Tyler was a troublesome student. He sat in the back row. Every time I called him to answer questions, he'd reply with a flip（轻率的）answer. If he got it wrong, he would get very angry.
    Usually kids could sit quietly in class. However, Tyler was just loud. One day, Tyler was talking while I was teaching. I said to him, “Tyler, why not join in our discussion instead of having one of your own?” He got up from his chair, pushed it over, and shouted something I can't remember. I sent him to the office and he received a week's out-of-school punishment.
    The week was a wonderful time for me, but when it came to an end, I began to feel worried. So I came up with a plan. On the day of his return, I told him I wanted to start over with him. If he felt like he was going to lose control in class, he could step outside the door for a moment.
    From then on, Tyler was a changed student in my classroom. In fact he was a smart child and he even stopped a fight between two students one day. And he never used the privilege（特权）to leave the class for a moment. I believe that just letting him decide for himself made all the difference.
    When the year was over, he wrote me a thank-you note about how good the year had been for him. I still have it today and find it very moving to reread when I get stressed about teaching.

    An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation (手术) could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money. When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother， “Only a miracle (奇迹) can save him now，” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully. She ran to a drugstore（药店）with the money in her hand.

    “And what do you want?” asked the salesman.

    “It's for my little brother，” the girl answered. “He's really， really sick and I want to buy a miracle.”

    “Pardon?” said the salesman.

    “My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?”

    “We don't sell a miracle here， child. I'm sorry，” the salesman said with a smile.  

    “Listen， if it isn't enough， I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”

     A well-dressed man heard it and asked， “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”

    “I don't know，” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He's really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can't pay for it， so I have brought all my money.”

    “How much do you have?” asked the man.

    “$ 1.11， but I can try and get some more，” she answered.

    “Well， what luck，” smiled the man. “$ 1.11， the price of a miracle for little brothers.” He took up the girl's hand and said， “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”

    That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong， a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn't long before Andrew was home again

    How much did the miracle cost?

C

    When Matty Sallin，34，was working on a degree in art and technology at New York University，he got interesting homework in electronics class．He decided to create an alarm clock(闹钟)．

    "Everybody has to deal with these every day，and they are really unpleasant!"he says．He asked different people what they would like to wake up to instead of a noisy alarm．A lot of them said，"The smell of bacon(培根肉)"．

    So Sallin and two classmates invented a new kind of alarm clock：a wooden box with a pig face and a digital clock that uses the smell of cooking bacon instead of the sound to wake someone up．He explains．"There's no danger of burning，because I built it carefully．It uses halogen light bulbs(卤素灯)instead of a fire for cooking and turns off automatically after ten minutes．Yes,the clock itself can do it．Just a few easy steps are needed to set the alarm．"

    "What you do is to put some frozen bacon in the night before and set the alarm，"says Sallin．

    "If you set the alarm for 8：00,it will turn on at 7：50 and slow cook for ten minutes under the halogen bulbs．"he says，Then the bulbs turn off and a fan blows the smell out through the nose of the pig．

    "So instead of an alarm，  ▲，"says Sallin．"Then you can open the door on the side and pull the bacon out and eat it．"

    When Sallin was a kid，he spent a lot of time making drawing of inventions．"I wanted to make an lift in my backyard and a special tree house．"he says．"But I never really thought I'd be called an inventor!"

    Sallin got an A in the class and went on to other things—but people continue to hear about his invention and email him every day asking where they can buy his alarm clock．

    Long long ago, there was a small village in the mountains, and many people lived there. Mike was one of them. He was a middle-aged man. The people in the village always laughed at him. They liked to show visitors how stupid Mike was. They thought this was an amusing thing to do.

    One day, a visitor came to the village. "Watch this!" a villager said and called to Mike." Come and play a game, Mike." he shouted. Mike walked slowly towards him, with a silly smile on his face. "Look, Mike, "the villager said, "I have got something for you." He showed Mike a $1 coin and a much larger 50￠（美分） coin." Which one would you like？" he asked Mike, holding them both out. Mike immediately took the 50￠coin. The villager laughed." See how stupid he is!" he said," He always does that. How stupid he is!" He walked away, leaving Mike with the visitor.

    The visitor felt sorry for Mike." Mike, listen," he said," Although the 50￠ coin is bigger than the 1 coin, the 1 coin is worth much more. Twice as much." "I know that," Mike said," But the very first time I take the $1 coin, they will stop playing the game. "Mike went away and left the visitor in silence.

    At midnight, Mr. King coughed again. He got up and took some medicine. Before he lay down again, he smoked. And he couldn't go to sleep any longer. He found the medicine book and began to read it. He was afraid he had lung cancer (肺癌）He seemed to see death was waiting for him. Tears ran down his face. He didn5t see his wife was standing by him.

    "What's wrong with you, dear?" asked the woman.

    "Nothing," the old man answered and covered his face with his hands.

    The old woman opened the book and understood at once. She said, "You must stop smoking right now."

    "I began to smoke when I was nine, you know. How can I do that?"

    "But I think health is more important".

    Mr. King coughed again and his wife said, "Go to see a doctor tomorrow. He will be able to help you, I think."

    The doctor told Mr. King to have an X-ray examination of his lungs. And then he looked at the X-ray carefully for a long time.

    "Tell me the truth, doctor," said Mr. King, "Do you see any shadows (阴影）in my lungs?"

    "No, I don't see anything."

    "Yes?" the old man said happily. "Really?"

    "Yes. Your lungs are turning black. How can I see any shadows?