“Well, we're in our new house. Let's get a new pet to get along with it,” Mrs. Brown said to her husband.” That sounds like a pretty good idea,” he answered. “Do you want to see the ads in the newspaper？” “No. Let's go to the animal shelter. Many pets there need homes. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we can both go,” she said.
    The next morning the Browns met Mr Snow at the animal shelter. “We want to be sure that the pets here go to good homes,” Mr Snow said, “So I need to ask you some questions.”
    After they talked for a while, the Browns decided to get a small dog. It wouldn't need a big house or a big yard. A small dog would bark（吠）and warn them if someone tried to break into their house. After Mr Snow gave the Browns a book on pet care, they chose one and wanted to take her home right away. But the animal doctor hadn't checked her yet. So Mr Snow told them to return on Sunday.
    On Sunday afternoon the Browns went to the animal shelter. The animal doctor said, “Shadow has had all of her shots(预防针). She will be healthy.” The browns thanked the doctor and took Shadow home.

Lasting a Lifetime

      Sidney Wilson's watch was old and it did not work well. It was either too fast or too slow. It spent more time in the repair shop than on his wrist (手腕). So he decided to buy himself a new watch.

      He went into a jewelry shop and said to the saleswoman behind the counter.

      “I want to buy a new watch, please. Show me the best watch you have.”

      The saleswoman smiled happily. This was the kind of customer she liked.

     “Certainly, sir,” she said, and showed Sidney a gold watch.

      “This watch is made of gold and has twenty-four jewels,” she explained.

      “How much is it?” Sidney asked.

      “$5,000,” the saleswoman said.

      “Oh,” Sidney said. “I'm sorry. You did not understand me. I want to see the best watch you have for under $100.”

      The sales woman now lost interest in Sidney. She pushed some cheap watches at him. “Choose one from these,” she said rudely.       “They are all under $100.”

      Sidney picked up one of the watches, “Will it last me a lifetime?” he asked.

     “Of course,” the saleswoman said.

     “Then I'll buy it,” Sidney told her. He paid for the watch and left the shop.

      Two days later the watch stopped. Sidney could not make it work again. He took it back to the shop.

      “This watch is broken,” he said to the saleswoman. “You told me it would last me a lifetime.”

     “When you bought it, sir,” the saleswoman said, “you didn't look very well.”

Choose the best answer to each question about the story.

B

    Tears filled my eyes when I stood in our room. I was washing new jeans and a shirt of my 16-year- old stepson(继子), Brett. He drank a lot last night. The clothing was already dirty.

    I was very tired. The clothes were just one thing. He had already kicked a large hole in his bedroom wall. Many windows were broken because of his breaking in to steal money. Brett came to live with us when he was 12 years old. During those four years I had dealt with Brett as patiently as possible, but inside I was feeling sad. Later, I cheered up again and continued parenting Brett. Still, Brett did not change his behavior.

    When Brett was nearly 18, my husband and I decided to send Brett to a boarding school that had very good result with troubled teenagers.

    At the graduation ceremony the graduates stood one by one to thank those who had helped them. Each graduate held a rose to give to the person who had meant the most to him or her.

    Brett spoke lovingly to me, “You did so much. You were always there, no matter what happened. You always showed me such love. And I want you to know that I love you for “it”.

    Surprised, I stood as Brett placed the white rose in my hand and hugged me hard. At that moment I realized the truth-although I had been angry in my heart toward my stepson, Brett had seen only my actions.

    Mrs Smith is going shopping with her son. They are looking for a present for Mr Smith's birthday. Mrs Smith wants to buy her husband a new camera and Tom wants to buy his father a jumper.

    They drive to the department store on the high street. Mrs Smith uses the lift to go to the Electrical Department on the third floor and Tom goes straight to the Men's Clothing Department on the first floor.

    When Mrs Smith gets to the Electrical Department, she finds that cameras are sold in the Photography Department on the ground floor. So she takes the lift down and asks the sales assistant there for some help. She doesn't know much about cameras and needs some advice. The sales assistant recommends(推荐) an automatic camera by Olympus, but it is too expensive. She asks the assistant if he has anything a little cheaper and he tells her about a special offer on the Pentax range. It still seems expensive, so she thanks the assistant and decides to shop around first.

    Meanwhile, Tom is looking at the jumpers. He only has ￡10, so he can't buy most of them. He sees his mother and they decide to go to the smaller shops round the corner.

    It was Mother's Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn't go back home. When he passed by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. "I'll send Mom some roses (玫瑰)."

    While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. "How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?" he asked. The assistant (店员) was trying to tell him roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations (康乃馨).

    "No, I have to have red roses." He said. "My mom was badly ill last year and I didn't get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, and it has to be roses, because roses are her favorite."

    After hearing it, John said he would pay the rest (剩余)of the money for the young man. Moved (感动) by both of them, the assistant said, "Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you." Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air and ran out of the shop. It was well worth (值得) twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the assistant to send them to his mother.

    When he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (坟墓). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, "Mom, oh, Mom, why didn't I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her."

    Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.

    In the 1950s, a female swimming athlete set a goal for herself. She decided to swim across the English Channel before she retired. If she could make it, she would be the first person in the world who did it.

    On that day, she jumped into the sea without any hesitation and swam towards the opposite bank.

    In the journey, she faced heavy fog, heavy rain and heavy waves. Though she was very tired, she carried on swimming.

    But in the end, she gave up. And what she didn't know at the moment she gave up was that the opposite bank was only 1 mile away.

    Later people asked her about the reason. And she said," The reason why I gave up is that I could not see the destination which I was so close to. "

    Too many stories about success have been lecturing us about courage and persistence(坚持). But they never told us where to find courage and persistence.

    You can have courage only when you know where your goal is. You can manage to persist only when you know where your goal is, and prepare yourself well mentally(心理上).

    Courage and persistence never fall from the sky. They come from weighing between input and output.

    A life without goals is like a ship without a compass. It goes nowhere. There is no courage or persistence in a life without goals.