No one knows how much money Dr. Lyle Tullis gave away to students. I was his colleague for nearly a decade and I never stopped being amazed at his generosity. Our college has a program of providing cross-cultural experiences for students. Lots of students take advantage of summer experience oversea. I discovered that no group left for overseas with some of its members receiving financial help from Dr. Tullis.

    It wasn't that he made a lot of money. For one thing, he taught in a church-run school. There, his salary was half of what those people earned in a tax-supported school.

    Other colleagues occasionally complained about the low pay. Not Lyle Tullis. Occasionally some professors would leave our campus for a better-paid position. They told me they did so because, with better pay, they could provide for their families.

    The size of Lyle Tullis' paycheck never seemed to be the most important thing to him. I realized that one day when I was thanking him for helping a student, his eyes shone as he said to me, “I've got so much money that I don't know what to do with it. So, I just give it away.”

    Most people wouldn't have thought that way. Dr. Tullis drove one of the oldest cars on campus. It was even older than almost any of the students' cars. His home, while comfortable, was not fancy at all. But Lyle Tullis lived with the feeling that he had so much money that he needed to give it away.

    He was one of the favorite on campus. Cynics(愤世嫉俗者) might say he bought fame. But they would misunderstand. Lyle wanted to devote his life, all of it, to helping others.

    Successful People

    People can succeed in many aspects. Here are some successful people.

    Stephen Hawking

    Much more than the namesake of Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, Stephen Hawking is one of the most well-known physicists in the world, and he was able to achieve that in spite of being diagnosed with ALS when he was 21. He can now only speak with the assistance of a computer and has been a full-time power chair-user since the 1980s. His disability, however, has never been an excuse to give up on his desire to study the universe, specifically the framework of general relativity and quantum mechanics. His best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, stayed on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for a surprising 237 weeks.

    Franklin Delano Roosevelt

    A beloved U. S president who helped guide the nation successfully through World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is considered a great president and the entire time he was in office, FDR was also a wheelchair-user. Upon starting his political career in excitement, he got illness while drinking water at a campground and became disabled from the waist down. Even though it wasn't made public until years later that he couldn't walk for fear of the public doubting his ability, FDR proved disability wasn't a roadblock to being a great leader.

    Marlee Matlin

    An Academy Award winning actress for her leading role in Children of a lesser God, Marlee Matlin is one of the most successful actresses who are deaf. She has been deaf since she was 18 months old. She also received a Golden Globe Award for her role in Children of a lesser God. Since receiving her Oscar, Marlee has been a character on many TV shows including The Word and Law & Order: SVU, and has appeared on reality shows such as The Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.

    Steven Wonder

    One of the most beloved singers alive today, Stevie Wonder is a musician, singer and songwriter who was born blind. He was born six weeks early. The blood vessels at the back of his eyes had not yet reached the front and stopped their growth, therefore leading to his blindness.

    Considered a child talent, Stevie signed with his first record label at age 11, Motown's Tamla label, and he's been performing since. Over his wildly successful music career, Stevie has recorded more than 30 U. S. top ten hits, including his singles “Superstition” “Sir Duke” and “ I Just Called to Say I Love You”.

    Up to 90% of school leavers in major Asian cities are suffering from myopia — short-sightedness, a study suggests. Researchers say the “extraordinary rise” in the problem is being caused by students working very hard in school and missing out on outdoor light.

    Eye experts say that you are short-sighted if your vision is blurred(模糊的) beyond 2m. It is often caused by an elongation (拉伸) of the eyeball that happens when people are young. According to the research, the problem is being caused by a combination of factors — a commitment to education and lack of outdoor light.

    Professor Morgan who led this study argues that many children in South East Asia spend long hours studying at school and doing their homework. This in itself puts pressure on the eyes, but exposure to between two and three hours of daylight helps maintain healthy eyes.

    Cultural factors also seem to play a part. Across many parts of South East Asian children often have a lunchtime nap. According to Professor Morgan they are missing out on natural light to prevent short-sightedness.

    A big concern is the numbers of the students suffering from “high” myopia. One in five of these students could experience severe visual impairment(障碍) and even blindness. These people are at considerable risk-sometimes people are not told about it and are just given more powerful glasses-they need to be warned about the risk and given some self-testing measures so they can get to an ophthalmologist and get some help.

    For decades, researchers believed there was a strong genetic component to the condition. But this study strongly suggests an alternative view. “Any type of simple genetic explanation just doesn't fit with that speed of change; gene pools just don't change in two generations. Whether it's a purely environmental effect or an environmental effect playing a sensitive genome, it really doesn't matter, the thing that's changed is not the gene pool—it's the environment.”

    Charlie studied in a famous college for four years. He studied hard and did well in all his subjects. He hoped to become a good teacher. This year he left the college and began to work in a middle school. He likes his students and is strict with them. He does his best to make his classes lively and interesting.

    One day he carefully explained a chemical reaction to the students of Grade 2 in the chemistry lab.

    “Be careful, everyone,” he said loudly. “Before I make the experiment, there're twenty five atoms of carbon (碳原子), but after I finish it, there're twenty four atoms of carbon left!”

He stopped to watch the classroom and hoped his students would go on explaining it. But the young men looked at each other and nobody answered him. He had to ask,

    “What happens? What makes the atom lost?”

    The classroom was very quiet and none of the students looked at their teacher.

    “Who can tell us where it has gone?”

    Suddenly a soft voice came from the back row, “We did not see anybody leave the lab!”

    Most Europeans want small cars. Many Americans prefer large cars. As a result, European automakers produce a large number of economical, light weight cars, while American automakers build bigger, heavier cars.

    The price of gas has much to do with this. The petrol is expensive in Europe, so Europeans naturally prefer cars that will go a long way on a small amount of fuel. There are other reasons. Many European cities have very narrow streets. In these cities a small car is more practical and easier to handle than a large one.

    Some Americans like powerful engines in their cars. They enjoy having wider cars that are comfortable for large families and long trips. They are prepared to pay higher costs to get these advantages. Other Americans, however, have learned to like the small and smart cars. Many visitors to Europe during and after World War I discovered that small cars were fun to drive and easy to park in small spaces. They were delighted to learn how far small cars could go on a few gallons of gasoline.

    In the 1950s many Americans began buying European cars. In 1957, for the first time, the United States imported more cars than it exported. The best seller among these imported cars was a cool-looking but small car from Germany. Americans immediately gave it another name “ the bug”.

    Today, American car buyers have a wider choice. There are big cars for people who want large room, comfort, and power. And there are small cars, mostly imported but some American-made, for people who want easy parking and economical operation.

    One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O. Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction (破坏) and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer.

    William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin.

    Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museumm has a special proof of Porter's love of language—his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary.

    Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail (审判), he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio.

    William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O. Henry.

    Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life.