阅读理解

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.

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    Something very special happened to Tamara. She never knew she had a twin (双胞胎) sister until she started university!

    Tamara was born(出生) in Mexico. Her parents could not look after her so she went to live with a family in Manhattan, New York, USA.

    When Tamara was twenty years old, she started university in Long Island. She enjoyed her university life. But one day she was walking home from class, and a student smiled at her. "Hello, Adriana!" said the student. "I'm not Adriana," said Tamara.

    This happened to Tamara again and again. Tamara didn't know why people kept calling her Adriana. One day, when a woman called her Adriana, Tamara asked, "Why do you keep calling me Adriana?"

    The woman said, "You look like my friend Adriana. You have the same face and the same hair. Is Adriana your sister?" Tamara said that she did not have any sisters. But she was interested in the girl named Adriana. At last she asked someone for Adriana's e-mail address (地址).

    When Tamara wrote to Adriana, she found out that they both had the same birthday, they looked the same and both of them were from Mexico. When Tamara went to live with the family in Manhattan, Adriana moved to Long Island to live with a family there. It had to be true! Adriana and Tamara were twin sisters!

    Mike is 13 years old, and he is interested in collecting stamps. He began to collect stamps when he was 8 years old. He spends all his pocket money on stamps. Sometimes his parents send him stamps when he does well in his study. Therefore, Mike collects a lot of stamps. He often shows his stamps to his friends and his neighbours (邻居). He usually goes to his mail box (信箱) to get letters after school. He wants the stamps from them. One day, Mike went to the mail box to get letters. But there were no letters in his box. He found a letter in the box next to his. The letter is to Mrs Green. There was a beautiful stamp on the letter. So he got off the stamp carefully and hurried home. After he went home, he was afraid that Mrs Green would know he got her stamp. On the morning of the next day, Mike put the stamp back to Mrs Green's box and then went to school. When he came back from school, he met Mrs Green. She smiled to Mike. Mike smiled, too.

    I'll never forget the little boy called Dick. At that time, I worked in a hospital. There was a little girl. She was badly ill. The only chance to make her healthy again was a blood transfusion (输血) from her five-year-old brother Dick.

    The doctor told the boy about that and asked whether (是否) he would like to give his blood to his elder sister. Thinking of his sister, he thought for a moment, and took a deep breath. He said, "Yes, I will do this, if it saves her life."

    The moment came. His sister was lying on the bed next to him. The boy looked at her and smiled, but gradually his face became pale and his smile disappeared. He asked the doctor in a low voice, "Doctor, will I start to die right now?"

    The doctor smiled and said, "Of course not. You'll be stronger than before soon."

    The little boy thought that if he saved his sister, he would die, but he still chose to save her. What a brave boy!