For years I wanted a garden. I'd spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together.

    But then we had Mathew， and Marvin， and the twins -- Alisa and Alan， and then Helen. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

    Money was not enough. Neither was time. Often when my children were little， one of them would want something that cost too much， I'd have to say，"Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn't grow on trees， you know."

    Finally， all the children got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about a garden.

    Then， one spring morning， on Mother's Day， I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly， I looked out of the window and there was a new tree， planted right in my yard. There were things blowing around on it. Then I put my glasses on and I couldn't believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

    I went out to look. It was true! There were dollar bills， one hundred of them， hanging all over that tree. There was also a note among them， "Thank you for your time， Mom. We love you!"

    Later， my children bought me tools， ornaments（装饰品）， a sunflower stepping stone and gardening books. A new page started in my life.

    That was three years ago. My garden is now very pretty， just like I wanted. When I go out and take care of my flowers， I don't seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they're right there with me. Now every year when winter comes， I look out of my window and think of the flowers I'll see next spring in my little garden. I think about what my children did for me， and I get tears in my eyes -- every time.

    I'm still not sure that money grows on trees. But I know love does!

    Yuri Gagarin was a famous Soviet astronaut. He was born in a town in the west of Moscow on 9 March, 1934. He showed great interest in flight and universe when he was a school boy. His Maths teacher was a pilot during the Second World War. Yruri Gagarin learnt a lot from him.

    Later, Yuri Gagarin went to a technical school and learnt to fly a small plane. In 1955, after graduating from the technical school, he entered a flight training school.

    In 1960, Gagarin was selected as one of the 20 astronauts for the space programme of his country. Along with the others, he had a lot of tests of his physical and mental abilities. He was the best.

    On 12 April, 1961, he made history. He orbited(绕……轨道而行) the Earth for 108 minutes. After returning safely, Gagarin became a hero in his country, and people in other countries were also very interested in his flight.

    Gagarin never went into space again, but he trained other astronauts, including the first woman in space.

    On 27 March, 1968, the first spaceman died in a plane crash because of bad weather.

    Once a young man hoped to study law and he wrote to Lincoln for advice, who lived most of his adult life as a practicing lawyer. Lincoln replied, "If you make up your mind to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already. Always keep in mind that your own decision to succeed is more important than any other thing."

    Lincoln knew this because he had gone through it all. He had never, in his life，had more than a total of one year's schooling. And books? Lincoln once said he had walked to borrow every book fifty miles away from his home. A fire was usually kept going all night in the small house and he read by the light of it.

    He walked twenty or thirty miles to hear a speaker and, returning home, he practiced his talks everywhere—in the fields, in the woods, before the crowds. He joined several societies and practiced speaking on the topics of the day.

    Being short of confidence always troubled him. He was shy before women. Even when he was in love with Mary Todd, he used to sit there, nervous and silent, unable to find words, listening while she did the talking. Yet that was the man who, by practice and home study, made himself into a famous speaker with great eloquence(雄辩).

    When he spoke of his own great painful experiences, he wrote, "If you make up your mind to make a lawyer of yourself, the thing is more than half done already."

    Ou Pingqin was a teacher in a special school (for deaf and mute（聋哑）students）,who has recently been considered the Most Beautiful Teacher in China.

    After graduating from a college, she went to this school alone and worked there for nearly twenty years. The headmaster of the school said, “She worked hard and taught well. She was a backbone teacher in our school. She was also the most welcome teacher among the students. For students, she was like a mother. They called her Little Mother.”

    One day, when she was talking with her students in the dormitory. It looked as if something heavy would fall off. It was dangerous. At that time, without any hesitation（犹豫）, she pushed two students away, but she was hit heavily. However, she continued working with great pain later.

One of her officemates （同事） said, "Ou Pingqin was not only a teacher but also a mother to her students in her class. She cared about their studies and even their life. She was very strict in her work."

    A student's parent said, "She was very warm-hearted. My son lost his father who supported the family. Every month, the teacher gave him 100 yuan to buy books from her own income." She gave all her life to the teaching and her students, but she didn't marry when she died at the age of 36.

    Ou Pinqin's deeds have drawn much attention in the country. She was the students' Little Mother, but gave them great love.