Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything —tutors (家庭教师), cards, special learning centers—in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic (天主教的) school.

    After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread (铺开) out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back to his room, without a word. In no time he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.

    Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mom looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity (好奇心). She went to his room and asked, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns (修女)?”Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head, “No. ”“Well then,” she asked again. “WHAT was it?”

    Little Tommy looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed (钉) to the plus sign (加号), I knew they weren't joking. ”

    I am an apple. I'm a kind of sweet1You can find me grow in many places of the world, but I can't grow well in very hot places2 very cold places.

    I am not like my cousins 3and bananas. I am rounder than a pear and bananas are4than me. I am delicious,5people all over the world like to eat me. They can usually eat me6washing me. They can also cook me to 7all kinds of food, sometimes they put me in cans（罐头）to send me to other places of the world. Almost everyone can have 8 to buy me because I'm so cheap.

    I can also help people get9 There is a saying10English: An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Don't you think that I'm very great? I have many vitamins（维生素）inside, they are 11for you. I really wish to make you happy and healthy. so don't forget to 12me as often as possible（尽可能经常地）.

    But I also need your13, if you want to make me taste better, you must14 me well. Thank you for your love. I'll try to grow well and15sweeter. Then you will like to eat me a lot more.

    Several days ago, I was walking home from school and saw some writing on the fence of a house I was passing by. It said, “Happiness is a direction, not a destination (终点).” I had been having a bad day and just reading this brightened my day a little. I also took out a pen and wrote one of my favorite quotes (格言) down.

    When I came back to the fence, I saw another quote under mine in the handwriting as the first one. I added another, and we kept at this pattern for quite a while. One day, I was writing another quote on the fence and the old man, one of my neighbors, who owned the fence, saw me. He came out and I was afraid he would be mad at me for writing on his fence; he was not known to be very friendly. He gave me a sharp glance and then read the quotes on the fence. Without saying a word, he said something to himself and then went back inside. I was a bit terrified for a while, afraid to go back to the fence, but when I did, I noticed not more quotes but two words in entirely different handwriting had been added, “Thank you.”

    Later, I saw the old man in his front yard. He beckoned (召唤) me over and told me how my quotes had been inspiring him, how he thanked me and how he was glad to see young people still have “values”. We are now good friend and I talk to him a lot. This experience has changed my life. I still don't know who wrote that very first quote, but if he is out there, I'd like to say “thanks” to that unknown friend.

    Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Without him, the world might still be in the dark. However, the electric light was not his only invention. He also invented the motion picture camera and more than 1, 000 other things. About every two weeks he created something new.

    Thomas Edison was born in 1847. He attended school for only three months. His mother taught him at home, but Thomas was mostly educated. He started experimenting at a young age.

    When he was 12 years old, he became a newsboy on a train. experiments on the train in his spare time. Unluckily, his first work experience did not end well. They fired him when he accidentally set fire to the floor of the train. Then Edison worked for more than five years as a telegraph operator, but he continued spending much of his time in experimenting.

    Thomas Edison was totally deaf in one ear and hard to hear others, but he thought of his deafness as a blessing in many ways. It kept conversations of every 24 hours. Sometimes his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.

    Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. He left a great many inventions that greatly improved the quality of people's life all over the world.