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．

    Stephen Hawking was born in England in 1942. He is one of the most well-known scientists on space and time in the world. Hawking is researching how the universe began and how it ends. He is called the King of the Universe.

    When he studied math and science at Oxford University, he became seriously ill, which made him unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines. Till now, he can't move or feed himself and he is helped to dress, eat and wash by a nurse. However, he has a wheelchair with a special computer, with which he can communicate with others.

    In spite of all these difficulties, he refused to give up his hope of living and went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University. In 1965, he got a Doctor's Degree of philosophy(哲学). Because of his serious illness, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he is respected by people in the world. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It has been sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China to give lectures. His self-confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply.

    From Hawking's unusual experiences , we learn that nobody should lose hope, no matter how bad the situation is .As he once said, “Life is not fair, you just have to do the best you can in your own situation.”

    A farmer had a cow. He took very good care of this cow and one day when it was ill, he was very worried. He telephoned the vet.

    "What's the problem?" The vet asked him when he arrived.

    "My cow's ill," the farmer said. "I don't know what's the matter with her. She's lying down and won't eat. She's making a strange noise."

    The vet looked over the cow. "She's certainly ill," he said, "and she needs to take some very strong medicine."

    He took a bottle out of his box, put two pills into his hand and said, "Give her these. The pills should make her better."

    "How should I give them to her?" the farmer asked.

    The vet gave him a tube (管子)and said, "Put this tube in her mouth, then put the pills in the tube and blow. That'll make it."

    The next day the vet came to the farm again. The farmer was sitting outside his house and looked more worried.

    "How's your cow?" the vet asked.

    "No change," the farmer said, "and I'm feeling very strange myself."

    "Oh?" the vet said, "Why?"

    "I did what you said," the farmer answered. "I put the tube in the cow's mouth and then put two pills down it."

    "And?" the vet asked.

    "The cow blew first," the farmer said.

    Mrs Brown lives in a small town in Australia. There is a big farm near the town.

    On Saturday morning, she goes to her small shop. She opens the window of the shop and looks at the farm. It's very beautiful. There are many cows, horses and small animals on the farm. Suddenly she sees a kangaroo with her baby. It's interesting to see them! The mother kangaroo is wearing an old jacket. They stand there and look hungry. Mrs Brown gives some bread to them. The kangaroos get it. Then they become happy and jump away. Suddenly a wallet drops on the floor from the jacket pocket. She picks it up and finds $ 300 and a photo in it. That is a man's photo with his name "John" on it. "John? I have a brother. His name is also John,"Mrs Brown says. "Is this man my lost brother?" she thinks.

    She takes the wallet with her and begins to look for the man. She asks many people in the town, and then she comes to the farm and asks the farmer. Hey! It is John, her lost brother. They are very happy to see each other.

    Once there was a man traveling in a faraway village. As he was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped. He found that these huge elephants were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains(锁链), no cages. It was clear that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their ropes but for some reason, they did not.

    He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and didn't try to get away." Well,' the trainer said," when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they still believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can hold them, so they never try to break free."

    How could it be? These animals could at any time break free from their ropes. But because they were always stuck right where they were, they believed they couldn't.

    Just like the elephants, how many of us go through life believing that we cannot do something, just because we failed at it once before?

           We should never give up the struggle(斗争) in life.