After deciding to move into a new house, Liu Zhen, a full-time mother in Beijing, brought in a home organizer. As a result, she threw away 50 percent of her clothes, shoes and books. “The process of tidying up my house brought peace to me and made me feel organized at heart,” she said.

Like Liu, more Chinese people have started to ask for help from home organizers to follow simple lifestyles, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having a comfortable living environment became more necessary for people who were driven to work at home.

Yezi, 27, has loved organizing things since she was a child. Although other children would like to throw their schoolbags on the floor and run out to play with their friends, Yezi preferred to put her books and pencil box on the desk and help her mother fold shirts.

Today Yezi still practices tidying up in her own life. She thinks it has quite a few advantages. It helps people look into themselves by reviewing their lives. It brings beauty to one’s living space. It’s also a way to improve relationships between people.

Did Yezi face any difficulties while organizing things? Yes. It is a tradition to treasure things in China. Most people are not in the habit of throwing away useless things. “I’m trying to get people out of it,” Yezi added.

It’s 6：00 p. m. now. It’s time for Matt to do his homework（家庭作业）. He opens his math book. “Uh oh,” Matt says when he looks in his pencil box.          1             “Where is my pencil?” says Matt. “I need（需要）it to do my homework.”

Matt looks in his schoolbag. He doesn’t see his pencil.              2              No pencil is in it.

“Mom, I cannot find my pencil,” says Matt.

               3            She smiles（笑）and says, “Look in the mirror（镜子）.”

“What? My pencil isn’t in the mirror,” says Matt.

But when Matt looks in the mirror, he finds his pencil. It’s behind his ear.

Alice was an eleven-year-old girl. She always thought herself right and never agreed with others.

One afternoon her father came back and said, “Here are two tickets for a film. Your mother and I will be busy tonight. Take Fred to the cinema.”

The girl liked to see films. She was happy and after dinner she went to the movies with Fred. The two children enjoyed themselves at the cinema. After the film, it was late. They took a bus and soon got home. There was no light in the rooms. Alice was afraid to stay in the dark room and said, “Go to turn the light on, Fred.”

Fred went into the room. For a long time he came out, but it was still dark there.

“What’s the matter?” asked Alice.

“I can’t see the switch (开关) in the dark.”

“How foolish you are!” said Alice. “You turn on the light first and then you can see the switch!”