Stephen Hawking was born in England in 1942. He is one of the most well-known scientists on space and time in the world. Hawking is researching how the universe began and how it ends. He is called the King of the Universe.

    When he studied math and science at Oxford University, he became seriously ill, which made him unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines. Till now, he can't move or feed himself and he is helped to dress, eat and wash by a nurse. However, he has a wheelchair with a special computer, with which he can communicate with others.

    In spite of all these difficulties, he refused to give up his hope of living and went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University. In 1965, he got a Doctor's Degree of philosophy(哲学). Because of his serious illness, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he is respected by people in the world. Then in 1988, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It has been sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China to give lectures. His self-confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply.

    From Hawking's unusual experiences , we learn that nobody should lose hope, no matter how bad the situation is .As he once said, “Life is not fair, you just have to do the best you can in your own situation.”

    Years ago I worked at a factory in a small county. Every day I got up very early and often did much extra work at night. I was so tired and exhausted. My whole life was hopeless. Then one day I read the following article from a magazine：

    "A woman went to live with her husband in camp on the Mojave Desert（沙漠）during the war. She simply hated the place: the heat was almost unbearable, 125degrees in the shade, the wind blew incessantly, and there was sand-sand everywhere. Finally, in desperation（不顾-切地）she wrote her parents in Ohio that she couldn't stand it another minute and was coming home.

    Quickly came the reply by airmail from her father just two lines：

    'Two men looked out from prison bars. One saw the mud, the other saw stars.'

    The daughter did some real thinking, not only with the intellect（思维）but also with her heart. She decided to stick to her post.

    She made friends with the natives, learned to love the country, and eventually wrote a book about it. The desert hadn't changed, but her attitude had. Because she listened with her heart to the words her father sent, a whole new world opened up to her. "

    A change of attitude could change everything. After reading the article, I was deep in thought（陷入沉思）.

    Mr Brown got up late this morning. He was going to be late for work.

It was raining hard and the streets were wet. He drove so fast that he didn't see the red light. He couldn't stop his car and hit a car.

    An old man got out of the car and called out angrily, "What are you doing? How can you drive so fast?"

    "I'm sorry, sir, "said Mr Brown. "I didn't see the light turn red." "I will make you drunk(醉的)," he said to himself. Then he brought out a bottle of wine and gave it to the old man. "It's cold today, sir," said Mr Brown." Please drink a little, and then you'll get warm."

    The old man drank some wine and became happy. He asked, "I'm feeling much better now. Why don't you drink any?"

     "I can't drink anything now, sir, "answered Mr Brown." I'm waiting for the policeman. Only drunkards cause accidents, you know! "

    A young man went to a job interview in a big company. The director discovered that the young man's college grades were great. He wondered who paid for the young man's education. The young man told him that his parents did and they worked as clothes cleaners.

    The director found that the young man's hands were smooth and perfect. "Have you ever helped your parents wash clothes?" the director asked. "No. My parents always let me study. Besides, my parents can wash clothes faster than me."

    The director asked him to go back home and wash his parents' hands. When he got home, he asked his parents to let him clean their hands. His parents felt strange but happy. Then the young man began to clean their hands slowly.

    His tears fell as he did that. He found that his parents'hands were so old and pale because of long time in water. There were also so much hurt in their hands. He knew the hurt had much to do with his school fees (费用). After cleaning his parents' hands, the young man quietly washed all the rest clothes for them.

    The next morning, the young man went to the director's office. The director noticed the tears in the young man's eyes. He told the young man that he was accepted.

    Suzie goes to her art class on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. She always looks forward to those days when she can do creative things all afternoon. She loves making bowls and cups out of clay(粘土).

    Last month she learned to put pottery(陶器) into a hot oven（炉子）, called a kiln, to make it hard and strong. What Suzie likes best about art is the good feeling she gets when she has finished working on a piece of art. And then when she takes it home to show her parents she feels so proud of what she has made.

    On Wednesday Suzie wrote an article about why she thought the school should have two short breaks a day rather than one long break. Lots of her friends thought that this would be a good idea too. Many teachers also agreed with Suzie's suggestion.

    The head teacher of the school asked everyone in the school to vote(表决)on Suzie's suggestion. During the vote, each person in the school had one vote. Together, the school decided that two short breaks would be better than one long break. All of this happened because Suzie wrote about her idea in the school newspaper.

    On the day the newspaper comes out, the first thing Suzie does is to check where her article is in the newspaper. And each month, at the beginning of her article, are the words: By Suzanne Jefferson.

    On the way home from school yesterday, Suzie got to think about how much art and writing are the same. In art class she thinks of creative things to make, and then spends a lot of time making it look just right.

    And when she writes articles for the school newspaper, she thinks of creative things to say, and then spends a lot of time making it sound just right. And when she has finished writing a really good sentence, she feels almost as if she has made a beautiful piece of art.

    Suzie rushed home so she could write something shortly before dinner. She already had lots of ideas for next month's newspaper. And she wanted to make sure that none of her creative ideas floated away before she wrote them down on paper

Clothes Donation (捐赠) Box

    Have you ever put your old clothes into the donation box in your neighborhood? If not, you can do it right now because the clothes donation is becoming a trend (趋势) in Urumqi.

    "From time to time, my mother clears out the clothes which I no longer wear. You know, we teenagers are growing fast. I think it's a good way to help others." Lin Tao, a junior student says.

    "I often pick out some of my clothes which are out of style after going shopping. Then I put them into the donation box." Miss Li, a pretty young lady says.

    "That seems like a good idea. Some clothes in the box are quite new. People can either wear them or use them to make things such as handbags and pencil cases," Mrs Wang, an old woman says, "sometimes I also look through the box for some nice clothes."

    However, there are some problems along with the popularity of clothes donation. Recently, a UTV reporter from Focus on the City has made a survey. Here are the results:

    Some boxes are full of clothes in a short time. There is no more room for people to give away clothes.

    Some people sell the clothes in the donation box for making money instead of wearing them.

    Some communities set the boxes in unsuitable places. So there are few clothes in it.

    Many clothes are too old and shabby (破烂的).

    "What's worse," one of the staff in a community added, "we quite often see people throw rubbish into the box when they pass by. We've tried to stop them several times but failed. It has been the most serious problem since we set the box."

    In order to make the donation box work in an efficient (有效的) way, our government is taking action. Clothes donation will be better-organized and it'll be more convenient for people in need to take the clothes away.