their rights." "rescue their liberties from violation."
the carolina ratification convention impeachment criteria: those are impeachable "who behave amiss or betray their public trust."4 beginning shortly after the watergate break-in and continuing to the present time, the president has engaged in a series of public statements and actions designed to thwart the lawful investigation by government prosecutors. moreover, the president has made public announcements and assertions bearing on the watergate case, which the evidence will show he knew to be false. these assertions, false assertions, impeachable, those who misbehave. those who "behave amiss or betray the public trust."
james madison again at the constitutional convention: "a president is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the constitution." the constitution charges the president with the task of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, and yet the president has counseled his aides to commit perjury, willfully disregard the secrecy of grand jury proceedings, conceal surreptitious entry, attempt to compromise a federal judge, while publicly displaying his cooperation with the processes of criminal justice. "a president is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the constitution."
if the impeachment provision in the constitution of the united states will not reach the offenses charged here, then perhaps that 18th-century constitution should be abandoned to a 20th-century paper shredder.
has the president committed offenses, and planned, and directed, and acquiesced in a course of conduct which the constitution will not tolerate? that's the question. we know that. we know the question. we should now forthwith proceed to answer the question. it is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.
i yield back the balance of my time, mr. Chairman.
good morning,everyone.i'm so happy to give my own speech here today.
once in a while,i'd think back on the things of past one y and excited,i was admitted into this school which is the best high school in our city.i thought it could give me great stimulation to achieve the dream in my ver,when i was on the point of facing difficulties,i seemed so weak on the way to success.i gradully lost interest in stimulation had gotten out of my system and wasn't in control of my mental.i began being absent-minded in most of ing cellphone became my foolish lly i delayed my could i account for my low scores?the answer might be:i was wrong all the way.
but now it's a new start for me.i've made up my mind to be on the right way.i must attach study to me and my a way,i want to apologize to many people who think highly of me for my now on,i'll never hesitate to strive for my future,although many things may add to my laziness.
i ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd,you're gonna hear my voice when i shout it out aloud.i hope that not only me,but also everyone sitting here can study hard to strive for our r up!let's whoop lyrically:we are the champions~~~
right now it's my whoop,can you hear me?
much for to my joy,you're listening to my speech..
that's all,thank you~~~~
several years ago, i was very lucky to have an opportunity to live in the united states for about two years. i not only enjoyed the beautiful environment there, but also appreciated the american people's active way of protecting their environment. now, whenever the environment protection is mentioned, a beautiful view of california will arise in my mind: white clouds flying acrothe blue sky, green grassplot sprinkled with colorful flowers and small animals playing happily among the trees.
my hometown is lhasa, the largest city on the roof of the world. it is the heart and soul of tibet. i think lhasa is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. it is surrounded by towering mountains and rarely a day goes by when you don' t see the deep blue sky. lhasa river is flowing quietly around the city.
lhasa is the mixture of tradition and fashion.
firstly, lhasa has a long history. it is the political, cultural and economic center of tibet. it has lots of famous sights to offer. the potala palace is the most famous, a magnificent and wonderful place to look at. in my opinion it is a unique artistic achievement of the tibetan people. likewise, the architecture, carvings and paintings throughout the city show hard work, wisdom and bravery of our people.
secondly, led by the reforming and opening policy of china, lhasa has changed a lot. many new things have arrived up here, changing the face of the city. the old and new lie side by side in lhasa.
many new buildings, schools and roads have been built here. furthermore, the qing-zang railway leading to lhasa is being built. many shopping centers have been opened, and modern technology like telecommunications is spreading. the whole city looks prosperous, and our tibetan people take on a new look. every festival, people walk around freely on the new, wide and smooth streets, wearing the beautiful traditional costumes.
right now, i am looking forward to a festival called shodün which comes in june for eating yoghurt. at this time, all my family and i gather for a picnic together at the norbulinka, a famous garden. in the garden, we sing tibetan songs, dance “guo zhuang” on the grass; eat zanba, drink butter tea and barley beer on the beautiful carpet as well. we enjoy our life. i think that this festival exhibits the open-minded and optimistic character of the tibetan people.
finally, “i love my hometown. i love the people in my hometown.”.
thank you.
tashidele.
我的家乡
我的家乡是拉萨，它位于世界屋脊。我认为拉萨是世界上最美丽的城市之一，它的周围是高耸入云的山脉，几乎你天天都能看到湛蓝的天空，拉萨河围绕着这座城市缓缓地流淌着。
拉萨是一个传统和时尚的结合体。
首先，拉萨有悠久的历史，灿烂的文化。拉萨是西藏的政治、文化、经济中心，并且有许多闻名遐迩的名胜古迹，布达拉宫雄伟壮观，金碧辉煌，是一个值得一看的地方，我认为它是西藏人民独特艺术成就，而且拉萨市的建筑、雕刻和绘画是西藏人民勤劳、勇敢和智慧的结晶。
其次，自改革开放以来，拉萨发生了很大变化，许多新事物层出不穷，改变了拉萨的面貌，古老与现代并存。
多种风格的建筑拔地而起，现代化的学校被建起，宽畅的公路被修建，通向拉萨的青藏铁路正在施工，现代高科技在拉萨延伸，整个城市呈现一派繁荣景象，拉萨人民呈现新的面貌，每逢节日，他们穿着节日盛装，自在地走在大街上。
现在我正期待着雪顿节的到来，这个节日在六月初，是一个吃酸奶的节日，当这个节日到来的时候，我和我的家人、朋友聚在一起在有名的公园-“罗布林卡” 里面野餐。我们在草地上一起唱藏歌，跳锅庄舞;踏着美丽的藏式地毯吃糌粑、喝酥油茶和青稞酒，享受我们幸福的生活，我认为这个节日展示了西藏人民开朗、乐观的性格。
最后，我想说“我爱我的家乡，我更爱我家乡的人民。”
谢谢!
扎西德勒!
A careless word may kindle strife; a cruel word may wreck a life; a timely word may level stress; a loving word may heal and bless.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.
There was once a guy who suffered from cancer, a cancer that can?'t be cured. He was 18 years old and he could die anytime. All his life, he was stuck in his house being taken cared by his mother. He never went outside but he was sick of staying home and wanted to go out for once. So he asked his mother and she gave him permission.
He walked down his block and found a lot of stores. He passed a CD store and looked through the front door for a second as he walked. He stopped and went back to look into the store. He saw a beautiful girl about his age and he knew it was love at first sight. He opened the door and walked in, not looking at anything else but her. He walked closer and closer until he was finally at the front desk where she sat.
great men yearn for true love even more than ordinary people. since the ancient times, so many heroes couldn't help falling into the trap of love that the sex-trap has been regarded as one of the 36 stratagems in military tactics. fuchai, the king of the wu state, couldn't be spared of this trap, and generals dongzhuo and lubu fell deeply into it while xiangyu, the king of the western chu state , bid farewell to his beloved concubine in tears. people may have to pay very high price, even their illustrious name for the love they long for even though it may last for only a very short time. nonetheless no one can tear himself away from love. people often say that their earthly affinity is not yet finished, but in fact it is the love affinity that is the most difficult to finish.
love is shapeless and priceless. we can blame nobody when captured by it. love can not be forced, nor can it be pretended. sympathy is not love, neither is gratitude. love must be generated from the heart, and expressed in actions. it can not be called love without passions and a deep longing from the bottom of the heart. there's no impassable gulf between family love and fraternal love. some family love may turn into friendship. at the same time, natural barriers doesn't exist either between fraternal love and amatory love. some friendship may develop into amatory love. the same is true with amatory love which may change into family love after a long time of mutual grinding and closer the relationship, and the higher the expectations are, the more difficult it is to get along with each other. family love, fraternal love and amatory love are three main human feelings. if handled well, they can bring us extreme happiness, while handled improperly, will bring us great sufferings.
when i'm free or in trouble, i always take out a book and read quietly. inno time, i've put my heart into it so that i'll forget all the troubles. it's inthis way that i've formed the habit of reading in any time.
little boys as i was, i was interest in picture books and storybooks. i wasstruck by them. no sooner had i entered the middle school than i began to readnovel, plays, essays and so on. i found i could get much from them. little bylittle i took great interest in literature and last term i won the first prizein the composition contest among middle-school students in zhe jiang.
reading “the emperor's new clothes”, i had to let out a burst of laughterover his fool. “the little match girl” couldn't keep me from crying for hermisery. “ robinson crusoe” took me into a strange world full of danger. and iwas also deeply impressed by helen keller's patience and perseverance… besidesthese, books also tell me other thing -how to be a man and how to tell thedifference between right and wrong. in a word, good books can make me know whati didn't before. so i think of a good book as my best friend.
i'll never forget this famous saying,“ good books are best friends whonever turn their backs upon us.”
have you ever learned english by watching english dvd movies? is that aneffective english learning method for you? why?
watching english dvd movies is a very effective method of learning english.i learnt english at college at home. as a natural result of insufficient englishspeaking environment, my speaking and listening abilities were not developedsatisfactorily, although my reading and writing abilities were quite all right.i remember my experience during a summer vacation when i made plans to watch 10original english movies (i mean those not dubbed.) including the classiccasablanca, rebecca, a tale of two cities, and little women.
i persistently carried out my plan and each of the films i watched a dozentimes until i could recite most of the dialogues. at the end of that summervacation, i found i became nearly as fluent as a native english speaker.
the ways of reading
we may obtain knowledge by reading. the more books we read, the more weaccumulate the knowledge. is it right? i don’t think so. it’s not wide readingbut useful reading that leads to excellence. and only good books can benefitus.
so choosing books is very important for reading. many students spend a lotof time reading legends and swordsman novels. it’s a waste of time. somestudents even read some bad books and it is harmful for them.
so be as careful of the books we read, as of the company we keep, for ourhabit and character will be as much influenced by the former as by thelatter.
A Brother Like That A Brother Like That A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?"
he said. Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas."
The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish . . ."
He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels. "I wish,"
the boy went on, "That I could be a brother like that."
Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my car?"
"Oh yes, Id love that."
After a short ride, the boy turned with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"
Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?"
the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sathim down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car. "There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day Im gonna give you one just like it . . . then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that Ive been trying to tell you about."
Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride. That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he said: "It is more blessed to give . . . "
中文译文;
哥哥的心愿 圣诞节时，保罗的哥哥送他一辆新车。圣诞节当天，保罗离开办公室时，一个男孩绕着那辆闪 闪发亮的新车，十分赞叹地问：
"先生，这是你的车?"
保罗点点头："这是我哥哥送给我的圣诞节礼物。"男孩满脸惊讶，支支吾吾地说："你是说这 是你哥送的礼物，没花你一分钱?天哪，我真希望也能……"
保罗当然知道男孩他真想希望什么。他希望能有一个象那样的哥哥。但是小男孩接下来说的话 却完全出乎了保罗的意料。
"我希望自己能成为送车给弟弟的哥哥。"男孩继续说。
保罗惊愕地看着那男孩，冲口而出地说："你要不要坐我的车去兜风?"
"哦，当然好了，我太想坐了!"
车开了一小段路后，那孩子转过头来，眼睛闪闪发亮，对我说："先生，你能不能把车子开到 我家门前?"
保罗微笑，他知道孩子想干什么。那男孩必定是要向邻居炫耀，让大家知道他坐了一部大轿车 回家。但是这次保罗又猜错了。"你能不能把车子停在那两个台阶前?"男孩要求道。
男孩跑上了阶梯，过了一会儿保罗听到他回来了，但动作似乎有些缓慢。原来把他跛脚的弟弟 带出来了，将他安置在第一个台阶上，紧紧地抱着他，指着那辆新车。
只听那男孩告诉弟弟："你看，这就是我刚才在楼上对你说的那辆新车。这是保罗他哥哥送给 他的哦!将来我也会送给你一辆像这样的车，到那时候你就能自己去看那些在圣诞节时，挂窗 口上的漂亮饰品了，就象我告诉过你的那样。"
保罗走下车子，把跛脚男孩抱到车子的前座。兴奋得满眼放光的哥哥也爬上车子，坐在弟弟的 身旁。就这样他们三人开始一次令人难忘的假日兜风。
那个圣诞夜，保罗才真正体会主耶稣所说的"施比受更有福"的道理。
