Jim, a young farmer, was once put into prison (监狱).

    One day, he got a letter from his mother. "I'm so worried about our farm," she wrote. "It's time to plant potatoes. I can't dig(挖) all the fields by myself. "

    Jim read the letter and became sad. "What can I do?" he thought. Then he had a good idea. He wrote to his mother, "Don't dig the fields. There's a pot of money in the earth. Don't plant potatoes until I come home."

    Some days later, Jim got another letter from his mother. It said, "Two days ago, about ten men came to our farm and dug all our fields. I can't understand it. It looks as if they were looking for something. What shall I do?"

    Jim smiled when he read his mother's letter. He wrote a letter to his mother at once. It was very short. Guess what it would say?

    I live on the twelfth floor of a building. One afternoon I am coming home from a friend's house. It is just after four o'clock. I get quickly into the lift and press Button(按钮) 12.

    The lift starts to go up, but very slowly. And then, half way up, it suddenly(突然) stops between two floors. I couldn't understand it. I press(按)an all the buttons from 1 to 14. I call for help very loudly. But nobody answers.

    Then suddenly the lights go out, and I am alone in the dark. I start to cry and beat the walls of the lift. I cry and cry until I have no voice left. Then, I feel hopeless, and press all the buttons with my open hands. And all at the same time, there is a bell far away. It rings and rings. It is the fire alarm(火灾警报). I think the whole building is on fire. I say to the God quietly, “Just get me out of here. I'll never be bad again.”

    Just then, I realize the lift is moving very slowly. On the ground floor it stops, and the door opens. A man is standing there. “How long have you been there? It is good that you press the alarm bell. But haven't you learned to read at your school? ” He points at a small piece of paper on the wall beside the lift. It says： “Attention (注意)： This lift will be stopped for repairs between 4 pm and 5 pm on Thursday, March 13.”

    Jane was from a small village in Southern America. Her family was poor and noodles were often their only food. Her parents couldn't afford to pay the electricity bill (电费), so she had to study by candle light.

    What was worse, to live on, her parents moved to a faraway village with the other four children. As for Jane, she didn't want to give up learning and she dreamed to enter a famous university. She stuck to living alone in her village.

    After Jane's parents left, she lived a really difficult life. Having no place to live in, the homeless girl had to sleep on the back seat of the school bus. Luckily, Mrs. Brown, the caring school bus driver, learned about Jane's situation and invited her to live with her family. Soon, Jane found a job in her school. She worked from 6 a. m. to 7:40 a. m. before the first school bell rang. She swept floors and picked up rubbish again in the afternoon. With the money she got from the work, she paid for her education. And she stayed up late in the evenings studying for all kinds of exams day after day.

    Jane's hard work made a difference to her life. She finished high school with unexpected results. She was accepted by Harvard, one of the world's most famous universities with full scholarship (全额奖学金).

The 18-year-old girl created her own future with her never-give-up attitude and hard work.

    A poor (贫穷的) man goes to a rich (富有的) man's house. On the way, he sees a box under a tree. He opens it and sees some apples in it.

    The man thinks, "I will have dinner in the rich man's house. He will give me nice food to eat. It will be very delicious." So he doesn't eat the apples. He throws them away (扔掉).

    The man walks on and comes to a river. He can't go across it. He waits for some time, but there is no boat coming. "What a bad day! I can't go to the rich man's house today," he thinks.

    The man has to go back home. He doesn't have any food at home. He is very hungry. He thinks of the apples. He goes back to the tree. He is very happy to see them near the tree, and he eats them quickly.

   The story tells us: Do not throw away good things; you may need them some other time.