A Heart of Gold

ORANGE COUNTY, CA, USA. Victor Cacelis is a California immigrant who grew up in a poor village in Mexico. He is used to working hard. He works more than 90 hours a week in three different jobs including McDonald's. He is saving up to buy a house.




One day, while Victor is cleaning the floor at McDonald's, he finds an envelope and picks it up. It contains $612 in cash! He gets in touch with the police to report the lost money. The police can't find the owner, so they give the money back to Victor.




Then Victor reads a story in the newspaper about Adrian Sandoval, a baby who is very sick. Victor decides to give the cash away to help pay for the baby's surgery. "Life has been nice to me," Bacelis said. "I'm healthy. I have enough money. Adrian is a little boy and his condition really touched me this is what i want to do." Vistor Bacelis trully has a heart of gold.




About You




1. Do you know anyone who has a heart of gold? How does this person act?




2. If you found cash on the floor at work, what would you do? Would you keep the money, get in touch with the police or your boss, or give it away?




3. Are you used to working hard? Tell about your weekly schedule.




4. How do you usually get in touch with friends and family who live far away: by phone, by email, by letter, or by fax?

Robber Chickens Out

PEARL RIVER, NY, USA. In New York, nothing is surprising anymore. A man went into a bank in a town just north of New York City. He had a plastic bag over his head. He approached a teller and handed her a note. The teller took a look at the note. But she couldn't make heads or tails of it. The handwriting was terrible. She excused herself and went to consult with her co-workers. No one could read the note. Finally, one of the clerks figured out part of it. It said, " I have a gun." The clerks realized at last that the man was trying to hold up the bank. But when they looked up, the man with the bag on his head was gone. Apparently, he lost his nerve and ran away.




Why didn't the teller react to the plactic bag on the man's head? She said only, " I thought maybe he had a skin problem." Police officers are still trying to make sense of the robber's note. "The note says he has a gun, but we have to spend more time studying the rest of it," said the officer.






About you:




1. Tell about a time when you wanted to do something but you lost your nerve.




2. What do you like to spend time doing?




3. Did you ever visit a foreign country? If so, what was especially difficult to make sense of?

It's About Time

ANTILLO, ITALY. Vittoria Celemi and Sebastio Macaroni live in a small village in Sicily. They are in love. One day, Sebastio gives Vitorria an engagement ring and asks her to marry him. Vittoria accepts, but she adds, "Let's wait to get married until we can afford the perfect wedding! We don't have enough money now."




Vittoria begins to shop for a wedding dress, and she soon finds the perfect one. It's long, lacy, and beautiful. But it costs an arm and a leg! So Vittoria starts to save her money. She makes a small payment every year. She saves up for 40 years!




At long last, after a 40-year engagement, Vittoria can buy the wedding dress. She and Sebastio decide to tie the knot. At the wedding, Vittoria looks beautiful in her dress. The newlyweds are in seventh heaven. They dance, drink champagne, and eat caviar. Afterward, they ride off in a horse-drawn carriage. Their friends watch them and think, "It's about time!"

About You




1. Are you patient? Can you imagine waiting 40 years for anything? If so, what?




2. Is it important to be in love when you get married? Explain your ideas.




3. In your country, when a man wants to marry a woman, does he need to get permission from her parents? Does he give something to the woman or her family? Does the woman give something to the man or his family?




4.Vittoria's wedding dress cost an arm and a leg. Have you ever bought something that cost an arm and a leg? If so, what?

It's no Wonder

Saratov, Russia. One Day, Olga Petrovic isn't feeling well. She goes to see the doctor in her small town in southern Russia. "What's the matter?" he asks. I have a stomachache. And I'm running a fever", she tells him. The doctor takes an x-ray. He's shocked when he looks at it. There's a 12-inch piece of metal in Olga's stomach. "That takes the cake!" he thinks. "No wonder she has a stomachache! Olga remembers an operation she had 25 years ago. Apparently, the surgeon made a big mistake and left a medical instrument inside her. We need to get rid of it, "says the doctor. "You need an operation." Olga " has cold feet and wants to put it off. But her doctor wants her to have the operation right away. Now the medical instrument is gone and Olga is recovering.


ABOUT YOU



1. Have you ever had an operation?

I never had an operation.


2. How do you feel today? Do you have a stomachache, a headache, or a cold?

Today,I'm fine but a little sleepy.
Maybe I'm tired because I clean(ing) floors aimost everyday.


3. How often do you think doctors make serious mistakes? Tell about a time when you made a big mistake.

I think doctors make serious mistakes everyday in the
world.
Of course it's never forgiveable,but they are people too.

When I was 22 years old,I was working at a dentist's office.
A young staff wanted to leave her job.
I was listened to her complaint.
At last,she (leave) left the job.
She told the dentist's wife,who is the owner,"Miho said
your abuse".
The owner got angry and scold me so hard.
I had never (say) said the owner's abuse.
I couldn't distinguish that the staff was not a good girl.
I shouldn't have listened to the staff's complait.


4. Are you putting off something that you should be doing? If so, what?

My room was so dirty about a week ago.
My father (said) told me to clean my room.
I said that I'm tired because I worked so hard.


5. Is there something you won't do because you have cold feet?

No.
I always drink liquor (of) with Chinese medicine.
It makes my feet warm.


6. Do you have any bad habits that you's like to get rid of

Peeling my lip skin.
My lip is easy to become rough,so I often peel my lip
skin.
It's a bad habit.