Thomas Alva Edison is one of the greatest inventors of all times. One of his most famous achievements is the electric light. He tried thousands of times to make a long lasting light bulb. Although the light bulb is not his invention, he is the only one to have made such a successful light bulb. Many people remember him for the invention of the electric light. He held a lot of patents (专利权) worldwide. Many of them were approved(批准) in America.

    We can find his inventions in many fields. In fact, many of the advanced inventions were based on his ideas. He invented a phonograph (留声机),a film picture camera, a ticket recorder and so on.  

    Edison was not a good student at school. But he loved to do new experiments. When he was still a child, he built his first lab to perform his experiments.

      An amazing story of Edison's childhood is that he almost made his servant die. Edison used to think that birds ate insects and these insects might make them fly. So he collected these insects and blended (混合) them to make juice. He then let his servant drink the juice. After drinking the juice, the girl lost her sense. But luckily, she was saved.

    Long long a 90, two geese(天鹅) went to a pond to eat fish. A lonely tortoise lived in the pond. The geese had a chat with him. They chatted happily and became good friends.

One day, the geese realized there were no more fish in the pond, so they decided to move to a new pond. They told their decision to the tortoise. The tortoise wanted to go with them. The two geese agreed.

    The tortoise was delighted, but he had a problem. “How can I go with you? I cannot fly.” The geese came up with a plan. They said to the tortoise. "Don't worry. We will hold a stick between us. You can bite the stick. This way, we can fly to our new place, but you must be careful. Never open your mouth."

When they flew through a village, some villagers looked up and saw the tortoise. They shouted excitedly, "Look at the tortoise! It can fly."

    When the tortoise heard the words, he was proud and forgot the geese's words. He opened his mouth and couldn't help laughing. As soon as he opened his mouth, he fell down.

    Bruno was a boy of eight. His father worked in a cinema and his mother worked in a shop. He lived not far from his school. He always walked there and walked home. On his way to school, he had to pass a playground. It was very wet after it rained. One day, when he got home, his clothes were all wet. His mother became angry and said, “Don't play in the water on your way home from school!”

    On the next day, Bruno came home with wet and dirty clothes. His mother became even angrier. “I'll tell your father if you come back wet again,” said his mother. “He'll punish(惩罚) you, you know.”

    The third day the little boy was dry when he came home.

    “You're a good boy today”, his mother said happily. “You didn't play in the water.”

    “No,”the boy said unhappily. “There were too many older boys in the water when I got there this afternoon. There wasn't any room for me at all!”

    One morning, I was driving my father-in-law to the airport when a plane flew silently over the road like a big bird, about to touch down at the airport.

    "It's magic," my father-in-law said. I looked at him, without knowing what was happening.

    He was a doctor who gave speeches at colleges and had visited more than 100 countries. He understood better than I why a plane can fly in the sky. It, really, wasn't magic. But now, I realize he was at least right in some way.

    Though flying might not be magic, it's certainly magical. What it brings to our real lives is something found in our dreams.

    But too often, we, especially I forget. I read a sentence a few months ago. It said, "You know you're growing-up when you no longer want a window seat."

    Too often in recent years, I've asked for a seat near the exit row, forgetting the wonders of traveling fast. But sometimes, when the Wi-Fi's not working or my computer has no power, I remember to look.

    I think of one time when I was leaving on a family vacation. Moments after take-off, I started working. But a passenger behind me wouldn't stop talking. "The clouds!" he kept saying, "Look at the clouds!"

I turned around, and saw two men, one who appeared to be in his seventies and the other much younger. The chat continued for 20 minutes until, not patiently, I raised my eyes from my computer screen and looked out of the window.

    The clouds!

    He was right. We were floating through big soft balls of cotton, each in different shapes. They seemed easy enough to touch. The afternoon sun provided all kinds of colors, all against a blue sky. I put away my computer and appreciated(欣赏)them for the rest of the flight.

    I don't remember the work I felt like I had to complete that afternoon. I've never forgotten those clouds.

    In 1996, Subaru Takaiashi sailed alone across the Pacific Ocean. Many other people did this before Subaru, but he was special. At 14, he was the youngest person to sail across the Pacific by himself.

    Subaru left Tokyo on 23 July, 1996. His boat was 30 feet (9 metres) long. In the boat, he had a two-month supply of food and water. He also had a radio and other modern equipment for sailing.

    The beginning of this trip went very well. Subaru often talked to his parents by radio. He didn't have any problems with his boat. Then on 11 August, the engine in his boat quit. This affected his navigation(导航)equipment. Then five days later, his radio quit. So he wasn't able to communicate with anyone. And he was still 2,770 miles (4,490 kilometres) away from his destination-San Francisco.

    By the end of August, many people believed that Subaru was lost. No one was able to contact him by radio. His parents expected him to arrive in San Francisco on 3 September, but he didn't. Then, on 13 September, Subaru sailed into San Francisco. After 55 days in his boat, his trip was finally over.

    Many people believe that Subaru was too young to sail alone. They say that parents shouldn't allow children to make such dangerous trips. However, other people say that children should have adventures, too.

    One day King Henry was hunting in a forest. Towards evening he told his men to ride home by the main(主要的) road while he went home by another.

    As he came out of the forest, he saw a little boy. "Well, my boy," said the king. "Are you looking for your father?" "No, Sir," answered the boy. "I am looking for the king. They say he is hunting in the forest." Oh, if that is your wish, "said King Henry, "I'll take you to the place where you will see him."

    The boy got up and sat behind the king. On the horse, the king and the boy began to talk. "They say that King Henry always has many men with him," said the boy. "How can I know which he is?" "Oh, it's easy. All the other men will take off their hats, but the king will keep his on." "Do you mean that the one with his hat on will be the king?" "Of course." Soon they came into the main road. The king's men greeted the king by taking off their hats. "Well, my boy," said King Henry, "Which do you think is the king now?" "I don't know," answered the boy," it must be either you or I, because we both have our hats on"