People often said Thomas Edison was the greatest genius(天才) of his age. There are only a few men in all of history, who have changed the lives of other men as much as the inventor of the first useful electric light. But Edison could never be pleased only because someone said he was a genius. “There is no such a thing as genius,” Edison said. He thought what people called genius was mostly hard work.

     But Edison was a thinker as well as a worker. From his earliest days as a child he wondered about the secrets of nature. He tried to understand them, and then he tried to learn what he could usefully do with them.

     Edison enjoyed thinking. He knew that most people would do almost anything instead of the difficult work of thinking, especially if they do not think very often. But he knew, too, that thinking could give men enjoyment and pleasure.

     Edison could not understand why anyone could not be interested in life. As he loved to think, he also loved to work. On the day he became 75 years old, someone asked him what idea he had about life. “Work,” he answered, “Discovering the secrets of nature and using them to make men happier.” He said he had enough inventions in his mind to give him another 100 years of work.

    Once upon a time, there was a lion and a mouse living in the forest.

    One day, when the lion was sleeping, the mouse ran onto his face. The lion woke up. He was very angry and caught the mouse. “I will eat you!” the lion said angrily.

    The mouse cried out,“If you do not kill me, I would be happy to give you a reward(回报).”The lion laughed at the idea. He did not think a little mouse could help such a big strong animal like himself. But he still let the mouse go.

    After a few days, it happened. The lion was caught by hunters' net(网). He tried his best to leave, after half a day, he still couldn't get out of the net. He was very sad, he thought he was dying. At that time the lion felt something biting(啃，咬) on the ropes. It was the mouse. Just before dark, the work was done. There was a hole in the net. The lion got free through the hole. He was very happy and thanked the mouse, “My friend, you have saved me. I will never doubt the power(能力) of small animals like you.”

    From then on, the lion and the mouse became friends.

    When the three children arrived at the tunnel, they looked up at the trees above it.

    "What's happening?" Peter said. "Look at the trees. They're moving."

    He was right. The trees were sliding down the hill.

    "It's a landslide," Roberta said. "There has been a lot of rain. The earth is soft. It is moving and bringing the trees with it."

    "They are going to fall on the railway line," Phyllis said. "There'll be an accident if the train hits them. We must stop the next train."

    "How do we do that?" Peter said. "The next train is arriving at 11:29. That's in five minutes. And the train is only about fifteen kilometers away."

    "We can run towards the train and wave to the driver," Phyllis said.

    "He won't think there is anything wrong," Roberta said. "We always wave to him."

    "We need something red to wave,"Peter said."Red is for danger."

    "My skirtis red,"Phyllis said."I'll tear pieces off."

    "Mother will be angry if you do that,"Roberta said."Skirts are expensive."

    "People may die if there is an accident,"Peter said."Skirts aren't important."

    Phyllis tore strips(条)from the bottom of her skirt.

    "We need sticks to tie the strips to,"Peter said.

    The children ran to a nearby tree. With his knife, Peter cut off three thin branches. He tied each of the strips of red skirt to one of the branches.

    "Now we have red flags," he said. "When we wave these, the engine driver will know something is wrong. He will stop the train and ask us what the matter is."

    The children ran through the tunnel and waited at the other side for the train to come. They had to wait for a long time. Peter thought the watch must be wrong, but it was the train that was late. Then, the train arrived. The children waved their flags. Roberta was so excited that she fainted(晕).

    The engine driver saw the red flags and the children. He knew something was wrong. He stopped the train. Peter and Phyllis ran towards the engine. They shouted to the driver that there were trees on the line. The engine driver climbed down from his engine. He hurried to where Roberta was lying on the ground in a faint. He picked her up and carried her to the train and put her in a comfortable carriage.

    Susan has a big and happy family. Alan and Linda are her grandparents. They are old but very kind. They like reading at home, and sometimes they take a walk in a park. Susan's father Peter is a teacher. He teaches in a middle school. He likes playing sports, such as volleyball, basketball and tennis. He doesn't like taking a walk in the park. That isn't interesting, he thinks. Susan's mother Jasmine is a beautiful lady. She goes to work from Monday to Friday. She is a policewoman. Peter has a brother. His name is John. He and his wife live(生活) in the big family, too. They have a daughter called Joanna. She and Susan are in the same school. She has many school things. She puts them in the right places. So her room is always tidy.

    On a sunny Sunday, ten fully well-dressed people were standing at the airport (机场) waiting for the parachute (降落伞) training. Suddenly, with the help of a guide dog, a blind (瞎的) man was coming with a parachute on his back.

    "Do you also come for the parachute training (训练)?" someone asked.

    "Yes!" the blind man answered in a loud voice.

    "Ah-" the people cried in surprise.

    "I know. Are you wondering how a blind man can parachute?" the blind man said happily, "It's not difficult. I'll parachute like you."

    "But how do you know when to jump?" someone asked.

    "Although I'm blind, I can hear! When the bell for the training rings, I'll carry my dog to follow you." the blind man replied.

    "Then how do you know when to open the parachute?" someone asked again.

    "The coach (教练) says, counting to five from the time I jump down, I can open it." replied the blind man.

    "But when you are about to fall to the ground (落地), how do you know when to fall to the ground? It is the most dangerous minute."

    "It's easy. When my dog is afraid into crying and the rope (绳) in my hands becomes light, I'll be ready for falling to the ground." They looked at each other, with no words.

    At the end of the training, the coach told everybody," In this training, Robert gets the highest score (得分) for his best action."

    "Who is Robert?" they asked.

    "He," the coach replied, pointing at the blind young man.

    When talking about Chinese Women's Volleyball Team, we have to talk about one person, Lang Ping. She uses her strong will and professional ability to help Chinese Women's Volleyball Team go to the world stage。

    Dating back to 2013, it was so hard for Lang to make her decision of keeping on her volleyball career. At that time, there was something wrong with her body. But later, when she thought about the future of Chinese Women's Volleyball Team, on April 25, 2013, she firmly accepted the position—coach(教练) of Chinese Women's Volleyball Team.

    Since then, she started her tough and busy life of volleyball again. It was not easy to make the women volleyball players better— trained. She met many difficulties when improving their skills of playing. But she never said impossible. Whatever happened, she treated the volleyball players seriously every year.

    Finally, all her efforts paid off. In 2016, Chinese Women's Volleyball Team won the gold medal in the Rio Olympics. At the same time, people in the world felt the charm of the spirit of Chinese Women's Volleyball Team again.