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    How do you win a Nobel Prize for writing? Here's the secret from a previous winner: make it short, keep it real, and work hard.

Canadian author Alice Munro, 82, was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in literature. She is known for her short stories about personal relationships of ordinary people, usually women.

    Munro was born into a farming family in Ontario. The family was very poor. Munro did a lot of physical work as a young girl. She decided to be a writer at the age of 12. Now Munro turns her hard childhood into great writing ideas. The story Dear Life, for example, opens with a description of the neighborhood in which Munro grew up. Also, she talks about her poor relationship with her mother in many of her stories, such as Lives of Girls and Women and Friend of My Youth.

    Since she published her first book in 1968, Munro has won many awards, with the Nobel Prize as her biggest honor. But Munro doesn't see herself as a talented(有天赋的) writer.

    “I'm the opposite of a writer with a quick gift. I don't grasp it very easily at all, the‘it' being whatever I'm trying to do,” she said.

    Do you dream of becoming an author while sadly admitting you are not that talented? Munro has a tip for you: use notebooks and write a lot.

    “I have lots of notebooks that contain(包含) this writing,” she said. But it helps her sort out (整理) her mind. “Stories would just be working in my head for so long that when I started to write I was deep into them.”

    Anny was a five-year-old girl. One day when she and her mother were in a department store（百货商店）, Anny saw a plastic pearl necklace (珍珠项链). What a beautiful necklace! She wanted it very much, so she begged（乞求）her mother to buy it for her. The mother said, “Well, I can buy you the necklace, but when we get home, we should discuss what you can do to pay for it. Can we do that?” Anny agreed with much happiness, and she got the necklace.

    How much Anny loved the necklace! She wore it everywhere and every minute. Anny also did part - time jobs to make pocket money. She worked very hard. Soon she succeeded in paying off the price for the necklace.

    Anny's daddy knew how she tried her best to get the necklace. He also knew how much Anny cared about it. One night, he asked Anny if she loved him. “Sure, Daddy.” the little girl said. “Then how about giving me your necklace?” “Oh, no, Daddy! Not my necklace!” Anny cried. “Oh, dear, it's fine.” her father gave her a kiss.

    Several days later, Anny went to her daddy, with her lips(嘴唇) trembling(颤抖). “Here, Daddy. I love you.” She held out her hand. Inside it was the plastic pearl necklace that she loved so much.

    When he saw this, Anny's father smiled with surprise. He then pulled a cute box out of his pocket. Inside the box was a real and colourful pearl necklace, which was waiting for Anny for so long.

    After returning from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. "The railway owes me 12 pounds," she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the office. "You sold me a ticket for May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It cost me 12 pounds. "

    Harry was worried. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. "Come into the office, Madam," he said politely. "' I'll just check the Jersey timetable for May 22nd." The woman and her little girl followed him inside. She was quite right, as Harry soon discovered. There was no sailing on May 22nd. How could he have made such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering what to do, he smiled at the child. "You look sunburnt(晒黑的) , "he said to her. "Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?"

    "Yes," she answered, shyly. "The beach was lovely. And I can swim too!"

    "That's fine," said Harry. '" My little girl can't swim a bit yet. Of course, she's only three…"

    "I'm four," the child said proudly. "I'll be four and a half."

    Harry turned to the mother. "I remember your ticket, Madam," he said. "But you didn't get one for your daughter, did you?"

    "Er, well..." the woman looked at the child. "I mean...she hasn't started school yet, she's only four. "

    "A four- year- old child must have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs...let me see.13.50 pounds. The law is the law, but since the mistake is mine."

    The woman stood up, took the child's hand and left the office.

A Faithful Dog

    More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert.

    One day the Prince wanted to go hunting(打猎) with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle(摇篮), which was like a small bed.

    When the Prince came back from hunting, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws(爪子) on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood(血) on Gelert's jaws(下巴) and head.

    "What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.

    "So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword(剑) and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed ( 设法 ) to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog. The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt (没受伤). Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended(保卫) the baby and killed the wolf.

    The Prince ran back into the house but it was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized he had killed his faithful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried(埋葬) him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.

    If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds people of a brave and faithful dog.

    Hello, everyone! I'd like to tell you something about a famous scientist named Qian Xuesen. He was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on December 11, 1911. After he graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1934, he got a chance to study in USA. After he graduated, he became a teacher as well as a researcher who studied rockets and missile theories.

    When he was 44, he returned to his motherland and the country's space research was almost a blank. In 1956, he set up the first research institute of rockets and missiles. He made such important contributions to the missile and space programs that he was honored as "The Father of China's Missiles". The Chinese people are proud of him.

    He passed away on October 31, 2009 at the age of 98, but all the Chinese will remember him forever. His devotion to his country was expressed in his saying, "My career is in China, my success is in China and my destination is in China!" When someone said he could make much more money if he stayed in the United States, he laughed and said," My family name is Qian, but I don't like qian." His spirit encourages us to love our country and devote ourselves to science.