Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out.

Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and finished bottom of his class. Now, aged 79, the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell(干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance(坚持不懈) can lead.

At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon's high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was "quite ridiculous".

In spite of his teacher's criticisms, Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

    "My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work." Gurdon said.

    In 1962, Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic(基因的) information into an egg cell. The egg cell then grew into a clone(克隆) of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first cloned mammal(哺乳动物) in the world.

    In 2006, Gurdon's work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample(样本) of a person's skin can be used to create stem cells. Using this technique, doctors can repair a patient's heart after a heart attack.

    "Luck favors the prepared mind, "Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization." Ninety percent of the time things don't work, but when they do, you have to seize(抓住) the chance. "

    A long time ago, there was a man. He wanted to buy a pair of new shoes. He measured(量) his feet with a straw(稻草)，and then went to a shoe shop in town.

    The shopkeeper took out a pair of new shoes, and let him try it on. But when he looked into his pocket, he found that the straw was not there. So he said, “I'm sorry, I forgot to bring the size(尺寸) here! Let me go home to get it.” After that, he ran out of the shop. It was very far from his home to the shoe shop. When he got back home, he was out of breath.

    With a straw in his hand, he hurried to the shoe shop again. But the shop was closed.

    Someone near the man said, “Your feet are with you. Why don't you try which pair of shoes fits(合适)? And why do you believe your straw, but not your feet?”

    My friend Mary came to school wearing a brand-new pair of Zee jeans. “Your new Zee jeans are so cute!” I said.

    “My grandma took me clothes shopping last weekend,” Mary said. “The Zee jeans were on sale. They have cool pockets and are unbelievably comfortable. When you're at my house after school, try them on and see for yourself.”

    “Hmm.” I didn't think so. But when I tried them on, I couldn't help agreeing. “I'm totally taking these!” I said. As soon as I got home, I told my mom that I had to get some Zee jeans.

    Mom said, “You already have three pairs of perfectly good jeans. There is no way Dad and I are paying that much for a pair of pants. If you want to buy them with your own money, I would be happy to make a long list of extra chores you can do.”

    “I'll start this minute,” I said.

It took me three weeks to save enough money. I changed kitty litter, watched my little brother and sister, and cleaned refrigerator. The refrigerator cleaning was the worst because one of the shelves fell while I was taking everything out. Food and milk splashed all over the floor. It took me one and a half hour to clean it up!

    Anyway, I finally bought my Zee jeans, and I loved them even more than I thought I would. I loved them half because they had cool pockets and super comfortable, and half because I had worked so hard to earn the money to buy them myself.

    "Doctor Johnson, I don't want to eat now, that's because nothing has a taste for me. It's been like this for long. In fact, I didn't have a delicious meal after I caught a terrible cold last month, What can I do?"

    "Here are some medicine, Mrs. Harris. Take three pills three times a day for seven days and come back and see me. But remember, don't eat anything during the week, or you can just drink some water."

    Next week an upset Mrs. Harris came into Dr. Johnson's office. "Doctor! I'm doing it just as you told me, but delicious food is still tasteless for me. I don't know what was in those pills, but the problem is worse! What do you have to say for yourself?"

    "But when and how do you take these pills?" asked the doctor.

    "At first, I took these pills three times a day, just before dinner," continued the woman, "but these pills are too bitter (苦). So I had to take these pills after three meals."

    "Calm down, Mrs. Harris," said the doctor soothingly. "Now that we've fixed your taste problem, It's OK now, we'll work on your hearing!"

Albert Einstein（1879—1955）

Early Life

Albert Einstein was born in 1879 in Germany. He was an extraordinary person since he wasborn. Einstein wasn't able to speak a word until three. He was always interested in things around and full of imagination. He loved watching things carefully and asked a lot of questions about them. His questions were often hard to answer for teachers. 

Schooling

Einstein started school in 1885. Though he did well in maths and science，he failed in many subjects like history，geography and languages. Einstein finished high school in Switzerland and entered a university in Zurich. He graduated（大学毕业）as a teacher of maths and physics in 1900. 

Scientific Work

After graduation，Einstein worked at the Patent Office. He spent much time studying physics. By 1909，Einstein had become a top scientist. Though he became successful in the field of science，he won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1921. 

Later life

Einstein kept at his research until he died in 1955. Scientists studied his brain after his death to see if there was anything special about it. However，there was no answer. 

Today，many famous scientists still think Einstein is the smartest man in the world. 

On Wednesday, August 7, China got its first-ever gold medal in artistic swimming at the Paris Olympic Games. 

Among the impressive performers were twin sisters, Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi. Born in 1997 and grew up in Shenzhen, the sisters took an interest in artistic swimming when they came to Shenzhen sports team in 2005, asking to learn artistic swimming. The twins almost didn't make it to the team because of their parents heights. 

There is an unwritten rule in artistic swimming. If a sportswoman is less than 1.68 meters tall, she is unlikely to become a professional. The twins' father is less than 1.7 meters tall, while their mother is a little taller than 1.6 metres, which means the daughters are unlikely to be tall enough. 

However, the twins' strong will and strengths impressed Hu, coach (教练) of Shenzhen team. She recalled that twins, who studied at Nanshan Foreign Languages School, went for training after school every day. At 20 years old, the twins grew to be 1.72 meters tall. They were among the tallest when joining the national artistic swimming team in 2017.

With good physical quality and willingness to bear hardships, through years of hard training, they became key players and got a lot of medals. In 2010, the twins won the gold medal at the provincial games. They also won a gold and a bronze medal at the national games in 2013 and 2017. Then, they won four gold medals at the 2022 World Championships in Hungary and a gold in the duet event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, winning the right for the Paris Olympics.