Jane Browning works in a busy hospital (医院) in Boston, USA. On weekdays, she usually gets up at six o'clock in the morning and has a shower. Then she goes to work at seven o'clock.

Her husband (丈夫), David usually gets up at seven o'clock. He is a science teacher. They have one son. His name is Andy. Andy is thirteen. He goes to school at seven thirty in the morning with his father.

    After Jane gets to the hospital, she talks to her patients and asks how they are. Then she meets the new patients. At about one o'clock in the afternoon she has lunch.

Usually Jane gets home at six o'clock in the evening and she is very tired (疲倦的). But she loves her job, because she likes helping people.

    Emily is a music teacher. She has always made some money by giving piano lessons. She had a student named Robby. He was 11 years old when his mother took him to his first piano lesson. Emily thinks that students should begin at an earlier age, which she explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's wish to hear him play the piano, so she took him as a student. But from the beginning Emily thought he was a hopeless learner. He was not talented in playing the piano. But Emily had to say he tried hard. One day, Robby stopped coming back and told her that he wanted to play in public. He said his mother had been ill, so he had to practice at home. Emily hesitated(犹豫) because she thought he couldn't play the piano well enough, but finally she agreed.

    The night for the public show came. The high school hall was full of parents and friends. When Robby began playing, Emily was surprised at what she heard. He played so well that everyone in the hall was moved. Emily ran up to him when he ended. "I've never heard you play like that, Robby! How could you do it?" "Well, Miss Emily … do you remember that I told you my mom was sick? Well, in fact, she was so sick that she died this morning. And well … she was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special."

    When Emily heard this, she felt that he was the teacher and she was the student. For it was he that taught her the meaning of love and believing in yourself.

    That warm day was the only day of the week without rain. I opened the door, took a seat and began to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. Suddenly, I noticed that the house near mine had been sold. An elderly lady was in front of the door, with some beautiful flowers beside her. I walked to her. She looked to be in her early eighties and had the prettiest white hair.

    "Hi! My name is Karmen," I said smiling brightly at the old lady. She smiled back and said. "Hello, Karmen. I'm Henrietta." Her voice was very strong for someone at her age. Later, I learnt she was alone and had no family or relatives to help her. From that day on, I often visited her and helped her with her housework and sometimes she gave me some delicious food. A year passed, and I considered Henrietta to be one of my best friends.

    One day, I walked over for my morning visit and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked again, and she still didn't turn up. So I let myself in, using the key she had given me. I checked her living room and then her kitchen. I finally went into her bedroom, and she was lying peacefully on her bed. Beside her there were two notes. One was her will, which said all that she had would be given to me. The other was a thank-you note. I went to her bedside and cried sadly.

    Though several years have gone by, I still miss her deeply. Whenever I look at the beautiful flowers in front of her house. I remember the wonderful friendship we had.

    Rachel Carson(1907-1964) was a pioneer of the world's environmental movement through her writing about the protection of the natural world. Her 1962 book Silent Spring made her well known by many people. It describes the harmful changes in the environment of using toxic chemicals (有毒化学物质) on farmland.

    Carson first worked as a biologist in the US Bureau of Fisheries. In 1951, her first book The Sea Around Us came out. It became a bestseller. It made her rich enough to leave her job and spend all her life in writing. She was a talented writer. Her next two books were also about the oceans and both on the top of the book sales lists.

    Carson's book Silent Spring completely changed the way Americans thought about nature. It painted a bleak(荒凉的) future for the whole natural world. It led to a nationwide ban(禁止) on the use of a deadly chemical called DDT, and other toxic pesticides(农药) that farmers used for their crops. Many people say the book led to the creation of America's Environmental Protection Agency.

    Since her death, Carson's name has continued to be connected with protecting the environment. There is now a yearly Rachel Carson Book Prize. Norway gives the Rachel Carson Prize to women who have done a lot on environmental protection. In 1980, 16 years after her death, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in America.

    There is a 41-year-old woman from California known as Anna, and she remembers almost every day of her life since(自从)she was eleven. There is an 85-year-old man known as Eddy, and he only knows a little.

Eddy is warm and friendly. He laughs a lot. He looks just like any other grandfather in the world. But 15 years ago  he was sick. Then he only knows the people in the room with him. Every morning, he gets up, has breakfast, and then goes back to bed to listen to the radio. Often he forgets that he has done these things. Sometimes he has breakfast three times in the morning.

    For Anna, the past is always there. She remembers the person giving her a call at 12:34 pm on Sunday, August 3, 1986. She remembers that on March 28, 1992, she had lunch with her father at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She remembers the food and every word of the talk. She remembers the weather.

    Anna said, "I remember the good things and that is nice. But I also remember the bad things. Ten years later, I still get angry with myself for doing something wrong. I would love for just five minutes to be a normal (正常的)person and not have all these things in my head."

    The car was invented just a century ago. You may know all kinds of cars' names, but many people don't know who was the inventor of the first car.

    The first car was invented not by an Englishman, but by an American. His name was Henry Ford.

    Henry was born in a poor family. He was the eldest of the six children. When he was a boy, he became interested in watches and machines. When he was twelve years old, his mother died. Soon he had to work in a machine shop for two dollars and fifty cents a week.

    In the evening, he repaired watches for another dollar a week. The hard life made him strong and able.

    At that time, there was another interest in the life of the young Ford. He wished of making a machine.

    It could run without horses, so named horseless carriage. He overcame a lot of difficulties and in April 1893, the "horseless carriage "was invented at last. It was the first car.

    Later Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. He was really the first inventor of the car in the world.