Science fiction is a popular kind of writing, and many people think of Jules Verne as the father of science fiction. He was born in France in 1828. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but from his early 20s Verne decided to; become a writer. At first he wrote plays for the theatre. Then, in 1863, he wrote a story called Five Weeks in a Balloon. The success of this book encouraged him to write more stories such as A Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864)and From the Earth to the Moon(1865).

In the 19th century, many people were interested in science and inventions. Jules Verne wrote about scientific subjects in his stories and as a result, they were very popular. Verne's writing included many predictions for the 20th century and many of them came true. He described space flight, movies, and air conditioning, a long time before they appeared. These books were very successful and they made Verne rich.

    Jules Verne's books have been the subjects for many movies. 20, 000 Leagues under the Sea was a successful movie for Walt Disney. It was the first Disney movie to use real actors instead of cartoon drawings .Around the world in Eighty Days is another famous movie based on one of Verne's books. The main character is an Englishman called Phileas Fogg. For him, the most important thing is to be always on time!

    When I was about 12, I had an enemy(敌人), a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Sometimes she said I was thin. Sometimes she said I was lazy. Sometimes she said I wasn't a good student. Sometimes she said I talked too much, and so on. I tried to put up with(忍受) her as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

    He listened to me quietly, and then he asked, “Are the things she said true or not? Mary, didn't you ever wonder what you're really like? Go and write a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

    I did as he told me and to my surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true.

    I brought the list back to my dad. He refused to take it. “That's just for you,” he said. “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be helpful to you. Don't close your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you think is right.”

    Many years have passed. The situation often appears in my mind. In our life we often meet with some trouble and we often go to someone and ask for advice. For some advice you will treasure(珍惜) all your life!

    Mickey is a cheerful boy. No one can make him angry. And he never says anything bad about others. Even his teachers think he is so special.

    One afternoon, Mickey invited his favourite teacher, Mr Anthony, to have a cup of tea at home. On his bedroom door, the teacher was surprised to see hundreds of small colour cards.

    "Some friends at school think I never think badly of anyone," Mickey smiled, "but that's not true at all. In fact, I was easier to get angry than all the other kids years ago. Then my parents helped me start a card collection. With each little card I put on the door, I can easily forget the bad thing." It was true. On these cards, Mr Anthony could read "fool", "pain", "anger" and some other bad things. That day they talked about many other things, but Mr Anthony never forgot the small colour cards on the door.

    From then on, Mr Anthony began his own card collection. He also encouraged his other students to do so.

    Once there was a famine (饥荒) in the town. A rich and kind baker(面包师) sent some bread to twenty of the poorest children. He said to them, "In this basket there is some bread for you. Each of you can have one loaf(一条面包) every day until the hard days end.

    The impatient children couldn't wait to gather around the basket. They shouted and fought for the bread because each wished to have the largest loaf. At last they went away without even thanking the good gentleman. But Shirley, a poorly-dressed little girl, did not join them. Instead, she remained standing modestly in the distance. When the other children had left, she took the smallest left in the basket, kissed the gentleman's hand and went home.

    The next day the children were as rude as before. Poor shy Shirley still took the smallest loaf. When she got home, her mother cut the bread open. Many new shining pieces of silver fell out of it. Her mother was very surprised and said, "Take the money back to the good gentleman at once, for it must have got into the loaf by accident. Be quick, Shirley! Be quick!"

    But when the little girl gave the rich man her mother's message, he said, "No, no, my child. It was no mistake. I put silver pieces into the smallest loaf to reward you because you are a kind and honest girl. Go home and the money is yours now."