C

    When Matty Sallin，34，was working on a degree in art and technology at New York University，he got interesting homework in electronics class．He decided to create an alarm clock(闹钟)．

    "Everybody has to deal with these every day，and they are really unpleasant!"he says．He asked different people what they would like to wake up to instead of a noisy alarm．A lot of them said，"The smell of bacon(培根肉)"．

    So Sallin and two classmates invented a new kind of alarm clock：a wooden box with a pig face and a digital clock that uses the smell of cooking bacon instead of the sound to wake someone up．He explains．"There's no danger of burning，because I built it carefully．It uses halogen light bulbs(卤素灯)instead of a fire for cooking and turns off automatically after ten minutes．Yes,the clock itself can do it．Just a few easy steps are needed to set the alarm．"

    "What you do is to put some frozen bacon in the night before and set the alarm，"says Sallin．

    "If you set the alarm for 8：00,it will turn on at 7：50 and slow cook for ten minutes under the halogen bulbs．"he says，Then the bulbs turn off and a fan blows the smell out through the nose of the pig．

    "So instead of an alarm，  ▲，"says Sallin．"Then you can open the door on the side and pull the bacon out and eat it．"

    When Sallin was a kid，he spent a lot of time making drawing of inventions．"I wanted to make an lift in my backyard and a special tree house．"he says．"But I never really thought I'd be called an inventor!"

    Sallin got an A in the class and went on to other things—but people continue to hear about his invention and email him every day asking where they can buy his alarm clock．

    Once upon a time, there was a little bird named Birdie. She was afraid to fly and always hid in the bushes. Some big crows(乌鸦) often made fun of her by saying, "You can't flyyyy. You are afraid to flyyyy. " Near the bushes, there lived some squirrels (松鼠). Every day, they would "fly" around the branches and "fly" up and down all the trees in the forest.

    One day, these squirrels asked Birdie to join them. Birdie came out of the bushes and wanted to have a try. The crows noticed that and started to laugh at her. They cried, "You can't flyyyy. You are afraid to flyyyy. " Birdie was so sad that she began to flap (拍打) her wings and shouted loudly, "I can fly!" The little bird flapped her wings so hard that she began to fly. These squirrels couldn't believe their eyes. They shouted cheerfully, "Birdie, you're flying! I'm flying?" Birdie said, "I am flying!" She was so excited that she flew up and down, and in and out of all the branches. Then she flapped her wings as hard as she could and flew all the way to the top of the tallest tree. Birdie wasn't afraid of flying anymore, and those big crows never came to bother her ever again.

    An old man is sitting on the sofa in his house along with his son. Just then, a crow (乌鸦) stops on their window.

    "What is that?" asks the father.

    "It is a crow." answers the son.

    "What is that?" asks the father again after a few minutes.

    "Father, I just told you. It's a crow." the son answers again.

    "What is that?" asks the old father a third time.

    "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again?  I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'!" shouts (大喊) the son.

    After a little while,  the father goes to his room and comes back with his old diary (日记). He asks his son to read one page. The son reads the following words in the diary:

    "Today my 3-year-old son is sitting with me on the sofa. When a crow is sitting in the window, he asks me 23 times what it is, and, 23 times, I answer, 'it is a crow' I hug (拥抱) him warmly every time he asks me the same question, again and again."

    When your parents get old,  do not look them as a burden (负担), but be kind to them. Remember they are the people who always love you. Love your parents, please.

    Doctor Seuss was born in 1904

    In 1954, Life magazine published a report about school children who could not read well. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He hadn't received training in art. Yet, he drew pictures for most of his books.

    By the middle 1950s, Doctor Seuss had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books were very popular with young readers. They enjoyed the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.

    In 1957, Doctor Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old child was able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it too. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books with very few words for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book was called Green Eggs and Ham.

    In 1984. Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize. He was honoured for education and enjoyment that his books provided for American children and their parents.

    Doctor Seuss died in 1991 at the age of 87. But his influence remains. Today his books are still very popular. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books help change the way American children learn to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people."

    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!