I know exactly how you feel! I recently had a tough time working on a group project, too.

My teacher put me with three people (whom I’d like to call Cookie, Cupcake and Volcano). Our task was to pick a special place and make a brochure about it.

At our first meeting, Cupcake said, “Let’s pick Andaman and Nicobar! They have super-cute swimsuits (泳衣).”

“That is so true!” said Cookie. “Speaking of swimsuits, there are some get-ready-for-summer sales happening right now.”

“Really?” cried Cupcake excitedly.

I turned to Volcano. “Which place do you think we should pick?”

Volcano shrugged (耸肩) and said to me, “I don’t care. But what happened to your hair, Arizona?”

I was getting the impression that no one but me planned to work on the brochure.

When I came home after school, my mom could tell I was stressed out. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“No one else in my group is doing any work,” I told her. “So I decided that the only way to get the brochure done was for me to do it myself.”

“Well,” my mom said with a smile, “I doubt you’re responsible for everyone else’s part. Why don’t you talk to your teacher about it?”

When I talked to my teacher the next day, he suggested I talk with my group directly about my worries.

And at our next group meeting, I brought up my concerns in a friendly way. “Since we’re working as a team, we’re all depending on each other to do the best we can,” I said. “If anyone is having trouble, maybe we can talk about solutions (解决办法) together.”

Surprisingly, Cupcake, Cookie, and Volcano all ended up doing their share.

So, dear Overworked, the next time you’re stuck doing way more work than anyone else, I think you should: 1. Talk with your group in a friendly way; 2. Discuss your concerns with your teacher; 3. Do the best job you can on your part of the task.

My wife and I spent two weeks in London last year. We went there in the autumn. We think it is the best season to visit England. The weather is usually good and there aren’t too many tourists in October.

We stayed in a small hotel in the West End. It was convenient as we did most of our sightseeing on foot. Taxis were too expensive, we couldn’t understand the bus routes, and my wife didn’t like traveling under the ground. She said it made her feel sick.

We went to look at the places which all tourists visit. We saw Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery. We went shopping in Oxford Street and spent too much money. What we liked most, though, was going to the theatre. We didn’t have the chance to see such wonderful plays at home. A lot of people say English food is bad. We didn’t think so. It is true that most of the restaurants are French or Italian or Chinese, but we had some very good meals.

In fact, we enjoyed our holiday so much that we have already booked again for this year. We are going to take our umbrellas, though. I’m sure we’ll need them sometimes.