Peter, a high school student, was pretty busy with school, and he was on the soccer team. High school was hard, because everyone wanted to have nice clothes, hang out, drive cars, and all these cost money. Peter’s father was the sort of guy that believed you had to earn whatever you got, so he wasn’t just about to hand over lots of money for Peter to use to have fun. So, he had to get a job.

During his freshman year summer vacation, his classmate got him a job working on a hay（干草）farm. He threw hay up into wagons as the tractor drove around fields, and then they stacked（剁起）it in the hot barn. It was a hot, low-paying job.

He once worked a few nights a week at a grocery store. He put things on the shelf. It was a lot of lifting and carrying, and his arms were strong from this and the previous job. It was dull and didn’t pay much.

He took some time off when soccer got serious, but the following summer he tried working at a lumber yard It was hot outside, but he got a lot of exercise lifting and carrying things like boards and drywall. He also learned a lot about building supplies. It still didn’t pay well.

From there, he spent a year doing some tutoring for a friend of the family, but that was Piecemeal. His first real job came the last year at school, when he fixed registers and worked on computers at a big box store. It was his favorite job yet, but it still didn’t pay well.

What Peter realized with all of these jobs was that he needed a better-paying job! The only way to get that was to get trained or educated He could go to school and get a 2-year degree in an office or technical position. His other choices were going to a 4-year college or joining the army. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do yet, but he knew he had to do something. Jobs were a lot of work, money was hard to earn, but he liked staying busy and being able to buy things. Peter wanted the most out of life, and that meant education.

For high school leavers starting out in the working world, it is very important to learn particular skills and practice how to behave in an interview or how to find all internship(实习). In some countries, schools have programs to help students onto the path to work. In the United States, however, such programs are still few and far between.

Research shows that if high schools provide career-related courses, students are likely to get higher earnings in later years. In Germany, students as young as 13 and 14 are expected to do internships. German companies work with schools to make sure that young people get the education they need for future employment.

But in America, education reform (改革) programs focus on how well students do in exams instead of bringing them into contact with the working world. Harvard Education school professor Robert Schwartz has criticized education reformers for trying to place all graduates directly on the four-year college track. Schwartz argued that this approach leaves the country’s most vulnerable(易受影响的) kids with no jobs and no skills.

Schwartz believed that the best career programs encourage kids to go for higher education while also teaching them valuable practical skills at high school. James Madison High School in New York, for example, encourages students to choose classes on career-based courses. The school then helps them gain on-the-job experience in those fields while they’re still at high school.

However, even for teens whose schools encourage them to connect with work, the job market is daunting. In the US, unemployment rates for 16-to 19-year-olds are above 20 percent for the third summer in a row. “The risk is that if teenagers miss out on the summer job experience, they become part of this generation of teens who had trouble in landing a job,” said Michael, a researcher in the US.

People with bad manners are refused in the world of work. They do not get good jobs. Their business does not succeed. 【小题1】 They are liked and supported. They have friends, luck and success. When you improve your manners, you improve your chances of success. The following are several examples of good manners.

Be polite to everyone you meet. 【小题2】 For example, when you go on a job interview, be polite lo desk clerks as they can affect your chances of success. Use these magic words as often as possible: Hello, Please, Excuse me and Sorry. And use the two most important words: Thank you.

Use good manners in all of your communications. Examples: Return telephone calls and email messages within 24 hours; If you receive a rude message, do not respond with rudeness, but be polite; Do not interrupt (打断) people. 【小题3】

【小题4】 Cutting in front of other cars only gains you a few seconds of time. If you are polite, patient and calm, you will arrive safely and feel more relaxed. A good sense of humor shows good manners. 【小题5】 Before starting important conversations, meals or meetings, turn off your mobile phone. Ignoring people while using your phone is impolite.