Unfortunately, three men died in a car accident. Soon they found themselves at the gate of heaven and saw God. Before getting in, God asked each of them the same question. If they could answer the question perfectly, they would be allowed to get into the heaven.

    "I'm sorry for your death," said God. "But when you are in your casket(棺材)and your friends and family are standing beside you, what would you like to hear them say about you?"

    Afraid of being refused, the three men were nervous. They thought for a while.

    The first man said, "I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time, and a great father to my children." Hearing this, God let him in.

    The second man said. "I would like to hear them say that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher who made a great difference to children." God agreed and let him in too.

      Then it was the last man's turn. He looked anxious and replied, "God, I have lots of things to do for my family and the world. So I would like to hear them say, 'Look! He's moving!' "

    Karl was standing before the queen (女王). "You saved my horse," the queen said. "Now I want to give you a gift." The queen showed him two " boxes. In one box, there were lots of beautiful jewels (宝石), and in the other, there were two chickens.

    "Only one box can be yours," the queen said. "Make a wise choice (明智的选择)."

    "That's easy," Karl said. "I'll take the chickens." Some of the people around them laughed. They thought he made a foolish choice.

    "And why did you choose the chickens?" the queen asked. "Well, I don't know much about jewels," Karl answered. "But I do know about chickens. The chickens will give eggs to my family for a long time."

    The queen smiled. "The jewels you see are only colored glass (玻璃). The chickens are much more valuable ( 宝贵的)," she said. "You made a wise choice." Karl thanked the queen and got the box of chickens.

    "You are a smart man," the queen said. "I need a smart man to help take care of my horses. Would you like the job?" Karl smiled and said, "Yes. Thank you!"

    The job paid well. Now Karl's family could have a good life   all because of his choice.

    When an big earthquake hit Wenchuan on May 12，many houses fell down. After the earthquake，all the newspapers reported many stories about some of the families who were in trouble. 

    One Sunday，when I was reading a newspaper，a special picture touched（触动）me. It gave the clothing sizes of each family member. I thought that this would be a good chance to teach my children to help those who were less lucky than themselves. I said to my seven-year-old twins，Brad and Brett，and three-year-old Meghan. "We have so much，and these poor people now have nothing. We'll share what we have with them.

    I filled a box with foods and clothes. While I was doing this，I encouraged(鼓励) the boys to choose their toys and donate some of their less favorite things. Meghan watched quietly as the boys took out his old toys and games and put them together. Then she walked away. A few minutes later she came back with Lucy，her much-loved doll. She put the doll on top of the other toys. "Oh，dear，I said, ―You don't have to give Lucy. You love her so much.Meghan said，―Lucy makes me happy，Mommy. Maybe she'll make another little girl happy，too.

    I looked at Meghan for a long moment. She taught me a lesson. It's easy to give something that we don't want any more，but harder to give what we cherish（珍爱），isn't it?

It was the last day of our final exam. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering (工程学) students were 1 their exam, which would begin in a few minutes. There was 2 on their faces. This was their last exam—then on to graduation and jobs. After four years of college, they felt 3 to see the world. 

The exam, they knew, would be easy. The professor (教授) said they could bring any books or notes they wanted. They entered the room. The professor 4 the papers. And smiles became bigger as the students saw there were only 5 essay (论文) questions. 

Three hours passed. The professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. 6 they looked scared. The professor asked "How many of you finished all five questions?" Not a hand was 7 . 

"How many answered four?" Still no hands. "Three? Two? One; then?" But the class still stayed 8 . The professor put down the papers. "That is exactly what I expected, " he said. "I just want to tell you that9 you have finished four years of college, there are still many things you don't know. The questions you could not answer are about things you will work with every day."

Then, smiling, he added, "You will all pass this course, but remember——although you are now college graduates, your education has just started." Not everyone remembers this professor's name. But 10 of his students remember his final lesson. 

When Mary was just seven, her family moved to a new city. She went to school by school bus. One morning there was something wrong with the clock. When she got up, it was too late to take the school bus. Her mother said she could go to school in her car. 

"But how can you find the way, Mum?" Mary asked, "You went to our school only once. " "Yes, " her mother answered, "but you take the school bus there every day and you know the way. " "Oh, yes, " said Mary. 

They started out and the car went around most of the city before getting there. When they arrived, her mother found that the school was not really far from their house. 

"Why did you make us go so long a way?" her mother asked her. "Well, Mum, " answered Mary, "I know only this way. The bus always goes like this, so the other children can take it to school. "