A man bought a donkey at the market one day and took him home. Now the man owned several donkeys already and he knew each one's character very well. One of the donkeys was very strong and brave. Another always wanted to make people happy by working quickly but soon got tired. One donkey was very lazy. He hated going to work in the morning and he did as little as he       possibly could all day long. When the other animals were being loaded up(装载), he always tried to be the last so that he would get the lightest load.
The man led the new donkey into the yard. For a moment the new donkey stood sniffing(闻，嗅) at his new friends. Then, without hesitation, he came up to the lazy donkey and began eating comfortably at his side.
Though it was late in the day, the man immediately led the new donkey out of the yard, straight back to the market.
"You can't have given him a fair trial yet," said the seller, "It is only ten minutes since you bought him."
"I don't need to try him any more,"replied the man, "I know just what he is like from the friend he chose for himself. Take him away and give me my money back. I can do without donkeys like him."

    Lots of students know what a marathon (马拉松赛跑) is, but perhaps they don't know what a triathlon is. The triathlon is a sport that has three parts - swimming, bicycling and running. It is not an easy sport, but a man named Joe Salter is very good at it. A few months ago, he finished a special triathlon — he juggled (抛起接住) three balls all the time during the triathlon. That is to say, he kept on throwing and catching three balls while he was swimming, riding a bicycle and running.

    31-year-old Joe is from Florida, the USA. He loves juggling and he started at the age of 8. Joe did well in juggling. Later, he got the idea to do a triathlon and juggle at the same time to make it more fun. Many juggling fans laughed at his idea and thought it was just a joke. But Joe didn't give up and he kept practicing it. Because of his hard work, he made it at last.

    Talking about his triathlon, Joe said swimming was the hardest part. “It was difficult and complex(复杂的)," he said. “I basically only used my legs, so it took quite a lot of work. Also, swimming in open water made it a little harder. It was not like in a pool.”

    My friend Mr. Smith is a famous doctor and has a hospital. So he has enough money to travel all over the world. And he's been to a lot of places of interest. He likes to play with children and has a lot of little friends. They often ask him to tell them all kinds of funny things he saw. It makes them happy and his room is always full of children when he's free.

    It was my little son's seventh birthday yesterday. The boy wanted to ask his old friend Mr. Smith to the party. He called Mr. Smith himself and told him about it. The doctor accepted his invitation happily.

    Mr. Smith came on time, with a nice present in his hand. After dinner the children sat around the traveler and asked him to tell them some funny stories. Mr. Smith agreed and his stories made them laugh again and again. At last he told them the funniest story. He said, “Once I reached a city on a foggy day. The fog was the thickest in the world…”

    “Please wait a moment, Mr. Smith,” said my son, “It's said that the fog in London is the thickest in the world.”

    “You're right, my clever boy.” said the funny doctor.” The city had much fog that day…” “What's it, then?” the boy couldn't wait to ask again.

    “The fog was so thick that I couldn't see it at all.” the funny doctor said with a smile.

    For his eleventh birthday, Lin was given a gift that would shape his life. On that day his father took him to the Children's Activity Centre and said he could choose any course that interested him. There was just one

Requirement: Lin would have to promise to study it for at least one year.

    To that point Lin had had many hobbies, but none kept his interest for more than a week or two. His mum once gave him a bag of stamps to encourage stamp collecting. That hobby lasted a week. Then his father got him some paints hoping that Lin's artistic side would shine through. Those paints were now under his bed, still unopened. This time Lin's parents would let him decide.

    Lin's eyes moved down the noticeboard that listed all the courses on offer. He stopped at "Photography". He liked the idea of taking beautiful pictures but the notice said that each student needed their own camera. Although Lin's family weren't poor, they weren't rich either, and a camera cost a lot of money. He continued looking.

    The next course to catch his eye was "Language Art". He didn't even know what that meant. His father explained that it taught people how to make public speeches. Lin, a shy boy, could think of nothing worse.

    Then he saw it. "Cooking" sounded like something he'd like to do. It was inexpensive and convenient. It could be done alone and it was also creative.

    Based on Lin's hobby history, his dad had doubts, but he agreed. Much to his parents' surprise, Lin kept his promise. He studied cooking at the Centre every Saturday, and practised at home, making delicious meals for his family. Everyone looked forward to birthdays, when they could eat his cakes. Lin got great satisfaction from the pleasure his food brought to others.

    The months turned to years but his hobby never changed again.

    Now Lin is an adult and runs a successful restaurant. When customers say they enjoy his meal, he still gets the same pleasure he did as a child, and remembers the special gift he received "all those years ago.

    There is a pilot (飞行员) and four people in a small plane. Suddenly there is something wrong with the machine while it is flying in the air. The plane begins to fall down. The pilot tells the people there are only four parachutes (降落伞). They all become worried and start to make excuses.

    "I must go," says the pilot, taking one of the parachutes and jumps out. The first person stands up, "I'm a doctor," he says. "I help people live longer and I save lives." He takes a parachute and jumps out.

    The next person says, "I must have a parachute. I am a very clever person. I have to attend an important match. I know I will win the game because I'll be the cleverest person there." He picks up a pack and jumps out.

Two men are left—an old businessman and a young mountain climber. At this time the plane is going down fast. The businessman says, "Young man, I am old but you are still young. You take the last parachute." The young mountain climber smiles. "Don't worry," He says. "We can both jump out because there are still two parachutes. Just now the clever man jumped out with my backpack."