阅读理解

　　In our life, we have rarely expressed our gratitude to the one who’d lived those years with us．In fact, we don’t have to wait for anniversaries to thank the ones close to us－the ones so easily overlooked．If I have learned anything about giving thanks, it is this：give it now！While your feeling of appreciation is alive and sincere, act on it．Saying thanks is such an easy way to add to the world’s happiness．

　　Saying thanks not only brightens someone else’s world, but it also brightens yours．If you’re feeling left out, unloved or unappreciated, try reaching out to others．It may be just the medicine you need．

　　Of course, there are times when you can’t express gratitude immediately．In that case don’t let embarrassment sink you into silence－speak up the first time you have the chance．

　　Once a young minister, Mark Brian, was sent to a remote parish of Kwakiutl Indians in British Columbia．He had been told that the Indians did not have a word for thank you．But Brian soon found that these people had exceptional generosity．Instead of saying thanks, it is their custom to return every favor with a favor of their own, and every kindness with an equal or superior kindness．They do their thanks．

　　I wonder if we had no words in our vocabulary for thank you, would we do a better job of communicating our gratitude? Would we be more responsive, more sensitive and more caring?

　　Thankfulness sets in motion a chain of reaction that transforms people all around us－including ourselves, for no one ever misunderstands the melody of a grateful heart．

阅读理解

　　In our life, we face situations where we are either asked to choose between trust and disbelief．Many of us would say we have to choose trust over disbelief．Actually we are given intellectual(智力的)power to choose what we want, and what we choose certainly need not be the one that sounds pleasing．That is, we can choose both trust and disbelief, but we have to know when to choose between these two．

　　We should all realize that we are living in a world which is unfortunately mixed with people of various types．We have been given the power of judging who we are working with and who we are partnering with．We cannot give an excuse for believing a scheming(诡计多端的)person, just because he looked or sounded nice, unless we consider ourselves mentally unskillful．

　　This world was there before us and it does not owe us a single thing．We are asked to take care of ourselves and our belongings．Trust, too, has to be saved for the deserving(值得的)people．When we give trust universally to all, we end up troubled by the undeserving common cheat．People say trust is life．True!But only wisely exercised trust is life．

　　When we start a conversation with someone, the first things that we usually notice would be their dress, behavior, style and their language．What sometimes we all forget to look at is the person's intention．Now how to look at a person's intention is a lesson everybody has to learn for themselves in their own way－there is no single standard for it．But it is certainly possible to discover the purpose if we seek a little bit more．

　　Certainly a false offer of friendship or guidance cannot stand undiscovered for long; we are therefore called to exercise disbelief over trust at least momentarily till we find out that we certainly are in agreement with a mutual(相互的)good-willed person．

　　The world teaches you lots of lessons and if we are willing, we can learn all that we want．