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. Now, aged 79, 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 this 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. "

    Characters—Editor, Doctor, Scientist, Journalist, Traveller Scene 9    The men sit down with drinks ,and the time traveller tells his amazing story，Traveller: The time machine took me 150 years into the future.

    The word was… is … a very different place. There was two races（种类）of creatures: the Eloi and Morlocks. The Eloi are small, gentle creatures—people who lead peaceful lives. They do not work but play games, eat food, and sleep. They are afraid of dark. Scientist: And the Morlocks? Traveller: These are ape—like（似猿的）creatures who live underground. They are afraid of the light. They have machines. They provide the Eloi with everything they need. Doctor: So the Morlocks are the Eloi's slaves（奴隶）? Traveller: Sadly, that is not so. The Eloi are the Morlock's cattle（牲畜）.

    The Morlocks feed them and raise took them for food. Editor: That is awful. How did the Eloi allow this to happen. Traveller: They became lazy. At first, they allowed the Morlocks to provide them with everything they needed.

    Journalist: Then, they slowly lost all their skills. Traveller: Exactly. As the years passed, they became more and more dependent（依赖的） on the Morlocks. Finally, they could not take care of themselves. Then ,the Morlocks took control them.

    Editor: There is a lesson for us in this.

    Scientist: Only if his strange story is true.

    It is May, 2050. Frank and Mary wake up in their comfortable house in the morning. They turn on the bedroom computer to read the latest news. They keep on reading The Times for many years. The only difference is that they changed from paper newspapers to electronic newspapers. There is the usual news about space: another space flight has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet.

    After breakfast, as they watch the screen, Mary orders the cooking robot to make coffee for them. Frank is a computer engineer, working for several companies. He is going to take part in a video conference with his partners all around the world.

    Mary is a medical researcher. She usually works at home. Now she is looking at the shopping channels while her secretary robot is helping her check a new type of medicine.

    Their daughter, Louise, has her own study room at home. She goes to school only one day a week, to play with other students. Louise is studying Chinese in the present. Chinese has become an important language in the world.

    According to the family doctor, Louise will live to at least 130 years old. Her wish is to work for a few decades (十年) and then spend her time on music and painting.

    Papercutting is a kind of the traditional folk art in China. Papercutting has a long history of about 1,500 years. Let's learn something about papercutting.

    Wonderful meanings

    Papercutting has some wonderful meanings. Some papercutting means happiness and good luck. In the Spring Festival, people paste(粘贴) "Fu" on doors or windows. At a wedding, people paste "Xi".

    The largest Chinese papercutting

    The largest papercutting was made by Gao Xiaodong. It has an area of about 456 square meters. It is as large as a basketball court.

    Why is it red?

    In the old times of China, people think highly of the sun. Red was the color of the sun. They always regarded red as the symbol of hope and life. Now, we can also see red everywhere in China. The walls of old palaces are red. Lanterns are red. Weddings are always full of red things, too.

    Black papercutting in Shanzhou

    Much of the papercutting is red. But papercutting in Shanzhou, Henan Province is black. Black is the best color there. Shanzhou is a dry place. People make black papercutting and wish for rain.

It's a loss that has brought Louis, 15, and Ken, 93, together. The 1 friends me t while filming a TV' show.

Louis said the pair first clicked (一见如故) when Ken told him that his mother had 2 in childbirth, leaving him alone. At that time the ninth—grade r was very 3 about the loss of his father." I think we clicked after I realized we had a similar 4 experience," the teen said " In addition, we also 5 a trust—building activity. Arid the friendship between us grew from there."

Ken began a long career working experience on ships at the age of 

17. He said the pair each filled a little void (空虚). in life for the other and that his 6 was more of a "grandfather giving a pep talk (加油打气的话) "。

The old man said," When I first met Louis, he was very 7 and stood back from the crowd a little. But after seven weeks of filming, the change in him was amazing. He has become more and more outgoing Besides . Louis' mother tells me that his schoolwork has 8 and he has a better outlook on life. "Ken added that the 9 lesson he could teach young people—or a person of any age —was to embrace (拥抱) life." I've been a very lucky man throughout my life . There have been hard times, but this is what I try to 10 the teenagers to understand life is a challenge and you have to meet that challenge ."