Life is full of surprises and you never know how things will turn out.

    Sir John Gurdon is a good example of this. As a boy, he was told he was hopeless at science and finished bottom of his class. However , the very same Gurdon shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Japanese stem cell (干细胞) researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

    Like so many scientists, Gurdon shows us where the power of curiosity and perseverance (坚持不懈) can lead.

    At the age of 15 in 1948, Gurdon ranked last out of the 250 boys at his high school in biology and every other science subject. Gurdon's high school science teacher even said that his dream of becoming a scientist was " quite ridiculous".

    In spite of his teacher's criticisms, Gurdon followed his curiosity and kept working hard. He went to the lab early and left later than anyone else. He experienced thousands of failures.

    "My own belief is that we will, in the end, understand everything about how cells actually work," Gurdon said.

    In 1962 ,Gurdon took a cell from an adult frog and moved its genetic( 基因的 ) information into an egg cell . The egg cell then grew into a clone(克隆) of the adult frog. This technique later helped to create Dolly the sheep in 1996,the first cloned mammal(哺乳动物) in the world.

    In 2006, Gurdon's work was developed by Yamanaka to show that a sample (样本) of a person's skin can be used to create stem cells. Using the technique, doctors can repair a patient's heart after a heart attack.

    "Luck favors the prepared mind," Gurdon told the Nobel Prize Organization. "Ninety percent of the time things don't work ,but when they do ,you have to seize(抓住) the chance. "

    One morning, Emma discovered that her classroom had changed. She found that the desks were no longer in rows, but pushed together to make eight bigger desks. She was so excited about it for the first two days that she couldn't listen to the teachers carefully. But soon she and her classmates got used to this new classroom arrangement(安排). "Now our class is quieter," said Emma. "What's more, we can come up with our own ideas and learn more through discussion. It's a better way to study."

    David liked it, too. "Group members first discuss, "he said, "and then show to the whole class. It encourages us greatly. "This was part of a reform (改革) at David's school. The school made this reform because they wanted to offer students easier ways to study and more chances to discuss. "Our school hopes to improve students' abilities to study by themselves and work in groups." said Linda, an English teacher.

However, the reform has demanded(要求) more from teachers. Now they have only 15 minutes to give a lesson that would have been taught in 40 minutes before. It is difficult to teach in such a short time. The teachers have to find better ways to teach more effectively(有效地).

    "The reform demands more, but I'm sure it is helpful." added Linda.

Li Tong was born in a poor family in a small village. His mother is ill and his dad works{#blank#}1{#/blank#} a farmer. But Li Tong loves his family very much. 

At the age of seven，he s{#blank#}2{#/blank#} training for diving （跳水） at a sports school. He trained for three to four h{#blank#}3{#/blank#} and did 400 dives every day. 

Later，he joined the diving team of the city. With the help of his coaches，he tried{#blank#}4{#/blank#} best to improve his diving skills. He trained so h{#blank#}5{#/blank#} that he made great progress and won many competitions. 

At the age of fourteen，Li Tong competed in the Olympics Games. He took p{#blank#}6{#/blank#} in the men's 10 meter platform event（十米高台跳水）. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}it was his first Olympics，Li Tong stayed very calm. During the final round，his most wonderful dive got a perfect score of ten. This dive was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}as "Li Tong Dive". 

Li Tong won the gold medal and many people were surprised at his talent and ability at such a y{#blank#}9{#/blank#} age. After his Olympic success，Li Tong became a sports h{#blank#}10{#/blank#} in his village. Many people have become his fans and take great pride in him. 

The Chinese lunar calendar（Nongli） is the traditional Chinese calendar and is often used in agriculture（农业）. In the Chinese calendar, the beginning of the year falls somewhere between late January and early February.

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the crescent （新月） appears on the first day of each month and full moon comes out in the middle of the month. The cycle lasts for about 30 days.24 days mark 24 divisions of the solar year in the Chinese lunar calendar, according to the different positions of the sun. For example, the division "Lichun" or "the Beginning of Spring" reminds people that spring is coming. "Jingzhe" or "the Awakening of Insects" means that the weather is getting warmer. "Lixia" or "the Beginning of Summer" is the point that crops are blooming. "Dahan" or "the Major Cold" is the end of severe winter. All these create a circle. 
Year after year people experience the mysteries of nature with the Chinese lunar calendar.24 solar terms are helpful for Chinese people to predict the changes of weather in daily life, especially for peasants.

The dates of most of the traditional festivals base on the Chinese lunar calendar. Some countries belonging to the Chinese-character cultural circle, such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam also celebrate the traditional festivals, such as the Spring Festival（Chinese New Year）, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and so on.

Although Chinese firstly adopted（采用） the Western calendar in 1912, the Chinese lunar calendar, as one of the most important carriers of Chinese culture, is still widely used among Chinese people.