I was the typical“ I can't” child-whatever my mother told or asked me to do was immediately followed by my cry，“I can't．”As a result，very few tasks or goals that I set out to achieve were ever completed．

    One evening，my mother called me into the family room．“I want you to read this article，”Mother began．“It's about Marlo Thomas．She tells how a simple poem that she was forced to learn by her father changed her life • She went from saying 'I can't' to 'I can' •According to this article，she was able to reorganize her life and her career by learning the principles（原则）in the poem．”

    I took the small magazine from Mother and looked down at the pages．There was Marlo-my idol．Beside her photo was the poem my mother had spoken of，a simple poem entitled，“I Can”．

    “I want you to memorize that poem，”Mother said firmly．“Mama，”I belly-acheD． “I can't learn that poem．It's too long．”

“It's not too tong and you can learn it.1 want you to know it perfectly by this time tomorrow，”said my mother．Unwillingly，I went back to my bedroom with the magazine．With a heavy heart，Ithrew myself into the bed and began my task．

    “Can't is a word that is the enemy to ambition，”I began．I repeated the line．I repeated it again and again．“An enemy ambush to shatter your will…”I continued the process until I proudly recited the poem the following evening．It has now become my principle．Marlo 1 homas did not know me，but her story forever changed my life．

    Saying “I can”helped me to get through the worst moments of my life: Saying “I can” encouraged me to complete things I would have otherwise seen as out of my reach．A simple poem learned at seven is a poem that will support me to seventy-seven，maybe even longer．

    It is May, 2050. Frank and Mary wake up in their comfortable house in the morning. They turn on the bedroom computer to read the latest news. They keep on reading The Times for many years. The only difference is that they changed from paper newspapers to electronic newspapers. There is the usual news about space: another space flight has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet.

    After breakfast, as they watch the screen, Mary orders the cooking robot to make coffee for them. Frank is a computer engineer, working for several companies. He is going to take part in a video conference with his partners all around the world.

    Mary is a medical researcher. She usually works at home. Now she is looking at the shopping channels while her secretary robot is helping her check a new type of medicine.

    Their daughter, Louise, has her own study room at home. She goes to school only one day a week, to play with other students. Louise is studying Chinese in the present. Chinese has become an important language in the world.

    According to the family doctor, Louise will live to at least 130 years old. Her wish is to work for a few decades (十年) and then spend her time on music and painting.

    James Cleveland Owens was the son of a farmer and the grandson of black slaves. His family moved to Cleveland when he was 9. There, a school teacher asked the youth his name. "J.C., "he replied.

    She thought he had said "Jesse", and he had a new name.

    Owens ran his first race at age 13. After high school, he went to Ohio State University. He had to work part time so as to pay for his education. As a second-year student in the Big Ten games in 1935, he set even more records than he would in the Olympic Games a year later.

    A week before the Big Ten meet, Owens accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. His back hurt so much that he could not exercise all week, and he had to be helped in and out of the car that drove him to the meet. He refused to listen to the suggestions that he give up and said he would try, event by event. He did try, and the results are in the record book.

    The stage was set for Owens victory at the Olympic Games in Berlin the next year, and his success would come to be regarded as not only athletic but also political. Hitler did not congratulate any of the African-American winners.

    "It was all right with me," he said years later. "I didn't go to Berlin to shake hands with him, anyway."
    Having returned from Berlin, he received no telephone calls from the president of his own country, either. In fact, he was not honored by the United States until 1976, four years before his death.

Owens' Olympic victories made little difference to him. He earned his living by looking after a school playground, and accepted money to race against cars, trucks, motorcycles and dogs.

    "Sure, it bothered me," he said later." But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat."

    In time, however, his gold medals changed his life. "They have kept me alive over the years," he once said. "Time has stood still for me. That golden moment dies hard."

My name is Zhao Nan. I'm {#blank#}1{#/blank#} eleven-year-old schoolgirl. I'm from Zhejiang Province. I'm in Class 2, Grade 7 in Sunshine School. 

{#blank#}2{#/blank#}is the woman in the red jacket? She's my aunt, my {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (father) sister. She's in the same school as me. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}she's not a student. She works in {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (we) school library. She likes her job. She {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (think) it is interesting and relaxing. She can read {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (book) there, too. My aunt is good at English, but I am not. So she often helps me with my English. She likes {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (spell) English words with me. She teaches me to sing English songs, {#blank#}9{#/blank#}. She says, "Nannan, you can {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (do) well in English. "

One afternoon, my son Eric asked me, "Are all people the same even if (即使) they have skins (皮肤) of different colors?" It was a difficult question. I 1 for a minute and said, "Let's go to a 2 shop. I'll show you something."

At the shop, we bought some apples in different colors--red, green and yellow. After we 3 , I told Eric, "It's time to 4 your question." I put one apple of each color on the table. Eric watched them with a surprised(惊讶的) look on his 5 . "Eric, can you tell me which apple you like best?" Eric picked up the red apple 6 . Then I peeled (剥皮) all the apples and put them back on the table. "OK, Eric, now tell me which one you like best." He said, "I can't tell. They all look 7 now." I said, "Eat them and see which one is which." He ate and said, "I got it, Dad. People are like 8 . They are in different sizes and 9 . On the outside of the apples, some of them may not look as 10 as the others, but are the same inside."

Eric knew everything. I didn't need to say or do anything.