“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.

C

    I'm a 34-year-old man. I lived in a nice house and have a successful career. But my life was not always so great. I had trouble learning from an early age. The school life was difficult for me.

    My life improved quickly when I discovered art. The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words. I went to an art school and became good at making things with dough. Here I learned my first important lesson: although I had trouble learning, I could still be smart and well express myself with dough. And I became confident from then on.

    I got my next lesson from rock climbing. It was a fun thing but I was frightened from the start. After about five years of climbing, I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time, you will get better at it.

    Later I decided to learn how to read. Every day I practiced reading. After two hard years, I did well in it. And reading changed my life a lot.

    After learning art, rock climbing, and reading, now I've learnt that when we face difficulties, we should not give up. God closes a door for you, and will open another window for you.

    Ryan's life was nearly perfect. He had lots of friends on his block. They walked to school together every day, and after school they always had time to play.

    Ryan did have one problem. It was his two-year-old sister, Allie. She was too small to play ball games. She couldn't climb trees yet.  Ryan and his friends didn't want her around.

    Ryan tried asking his mum to keep Allie at home. "Why does my sister have to come along?" he asked. "Troy's sister doesn't. Jimmy's sister doesn't. Why me?"

    Ryan's mother just laughed, "Troy's sister is only six months old, and Jimmy doesn't have a sister. Allie is nice, isn't she?"

    Today, Ryan was going to play baseball with his friends after school. Allie followed him as usual. The boys used to play football, but one of them broke a window at Mr Mcwhirter's house. Mr Mcwhirter wouldn't give them their ball back.

    The game got started. Allie sat on a stone nearby. Minutes later it was Jimmy's turn to hit the ball. Unluckily, it fell right into Mr Mcwhirter's yard.

    The boys ran over to Mr Mcwhirter's fence (栅栏). The ball was just out of reach.

    "None of us can fit through the fence." Jimmy said.

    The boys looked glum.

    Suddenly, Jimmy got an idea. "Allie, come over!" he called. "Would you like to get that ball for us?"

    Allie looked at the boys. Then she slipped through the fence, picked up the ball and came back out of the yard.

    "Wow," said Troy. "So quick! Thanks, Allie."

    "Nice job," said Jimmy.

    "Come on," said Ryan, suddenly proud of his kid sister. "I'll teach you how to swing the bat."

    Many people like animals. Now a lot of people have animals as pets (宠物). Usually people like to have dogs, cats, fish and other animals. Many young people have animals because they think theseanimals are interesting. Some old people have pets because they don't live with their children.Mollylives in No.25 Garden Street. He is a doctor, but he helps dogs. People usually call him The Dog Doctor. When their dogs get sick (生病), they call him on the telephone. He goes to the people's houses and helps them. He gives the dogs the right medicine(药物). Wherever(无论) he goes, he isalways welcome.

    Mr. and Mrs. Turner live outside a small town. They have a big farm and they are always busy working on it. Their son, Peter, studied at a middle school. The young man studied hard and did well in his lessons. It made them happy.

    Last month Peter finished middle school and passed the entrance examination (升学考试). Mrs. Turner was very happy and told the farmers about it.

    Yesterday morning the woman went to the town to buy something for her son. On the bus she told one of her friends how clever and able her son was. She spoke very loudly. All the people in the bus began to listen to her.

    "Which university (大学) will your son study in?" a woman next to her asked.

    "In the most famous university in our country!" Mrs. Turner said happily.

    "The most famous university?"

    "Oxford University (牛津)."

    Most of the passengers (乘客) looked at her carefully. Some of them said to her, "Congratulations!"

    A woman said, "I'm sure he'll know Fred Smith."

    "Who's Fred Smith?"

    "He's my son."

    "Does he study in the university, too?"

    "No," said the woman. "He is one of the professors."