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Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous scientists in the world. He was born in 1942. He's a famous scientist and expert on space and time. Stephen is trying to find the answers to some very big questions, such as: how did the universe begin? How will it end? These questions are very hard for us to understand. But they are very important and can tell us many things about the universe.

Stephen studied Maths and science when he was a student at university. Then, at the age of twenty-one, he became sick. He was so young, but the doctors said to his family, “He has only two more years to live.” As a matter of fact, the doctors were wrong — he didn't die. He can't walk now but he uses a wheelchair. He can't feed himself and get in or out of bed himself. But he refuses to give in. He talks with the help of a computer. After Oxford, Stephen went to Cambridge University. Three years later, in 1965, he became a Doctor of Philosophy.

Because of his serious health problem, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams (图表) or write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he became one of the most famous scientists in the world. In 1981, he met the Pope (教皇) in Rome. They talked about his ideas. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It was sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China. He impressed us with his self-confidence and humorous conversation.

     In April 2004，Sharon Tirabassi got more than$10 million by winning a lottery (彩票抽奖)．She became very rich．But just in nine years，she spent almost all the money．Now she even has to work hard to make enough money for everyday use．

    Before she won the lottery,Sharon lived in a small house with her three children and didn't have enough money for a car．After she won it，she was unprepared for the change to her life．She spent most of her time shopping with her friends and paid for everything．She bought a big house in the richest part of town and four cars．

    Today Sharon lives in a rented(租来的)house on a quiet street—not far from where she started．She doesn't have the big house or the expensive cars．She goes to work by bus or by bike．

    But Sharon says she's happier now than before，and she lives life more fully than she did before．"When l was rich．I spent all my time shopping．But now other things are more important to me，"says Sharon．Now Sharon works hard and often talks with her children．"I'm trying to get them to learn that they have to work for money"she says．

根据材料内容完成下列任务。

    Long ago, a wolf called Howler lived in a valley where lots of fruit trees grew. He often tried to climb up the trees to eat the fruit, but couldn't reach.

    In the valley, an old man named Martin also had a few fruit trees that he looked after very well. But as he was getting older, he noticed that he didn't have the strength to pick the fruit.

    Martin had the most beautiful fruit trees in the valley, which was why Howler had his eye on them. One day he decided to steal the fruit and started jumping up and down the tree.

    Martin looked out of the window and realized that the wolf was trying to steal fruit from his beautiful trees. Howler jumped and jumped, but he couldn't reach even the lowest branches of such a big tree.

    Seeing this, Martin had a great idea: he offered Howler a ladder to climb up, but in return the wolf would have to give him half of the fruit. Howler accepted the deal and began to collect the fruit. For the whole morning, he went up and down the ladder filling his basket with the fruit.

    Howler soon realized that he could eat all the fruit if he didn't give Martin some. He thought up a new and secret plan. Martin, on the other hand, trusted Howler and even began to think they would be friends forever.

But the wolf stole the ladder and went off to other trees in the area for more fruit.

    Realizing that the ladder was missing, Martin went looking for it. Martin felt very disappointed at the trick and no longer trusted Howler. Though he wasn't angry with the wolf and they became friends again, he never made any more deals with him.

    At last, Howler learned that he shouldn't trick people and he should keep promises. He also learned that if he had been honest and not greedy, he would still have been able to enjoy more delicious fruit.

    Mr White was over 80 years old, but he looked younger than his age. He played Tai Chi in the park every day, so he was very healthy. It was 11:30. It was time for him to walk home. He usually got home thirty minutes later. One day, Mr White didn't get home when it was 12：30. His family worried about him. After a short while, a police car stopped in front of their house. What happened?

    "The old man was lost and he called us for help," the policeman said.

    When the policeman left, Mr White's daughter asked her father, "Dad, you go to the park every day. How can you be lost?" "I'm not lost at all. I'm just tired. I don't want to go home on foot," answered Mr White with a smile.

Dear Cheng Xiaoyu,

    I'm Betty White. I'm from Boston, America. My parents are "teachers at Harvard University(哈佛大学). My brother Dave and I are students at Dale School. I'm in Class One Grade Five. Dave is in Class One Grade Six. Dave likes English and I like PE(体育). After school, I play basketball with Dave at Harvard University. I know your name from "the Internet(因特网). I want to be your friend. My telephone number is 654 098.

Yours,

Betty