Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous scientists in this century. He was born in 1942. He's a world well-known on space and time. Stephen is researching some very big questions, such as: How did the universe begin? How will it end?

Stephen was a student at Oxford University. He studied math and science. Then, at the age of twenty, he became sick. He was so young, but the doctors said to his family, “He has only two more years to live.” As a matter of fact, the doctors were wrong—- he didn't die. He can't walk now but he uses a wheelchair(轮椅). He can't feed himself and get in or out of bed himself. But he refused to give in to the condition. He talks with the help of a computer. After Oxford, Stephen went to Cambridge University. Three years later, in 1965, he became a doctor of philosophy(哲学).

    Because of his serious health problems, it was difficult for him to draw diagrams(图表)or to write. So he started to think in pictures. With this new way of thinking, he became one of the most famous scientists in the world. In 1991, he met the Pope(教皇) in Rome. They talked about his ideas. Then in 1998, he wrote his first important book, A Brief History of Time. It sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages. He was once invited to China, he impressed us with his self-confidence, humorous and witty(风趣的) conversation.

    In the 1950s, a female swimming athlete set a goal for herself. She decided to swim across the English Channel before she retired. If she could make it, she would be the first person in the world who did it.

    On that day, she jumped into the sea without any hesitation and swam towards the opposite bank.

    In the journey, she faced heavy fog, heavy rain and heavy waves. Though she was very tired, she carried on swimming.

    But in the end, she gave up. And what she didn't know at the moment she gave up was that the opposite bank was only I mile away.

    Later people asked her about the reason. And she said: "The reason why I gave up is that I could not see the destination which I was so close to."

    Too many success stories have been lecturing us about courage and persistence(坚持). But they never told us where to find courage and persistence.

    You can have courage only when you know where your goal is. You can manage to persist only when you know where your goal is, and prepare yourself well mentally(心理上).

    Courage and persistence never fall from the sky. They come from weighing between input and output.

    A life without goals is like a ship without a compass. It goes nowhere. There is no courage or persistence in a life without goals.

    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.