One day, I heard an American boy say to a Chinese girl student, "You speak very good English."1the girl answered, "No, no. My English is very poor. "The foreigner was quite2at the answer. Thinking he had not made3understood or the girl had not heard him clearly, he said, "Yes, indeed, you speak very well."

    But the girl4kept saying, "No." In the end the American boy could not understand and didn't know5to say.

    What's wrong with the girl's answer? She didn't6a compliment(恭维) in the same way as the American people do. She should answer "Thank you" instead of "No". She7understood what the American boy had said, but she thought she should be modest. In the west, people will feel proud and8when they are praised. So if someone says the dishes you have9are very delicious, you should say, "Thank you."

    In our country we think being modest is a virtue(美德) and being10is a bad thing, but in my opinion, being confident does not11being proud. So sometimes you should be confident12being modest.

    If you are modest and say, "No, I'm afraid I13do it well", while working in a western country, the others may think that you really cannot do it. If you often say "No", you will certainly be looked down upon by14. When asking for a job, if one says something like "Yes, I can certainly do it' instead of "Let me have a try", he or she will15getting it. So in the west, you should be brave to show your self-confidence.

    "What's the meaning of life?" This is a question we all ask ourselves at one point. The best 1 that I came across was written by the great psychologist, Viktor Frankl. He wrote that " The meaning of life is to give life meaning."

    When I was a young boy, I gave my life meaning2 simply playing, running, swimming, laughing and riding my bike.

    When I went to school, I gave my life meaning by studying hard, getting good grades and trying to make my mom and dad 3.

    When I was a teenager, I found meaning in 4 sports, hanging out with my friends and trying my best to help others.

    In college, I found my life meaning by deciding what I wanted to study and what career I would 5 for.

    When I was working as a teacher, I found meaning in helping to open young minds to new 6 and old wisdom.

    When I had kids, I found meaning in protecting and watching over those I loved. When I found out 7 of my sons were mentally handicapped (智障), I found meaning in loving them, 8 them and learning so much from them about life, love, patience, faith and joy.

    9 I grew older, I began to understand meaning isn't something that comes and goes. We can give meaning to every moment of our life. We can bring meaning to the things we do. All we have to do is to 10.

    It is love that makes life worth living. It is love that gives life meaning.

    Most of us have three meals a day. We take food for granted（想当然）. And we don't think about it. 1experts argue a food crisis（危机） is coming. This crisis is going to make us2the way we think about food.

    Food is in great need3a growing of world population. By 1960, the population was three billion. It doubled to six billion by 1999.By 2050, this planet will need to4at least nine billion people. As a result, the food prices get higher and higher.

    So, what can a5, crowed world do? One suggestion is to eat6meat. Meat uses more natural resources（资源） than grains（谷物）. It requires more7to produce one pound of meat than to produce one pound of grain. It also requires between 5 and 10 times more8than vegetables. So, eating less meat will9more land for farming, and it will save water.

    To eat less meat, people will need to change their eating habits. That will not be10. Americans, for example, have11loved meat. In general, they eat twice as much meat as people in other countries. At the same time, in developing countries like China and Brazil, sales of meat have doubled in the last 20 years.12will double again by 2050. Growing need of meat will13to put pressure on natural resources.

World population is increasing, resources are becoming fewer, and food prices are rising. Therefore, we need to rethink14 we eat every day. For meat lovers, we don't need to give up meat15. But we need to eat more grains and less meat.