Round the World

    Mr and Mrs Spencer both had very busy jobs and didn't have much time to spend with their young children. They wanted to change this, and because their hobby was boating, they decided to sail round the world together.

    It took six years to prepare everything for the trip. First, they bought a new boat. Then, both the husband and wife had to take advanced(先进的) sailing lessons and learn all about the sea and the weather. Mr Spencer also did several courses in repairing engines and Mrs Spencer spent an hour in a restaurant learning to cut up fish.

    In October, they had one year off from their jobs and sailed away from England with their two children. The next year, in August, their long journey ended in Australia.

    The boat was not big, but they took a teacher for the children with them. None of them found the trip boring because there were three computers, many CDs, a TV and a DVD player on the boat.

    The family loved being at the sea and seeing the stars in the sky. But, most of all, Mr and Mrs Spencer enjoyed spending time with their children while they were still young.

    An English gent leman always takes an umbrella and wears a hat. Why? In England, it rains often. The rain comes at any time, so an umbrella is necessary (必要的) in people's life. English gentlemen love to take a long black umbrella. It is useful when the rain comes. And it is also a style. The hat plays an important part in their life too. If two men meet in the street,  they take off (脱掉)  their hats to show their respect (尊重) to each other. If a man visits his friend, he takes off his hat frst when he gets into the room. If he goes to a party, he can only put the hat on his chair, but not on the table. You don't have the two things, but you can still (仍然) be a gentleman. Always be nice to others and be ready to help others. Show your respect and love to old people, women and children. Never shout. Never lose your temper (发脾气).

    A young man went to visit a wise man who lived deep in the mountain. He wanted to ask for wisdom of life.

    "Excuse me! {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Is it the day we were born or the day we die? Is it the day we fall in love or the day we are successful?" the young man asked.

    "None. The most important day in our lives is today." the wise man replied calmly.

    "Why?" the young man was very surprised. "{#blank#}2{#/blank#}"

    "No. Nothing has happened today."

    "So is it because of my visit?"

    "Even if nobody visited me today, today is still very important, because today is the only wealth we have. No matter how important yesterday is, it has gone by; {#blank#}3{#/blank#}No matter how ordinary and boring today is, it is in our hands."

The young man still wanted to ask something, but the wise man stopped him and said, "When we are talking about the importance of today, we have wasted a lot of it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Having understood this, the young man nodded and then went down the mountain.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Therefore, what we should do now is to forget yesterday and tomorrow and catch hold of today!

    Some people succeed, while others may not. This is because some people have certain qualities, which others do not.

    The first thing you must remember is that in order to succeed, you must be optimistic (乐观的). If you do not expect to win, you will not try as hard as those who do expect to win. You also need to have a clear aim and a reason for doing something because motivation (动力) is a key to achieving success.

    Another quality that helps people succeed is creativity-thinking about things in a different way and wondering how others would do the same thing. Think about some successful people you know.

    Reading is another quality to success, as it will help you learn about how other people have achieved success. If you want to learn how to set up a successful business, you should read books about people like Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, who have achieved amazing success in their areas of business. Practicing is also important if you want to succeed because practice makes perfect.

    If you feel confident about what you do, this confidence will make other people believe in you as well.

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