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.

    In a faraway kingdom, there was a river. It was the home to many golden swans (天鹅). The swans spent most of their time in the river. Every six months, the swans would leave a golden feather (羽毛) as a paying for using the river. The soldiers of the kingdom would collect the feathers and gave them to the king.

    One day, a homeless bird saw the river. "The water in this river seems so cool and nice. I will make my home here," thought the bird.

    The minute the bird landed near the river, the golden swans noticed her. They came shouting, "This river belongs to us! We pay a golden feather to the king to use this river. You can not live here."

    "I am homeless, brothers. I will also pay. Please give me a place to live in," the bird pleaded (乞求). "How can you pay for it? You do not have golden feathers," said the swans, laughing. They added, "Stop dreaming and leave at once." The poor bird pleaded many times. But the arrogant (傲慢的) swans still drove the bird away.

"I will teach them a lesson!" decided the bird, feeling angry.

    She went to the king and said, "Oh, my king! The swans in your river are rude and unkind. I pleaded for a home but they said that they had paid to live in the river with golden feathers."

    The king was angry with the arrogant swans for having driven the homeless bird away. He ordered his soldiers to bring the swans to his palace. In no time, all the golden swans were brought to the king's palace.

"Do you think our kingdom depends on your golden feathers? You can not decide who lives by the river. Leave the river at once or I will kill you!" shouted the king.

    On hearing the king's words, the swans flew away sadly. The bird built her home near the river and lived there happily. She gave homes to all other birds who came to the river.

    One day, I saw a boy shop alone at the shop I worked. He chose some school things he wanted and went to the checkout (付款台).

    The young shop assistant (店员) told him he needed to pay $37.60. The boy became very sad and said he only had $20. He took out one thing at a time, and at last he got down to his $20. With eyes full of tears, he asked if he could call his mom to pick him up. When he got through, it seemed that his morn was too busy to pick him up in a minute.

    He tried to stop the tears and walked outside to wait on the chair in front of the shop. This was too much for the young assistant. She kept looking outside to see if the boy was all right. Then she said, "I wish I could pay for the rest (剩余部分) of his  things." One of the other girls said she had a few  dollars. Then two others said they could help, too.

    These four young girls pooled their money and found they had more than enough to pay for the boy s things. Then they chose more school things, and gave them all to the boy. The boy laughed happily. His morn arrived much later, but he didn't just run to the car; he ran back into the shop and called out, "Thank you!"

    I was so proud (骄傲的) of my team that day. They did something wonderful for that boy and also found the pleasure (快乐) of giving.

    A rich man was riding along the road and saw an old man digging in his garden. There was a young tree lying on the ground. The rich man asked the old man, "What kind of tree are you planting there, my good man?

    "This is a fig(无花果)tree, sir," he said.

    "A fig tree?" the rich man was very surprised." How old are you, may I ask?"

    "I am ninety years old."

    "What!" shouted the rich man." You're ninety years old. You are planting a very young tree now and it'll take years to give fruit. You certainly don't hope to live long enough to get any fruit from this tree." The old man smiled and said, Tell me, sir, did you eat figs when you were a boy?" "Sure," the man did not know why he asked this question.

    The old man asked, "Who planted the fig trees?"

    "I don't know."

    " You see, sir," the old man said slowly," our forefathers(祖先) planted trees for us to enjoy and I am doing the same for the people after me."

    The rich man was quiet. Then he said, "You are right, my good man. We should do some things for the people after us. Thank you very much." Then he rode away.

    Once upon a time, an old woman had two large water pots. Each hung on the end of a pole (杆子) which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect, From the river to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. And the other pot was always full. The perfect pot took pride in its talent. But the poor cracked pot felt sad for its own disadvantages.

    One day by the river the cracked pot said to the woman, "I feel bad about myself, because the crack in me causes water to come out all the way back to your house."

    The old woman smiled and said, "Why are there flowers on your side of the road, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your crack. So I planted flowers on your side of the road, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my house. There would not be this beauty without you. Each of us has our own cracks. But the cracks make our lives so interesting and beautiful."

    So, to all the cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the road!

The 2024 Paris Olympic Games were over. China's Olympic team won91 medals (奖牌), including 40 gold, 27 sliver and 24 bronze. All eyes are on the Chinese diving dream team(中国跳水梦之队). For the first time, it won all eight gold medals in the diving(跳水) events of the Olympics. In the team, Quan Hongcha n stood out with her wonderful diving.

When Quan was just seven, she started to learn diving. The diving platform (跳台) is very high and she is still so young. Sometimes she is afraid of it, but she always tries her best. Quan practices for eight hours every day, but she never complains (抱怨) about the training from day to night. In the women's 10- meter platform final, she won gold again, just as she did in Tokyo Olympics.

Quan told the reporter(记者)," Everyone says I am a genius(天才). ButI think it's more about hard- working. I must practice over and over again. Practice makes perfect. That's me, Quan Hongchan, from China."