My parents took me to Japan when I was little. I lived there for five years.1 I came back, my Japanese was very good. "Can I do something useful with my Japanese?" I asked myself.

    Then, one day last spring, I got a good opportunity(机会).

    Everyone was afraid of SARS, so I stayed at home with 2 to do.

    My father brought me a Japanese book. "Why don't you translate(翻译)it into Chinese? It will be better than3computer games all day."

    I promised (许诺)to do 2000 words each day. But 4 I found it was hard to keep the promise.

    One day in May, the weather was beautiful. But I couldn't go out. Those 2000 words were still5 me.

    After translating only three pages, I had already lost interest in the book.

    I looked at it for a long time. But I couldn't make myself turn the pages. How I6 I could just go outside and play football with my friends!

    I counted the words again and again .I just wanted to give up.

    I felt as if two people were fighting7 my mind. One said, "Don't give up! Keep working hard , and you'll do well!" But then the other one said ,"Go and play! It will be more 8 than translating. Do your work tomorrow. "

    I stood up and would9the computer.

    But then I remembered 10my parents had told me: "Whatever you do, don't stop halfway. " So I sat down and went on with it .

    Zhang Lei is a highly skilled（技艺精湛的） doctor. He was born in a lonely1village. The people there lived a hard life. They seldom walked out of the mountain. They could2get good education. However, Zhang Lei was3, for he not only went to college, but he also became an excellent doctor. Then what made him lucky? A volunteer teacher called Han Xue encouraged him, and4his life.

    When Han Xue first entered Zhang Lei's school, she couldn't5her eyes. She was shocked by the sights（情景） in front of her: broken windows, small old desks and chairs. Even worse, students of different ages were in the6classroom. It was the only class in the school. Han Xue realized7poor the people were in education. She planned to8as many ways as she could to help them. One day when Han Xue was giving a class, Zhang Lei9some noises for fun. Other kids laughed. At that time Han Xue decided to make good use of the10to help him. She walked towards Zhang Lei and asked him to put out his hands. Looking at them11, Han Xue said with a kind smile, "As soon as I see your little12, I know you will become a highly skilled doctor in the future. Come on!" Hearing this, Zhang Lei was surprised because almost13 said such words this way. Zhang Lei couldn't believe that completely, but he remembered what the teacher said in his heart.

    After that, Zhang Lei studied harder and then made more14continuously. Later, Zhang Lei went to college. After many years, he became a famous doctor, saving many lives.15Zhang Lei talks about his life, he always expresses thanks to his volunteer teacher. Her encouraging words have made what he is.

    During our business trip in the New Jersey, we visited quite a lot of places. I was always the 1 whose responsibility is to provide our driver with the most time—saving route and plan everything in the travelling.

    Every time one day 2 our trip, I will search on the Internet for the information about the place we will 3 Usually, the local government or some travel agencies(代理）have their own web sites which can 4 us plenty information, such as the famous sites, special scenes, delicious food or some interesting custom. 5 , on the Thanksgiving of 1999, we went to the Washington DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. I 6 before that in Baltimore, there is an aquarium that ranks second in US; in Annapolis, there is a Navy Academic(海军学院) from which many famous generals(将军)7.

    Another tool internet can provide us is the 8 map. If we want to go to a place that we have never been to, all that I need 9 is to input the start point's zip code(邮编)and the end point's zip code. The web site will provide me with several 10, some is most time—saving, some can help us avoid the possible traffic, some can save us the Toll fee we have to pay otherwise.

    A farmer had a donkey. One day it fell into a deep dry well. The poor animal cried for hours. The farmer tried hard to pull it out but1. Finally, he decided the animal was too old, so it just wasn't worth it to try to 2it. So he invited his neighbors to help him bury (埋葬) the old donkey in the well so that it would make him end its pain.

    They each took a shovel (铲子) and began to cover the3with dirt. Realizing what was happening, the donkey felt upset and cried sadly and loudly. But as more dirt fell into the well, slowly it became 4. The farmer looked down into the well, and was 5 by what he saw. When the dirt hit its6, the donkey shook it off and took a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbors continued to put dirt on top of the animal, it would shake it off and7a step up. Soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and 8quickly. Everyone was amazed and shocked. It seemed that it would bury it at first, but it actually helped it9later.

    Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to get out of the well is to stop 10, and not to let the dirt cover you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each one of our troubles in life is a stepping stone. We can deal with difficulties just by not stopping, never giving up!

A beautiful smile

    When I was thirteen years old, a girl gave me an important gift. It was a smile.

    It was the early autumn of my 1 year at a new school. It's also the first year of middle school. No one knew me. I was very 2, and afraid to make friends with anyone.

    Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt even more lonely. I could not talk to anyone about my problem, and I didn't want my parents to worry about me.

    One day, my classmates were 3 with their friends, but I sat in silence(沉默) and felt so down that everything didn't sound real. At that moment, a girl entered the classroom. I did not know who she was. She passed me and then turned back. She looked at me and, without a word, 4.

    Suddenly, I felt the 5 of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm. It was like a hidden treasure(宝藏).

    That smile 6 my life. I started to talk with other students. Day by day, I learnt to trust people, and they included me in their circle of friends. The girl with the bright smile has become my best friends now, and we stick together like glue. I can talk to her about my study, feelings and hobbies, pretty much everything. I am so 7 that I met such a nice girl.

    One day, I asked her why she smiled at me that day. She said she could not remember!

    Now I believe that the world is like a 8. It is just what you think it is. If you think you are lonely, you might always be alone. But if you smile at it, it will always smile back!

    The 21st century discoveries about the human brain and its functioning have showed the surprising fact that human abilities are not fixed at birth. In other words, what you are able to do with your life is not fixed when you are born. It is not all in the genes (基 因 ). It is not just nature: nurture (教育, 培育) plays an important part in the moulding (塑造) of what a person is, and what he/she can be.

    Brain plasticity (可塑性) or neuroplasticity (神经可塑性) refers to the amazing ability of the human brain to modify (修改) its structure and functions according to the changes within the body and/or in the outer environment.

    In his book „The Brain that Changes Itself‟ psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, M.D., offers an introduction to the great scientists strongly supporting neuroplasticity and the people whose lives they've changed. The book describes real life stories of stroke( 中 风 ) patients learning to speak again, and the amazing story of a woman born with half a brain that restructured itself to work as a whole. It is a book that changes the way we think about our brain, its nature, and its potential (潜能).

    The genes we receive from our parents are finite (有限的), no doubt about that. However, our brain's ability to develop is infinite. New brain cells are being born all the time, and to keep them alive and growing, we have to stimulate (刺激) them.

    Here lies the promise of neuroplasticity in the moulding of children into adults who are capable of realizing their potential. For, genius is nothing but a human being who has realized his /her inborn potential! What Mozart, Einstein and da Vinci had was inborn potential plus (和，外加) the right environment.

    All geniuses started life in exactly the same way. They had parents who supported the development of their individual gifts and talents. They had the right environment and stimuli (刺激， 刺激物) that led to the best development of themselves.

    You can think about your child's gifts as the merging (融合的) colours of a rainbow. The possibilities are endless. All children are born with three natural abilities that provide them with the potential to think like a genius: the abilities to think, to learn and to develop their own individual way of thinking and learning.

    Can your child be a genius? Yes, he/she can be, if you give him/her the right environment, the right stimuli and the right guidance.