“I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous. I fumbled [1] in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped[2] their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches, they had taken those. “I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. I called out to him ‘Have you got a light?’He looked at me, shrugged [3]and came over to light my cigarette. “As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don’t know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn’t want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.

It is widely acknowledged that the amount of violence in films and on TV is one of the direct causes that lead to our high crime rate in our society. The voice of demanding the government to control violent scenes in media has been much louder than before. Personally, I totally agree with this voice, for it is the most effective way to reduce violent crimes in the real world.
　　First and foremost, violence on TV or in films is often portrayed as extreme as possible in order to attract audiences. This will definitely set a bad example for those immature audiences, who, lacking correct parental guidance, are most likely to copy the violent behaviours and commit real violent crimes.
　　Next, media, such as TV or film, is considered as the correct information source regulated by the government. It should be reporting and reflecting true phenomena in the society. Violence, as one of the facts in the real world, certainly has to be reported. However, excessive violence is offering misleading information to the public, which will exert detrimental influence to the society. For example, teenagers will regard those killers and murderers in the films and on TV as role models and copy their behaviors. It is recently reported in the news that a seventeen-year-old killed all his family members, one sister and two parents out of hatred and jealousy. In the real world, we are often reminded of the harm and hurt that violence in fictional world has brought us.
　　In a word, our society is preoccupied by the violent scenes and plots at present. What the government has to do immediately is to take effective measures to control the amount of violence in media. Only in this way, can our society enjoy high level of security and peace.

Museums are great repositories of mankind’s historical artifacts and achievements in art. From them we can learn a great deal about the people of the past and their link to the people of the present. We can also learn about cultures other than our own. I believe this last advantage is the main reason many people visit museums when they travel.

When someone chooses to visit a new place, he often does so because he is interested in seeing a different environment and a different way of life. To gain a better understanding of this new culture, many travelers will go to a history or cultural museum. Even those who never visit museums at home may be inspired by the new sights around them and want to find out more. Other people choose to visit museums abroad in groups to see things that they cannot see at home. They may have read of famous works of art and look forward to the chance to see them with their own eyes. Still others may have a specific interest, such as butterflies or eighteenth century furniture. It is not possible for every community to support a museum devoted to every field of study, but travelers can take advantage of the opportunity to pursue their interests.

No matter why one travels, the journey often offers the opportunity to visit a new museum. It is an activity that will provide the traveler with a better understanding of the world, no matter what his specific interest is. That is why I think most people choose to visit museums when they travel to a new place.

Having a factory near where one lives brings with it both advantages and disadvantages. An obvious advantage is an increase in the number of available jobs, and many people in the community might find employment in the new factory. The factory would bring money into the community in other ways as well. It would have to pay some taxes to the local government, and workers might go shopping or eat at a restaurant in the area before or after their shifts.

　　However, the factory would bring some disadvantages, too. Depending on what kind of factory it is, it might pollute the environment and bring down property values. It would be sure to increase traffic in the area, causing congestion and making it unsafe for children to play outside. Finally, the neighborhood would become a noisy, busy place. For all of these reasons, I would be opposed to the construction of a new factory near my community. While the employment opportunities would help the community, I believe it would be better for residents to commute to work and preserve the peace of our neighborhood.

Everyone must work to live, but many people are fortunate enough to make more money than they immediately need. What should they do with this extra income? While it is tempting for people to spend it all on things they desire, I believe it is better to save at least a portion of the extra income for the future.

　　By saving money, people give themselves more security. They cannot predict the future; perhaps one day they will be jobless. At a time like this their savings can spare them a great deal of suffering and help to see them through the hard time. In addition, saving money allows people to build up a larger sum. They can then buy something more worthwhile than the small things they can but if they spend the money right away. For example, they may be able to buy a house with their savings. Finally, the practice of saving helps people develop the habit of setting goals and planning for their future. In this way they are bound to lead more meaningful and successful lives.

　　Most people would like to enjoy their money immediately. Nobody likes to wait for the things that he wants. However, if we learn to save our money, we can gain more advantages in the future. We will lead more secure and, thus, happier lives. We will also be able to buy the things we truly want but cannot afford right now.

In many countries it is common for teenagers to take part-time jobs while they are still in high school, while in other societies this is virtually unheard of. In the latter situation, students are expected to spend all of their time on their studies and consider schoolwork their “job”. In my opinion, students benefit more from a more balanced lifestyle, which may include working at a part-time job. Therefore, I believe that it is a good idea for students to work while studying.

While it is true that a student’s most important goal must be to learn and to do well at his studies, it does not need to be the only goal. In fact, a life which consists of only study is not balanced and may cause the student to miss out on other valuable learning experiences. In addition to bringing more balance to a student’s life, part-time work can broaden his range of experience. He will have the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and will be faced with a wider variety of problems to solve. Furthermore, work helps a student to develop greater independence, and earning his own pocket money can teach him how to handle his finances. Finally, a part-time job can help a student to develop a greater sense of responsibility, both for his own work and for that of the team he works with.

For all of these reasons, I firmly believe that most students would benefit from taking a part-time job while they are in high school. Of course, they must be careful not to let it take up too much of their time because study is still their primary responsibility. In sum, living a balanced life is the best way to be successful.

Follow this advice before you hit the road:
Keep glucose goods close at hand. If you are traveling by plane, pack your medications, insulin, syringes, test strips, lancets, ketone strips, and other supplies so there’s no chance of losing them. Consider bringing extra supplies in your checked luggage. Make sure all medications bear the original pharmacy prescription labels. If you don’t already have one, get a medical ID bracelet or necklace that alerts people that you have Diabetes and provides a number to call in an emergency.
Pack a snack. Wherever you go, take a totable snack like an apple, an energy bar, a banana, raisins, or cheese and crackers in case your blood sugar starts to dip when you don’t have immediate access to your food. If you sample your snacks en route, replenish your supplies as soon as you can.
Mind your meals. If you’re flying or taking an extended trip by rail, call the carrier a few days before you depart and ask what special meals they have available for people with Diabetes or heart disease (there may be more than one option to choose from). When you’re en route, wait for meal service to actually begin before you take your pre-meal insulin to make sure you don’t experience low blood sugar in the event that service is unexpectedly slowed or canceled. When traveling by car, try to stick to your regular mealtime schedule to keep your blood sugar stable. If that’s not possible, carry snacks along with you and be alert to symptoms of low blood sugar, such as nervousness, sweating, and crankiness. If you feel a hypoglycemic episode coming on, pull over immediately and take a sugar pill or have something to eat. Wait at least 10 to 15 minutes for the feeling to pass before continuing on.
Get in the zone. Traveling across different time zones can throw your schedule completely off, but you can compensate for the disruption if you’re careful. When adding hours to your day by traveling west, you may need to take more insulin. When losing hours traveling east, you may need less. Check with your doctor for specific recommendations. As for timing your injections and meals, keep your watch set to your Home time as you travel to your destination, then switch your watch — and your schedule — to the local time the morning after you arrive.

Night after night, she came to tuck me in, even long after my childhood years. Following her longstanding custom, she’d lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead.
I don’t remember when it first started annoying me — her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt work-worn and rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, “Don’t do that anymore —your hands are too rough!” She didn’t say anything in reply. But never again did my mother close out my day with that familiar expression of her love.
Time after time, with the passing years, my thoughts returned to that night. By then I missed my mother’s hands, missed her goodnight kiss on my forehead. Sometimes the incident seemed very close, sometimes far away. But always it lurked, in the back of my mind.
Well, the years have passed, and I’m not a little girl anymore. Mom is in her mid-seventies, and those hands I once thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family. She’s been our doctor, reaching into a medicine cabinet for the remedy to calm a young girl’s stomach or soothe the boy’s scraped knee. She cooks the best fried chicken in the world… gets stains out of blue jeans like I never could…

The North American frontier changed some of the characteristics of the pioneers of the 1750’s and intensified others. They were, as a group, semiliterate, proud, and stubborn, as dogged in their insistence on their own way of life as pine roots cracking granite to grow. Perhaps their greatest resource was their capacity to endure. They outlasted recurrent plagues of smallpox and malaria and a steady progression of natural accidents. They were incredibly prolific. Squire Boone’s family of eight children was small by frontier standards. James Roberson, an eventual neighbor of Boone’s and the founder of Nashville, had eleven children. Twice married John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, fathered eighteen; his longtime enemy, John Tipton, also twice married, produced seventeen. The entire assets of one of these huge families often amounted, in the beginning, to little more than an axe, a hunting knife, an auger, a rifle, a horse or two, some cattle and a few pigs, a sack of corn seed and another of salt, perhaps a crosscut saw, and a loom. Those who moved first into a new region lived for months at a time on wild meat, Indian maize, and native fruits in season. Yet if they were poor at the beginning, they confidently expected that soon they would be rich. In a way almost impossible to define to urban dwellers, a slice of ground suitable for farming represented not just dollars and cents, but dignity. The obsession brought shiploads of yearners every week to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charles Towne, and Savannah. It sent them streaming westward into the wilderness after their predecessors to raise still more children who wanted still more land.

I remember the first time I got on a horse. I was two years old and we were watching a friend of the family ride. My mom agreed to let me take a short ride around the arena with the friend and that was it! I was horse crazy. From then on, I drove my parents insane begging for a horse. Whenever I saw a horse, I would beg even harder.
　　When I was four years old, my life as I know it now began. I have Selective Mutism. This is a rare childhood disorder in which children stop speaking in certain social situations, many times at around the age of four. I spoke normally to my parents, my brother and certain other people, but was silent at school and in social situations. I went days, weeks, months without a sound at school. At most, I might quietly whisper to a friend.
　　Often, children with Selective Mutism will not speak in the presence of others; even to a person they normally talk to. There is a lot of whispering in ears, so that others cannot hear. We have normal or above average IQs and usually no speech pathology. The most important factor in this disorder is, we cannot speak. We do not do this purposely or willfully, it feels impossible to speak. As you can imagine, many children are blamed, punished and traumatized, especially at school. The disorder is believed to be anxiety related and treatment is difficult, but not impossible. We have so much more to learn.
　　My parents searched for a cure. At that time, we did not even have a name for what I had. I suffered silently through school until I was ten years old when one in a long string of psychologists had an idea. Having discussed his plan with my parents beforehand, one day in my therapy session I was asked by the psychologist what I wanted more than anything in the world. He explained that I was going to be given an opportunity to work for what I wanted. I couldn’t believe my good luck, but I could not answer. I just stood there struggling to verbalize what I wanted more than anything else in the world. Finally, I was permitted to whisper the answer in my mother’s ear. “A horse,” was all I could say.
　　I was to get a pony, but before we could even start looking, I had to live up to my end of the bargain. I had to try to talk. I had a chart of weekly tasks I had to accomplish. I had to answer the phone five times per week, something I had never done before. I had to make five phone calls to my friends. I had to say one word to my teacher at school and the list went on. For a child with Selective Mutism, saying one word to someone can be like climbing Mount Everest.
　　I did everything that was asked of me and the day came when my parents found a local riding stable that had the perfect pony. His name was Sequoia, a strong little chestnut with some roaning and a tiny white spot on his rump. He was perfect, of course, and I fell in love immediately. We boarded him at the riding stable and I began taking lessons. I wanted to be the best I could be and I swelled with pride every time I got on Sequoia. It truly was a dream come true. I learned to brush him, saddle him, pick his hooves out. Each week I could not wait for Saturday and my lesson, then my free time with my Sequoia. When I was in Sequoia’s presence, I forgot all about my problems and felt strong and secure.