Peter was a small boy. He lived with his parents in a small house near some hills. The people there were all poor.

    One night it was very dry and windy. When everybody was asleep, Peter suddenly heard some noise. It came out from the kitchen. He got up and walked to the kitchen. He found that the wood beside the stove was burning. There was no water tap (水龙头) in the house, so he could not put out the fire. He shouted loudly to wake up everyone in the house. Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up. They all left their houses quickly.

    At last the firemen put out the fire. Many people lost their homes. But luckily, all of them escaped the fire with a whole skin.

    A group of old classmates, who have succeeded in their work, got together to visit their teacher. Their conversation soon turned to complaining(抱怨) about the stress(压力 ) in their work and life. The teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and many cups. Some of the cups are expensive and lovely, but some are cheap and not beautiful.  The teacher told them to help themselves to the coffee.

     When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the teacher said, "Have you noticed all the nice looking expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the cheap ones? It's OK for you lo want only the best for yourselves, but that is why you have the stress in your work and life even if you're very successful now. "

    "All of you really wanted the coffee, not the cups, but you cheese the beast cups and were eyeing each other's cups.

    "Now think about this: life is the coffee, and money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold life. They do not change the quality (质量) of life. Sometimes, we just care about the cups, and we fail to enjoy the coffee. So, don't let the cups drive you; enjoy the coffee instead. "

    The following are some tips for becoming a successful businessman by Michael Bloomberg. They are based on his experience of building a company from the ground  up, leading New York City as mayor（市长）, and so on.

Take Risks

    Life is too short to spend your time avoiding failure.

    In 1981, at the age of 39, I lost my job. The next day I took a big risk and began my own company. In 2001, when I was debating whether to run for mayor, most people advised me not to do it. But one person said, “If you can imagine yourself giving a concession（败选）speech, then why not go for it?” That was the best advice I received, and I followed it.

    In order to succeed, you must first be willing to fail— and you must have the courage to go for it anyway.

    Make your own luck

    Luck plays a part in success. The harder you work, the luckier you get.

    Whatever you choose to do, even if it's not the job of your dreams, always work hard at it. Be the first person at work in the morning and the last to leave at night. Hard work creates chances.

    Never stop learning

    The most powerful word in English language is “why”. There is nothing so powerful as an open, inquiring mind（探究精神）. Whatever field you choose for starting a business — be a lifelong student.

    Give back

    You are responsible for your success and failure, but you only succeed if you share the reward with others.

    My first donation was a $ 5 check to my alma mater （母校） . And while the checks（支票）may be bigger today, they come with the same spirit.

    You don't have to be wealthy to give back. You can give back by giving your time and talents.

    Once there is a boy in London. His name is Jimmy. He starts painting when he is three years old, and when he is five years old, he is already very good at it. He paints many beautiful and interesting pictures, and a lot of people buy his pictures. They say, “This boy is going to be famous when he's a little older, and then we're going to sell these pictures for a lot of money.”

    Jimmy's pictures are different from others' because he never paints on the whole of the paper. He only paints on half of it, and the other half is always empty.

    “That's very clever,” people say. “No other painters have ever done that!”

    One day someone asks Jimmy, “Please tell me, Jimmy, why do you only paint on the bottom (底) half of the paper, but not on the top half?”

    “Because I'm small,” Jimmy says, “and my brushes can't reach very high.”

    One evening last autumn, while Marcos Ugarte, 15, did his homework and his father, Eduardo, 47, prepared lesson plans, they heard screaming outside. It was from one of their neighbors, the Ma family. Then Marcos' eye was caught by a glow(火光) from there.

    "The house's on fire!" Marcos cried. Wearing only in shorts, the barefoot(光脚的) teen ran out with his dad. When they got there, Grandmother Yim Ma, mother Suzanne Ma, and son Nathan Ma were crying for help. Through the open front door, father Alex Ma was staggering(磕磕绊绊) down the stairs, coughing heavily.

    "Anyone else in it?" Eduardo asked.

    "My son!" Alex pointed to the second floor.

    Eduardo started up the stairs, but smoke and heat forced him to his knees. He crawled (爬) upstairs and down the hall where Alex said he would find Cody, 8, who had locked himself in a bedroom. Eduardo tried hard to open the door. But Cody made no reply, and Eduardo had to make his way back downstairs.  At the same time, Marcos saw Yim and Suzanne pulling a ladder, shouting: "Cody is at the window!"

    Marcos then placed the ladder near the window and climbed up. When Marcos reached the window, he pushed the screen into the room and managed to coax(哄) Cody out. Holding Cody with one arm, Marcos slowly climbed down the ladder. Cody was quickly sent to a nearby hospital, where he's treated for smoke inhalation(吸入).

    "You just don't see a teenager have that kind of braveness," said people around.

    A young woman turns around and around quickly, and jumps high. In the background, a young girl reads a rejection(拒绝)letter from a ballet school." You have the wrong body for ballet," it says, " and at thirteen, you are too old." This was one of the most popular advertisements(广告)of 2014 and it describes American Ballet Theatre's principal(主要的)dancer Misty Copeland.

    This was not a real letter. But Copeland says it is very similar to letters from her childhood. While many dancers start at the age of three, Copeland only began to study ballet in 1995 as a thirteen­year­-old girl. People often told her that she was too old，or that she didn't have the perfect body type(She is only 157 cm tall). Her family moved a lot, and it was sometimes difficult for her to attend ballet classes. But Copeland loved dancing and did not want to give up. She stayed with her ballet teacher during the week and spent time with her family only at the weekend. This was a difficult life, but she worked hard and won her first national competition when she was fourteen years old. Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and performed in many ballets over the next few years. In 2007, she became a solo(单独的) performer, and in 2015 she became its principal dancer.

    Copeland is now a dancer, author and Broadway performer. She also starred in the 2015 film A Ballerina's Tale. So what's next? According to Copeland, anything is possible：My career(职业)really is just now beginning.