You might think that Olympic athletes are the healthiest people in the world. It's true that many are. However, it's also true that many Olympic athletes had to overcome (克服) illness early in their lives.

    One excellent example is Wilma Rudolph. She competed in track-and-field (田径) events in the 1960s Olympics. She didn't win just one gold medal (奖章).She won three. At the time, people called her ”the fastest woman in the world”.

    Actually, as a young child, Wilma could not take part in sports. She had serious illnesses, and then, at the age of 4, she got polio (小儿麻痹症).She lost the function of her left leg, and the doctor said she could never walk again.

Wilma's family did everything they could to help her walk again. Wilma and her mother used to travel 100 miles to get treatments for her leg. Her brothers and sisters took turns to give her leg a daily massage (按摩).Four times a day, they helped her do special exercises for her leg. Amazingly, by the time Wilma was 9 years old, she was able to walk again. Before long, she started playing basketball and running. In high school, she was a track star and then she went to the Olympics.

    Wilma stopped being a runner when she was 22 years old. She then became a teacher and a track coach. Her story encouraged many people to work hard and to overcome difficulties.

In 50 years of traveling, Colin McCorpuodale has visited every country in the world except three. And everywhere he goes, he sends himself a postcard. He always chooses a postcard with beautiful scenery (风景). Usually he writes just a short message to himself. However, he wrote an interesting story on his latest one, from the Malians Island.

Mr. McCorpuodale lives in London. On one of the walls in his room, you can see a large map of the world. There are hundreds of little red pins (大头针) stuck in it. “These pins mean a lot to me.” says Mr. McCorpuodale, “I follow the rule. I'm allowed to stick one in only if I've been in a place for more than 24 hours.”

Naturally, Mr. McCorpuodale has his favorite places. New Zealand, he describes as “a wonderful country”. About China, he says, “This is the country in the world which is completely different. There is no European influence. ”

Wherever he goes, Mr. McCorpuodale takes with him a photo of his wife, a candle, a shirt with a secret pocket and a pen.

So why does he do it? For the postcards or the travels? Mr. McCorpuodale laughs, “Neither. Only for the meaningful life.”

    Joe，75，lived very happily and had a beautiful family．He had four grandchildren，and they all visited him in their holidays.

    But while he was working，he lost his favorite watch．Before they came to visit，Joe was getting ready for his home for the kids：cleaning the house, buying their favorite foods and cooking delicious food..．

    The watch was a gift from his deceased(已故的)wife when their first child was born．Joe loved the watch very much．He was very unhappy．

    When his grandchildren came，they promised him they would find the watch．

    One granddaughter asked：“Grandpa，do you remember when you lost your watch?

    Joe answered：“I guess when l cleaned the barn!”

    The children looked for more than two hours but could not find it．

    One grandson went to search(搜寻) the barn again，and Joe asked why he was going there．The little boy asked the others not to follow him and to keep silent(安静的)．

    He was there for about 15 minutes and then ran to his grandfather．He found the watch!

    Joe was surprised and asked how he was able to find it．The little boy said：“I sat there without making a noise，and the barn was so silent．After a few minutes，I heard the ‘tick，tick' sound and found the watch．”

    Joe hugged him and thanked the little boy．

    This shows the power(力量)of silence．If we stay calm（冷静的），we are better able to find a solution(解决方法)!

    Qian Xuesen was born in Shanghai on December 11^th, 1911. He is known as "the father of China's space program" and "The king of the rocket".

    When he was 24 years old, Qian went to America for further study. After graduation, he worked in America for a few years, where his working conditions were better. In the early 1950s, he heard New China had been founded(成立) and decided not to stay in America any longer. He succeeded in coming back to his motherland in 1955 though the American government tried to stop him.

    In 1956, Qian Xuesen suggested setting up a special organization, which later became the leading organization for China's rocket and air travel program. In June 1964, China successfully created its first medium rocket. Qian also played an important role in developing China's first man-made satellite(卫星). On April 24, 1970, "Dongfanghong-I was successfully sent into the air."

    In 1964, a young man wrote Qian Xuesen a letter and pointed out a mistake in his published article. Qian immediately answered the letter and encouraged the young man to write an article out the mistake.

    Zhu Yilin, who was said to be the last student of Qian Xuesen, once said, "I learned a lot of professional knowledge as well as the spirit and attitude that a scientist should have from Mr. Qian, especially his deep love for the motherland. Without that, they couldn't have helped to develop science and technology when New China was badly development. Without that, he would not have made the great contribution(贡献)to industry in the late 1950s and early 1960s when conditions in China were too hard

    Mr. Qian has been dead for ten years, but he will live in the memory of Chinese people forever.

Does Fame Drive You Crazy

    Although being famous might sound like a dream comes true, today s stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world's attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature (签名)!

    According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly (不断地) about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. "Over time," Villarreal says, "they feel separated and alone."

    The phenomenon (现象) of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B. C, painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his works attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s ran articles about film—stars in much the same way that modern websites do.

    Being famous people today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their "story" alive forever.

    If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.

    Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.