Sometime ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it repaired, as there are a lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception.  I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.

    The second shop, though a little more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth. I realized that my approach must be wrong so I decided to try another way. I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind.  I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair? Twenty pounds," I said. "OK. I'll give you twenty pounds for it,"he said. "It's got a slightly broken leg," I added. "Yes, I saw that.  It's nothing," the shopkeeper replied.

    Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell after the repair is done.""I'll buy it," I said.  "What do you mean? You've just sold it to me," the man asked in surprise.  "Yes, I know. But I've changed my mind.  I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." "You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. He shouted, "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You're right,"I said, "And what would you have said if I had walked in and asked you to repair my chair?" "I wouldn't have agreed to do it. We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble.  But I'll repair this for you.  Five pounds will be the cost,"the man answered. He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.

    Tim Berners-Lee is not the most famous inventor in the world．However，his invention has changed our lives．

    He was born in London，England in 1955．When he was a small boy，Tim was interested in playing with electrical things．He studied science at Oxford University．He made his first computer from an old television at the age of 21．

    Tim started working on early computers．At that time，they were much bigger than now．He worked in England then Switzerland．Tim was really interested in two things，computers and how the brain works．How could the brain connect so many facts so quickly？He had to work with people all over the world．They shared information about computers．It was hard to manage all the information．He answered the same questions again and again．took a lot of time．It was even difficult for computers in the same office in Switzerland to share information．Tim also forgot things easily．Could a computer work like a brain？Could it"talk"to other computers？

    There was an Internet already but it was difficult to use．In 1989，Tim Berners﹣Lee invented the World Wide Web（WWW） all by himself．This had a special language that helped computers talk to each other on the Internet．When people wanted to share information with others，they used the World Wide Web．The Internet grew quickly after that．

    Tim Berners﹣Lee doesn't think he did anything special．He says that all of the ideas about the Internet were already there．All he did was to put them together．He says that many other people worked together to make the Internet what it is today．

    Most inventors want to become rich．But Tim gave away the World Wide Web for nothing．He now works in America．He helps people share technology and wants the Internet to be free for everyone to use．Maybe he is the most important but least famous inventor in the world today!

    As a volunteer teacher, I traveled a long way to a small village school in Longzhou, Guangxi. On my way there, I thought about the village, the school, and the children there. However, my heart sank when I arrived there. It wasn't what I expected. It didn't look like a school at all! The school had only three rooms, one for Grades 1, 2 and 3, and the other for Grades 4, 5 and 6. There was a third one for me.

    The children welcomed me warmly on my first day. They asked me a lot of questions, and I told them stories about myself and my life in Beijing. The next day, I gave them a test to find out their level（水平）. To my surprise, though the test was very easy, over half of the students couldn't pass it. I knew they needed me.

    I was busy preparing lessons, reading test papers every night. I enjoyed teaching these lovely and hard-working children, and I could see that they were making progress with my help. I have also learned a lot from them. I understand their lives better, and we are now good friends.

    I have worked in Longzhou for a year now. I'm happy, and the experience has been very useful for me. I love the small village and the children. In fact, I would like to continue working here.

Hello! My name is Zhao Na. I'm nine years old. I am in Rizhao, Shandong. My first name is Na and my last name is Zhao. My English name is Julia. I like green. My telephone number is 1238-6517. I have a good friend. She is English, but now she is in China. Her name is Helen Smith. Helen is her first name and Smith is her last name. Her Chinese name is Wang Min. She is nine too. Her favorite color is red. Her telephone number is 2816-3018. Helen and I are in the same school. We study in the same class.