“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Perhaps not many students can understand this better than 22-year-old Michael Ha. Because of his story of success, he has become an example to many young people.

    Michael Ha was born in a very poor family. His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980. They couldn't find work in Britain because they spoke little English. The whole family had to live on benefits (救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney, a poor area in East London. Growing up was not easy for Michael, but he never gave up.

    At the age of 10, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However, young Michael made up his mind to try his best, no matter what kind of school he was studying at. The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school. Once he made a bet (打赌) with his friend to learn further math. As a result, after spending just four months teaching himself from a textbook, he got an A in AS-level further math.

    Now Michael is the star medical student at St. John's College, Cambridge and has just won an award (奖) for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an inspiration for other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    On my recent trip to Sydney with my parents, we visited the Wildlife Park.

    The Wildlife Park has lots of different animals and birds. Some are native (当地的) to Australia and can only be found there. There are over 600 animals there, including kangaroos, koalas and crocodiles (鳄鱼). They are kept in their natural environment. I like the Wildlife Park better than a zoo where most of the animals are in cages (笼子).

We first spent some time with the kangaroos. We were allowed to touch and feed them. It was very exciting to be so close to them. There were koalas there too. They looked very cuddly (令人想拥抱的). Although we were not allowed to carry them, I got to take a photo with one. It is a wonderful souvenir (纪念品) of my holiday in Sydney.

    The Wildlife Park has plenty of freshwater and saltwater crocodiles. Some of them are really big and scary (吓人的) with huge teeth! I did not want to get too close to them.

There was also a bird show. The keepers showed us different species (种类) they had. I saw an old parrot which could "talk". It made a great impression on me.

    I enjoyed the trip very much. There was so much to see.

    Manu，an eight﹣year﹣old boy，was sleeping comfortably in his bedroom．After a weekend break from his school，Manu failed to get up on time on Monday morning again．

    "Manu，wake up．It's time for you to go to school，"shouted out Manu's mother，

    Akhila，from the kitchen．Manu pulled the blanket over him and pretended he didn't hear his mother's repeated shouting．"Manu! Please wake up!It's already 6：30and your school bus will be here in ten minutes．Wake up and get ready．"

    After much yelling，Manu finally got up lazily when the school bus stopped in front of the house．Akhila had to ask the driver to wait for a few minutes．She quickly helped Manu get ready and helped him get on his school bus．

    "Phew!Manu didn't miss his bus today．Akhila sighed and thought to herself．"What should I do with this boy？Manu neither wakes up on time nor completes any of his daily tasks at the right time．It's time to teach him a lesson．"

    The next morning，Akhila was in the kitchen as usual．Everything seemed normal in the house except for the  unexpected silence．

    Manu finally woke up at around 9o'clock．He looked at the clock and ran to the kitchen，crying out，"Mamma!Why didn't you wake me up？I am really late for school．"He couldn't stop crying．"I have a maths test today and Madam Mangat will punish me if I miss her class and the test!"Madam Mangat was the strictest teacher in Manu's school．The fear of missing her class made Manu cry even louder．"Mamma，what should I do now？Please help．I promise I will wake up every day on time．"

    Akhila could no longer see her son crying and said，"Just promise me one more thing that you will do your daily task on time without pestering you to do it．

    "Sure Mamma!I promise!

    Akhila said in a loving voice．"I have already got permission from your math teacher and she has allowed Myou to take up the test today．"

    Manu hugged his mother．"Mamma!Thank you．"He quickly got himself ready for school without any help from Akhila．

    On the way to the school，there was silence in the car but a smile on Akhila's face．

    When the three children arrived at the tunnel, they looked up at the trees above it.

    "What's happening?" Peter said. "Look at the trees. They're moving."

    He was right. The trees were sliding down the hill.

    "It's a landslide," Roberta said. "There has been a lot of rain. The earth is soft. It is moving and bringing the trees with it."

    "They are going to fall on the railway line," Phyllis said. "There'll be an accident if the train hits them. We must stop the next train."

    "How do we do that?" Peter said. "The next train is arriving at 11:29. That's in five minutes. And the train is only about fifteen kilometers away."

    "We can run towards the train and wave to the driver," Phyllis said.

    "He won't think there is anything wrong," Roberta said. "We always wave to him."

    "We need something red to wave,"Peter said."Red is for danger."

    "My skirtis red,"Phyllis said."I'll tear pieces off."

    "Mother will be angry if you do that,"Roberta said."Skirts are expensive."

    "People may die if there is an accident,"Peter said."Skirts aren't important."

    Phyllis tore strips(条)from the bottom of her skirt.

    "We need sticks to tie the strips to,"Peter said.

    The children ran to a nearby tree. With his knife, Peter cut off three thin branches. He tied each of the strips of red skirt to one of the branches.

    "Now we have red flags," he said. "When we wave these, the engine driver will know something is wrong. He will stop the train and ask us what the matter is."

    The children ran through the tunnel and waited at the other side for the train to come. They had to wait for a long time. Peter thought the watch must be wrong, but it was the train that was late. Then, the train arrived. The children waved their flags. Roberta was so excited that she fainted(晕).

    The engine driver saw the red flags and the children. He knew something was wrong. He stopped the train. Peter and Phyllis ran towards the engine. They shouted to the driver that there were trees on the line. The engine driver climbed down from his engine. He hurried to where Roberta was lying on the ground in a faint. He picked her up and carried her to the train and put her in a comfortable carriage.

    An old man lived with his little grandson. Every day the old man got up early to read books.

    One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa, I want to read books as you. But I always forget what I read. What are the advantages of reading?

    The grandfather didn't answer him, but he said to the boy, Take this little basket to the river and bring back a basket of water for me. "The boy went to the river to fill the basket with water but all the water leaked out before he got back home. The boy was sad, but his grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to walk faster next time.

    The next time the boy ran faster, but the basket was still empty before he retumed home. The boy said, "See, Grandpa, it's no use!"

    "Is it useless ""the old man said "Look at the basket."

    The boy looked at the basket and found that the basket was different. It was much cleaner.

    That's what happens when you read books. Maybe you can't understand or remember everything. Something will change in your mind after you read. Just like the basket.

During the Warring States Period(战国时期), there lived a man called Zou Ji. One day he put on beautiful clothes and a hat, and looked at himself. He asked his wife, "Between me and Mr. Xu, who is more handsome?"

His wife said, "Of course, you are far more handsome!" Zou Ji could not believe what he heard, as Mr. Xu was widely known in this country for his handsome looks.

He then asked a concubine(妾), "What do you think?" His concubine said, "How can Mr. Xu be compared with you, sir?"

Two days later, a guest came to visit, and Zou Ji asked him the same question. The guest also said, "Mr. Xu is not as handsome as you."

A few days later, Zou Ji met Mr. Xu and compared himself with Mr. Xu secretly. Then he found Mr. Xu was better. But why did all the other people think he was more handsome?

From doubt to being sure, Zou Ji realized his wife preferred him, his concubine feared him and his guest needed his help. So with this thought, Zou Ji bravely went to meet the King of Qi and shared this with him. To his surprise, the King of Qi then added a new requirement: those who could speak to him about his mistakes face to face would receive a top prize; those who could write a letter of offering him some ad vice would receive a middle prize; those who openly criticized(批评) him would receive a small prize as well. Then the whole state followed it