A man was walking along the street when he saw a woman carrying a large box. It was half in and half out of her car. So the man went up and said, “The box looks very heavy. Let me give you a hand.”

 “That's very kind of you,” the woman said, “I'm having a lot of trouble with it. Maybe it sticks (卡住) in the car door.”

 “Together we'll soon move it,” the man said. “I'll get in and take the other end.” And he got in the car.

 “Right,” the man said. “I'm ready,” and he began to push the box hard. For several minutes, the man and the woman tried to move the box. Soon they felt very tired.

    They rested for a moment. Then the woman said, “Let's try again. One, two, three!” They went on moving the box.

    At last, when they were exhausted, the man said, “I'm sorry, but I don't think there's any way to get it out of your car.”

 “Get it out?” the woman cried. “I'm trying to get it in! You know?”

    Mike is a factory worker. He is often very tired after a day's work. His wife, Jenny, has no job, so she stays at home to cook the meals. Every day he can have his dinner when he gets home from his factory.  

    One day, Mike came home very late because he was very busy in the factory. He was very hungry when he got home. He was not happy when he found his dinner was not ready. He was very angry with his wife. He shouted at her, "I'm going out to eat in a restaurant." "Wait for five minutes，" said his wife. "Why? Do you think that dinner will be ready in five minutes?" asked Mike. "Of course not," she answered. "But I can be ready to go with you in five minutes."    

    Some parents are always comparing their children with themselves when they were young, or with other people when they were children.

    "When I was your age," a father said to his sixteen-year-old son one day, "I was at the top of my class every year. And I knew what I wanted to do when I left school. I had goals. You are always at the bottom of your class, and you have no goals."

    The man's son said nothing. He had heard this from his father many times.

    "And when your mother was your age," the boy's father went on, "she had a good job and she was earning money. You don't even have a part-time job. You earn nothing."

    The man's son still said nothing. He had heard this before, too.

    "And when your older brother was your age," the boy's father went on, "he studied hard. You just waste your time."

    And the man's son still said nothing.

    Finally, the boy's father said, "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, he worked all day and studied at night."

    This time the son could not stay silent.

    "And when Abraham Lincoln was your age, Father," he said, "he was the President of the United States. What are you?"

His father had no answer to this.