A man lived in a village. He had an old cat at home. The cat couldn't run fast and bite，because she was so old. One day, when she saw a mouse, she jumped and caught it. But she could not bite it. The mouse got out of her mouth and ran away.

    Then the man became very angry and began to beat the cat. The cat said, “Don't beat your old servant. I know I'm old and can't kill a mouse. But I have worked for you for many years, and I still want to work for you. Be kind to the old, and remember what good work they did when they were young."

    When the man heard that, he realized that he was wrong.

    Alisa was walking around the swimming pool. Her friend Maria was waiting for her. "Come on, Alisa!" Maria said. "Let's jump off the diving board (跳水版)."

    "No way! I can never go that high," said Alisa.

    "Don't be scared," Maria said. "It's really fun."

    Alisa walked away and sat on a bench.

    "You go. I'll watch you," said Alisa.

    "You don't know what you're missing," said Maria. Then she climbed up the tall ladder (梯子). It made Alisa scared just thinking of being up there.

    Maria jumped off the board and then climbed out of the pool. She walled to Alisa. "Come on, Alisa; just try it. It's wonderful!" she said.

    Alisa looked up at the board. Maybe it was time to try something new. OK, she said. Alisa climbed up the ladder for the diving board. The water looked far, far away. She wanted to turn back to climb down the ladder， but that would be too embarrassing. There was only one thing to do.

    Alisa walked to the edge (边缘) of the board. Then she closed (闭上) her eyes and jumped. She got into the water in no time. "Wow, so wonderful! I like it!" she shouted.

    Everyone faces challenges in their life, but some are more important than others. Daniel Kish had serious problems with his eyes when he was born. And doctors took away both of his eyes before he was fourteen months old.

    Soon after, however, he started to do an amazing thing. He started to make clicking(咔嗒) sounds with his tongue(舌头) to help him move around. Much like a bat(蝙蝠), he now moves about using sonar(声呐). He is so good at it that he can ride a bicycle in traffic. He and his group, World Access for the Blind, teach others how to use sonar. In this interview with National Geographic, Kish explains how the process works.

    How does sonar work?

    "When I make a clicking sound, it makes sound waves. These waves reflect(反射) off surfaces all around and return to my ears. My brain then processes the sounds into images(图像). It's like having a conversation with the environment

    When you click, what do you see in your mind?

    "Each click is like a camera flash. I make a 3D image of the things around me for hundreds of feet in every direction

    What is it like riding a bike using sonar?

    "It's exciting and enjoyable but requires a lot of focus. I click up to two times per second, much more than I usually do."

    Is it dangerous to move around the world in this way?

"Much of the world lives in fear of things that we mostly imagine. I have a habit of climbing anything and everything, but I never broke a bone (骨头) as a kid."

    How challenging is it to teach people to use sonar?

    "Many students are surprised how quickly results come. Seeing isn't in the eyes, it's in the mind."

    In about 1503, during Christopher Columbus's fourth and final trip to America, his ship was seriously damaged in a storm. Columbus and his men had to live on a small island for several months while they tried to repair their ship and return to Spain.

    At first, the local people on the island were very kind to the European visitors, giving them all the food and clothes they needed to survive. However, as the months passed, the local people became more and more unhappy with their guests, who were tricking and stealing from them. Finally the locals decided to stop helping. Without food or any way to leave the island, Columbus's group was soon in serious trouble.

    Luckily for Columbus, he had a book about the stars and planets on his ship. It described the movements of all the objects in the night sky. The book, written by a well-known German scientist, said there would be a total lunar eclipse(月食)and how long it would last.

    Columbus worked out the difference in time between Germany and North America. He then had a meeting with the local leaders just before the eclipse would take place. In this meeting, Columbus told them his god was angry because the local people were no longer giving food. So his god would take away the Moon to punish them. At the moment Columbus finished talking, just as he had planned, the Moon began disappearing.

    The local leaders grew frightened and quickly agreed to provide Columbus with food and anything else he wanted. But first, Columbus's god had to return the Moon. Columbus told them he would have to discuss the idea with his god on his ship. Knowing the Moon would stay completely hidden for about 48 minutes, Columbus returned just before the Moon began to reappear. From that day on, until they finally left, Columbus and his men no longer had any trouble getting the food they needed.

    The class was coming to an end. The teacher told the pupils not to draw anything on the wall in order to keep it clean.

    After class, David forgot the teacher's words. He took a piece of chalk and drew a sun on the wall. Just then, he noticed that the teacher was coming back again. So he quickly covered his drawing with his back. The teacher didn't find out what he was doing. When she passed, she smiled at David. David was very happy. But when he turned around to see his drawing, he found nothing on the wall.

    Where was David's drawing?

    It was Sunday. I had one last patient to see. She was an old woman, sting on her bed. trying to put socks on her swollen (肿胀的) ft. I walked in, spoke quickly to the nurse, and saw from her chart that she was in a good condition.

    She asked if l could help put on her socks. Instead, I started a monologue (长篇大论): "How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure are also good today. The nurse said you're anxious to see your son who's visiting you today from far away. I believe you really look forward to seeing him.

    She stopped me with a serious voice. "Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not your story."

    I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She told me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him for five years. She believed that the big stress of this was a big reason for her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do. She shook her head and smiled. All she had wanted me to do was listen.

    Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are vague (含糊的). Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard.