Frank was clever, but he never liked to work hard. He often said to his friends, "If you work hard, you will make a lot of money, but it is not so good. I want easy work and a lot of money. That's the most interesting thing in the world."So he could only be a thief. But he still thought it was too much work, so he only told his friends what to do and got money from them.

    One day, Frank sent one of his friends to a very large and beautiful house. He told him to get money from that rich family. It was evening, and a man and a girl were in the room. They were playing a duet（二重奏） on a piano. Then the thief came into the house. 

    When he returned, Frank asked him what he had got. But he said, "I didn't take anything. That family can't have much money. You know, two people were playing on the same piano there. They did not have money to buy another piano."

    The Browns have a very nice garden around their house. It has some tall trees and many flowers. Mr. and Mrs. Brown work hard in their garden. Now Mrs. Brown is in the garden getting some flowers. She will put the flowers in the dining room and the sitting room.

    Susan is sitting in a chair in the garden. She is reading a book. Susan doesn't go to work today. So she is at home. David is saying goodbye to his mother. He is running through the gate. He is going to school. He will go to school by bus. At school he studies with his friends. He has lunch at school. Mrs. Brown and Susan will have lunch at home. Mr. Brown went to London yesterday. He is in London now and will have his lunch there. This afternoon he will come back by train and he will drive from the station to his house in his own car. Mrs. Brown will be at home. Susan and her friend Tom will go to the town this afternoon, and have tea there.

    O. Henry was a pen name of an American writer. He wrote short stories. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was born in North Carolina in 1862. As a young boy he lived an exciting life. He did not go to school for very long, but he tried to teach himself everything he needed to know. When he was about 20 years old, O. Henry went to Texas. There he tried different jobs. He first worked on a newspaper, and then had a job in a bank. When some money was lost from the bank, others believed O. Henry took it. So people sent him to prison﹡. He stayed in prison for three years. There he learned to write short stories. After he got out of prison, he went to New York and went on writing. He wrote mostly about New York and the life of the poor there. People liked his stories, because they always finished with a sudden change at the end, to the reader's surprise.

    As a child, Alain Robert was afraid of heights. One day, when he was 12, he returned home from school. He didn't find his keys. It was 3:30pm and his parents worked until 6：00 pm. Alain looked at his apartment on the eighth floor. He saw an open window. He closed his eyes and imagined himself climbing the building. When he opened his eyes, he told himself, "I can do it." Fifteen minutes later, he was in his house and his fear of heights was gone.

    Today, Alain still climbs buildings. In 2003, he climbed a building in London dressed as Spiderman (蜘蛛人) to advertise the movie. In 2004, he climbed Taipei 101 (one of the tallest buildings in the world). To reach the top of a building, Alain uses only his hands and special shoes.

    Alain climbs as a hobby. He also does it to make money for charity (for poor children and the homeless). When he climbs, he wants to send a message to people. If you have a dream, you must be brave and keep trying. If something bad happens, don't give up. Close your eyes and tell yourself, "I can do it."