Bill Fuller, the postman, whistled(吹口哨) cheerfully as he pushed his bike up the hill towards Mrs Dunley's house. His work for the day was almost finished. His bag, usually quite heavy when he set out on his road, was empty now except for the letter that he had to deliver(递送) to Mrs Dunley. She lived over a mile from that village so that, when Bill had a letter for her, he always finished his day's work much later. He did not mind this, however, because she never failed to ask him in for a cup of tea.

    When Bill entered the gate of Mrs Dunley's house, he was surprised not to find her working in the garden. She usually spent most afternoons there when the weather was fine. Bill went straight round to the back of the house, thinking that she might be in the kitchen. The door was locked and the curtains were drawn. He returned to the front of the house and knocked hard on the door. There was no answer. Bill thought that this was very strange because he knew that Mrs Dunley hardly left the house.

    Just then, he noticed that her bottle of milk, which was delivered early in the morning, was still on the doorstep. This worried him. If Mrs Dunley had not taken in her milk, perhaps she was ill. Bill walked round the house until he found an open window. He squeezed(挤) through it. Then he went into the hall. There he almost fell over Mrs Dunley, who was lying at the foot of the stairs unconscious(昏迷不醒的). Realizing that there was little he could do for her, Bill rushed out of the house, stopped a passing car and told the driver to telephone for an ambulance(救护车) as soon as he got to the village.

    Marco Polo was born in Italy in 1254. When he was 17, he travelled across Europe and Asia along the Silk Road with his father, who wanted to do trade with the Chinese. Finally they arrived in Beijing. They were guests at the Emperor's Palace. Although Marco was young, he was very clever and could speak four languages. The Emperor was impressed by him and they became friends. He asked Marco to serve in his court and sent him to do many important tasks across the country.

    Marco was amazed by how beautiful China was. He was impressed by Beijing and the Emperor's Palace, especially the Summer Palace which he described as "The greatest palace that ever was..."The walls were covered in gold and silver and the hall was so large it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.

    There were inventions and developments in China which couldn't found in Europe at that time. Marco was surprised to see Chinese people using paper money in the markets. In Europe, people paid for goods with gold and silver. He could not understand how people paid for food and valuable things with paper! He was also puzzled by the black stones people used to burn to produce heat. The black stones were coal, but Marco had never seen coal before!

    In 1291, after 17 years of service to the Emperor, Marco returned to Italy. He was now a very wealthy man. A writer wrote down all the stories that Marco told him in a book called The Description of the World, which became one of the best - selling books in Europe.

    Although people enjoyed reading the book, many of them thought that Marco's stories about China were too fantastic to be true. But Marco always stood by his tales. Just before he died, aged 70, Marco was asked the question, "Was it all true?" And this was his answer, "I have only told a half of what I saw!"

    One day, I got off the train and was waiting for my ride .Suddenly I had an inspiration (灵感). I looked around and found a pen, but there was no paper. I sat down sadly for a few minutes. Then I looked around again. Finally, I found a dollar bill in my wallet. Although there was very little space to write on, I could write something.

    I took my pen and wrote something like this," This is a very special dollar. I give it to you with love. Do not keep it. Do not spend it. Pass it on. Give it to someone else with love, and watch it be passed on."

    I then decorated the bill with hearts and tried to fill it with as many good wishes as I could.

    There was a woman sitting near me. She was also waiting for a ride. She seemed a little bit worried. So I walked up to her and gave the bill to her

    The woman couldn't know what I was doing at first. And then she took a second look and read it. Suddenly she was not worried and she was happy. Also, she gave me a big huge and thanked me.

    I knew that if this was the result from just one person, then this wave of warmth would probably go on.

    My ride came, and we drove off. But I thought this was not the end of the story.

    When I was 13 years old, the doctor said that I had a kind of attention disorder. So when everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I couldn't.

    In my first class, Mrs Green asked us to read a story and then write on it within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said, "Mrs Green, you see, I have attention problems. I might not be able to do that."

    She looked at me and said, "You are no different from your classmates, young man." I tried, but I didn't finish the reading. So I took it home.

    In my bedroom, it was so quiet and the story suddenly became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he invented a reading system which opened up a new world to the blind. Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "sighted (有视力的)" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up? I didn't expect anything when I handed in my paper to Mrs Green, so when it came back to me the next day with an "A" on it, I couldn't believe my eyes. At the bottom of the paper were these words, "See what you can do when you keep trying."