“Where there is a will, there is a way.” Perhaps not many students can understand this better than 22-year-old Michael Ha. Because of his story of success, he has become an example to many young people.

    Michael Ha was born in a very poor family. His parents worked in Vietnam before they moved to Britain in 1980. They couldn't find work in Britain because they spoke little English. The whole family had to live on benefits (救济金) and they lived in a small house in Hackney, a poor area in East London. Growing up was not easy for Michael, but he never gave up.

    At the age of 10, he set his heart on going to Cambridge University. It was not easy, either. Michael studied at a school, which used to be called “the worst school in Britain”. However, young Michael made up his mind to try his best, no matter what kind of school he was studying at. The smart boy studied very hard and did well in every subject at school. Once he made a bet (打赌) with his friend to learn further math. As a result, after spending just four months teaching himself from a textbook, he got an A in AS-level further math.

    Now Michael is the star medical student at St. John's College, Cambridge and has just won an award (奖) for his excellent grades. He hopes he will be an inspiration for other young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

      My grandmother is a fifty-three-year-old woman. She loves gardening and plants a lot of flowers.She likes animals because she thinks they are cute. And she really enjoys cooking but the dishes don't taste good. She doesn't like sports at all.

      My grandmother has two pretty big eyes and long brown hair. She really looks beautiful. She always has a bright smile on her face. We all think she's also very generous and likes to help others.

      My grandmother is very popular with her friends and her grandchildren. She often tells stories to us. She gives us a lot of happy time. But sometimes she is strict with me. She said she couldn't go to school when she was young. So she hopes that I can get into a better university. I love my grandmother and hope she will be healthy and happy forever.

      Mr. Smith made many tests with different animals and the monkey was the cleverest of all the animals.

      One day Mr. Smith put a monkey in a room. He also put some small boxes in it. In one of the boxes there was some food. "How long will it take the monkey to find the food?" Mr. Smith said to himself. "Let me wait and see." He left the room and waited outside. Three minutes later, he put his eye to the keyhole. What did he see? He saw the eye of the monkey. The monkey was on the other side of the door and looked at Mr. Smith through the keyhole.

    My grandfather is seventy-five years old this year. But he looks very young. He looks like a sixty-year-old man. Now he can do everything all by himself. For example, he cooks, washes clothes, does the housework and so on.

    Every morning, my grandfather goes out with a radio. He listens to the music or the news and goes to the park to play taijiquan. In the park, he talks and laughs with other old people. After coming back from the park, he begins to have breakfast and then he goes to the university (大学) for the old. He learns drawing there. In the afternoon, he plays on the computer for about one or two hours. After supper he watches TV and learns about the world. He goes to bed at about eight o'clock. He never stays up. He likes to share his ways of keeping healthy with others.

    Are you healthy? If not, what do you learn from my grandfather's secret of keeping healthy?

    A horse fair is an interesting place. There were young horses from the country, little Welsh ponies and many beautiful horses too. But there were also a lot of poor, thin horses, tired from hard work. I was very sad to see them.

    At the horse fair there was a man with a gentle voice and kind grey eyes. He offered 23 pounds for me, but they refused. Then a man with a very loud voice came. I was afraid he was going to buy me, but he walked off. Then the grey-eyed man came back again and said:

    "I'll give 24 for him."

    "Done," said the salesman. "He's a quality horse and if you want him for cab (出租马车) work, he's a bargain."

Half an hour later we set off for London, along country roads, until we came to that great city. There were streets to the right, and streets to the left. We went into one of the small streets, and then into a very narrow street, with small, old houses.

    My owner stopped at a house. The door opened, and a woman, a little girl and boy, came out.

    "Is he gentle, father?"

    "Yes, Dolly, as gentle as a kitten; you can pat him."

    Dolly, the little girl, patted my shoulder without fear. It felt so good! They led me into a comfortable, clean stable, and after a delicious meal I lay down to sleep, thinking "I'm going to very happy here".

    My new owner's name was Jerry. His wife was called Polly and they had two children, Harry and Dolly. The next morning they came to see me. I loved it when they patted me and spoke in gentle voices.

    "Let's call him 'Jack', after the old horse, shall we, Harry?" said Dolly.

    "Yes, let's," said Harry.

    The first week of my life as Jack, the London cab horse was very hard. The noise and the people and the traffic on the streets scared me. But Jerry was a very good driver, and that helped a lot Jerry soon found that I was ready to work hard and do my best, and he didn't whip (鞭打) me.

    He kept us very clean, and gave us as much food as we wanted. But the best thing was that we had Sundays off.