Long long ago, there was no paper in the world. People had to write characters(汉字) in bamboo slips or stones.Then there was a man named Cai Lun who was a Chinese man. He made people use all kinds of things to invent paper. From then on, people can use paper to write on. Paper is a great invention. We always remember the great inventor Cai Lun. Nowadays paper is very useful in our work, study and our life.It really means a lot to human beings

 Have you ever wanted to achieve something really amazing in life? Well, Greg Mortenson wanted to climb a mountain, but he ended up helping thousands of people to have a better life.

 Greg's story began with failure. In 1993, he set out to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain. But Greg never made it to the top.  After five days, he stumbled(踉跄）into the village of Korphe in northern Pakistan, injured(受伤）and hungry. The kind villagers there looked after him for several days.

 Greg saw that the villagers were very poor and hungry, and some of them were ill. Also, the village school didn't have a roof(屋顶）and the children wrote on the ground with sticks. Greg knew he wanted to do something to help. " I'll build you a school,”he told the villagers. “ I promise.”

 Greg went back home to the USA to raise money for the school. He even lived in the car to save money! Finally he went back to Korphe and built the school. But this was just the beginning of something bigger! Since then, Greg's organization has built around 80 schools and runs many others in Pakistan and other countries, too.

 Greg hasn't finished yet. He does many other things to help people in poor countries. He has got many prizes, but it's the smiles of the children he has helped that makes him happy!

 Greg has just written a best-selling book about his story called Three Cups of Tea. It's an interesting and exciting book which tells us what ordinary(普通的）people can do with courage and determination(决心）!

I've loved my mother's desk since I was just tall enough to see above the top of it as mother sat doing letters. Standing by her chair, looking at the ink bottle, pens, and white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most wonderful thing in the world. Years later, during her final illness, mother kept different things for my sister and brother. “But the desk,” she would say again, “it's for Elizabeth.” I never saw her be angry, and never saw her cry. I knew she loved me—she showed it in action. But as a young girl, I wanted heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. They never happened. And a gulf opened between us. I was “too emotional(易动感情的)”. But she lived “on the surface(表面)”. As years passed I had my own family. I loved my mother and thanked her for our happy family. I wrote to her in careful words and asked her to let me know in any way she chose that she did forgive(原谅) me. I posted the letter and waited for her answer. None came. My hope turned to disappointment(失望), then little interest and, finally, peace— it seemed that nothing happened. I couldn't be sure that the letter had even got to mother. I only knew that I had written it, and I could stop trying to make her into someone she was not. Now the present of her desk told, as she'd never been able to, that she was pleased that writing was my chosen work. I cleaned the desk carefully and found some papers inside —a photo of my father and a one-page letter, folded(折叠) and refolded many times. Give me an answer, my letter asks, in any way you choose. Mother, you always chose the act that speaks louder than words.

    Everyone faces challenges in their life, but some are more important than others. Daniel Kish had serious problems with his eyes when he was born. And doctors took away both of his eyes before he was fourteen months old.

    Soon after, however, he started to do an amazing thing. He started to make clicking(咔嗒) sounds with his tongue(舌头) to help him move around. Much like a bat(蝙蝠), he now moves about using sonar(声呐). He is so good at it that he can ride a bicycle in traffic. He and his group, World Access for the Blind, teach others how to use sonar. In this interview with National Geographic, Kish explains how the process works.

    How does sonar work?

    "When I make a clicking sound, it makes sound waves. These waves reflect(反射) off surfaces all around and return to my ears. My brain then processes the sounds into images(图像). It's like having a conversation with the environment

    When you click, what do you see in your mind?

    "Each click is like a camera flash. I make a 3D image of the things around me for hundreds of feet in every direction

    What is it like riding a bike using sonar?

    "It's exciting and enjoyable but requires a lot of focus. I click up to two times per second, much more than I usually do."

    Is it dangerous to move around the world in this way?

"Much of the world lives in fear of things that we mostly imagine. I have a habit of climbing anything and everything, but I never broke a bone (骨头) as a kid."

    How challenging is it to teach people to use sonar?

    "Many students are surprised how quickly results come. Seeing isn't in the eyes, it's in the mind."

    One day, 100 people were attending a speech. The speaker was making a speech about happiness. However, after a few hours, people began to lose their attention. The speaker thought of an idea. He stopped his speech and asked all of the people to take part in a group activity.

    He gave each person a balloon in the room. Each person was asked to write his or her name on the balloon with a black marker (记号笔). Then, all of the balloons were collected and moved to another room.

The 100 people were then let into the room and told to find the balloon with their own name

    Everyone rushed around, crazily searching for their own balloon. People were bumping into and tripping (绊倒) over each other.

But after about five minutes of searching, no one could find their own balloon.

    After seeing this, the speaker asked each person to collect a balloon and try to find the person, whose name was written on it. Everyone started talking to each other and asking each other for their name. In just a few minutes, everyone had his or her own balloon.

    "Can you see what happened?" the speaker said. "The balloons are like the happiness we look for in our own lives. Everyone is busy looking for their own happiness, not caring what happens to others. But sometimes the best way to find happiness is to help others. Help them find happiness and you can find your own."