Michael Jordan was born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Jordan is the fourth of the five children in his family. His family moved to North Carolina when he was just a baby. As a young boy, his favourite sport was baseball, but he soon found that he could play basketball as well. At the age of 17, he began to show people just how talented he really was. Throughout his basketball career, Michael Jordan has won many scoring titles. Many boys and girls look up to Michael Jordan as their hero. Do you know he has a hero, too, when he was growing up? He looks up to his older brother, Larry. Michael Jordan, a basketball superstar, is not just a star on the basketball court. He also works hard to raise money for many children's charities. He encourages children to develop their talents by practice, practice, and practice!

    Zeb Hogan is always traveling around the world to save endangered fish.

This famous ecologist(生态学家) grew up in a city in Arizona, America, but he had a big backyard with lots of trees. He spent his free time climbing trees and catching animals with his brother. They each had their favorite places in the biggest tree and they worked out ways to climb from tree to tree without ever touching the ground. Their family went camping in the summer and they would usually visit zoos and aquariums(水族馆) on their family vacations. His clearest memories as a child all had to do with animals and the outdoors. As he was older, he became interested in animal shows on TV and he would wake up early to watch Wild, Wild World of Animals before the other family woke up.

    One day when we talked about fish, he said, “As an ecologist, Mr. White, you should know that fish in most parts of the world have a hard life, such as the Mekong giant catfish, the Chinese paddlefish, taimen, and the Murray cod. They are all in danger and have to do with all kinds of challenges all by themselves. Water pollution is one of them. So these fish really need our help."

    We often hear stories of animals rescuing people．But now someone has managed to return the favor．

    The event took place one snowy January morning Thomas Smith was walking his dog，Jack，in the park．"As I was walking，I just saw Jack running onto the ice towards the ducks in the middle，and then he fell into the water and couldn't climb out，"said Smith．He realized he had no choice but to try and save his dog．"someone else told me the lake was only one﹣meter deep，but it was at least twice that．I had to break my way through the 6﹣cm ice．Finally，I got Jack by the neck，and pulled him out．I don't think I have ever felt so cold by the time we got back to dry land．And when we got there，everyone was asking if Jack was okay﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣no one was particularly worried，about me!"

    A neighbor，Julie Brown，saw it all happen．"The dog went onto an icy lake．All of a sudden，it started to go under．There were crowds of people around，and they were all shouting and screaming．Before I knew it，the owner Smith was in the water forcing his way through the ice．I can't begin to imagine how cold it was．Everyone was very nervous，but he was as cool as a cucumber﹣﹣﹣﹣﹣he just crawled back out，put the dog on its lead，and went home．"

    Many regard him as a hero，but Mr．Smith is quite laid﹣back about it．"Most dog owners are the same as me．They would do what I did without a second thought．But in the future，I'm going to make sure he's on lead near any ice ponds，Pets are members of our family．Would you do the same for them？

    When Justin Tong was a child, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him doing lots of housework such as carrying out the rubbish and sending newspapers. But when he grew up, he was better off than his childhood friends and lived a happier and healthier life.

This is the finding of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 children in London. It showed that the children who had worked hard in childhood had a richer and a happier future. "Children who worked in the home or community gained competence(能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said Daniel Brown, the psychologist(心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."

Brown's study followed these children in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Brown, the researchers compared the children's mental-health scores with their childhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.

    Working at any age is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence — the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this.

    Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."