One day a poor man was cutting a big piece of wood (木头) near a river. Suddenly his old axe (斧子) fell into the water. He felt very sad because he lost his only axe. Then all at once a beautiful fairy (仙女) came out and asked the man what was the matter.

    "I have lost my axe." he said, "It fell into the water when I was cutting the wood."

    The fairy showed him a gold axe and asked, "Is that yours?"

    "No." said the man.

    The fairy then showed him a silver (银) axe and asked again, "Is this yours?"

    "No." again answered the man.

    Then she showed  him the old axe.

    "Yes, that is mine." called out the happy man.

    "I know it well enough." said the fairy, "I only wanted to see if you would tell me the truth, and now I'll give you the gold axe and the silver axe besides (包括)  your own one."

One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

     For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲  It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

     Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

B

    Mike works very long hours every day. He usually gets up at 17:00. He has a shower and makes his breakfast. What a funny time to make breakfast! After breakfast, he practices (练习) his guitar for ten minutes, then he puts on his jacket and goes to work. To get to work, he takes the No.17 bus to the Star Hotel. The bus usually leaves at 19:15. He works all night. People love to listen to him! He gets home at 7:00, and he watches the early morning news on TV. He goes to bed at 8:30, a tired but happy man. Can you think what his job is?

    Thomas Edison was born in 1847. When he was five, his father saw him sitting on some eggs, and asked what he was doing that for. He did not reply(回答). Instead he asked why he was not able to hatch(孵化)chickens while the hens could.

    Edison liked asking a lot of strange questions. His teacher did not understand him and said that he was not bright and was not worth teaching. His mother took him out of school and taught him herself.

    By the time he was ten, he had already built a small chemistry(化学) lab of his own. He planted vegetables in his garden and sold them.

    Once his mother was ill. The doctor said she needed an operation at once. But it was the night and the oil lamp in the room gave off poor light. Edison thought hard and had an idea. He put all the oil lamps he could find on a long table. Then he placed a big mirror(镜子)behind them. The room became quite bright. So the doctor could operate, and his mother was saved. At the age of twelve, Edison began selling candies, sandwiches and newspapers on the train. One day in August, 1862, Edison saw a boy playing on the tracks at a station. A train was coming near quickly, and the boy was too frightened to move. Edison rushed out and carried the boy to safety. The boy's father was the station master. He was so thankful that he taught Edison railway telegraphy(电报通讯术). This gave him a start in his life.