For March 17, 2026

 Thank you for your wonderful participation and dedication to learning English!

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For Mar 17, 2026

1. "Nature Eye" (p.16~17 of the Dec 2025 issue of Studio Classroom magazine.)

2. “Why Worry” handout. 

3. Survival English if you'd like to/there is time left: Culture File 40 (p.93), unit 40 (p.46). Present Perfect (p.76).

For November 12, 2024 (Free auditing, please invite anyone interested in learning English to join us)

Thank you for the great work!

For November 12, 2024:

1. Review and practice "Intonation" , "Linked Sounds", and “Reduced Sounds” using class materials.

2. "Summer Skincare" (p. 44-45 of Studio Classroom magazine).

3. "Knowing Your Worth" handout. 

4. Survival English if you'd like to/there is time left, if you already got the book: Culture File 14 (p.87), unit 14 (p.20). Articles (p.72).

5. Pronunciation.

6. Reduced Sounds (Part 3). 

Little Boy Touches Hearts

A story to share...

* * * * * * *

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. Cashier said: You don't have enough money to buy this doll, sorry.

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: "Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?" The old lady replied: "You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear." Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. "It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her." I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall." Then he showed me a very nice photo of himself. He was laughing. He then told me "I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me."

"I love my mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister." Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll!"

"OK" he said, "I hope I do have enough." I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: "Thank you God for giving me enough money!"

Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!" "I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose." "My mommy loves white roses."

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.. I finished my shopping in a totally different state of mind from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

動人心弦的小男孩 (中文由老編西歪翻譯)

我在「塔杰」商店閒逛時，看到收銀員將一些錢退還給小男孩。這男孩不過5、6歲。收銀員說：『抱歉！你買這娃娃的錢不够。』

小男孩轉向他旁邊的老婦人： 「奶奶！妳也認為我的錢不够嗎？」老婦人回道：「親愛的！你知道買這個娃娃的錢是不够的。」 她要小男孩呆在那裡5分鐘，她一下就回來。 她迅速離開了。 小男孩的手仍然握著娃娃。

最後我向他走去，問他這個娃娃你想給誰。『這是我妹妹的最愛，非常想要的聖誕節娃娃。她一直認為聖誕老人會帶娃娃來給她的。」我告訴他不用擔心，聖誕老人最後可能會帶給她的。但他哀傷地回答我『不！聖誕老人不可能將它帶到她現在的地方給她。我必須將娃娃交給我媽，當她去那裡的時候可以給我妹妹。』他說話時的眼睛是哀傷的。『我妹妹已經和上帝在一起。爸爸說 媽媽很快也將要去見上帝，因此我認為她可以將娃娃帶給我妹妹。』

我的心臟幾乎要停止了。

小男孩看我說：『我叫爸爸告訴媽媽現在不要走，讓她等我從購物中心回來。』然後他拿出一張他自己非常漂亮的相片給我看。他笑著告訴我『我要媽媽帶著我的相片，這樣她就不會忘記我了。』 『我愛我的媽媽，我希望她不要離開我，但是爸爸說她必須去找我妹妹。』然後他安靜地用哀傷的眼睛再看著娃娃。

我趕緊摸著錢包對小男孩說『我們再檢查一下，說不定您有足够的錢買玩偶! 』『好呀！』他說『我希望有足够的錢』。沒讓他看見，我塞了一些錢到他的錢包中，我們開始數錢。買娃娃的錢足够了，甚之還有剩餘呢。小男孩說：『謝謝上帝給了我足够的錢!』

然而他看著我補充說『昨晚睡前，我要求上帝讓我的錢能足够買這個娃娃，因此媽媽能將它帶給我妹妹。祂聽見我了! 』『我也想有足够的錢買一朵白玫瑰給我媽媽，但我不敢要求上帝太多。但祂給的錢足够買娃娃和一朵白玫瑰了。』

『我媽媽喜歡白玫瑰』。

幾分鐘後，老婦人回來了。我也就提了購物籃離開了。我從一開始就在完全不同的心境下購物。小男孩一直無法離開我的心境。我想起兩天前當地報紙的一篇文章，提及一位醉酒卡車司機，撞上了一輛載著年輕少婦和一個小女孩的汽車。小女孩當場死亡，母親呈現彌留狀態。 這個家庭必須決定是否要拔出維持生命機器的插管 ，因為年輕少婦不可能從昏迷中恢復。

他就是這家庭的小男孩？碰到小男孩的二天之後，我看了報紙年輕少婦過世了。我不自主的買了一束白玫瑰，來到喪家，年輕少婦的遺體在她埋葬前讓人瞻仰與最後許願。她在那裡，裝在棺木中，在她的手中握著一朵白玫瑰和小男孩的相片，娃娃則放置在她的胸口。我離開了這裡，眼淚奪眶而出，覺得我的人生已經永遠改變了。至今，小男孩對他母親和妹妹的愛，仍然難以想像。

就在一轉眼工夫，一位醉酒司機奪去了他的所有。

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.'

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Bryan never thought twice about being paid.
This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me..'

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan .

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything' s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'


There is an old saying 'What goes around comes around.' Today I sent you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on. Let this light shine.

Don't delete it, don't return it. Simply, pass this on to a friend.

Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

~GOD BLESS!~

A Story about Eighty-Seven-Old Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.

I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?'

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, 'Of course you may!' and she gave me a giant squeeze.

'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?' I asked.

She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...'

'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

'I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this
whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.'

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, 'We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.'

She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The Rose.'

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!

These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

'Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.'