Saja Pahad, a small village in Chhattisgarh, India, has been dealing with severe water shortages for as long as anyone can remember. With only two wells available, locals were barely able to secure enough water to feed their cattle, let alone irrigate their crops. Villagers didn’t know what to do and the government ignored their difficult situation, but one “crazy” teenager took matters into his own hands.

Shyam Lal was only 15 when he took it upon himself to solve his village’s water problem. He identified a spot in a nearby forest and decided to dig a pond to collect rainfall that could then be used by the entire village. Lal shared his idea with the rest of Saja Pahad, but instead of volunteering to help, they just laughed at his crazy plan and called him a lunatic (疯子). But the young man didn’t let the people’s reaction get him down. Instead, he grabbed a spade (铁锹) and started digging the pond himself. He kept on digging for the next 27 years.

Now 43, Shyam Lal is considered a hero by his community. That small hole he started digging nearly three decades ago is now a one-acre, 15-feet-deep pond filled with precious water that serves the entire village.

“No one helped me in my work, neither the government nor the villagers,” Lal told the Hindustan Times. “It was my dream to secure enough water for the whole village and their cattle.”

The story of Shyam Lal’s determination recently went viral in the whole of India, and prompted authorities in Mahendragarh district to finally acknowledge his achievement. A member of the government recently visited Saja Pahad and offered Lal a $ 156 prize for his contribution to the village.

Smith lived above the McKays. Being a keen gardener and a fish collector，Smith sent water over his 【小题1】 every day. He used too much water，which 【小题2】 on the McKay's.

One Saturday evening，when the McKays were celebrating James McKay's birthday on the balcony，Smith 【小题3】 his tank over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. James Mckay，who was a retired 【小题4】，was so angry that he went up 【小题5】 After hitting Smith over the head，he 【小题6】 Luckily，Smith promised to change his ways. And 【小题7】，James enjoyed the most exciting birthday 【小题8】 by a crowd of supporters as he left the police station.

   Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that _______. "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" _______ me. I thought he was saying" We're _______ pleased you decided to join us although I _______ we had hired someone else. "Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", _______ in British English it means "fairly".

So the _______ lesson about working in other countries is to _______ the language and by that I don't just _______ the words people speak. It contains _______ language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things ________ many of the differences we see between cultures.

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while ________ may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the ________ and accepting them, like the climate, while we're getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be a（n）________. People are ________ polite; the service is better; you ask something to be done and it happens without having to ask again.________, other differences can be ________ punctuality（准时）.If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock, your guests will consider it polite to ________ exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some in the evening in Greece. I ________ not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the ________ people base their behavior on. It is simply ________ in their own country.

   Of course, she wasn’t really my aunt and, out of fear, I never called her that to her face. I only referred to her as “My Aunt Fannie” because the name always made my father laugh quietly and gave my mother cause to look strictly at both of us — at me for being disrespectful to my elder and at my father for encouraging my bad behavior. I enjoyed both reactions so I looked for every opportunity to work the name into as many conversations as possible.

As a young woman, my mother had worked in the kitchen of a large Victorian farmhouse. During those years my mother helped Aunt Fannie make the best blueberry jam ever tasted by anyone in Glenfield. She was well-known for her jam and for never sharing the recipe (食谱) with others. Even though my mother knew the recipe by heart, as long as Aunt Fannie was alive, she never made the jam without Aunt Fannie in our kitchen to direct the process and kept the secret.

Each August, my mother would prepare me for Aunt Fannie’s visit. One year, after I had helped with the jam process Aunt Fannie gave me a coin and then made me promise that I would never spend it. “Hold onto this coin,” she said, “and someday you will be rich. I still have my very first coin, given to me by my grandmother.” So I kept the coin in a small box and waited to become rich.

I now have the blueberry jam recipe and the coin from Aunt Fannie. In people’s eyes Aunt Fannie’s success resulted from that secret recipe. But to me, it was just a common recipe. Neither has made me become a rich person, but 1 keep them as reminders (提醒人的事物) to hold onto the valuable things in life. Money can make you feel rich for a while, but it is the relationships and the memories of time spent with friends and family that truly leave you wealthy. And that is a fortune that anyone can build.

   Yesterday I was a bit early for an appointment so I stopped in at McDonald's for a coffee. I think they make the best coffee. Two very pleasant young girls were working at the counter and the customer ahead was impossible to please!

The young girl was sweaty and nearly in tears. I only wanted coffee but I liked lots of milk in it. I really didn't want to be difficult so I said,“You go ahead and add lots of milk and if it's not enough, I'll ask for more. ” She smiled. She made a perfect coffee. I left her two pieces of candy as a tip.

I went to her supervisor and let the leader know how well she handled such a difficult customer ahead of me. More of that needs to be done for young people starting out - probably the first job. '

I remember how hard it was. I would have run away crying and quit, if it had been me yesterday serving those customers. I'd still be crying too.

Comments posted by molliecat on July 29

READERS' COMMENTS

FayBaby wrote: Customer service can be one of the most difficult and thankless jobs at times. Your expression of appreciation (感激)probably made her day.

Mish wrote: How dear you were to lend support there, dear molliecat. Love you ! kiwicat wrote: My sons both have dreadful(糟透了的)first job stories of how rude and demanding customers can be. I now always encourage a new cashier or someone to do job training. Thanks for the reminder(提醒物)that we can be more tolerant and thankful to those who offer front-line customer service. mindyjourney wrote: Thank you for helping calm the young worker with your appreciation and thoughtfulness,So many good lessons you have earned are shared. Blessings, dear molliecat.