全国奥林匹克英语作文大赛获奖作文A Clever DogA butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he saw a dog coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again.So, he goes over to the dog and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The dog has money in his mouth, as well."The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten dollar Note there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time, he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog.So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes To a level crossing.The dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then he waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road, with the butcher following him all the way.The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.The butcher is in awe at this stage. The dog checks out the times, and then sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat.Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it's the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him onto the bus.The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog Looking at the scenery. Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then he gets off, his groceries still in his mouth.Well, dog and butcher are walking along the road, and then the dog turns into a house. He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step.Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it throws himself against it. There's no answer at the house, so the dog goes back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are You doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!" to which the guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's forgotten his key."Reflection:Looks like some, people will never be satisfied with what they've got.When it comes to the work place, Employers do not know how to appreciate their people who have served them loyally through the years. I've seen companies lose good people for the simple fact their leaders failed to show appreciation. Employers with big egos enjoy the fact that they have more power and authority than others. They show, in the way they give orders and directions, that they think they are superior. They get a kick out of displaying this superiority. People who do this are fools, and everyone but them knows it. They are never satisfied because they could not be satisfied even if their people perform well.They don't listen to the opinion and ideas of their subordinates.Why? Because of their stupid pride and insecurity.People of this kind will never be satisfied. Why? Because they are so busy wrapped up in themselves and, fact is, the self can never be satisfied. Happy and productive people are always those who are "others-centered" rather than "self- centered." The greatest idea of leadership is not someone who throws his weight around. Rather, he is a servant. As Bible would say, "He who wish to be a leader should first be a servant."His joy is derived from delivering a job that others benefit from his contribution. Aim for service and success will follow.A Story of HopeTwo men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."Epilogue. . . .There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."Learning of ValueI saw something a bit disturbing last week. I had to stop at a drugstore to pick something up, and while there I saw a kid about thirteen years up buy a Monster drink, about 24 ounces of caffeine fix. That in itself saddened me, to think that this kid has been seduced by marketers and peers to think that a caffeine fix is a positive thing in life.I was shocked, though, to see the price affixed to the can: $3.49. This kid was spending more on one drink than anyone making minimum wage earns in half an hour of work--and I feel taken when I have to pay $1.19 for a large soda at a gas station when I'm traveling. I couldn't help but think that this kid never had been taught of the value of money, and of the concept of exchanging the money for something of comparable value.I see this principal all over as I go through my day. I see rims on car wheels that cost upwards of $500, just fora little bit of decoration on a vehicle. I see people spend four or five dollars for a cup of coffee, hundreds of dollars for cell phones that they almost never use, thousands of dollars on huge television sets that they almost never watch. All around us are ads and commercials that keep us wanting to buy things that keep us dissatisfied with the way things are, and those ads and commercials are trying to convince us that if we just buy some more stuff--no matter what the cost--we'll be happier and more content.But somewhere along the line we have to learn to make our own decisions about value. There's a common law of economics that states that many poor people will stay poor because of the decisions that they make about how to spend their money. How many people have you known or known of, for example, who have little money yet whobuy a very expensive car with high monthly payments? And how many people are in trouble right now because they bought houses that were more expensive than they could afford?While I wouldn't say that the answer to our money issues would be to skimp and save every penny and never have any fun in life, it is important that we learn about value and about when to spend how much. A few years ago, for example, my wife and I had cell phones. At the time I worked half an hour from home, I was on the road with sports teams a lot, and my wife also was on the road quite a bit. The cell phones made sense, even though we didn't use them much--at least we knew that if anything happened, we could contact one another.Then we moved someplace where we didn't need the phones any more, for we both worked close to one another and we weren't on the road much. Suddenly, the $75 every month to keep the phones made no sense, so we got rid of them. They were now just a luxury item, no longer as necessary as they were before. They simply didn't have the same value that they had had before. And even though it had been quite convenient to make an occasional phone call from wherever I happened to be, that convenience was no longer worth the amount of money we would have had to pay to maintain it.It's unfortunate that money is such a huge part of our lives, and that it affects our lives so very strongly. But that's the way things are, so the best that we can do is learn to define the value of our money for ourselves and to exchange our money for goods and services that have equal or even greater value. While a woman I know who is broke can go out and spend almost a hundred dollars on a new hairdo, I know that she really can't afford it, and that its value is not nearly as much as she thinks it is. When my wife and I go on vacation in a few weeks and spend $400 on a hotel room in Yosemite National Park, though--which is much more than we've ever spent on a hotel room before--we both have considered the cost, the location, and the reasons for our vacation, and we both agree that there is great value in the price that we'll pay.Money is here, and it's a part of our lives. We can live with it and have it work for us, or we can squander it and lose it and become angry and frustrated with our loss. The choice is ours, but one thing is for sure--the path to happiness doesn't lie in exchanging our money for goods or services of little value; rather, we need to make sure that the money we spend is money well spent. Only then can we avoid the resentment and frustration that will come over having wasted money when we didn't need to.Energy-saving emission reductionWith the scientific and technological development, our lives gradually improving comprehensive national strength. However, in our development, ecological environment has been polluted to varying degrees. We can not achieve high levels of development, etc. and then deal with this terrible pollution. Ecological damage, pollution index a gradual increase in industrial emissions, natural disasters, aggravated ... ... Mother Nature gave us sounded the alarm. Thus, energy-saving emission reduction, it is imperative!I think that the reduction is to comprehensively implement the scientific concept of development to achieve sound and fast economic and social development of the capital, an important reason. Achieve the "reduction" should pay attention to controlling the emissions to enhance and promote management of coal-fired power plant sulfur dioxide. In addition, the "energy saving" is also very important. Minimize the use of a one-time; go to the market bring their own shopping bags. Actively participated in tree planting activities; to save water is also a part of my headache. In fact, we use Taomi Shui can be washing dishes, vegetables and Watering. Laundry water can rinse out the toilet. Washing clothes with water can be used to wash rag. Buy a car to buy to save gasoline. If the savings per person per day that Bit by bit the world's 6.5 billion people, will be merged into an endless torrent of river.Let's energy-saving emission reduction, protection of our only planet, but also the mother a blue sky.For Your Beautiful Dream“What makes you get up every morning is not the alarm clock, but your beautiful dream.” I got this motto from the Internet and I am so impressed by it up to now, owing to an unforgettable experience.At the beginning of my junior middle school, I was late for school for many times. I remember the worst situation clearly that I was continuously late for whole two weeks. And every time I saw my head-teacher glaring at me with anger and disappointment, I felt so ashamed that I couldn’t keep my eyes on him for one more second, and tha t I couldn’t say a word, either. “If I had got up earlier, I wouldn’t have been late.” I thought at the same time.However, in fact, I never thought it when I was just awake. I preferred to stay in bed even though the alarm clock rang over and over again. Gradually I fell asleep and I was late again and again in consequence.Later I read the motto by coincidence. It was the word “dream” that appeared repeatedly in my brain and made me think it over deeply. I realized that it was the high time that I should struggle for my dream because time lost cannot be won again.From then on, I have changed a lot. I have made a plan to achieve my dream step by step. But actually there have been always varieties of difficulties standing in the way. And the first thing is to get up earlier, which I ever thought it a piece of cake. Finally, I have managed to do it. I have told myself, “There are a great number of things to do, get up right now！Or you’ll waste your time and make a mess for your day.” Every time I say to mysel f, I jump out of bed and begin my busy day.Here I share the motto and my feelings with you. Not only has it made a difference to my bad habit, but also more positive to face the life I live.People should have their own dreams so that they are willing to devote their energy in it. Therefore, they will never be afraid of difficulties, and they live a happy and substantial life instead of an aimless one.As a result, the strength of dreams is so great that nothing can be compared. Every body ought to try their best to achieve it no matter what block you. Remind yourself that what makes you get up every morning is not the alarm clock, but your beautiful dream.Self-introduction:I’m Zhai Jingwen, a 17-year-old girl from Class 20, Grade 2, in Hua Luogeng Seni or Middle High School. It’ my great pleasure to take part in this contest. And this is my real story; I want to share it with every one struggling for his dream. Thank you very much.Early AutumnWhen Bill was very young, they had been in love. Many nights they had spent walking, talking together. Then something not very important had come between them, and they didn’t speak. Impulsively, she had married a man she thought she loved. Bill went away, bitter about women.Yesterday, walking across Washington Square, she saw him for the first time in years.“Bill Walker,” she said.He stopped. At first he did not recognize her, to him she looked so old.“Mary! Where did you come from?”Unconsciously, she lifted her face as though wanting a kiss, but he held out his hand. She took it.“I live in New York now,” she said.“Oh” — smiling politely. Then a little frown came quickly between his eyes.“Always wondered what happened to you, Bill.”“I’m a lawyer. Nice firm, way downtown.”“Married yet?”“Sure. Two kids.”“Oh,” she said.A great many people went past them through the park. People they didn’t know. It was late afternoon. Nearly sunset. Cold.“And your husband?” he asked her.“We have three children. I work in the bursar’s office at Columbia.”“You’re looking very . . .” (he wanted to say old) “. . . well,” he said.She understood. Under the trees in Washington Square, she found herself desperately reaching back into the past. She had been older than he then in Ohio. Now she was not young at all. Bill was still young.“We live on Central Park West,” she said. “Come and see us sometime.”“Sure,” he replied. “You and your husband must have dinner with my family some night. Any night. Lucille and I’d love to have you.”The leaves fell slowly from the trees in the Square. Fell without wind. Autumn dusk. She felt a little sick. “We’d love it,” she answered.“You ought to see my kids.” He grinned.Suddenly the lights came on up the whole length of Fifth Avenue, chains of misty brilliance in the blue air.“There’s my bus,” she said.He held out his hand. “Good-bye.”“When . . .” she wanted to say, but the bus was ready to pull off. The lights on the avenue blurred, twinkled, blurred. And she was afraid to open her mouth as she entered the bus. Afraid it would be impossible to utter a word.Suddenly she shrieked very loudly. “Good-bye!” But the bus door had closed.The bus started. People came between them outside, people crossing the street, people they didn’t know. Space and people. She lost sight of Bill. Then she remembered she had forgotten to give him her address — or to ask him for his — or tell him that her youngest boy was named Bill too.The Spirit of Wome's VolleyballChinese women's volleyball team once achieved great honor in the last century, their spirit of never giving up inspired so many people. But during the last decade, as the old volleyball players retired and the new ones were not stronger enough, the team met difficulty. While winning an important match announced their return.中国女排曾经在上个世纪取得了极大的荣誉,她们永不放弃的精神激励了很多人。
