Hi Sam! Sorry I haven't emailed recently— I've been revising for my exams. I have finished them now and I have got some time to relax and some money to spend on going out. Last weekend, I went to see a great film called Yes Man. If you haven't seen it, you must go! Jim Carrey plays the main character and it's very funny--and also quite encouraging. It's based on a book by Danny Wallace which is also called Yes Man. I read the book a few months ago and that's hilarious, too – I really laughed out loud!

      The book is a ture story about what happens to the writer, Danny. Basically, he found that he was doing nothing all the time, just worrying about things and complaining about his life. He wasn't seeing his friends much, so he was lonely and bored. Then one day, he was on a bus in London when he sat down next to a man. The man was a stranger, but they started talking. Danny told him about his boring life and the man just gave him three words: 'Say "yes" more.' And for Danny this was a turning point in his life. Those three words influenced everything he did. At that moment, he made a decision: 'I will say "yes" to everything!'  And he wrote a book about what happened to him in the next year or so. Three years later, the book was made into a hit film.

      The film is based on the book although there are some differences. First, it's set in the US instead of England. Secondly, the main character is based on Danny, but he called Carl in the film. And what's more, he doesn't meet a man on a bus. His turning point comes when he goes to a self-help class and they advise him to say "yes" more.

      In the film Carl succeeds in changing his life and doing lots of crazy things: he has flying lessons, he learns to speak Korean and he rides a motorbike with no clothes on! The storyline isn't very strong. It's quite weak, I suppose, but all Carl's stories are very interesting— especially because Jim Carrey is a very funny actor.

      I'm really interested in the film because there's a serious message, too. I believe in making the most of life and I've decided I'm going to be more positive. I've decided I'm not going to stay at home so much. I'm going to do more things, see my friends more and everything. Actually, that's why I'm emailing you! It would be great if we could meet up soon. Let me know when you are free.

      All the best, Adam

    A jobless man wanted very much to have the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed(面试) him and then watched him cleaning the floor as a test. “You have passed the test,” he said. “Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the form（表格） to fill in and the date when you may start.” The man replied, “But I don't have a computer, neither an e-mail.” “I'm sorry,” said the HR manager. “If you don't have an e-mail, that means you are not living. And anyone who isn't living cannot have the job.”

    The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do with only $10 in his pocket. He thought and thought. Then he went to the supermarket and bought 10 kilos of tomatoes. He sold the tomatoes from door to door. In less than two hours, he had 20 dollars. He did that three times, and started to go early every day, and returned home late. Shortly, he bought a cart , then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles(运货车队). Five years later, the man was one of the biggest food retailers (零售商)  in the US.

    One day, one of his friends asked him for his e-mail. He said, “I haven't got one.” His friend couldn't believe his ears. “Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an e-mail?” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!”

    Mr. Green made a robot. He could say only one sentence—“There is no doubt (疑问) about it.” The robot always repeated the same words when you spoke to him.

    One day, Mr. Green needed lots of money and he took the robot to the market to sell him. “Who will buy my robot? He is very smart,” he shouted, “Twenty thousand dollars for my robot!”

    A man was surprised that he was asking for so much money. Instead of asking Mr. Green why he wanted so much money, he decided to speak to the robot. “Are you worth (值) twenty thousand dollars?” he asked the robot. “There is no double about it,” answered the robot.

    The man liked the robot's answer so much that he bought him and carried him home. But very soon he found that the robot could say nothing else. He was sorry he bought the robot. He stood in front of the robot and said, “How foolish I was to throw so much money away！”

    “There is no doubt about it,” said the robot.

    Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between the ticket office and us. This family made a big impression on me.

    There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn't have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children talked excitedly about the clowns. It was clearly a very important day out for them. The father and mother seemed happy as they could be.

    The tickets lady asked how many tickets the father wanted, he proudly answered," Please let me buy eight children's tickets and two adults' tickets, so I can take my family to the circus."

    The ticket lady told him the price.

    The man's wife lowered her head. There was no longer a smile on the man's face. He quietly asked," How much did you say?"

    The ticket lady again told him the price.

    The man obviously didn't have enough money. But how could he tell his kids the bad news?

    Seeing what was happening, my dad took a $20 note from his pocket and dropped in on the ground. (We were not rich ourselves at all!) He then tapped the man on the shoulder and said," Excuse me, sir, you dropped this."

    The man understood my father was helping him. He picked up the money, looked straight into my dad's eyes, and in tears replied." Thank you. This really means a lot to me and my family."

    Although we did not go to the circus that night, we didn't go without.

    Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and engineer, was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833, but moved to Russia with his parents in 1842, where his father, Immanuel, made a strong position for himself in the engineering industry. Immanuel Nobel invented landmines and made a lot of money from the government during the Crimean War(克里米亚战争), but went bankrupt soon after. Then, the family returned to Sweden in 1859, where Alfred began his own study of explosives in his father's lab. He had never been to school or university but had taught himself, and by the time he was twenty, he became a skillful chemist and excellent linguist, speaking Swedish, Russian, German, French and English. He built up about 100companies in 20 different countries. He was always searching for a meaning to life. He spent much time and money working on how to end the wars, and the peace between nations, until he died in Italy in 1896. His famous last will, in which he left money to provide prizes for outstanding work in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace, is a memorial to his interests and ideas. And so, the man is remembered and respected long after his death.