A

    Jack Johnson is one of the most popular singer-songwriters in the world.

Jack was born on May 18,1975 in Hawaii. Being the son of a famous surfer,Jack naturally has an interest in surfing. Most of his life lessons were learned in the water. At the age of 17,Jack entered the finals of the Pineline Masters—the world's most famous surfing competition. Everyone thought Jack would become a professional surfer like his father. Unluckily, one month later,he had a deadly accident while surfing and was seriously hurt.

    Life is like a revolving door. When it closes ,it also opens. Jack started to practice playing the guitar and write songs when he was staying in hospital. At first,his father thought Jack only did it for fun,but soon he was surprised at the great progress his son had made.

When studying in the university, Jack didn't stop practicing his guitar skills. He played the guitar for school parties. He wrote songs and sang them for his teachers and friends. They liked his songs. His first music album Brush fire Fairytales came out in 2001. It was a great success. His second album，On and On ， was much like his first. They were filled with sweet，easy-going songs

that everybody liked listening to. Later Jack had lots of concerts in and out of America. He became popular all over the world.

    Jack had five albums by 2010 and more than 15 million copies of them were sold. His music doesn't fit into any of the popular music styles like pop, rock, R&B or hip-hop. It is more like folk music, played with a guitar and beautiful voice. When listening to his songs, you feel like lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunshine.

    Jack is a talent, though he himself says he is only a surfer who loves music. In his songs we can find his secret of success: Whatever happens in our lives, we have to accept it and do the best we can.

    As the birds wake up the people on the farm early in the morning, one man is already up. In fact, he has never slept not once in the past 36 years.

    The man has never been ill after so many years of insomnia(失眠). This has not only made him famous, but also interested many scientists to study him.

    Sixty-four-year-old Thai Ngoc said he could not sleep at night after getting a fever in 1973, and since that time he has experienced more than 14，000 sleepless nights.

  “I don't know whether the insomnia has impacted my health or not, but I'm still healthy and can work normally like others,” Ngocsaid.

His wife said,“My husband used to sleep well, but these years, nothing can make him get to sleep.” She said when Ngoc went to Da Nang for a medical examination, doctors said he was healthy.

    Ngoc now lives on his farm at the foot of mountain, busy farming and taking care of pigs and chickens all day. “I have tried sleeping pills and some other medicine, but nothing helps,  even to sleep for a few minutes,” he said.

    Ngoc often does more farm work or helps his neighbors during the sleepless night.

    Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a girl asked him to sing a song.

    “I don't sing,” said the man.

    But the girl told the waiter, “I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing! ”

    The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get money, sing a song!”

    So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song!

    He had skills(技能) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he caught the chance, and found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

    You, too, have skills. You may not feel that your skills are great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved(提高).

    Kathy could still remember the night she had to leave her home Hungary in a hurry. It was the terrible beginning of World War Ⅱ and her family had to leave their country as soon as possible. She quickly filled a bag with a few pieces of clothing, her diary, and her treasure—a beautiful silk scarf (围巾).

    Kathy and her best friend, Monica, had asked their parents to buy them matching scarves. They each would wear the scarf as a symbol of their friendship. Kathy had no idea that she was going to America that night and would not be returning forever.

    Kathy kept that special silk scarf as a treasure for many years. One day she decided to give it to her granddaughter, Eliza, to wear to her first job interview for good luck. Kathy was afraid that Eliza would lose the scarf, but the granddaughter promised, "Don't worry, Grandma, nothing's going to happen to your scarf. You'll see. It is going to bring both of us good luck today." And with that, Eliza kissed her grandmother and left for the interview.

    That afternoon Eliza left the interview happily, feeling sure that she had got the job. So she decided to celebrate by going to a restaurant. As she was sitting at her table, she felt someone looking at her. An old woman sitting next to her could not take her eyes away from her.

    "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Eliza asked.

    "I'm sorry, dear, but you make me think of someone I once knew," the old woman replied. "My best friend looked just like you and used to wear a scarf just like the one you're wearing around your neck." Eliza listened carefully, with her eyes and mouth wide open. She had heard stories of her grandmother's best friend many times and knew the meaning of the scarf. Could this be Monica, her grandmother's childhood friend?

    Eliza introduced herself and waited to hear the name of the old woman.

    "My name's Monica, dear. I lived in Hungary as a child, but my family had to leave when I was fourteen years old. I've been living here in California ever since." said the old woman.

    Eliza could not believe her ears…

    When I was five years old, I took a boat out on the river and went fishing by myself. I really wanted to catch a fish! But they were not biting. I stayed in my boat for three days, waiting. A few times, I thought I felt a fish at the end of the line. The first time I pulled in my catch, it was not a fish; it was an old bag. The second time, it was a shoe. Finally, at the end of the third day, I felt a strong pull at the end of the line. The pull was so strong that my boat raced around and around. I needed all my power just to hold onto the fishing rod. I pulled, and I pulled and I caught the biggest fish that ever swam on the earth! It was heavier than everyone in this room put together! Then something terrible happened! After I pulled the huge fish into my boat, I saw that the boat was going under water! Water was coming into the boat from all sides! I was not a very good swimmer, so I was scared.

    Although it was the hardest choice I ever made, I had to let the fish go. I pushed it back over the side of the boat, and we waved good-bye to each other as it swam away.

    A poor (贫穷的) man goes to a rich (富有的) man's house. On the way, he sees a box under a tree. He opens it and sees some apples in it.

    The man thinks, "I will have dinner in the rich man's house. He will give me nice food to eat. It will be very delicious." So he doesn't eat the apples. He throws them away (扔掉).

    The man walks on and comes to a river. He can't go across it. He waits for some time, but there is no boat coming. "What a bad day! I can't go to the rich man's house today," he thinks.

    The man has to go back home. He doesn't have any food at home. He is very hungry. He thinks of the apples. He goes back to the tree. He is very happy to see them near the tree, and he eats them quickly.

   The story tells us: Do not throw away good things; you may need them some other time.