Ma Yun became one of 1 men in China when his company Alibaba went on the stock (股票) market last year with a value of around 140 billion—the largest public offering in history. Here are some stories about him on2 way to success.
Ma made his3 trip to the US in 1995 and used the Internet for the first time. After 4 "beer", he saw that no results came up about China. Then he searched for "China" and still saw no results. He decided 5 a Chinese website—the seed for Alibaba was sown. (播种)
Ma said he 6 many times in his life. He failed the College Entrance Examination in China three times and 7 companies offered him jobs, including one at KFC. And he was refused by the famous Harvard University 10 times.
8 was difficult to learn English when Ma was a teenager 9 limited resources. 10, he found that he could learn English well by giving tourists free guides around his hometown Hangzhou. And he11it for nine years. Ma said 12tourists opened up a new world for him because everything they said and did was so different from what he had been taught at school and by his parents.
Ma's hero is Forest Gump 13 never gives up. When he made a speech about his 14 at Davos (达沃斯论坛) in 2015, Ma said, "Life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you15."
When I was in the third grade, my teacher gave us some seeds. She told us the seeds could turn into some beautiful flowers one day if we 1 them and look after them 2.
I took the seeds home and put them in a pot. I watered them for a few days and some purple 3 came out. I reported to my teacher that the seeds turned into purple flowers. My classmates' turned into red, white and yellow flowers. We all felt excitedly and were 4 by the magic of nature. When the bell rang, we drew a conclusion that gardening was wonderful. I felt in love with gardening from that day.
One day, an old couple moved in next door. They gave me some 5 from their garden. I found they grew the best tomatoes I had ever tasted. I wanted to grow some myself. Therefore, I asked my mother to buy some tomatoes for me to plant. Day by day, I looked after my garden and took out weeds. I always watched my tomatoes and found myself suddenly became interested in 6. Because I always wished rain would water my tomatoes so that they could grow up quickly. My brother made fun of me and said I was a little farmer. Finally, my tomatoes were big, but I found some of my tomatoes were gone one morning. I was sad and 7. Who 8 my tomatoes? It was some rabbits! I wanted to drive them away but my father stopped me and said they were 9 and hungry. I should 10 happiness with other! So I did and I became happier.
Erik Weihenmayer was born with an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight completely. However, he did not lose his determination to lead a full and active life.
Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and scuba diving. He competed in long-distance biking, marathons and skiing. His favorite sport, though, is mountaineering.
As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the top of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous 1000-metre rock wall of EI Capitan. Two years later, while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a time at 13,000 feet above sea level－in order to get married. And on May 25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest mountaineering challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world two years after he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America in 1999．
Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles: one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.
Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of being on the top of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind．"When people think about a blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on top of the world."
One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. It has been said that the hall itself is an instrument. It takes the music and makes it larger than life.
Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. He was a wealthy man who also gave a lot of money to schools and public libraries. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5, 1891.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E. Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.
In 1986, people realized that Carnegie Hall had never kept proper records of its history. Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12,000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall's concert history.
Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall's history. Question: "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" Answer: "Practise, practise, practise."
a. Robert E. Simon bought it in 1924.
b. Carnegie Hall got its name.
c. Carnegie Hall recovered its history.
d. New York City paid $5,000,000 for it.
e. Construction on Carnegie Hall began in 1890.
There is an English saying that "Laughter is the best medicine." Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now, however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people's health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics(诊所), in which they help to improve their patients' condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
| ◆GONE WITH THE WIND Author: Margaret Mitchell ¥ 25（in bookstores）¥ 18(online) Gone With the Wind is a best seller, which tells a story that happened in the American Civil War(美国内战). Scarlett O'Hara is a woman in the story who is full of energy. She is strong and saves her family but is very selfish at the same time. | ||
◆A LITTLE PRINCESS Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ¥18.3 (online) Motherless Sara Crewe was sent home from India to school at Miss Minchin's. Her father was very rich and she lived a rich and comfortable life. Then her father died and Sara lost everything. She had to learn to do with her changed life. Her strong character made her able to fight successfully against her poverty (贫困) and the scorn（嘲笑）of her fellows(伙伴). It's an excellent book with 4 tapes(磁带) for children. |
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| ◆PETER PAN Author: J.M. Barrie ¥ 15（in bookstores）¥ 12(online) It is a children's story full of imagination and adventures, which is about Wendy, John and Michael Darling's adventures in Never-Never Land with Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up. The children are happy and lovely. (with 2 tapes) | ||
◆UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe ¥ 20（in bookstores） The most famous novel in American history, Uncle Tom's Cabin, talked about the struggle between the free states and slave(奴隶) states during the American Civil War and is as powerful today as when it first came out 150 years ago. |
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| ◆THE SECRET GARDEN Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett ¥ 35（in bookstores）¥ 30(online) Mary Lennox, a sickly orphan(孤儿), finds herself in her uncle's dark house. Why are so many rooms locked? Why is one of the gardens locked? And what is that crying she hears at night? Through the power of hope, friendship and the magic of nature, the brave girl brings the house and a long-lost garden back to life. | ||
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A. Eventually the boys' father took me to a pet centre. B. The boys promised they would look after me very carefully, and they did. C. Emma feeds me and takes me for walks every day. D. One day, a nice girl called Emma came to visit. E. They fed me, played with me and walked me every day. |
My name is Robbie. I was born on a farm with my brothers and sisters. One day, a man and two little boys came to the farm.
"Which dog do you want?" the man asked.
"We want that one!" the boys said. They chose me!
They drove me to my new home in the city.
Then one day, they got a computer. After that, the boys played computer games all the time. They did not play with me or feed me anymore.
He told the staff that his boys loved their computer more than me. The centre gave me lots of food and took good care of me.
"Do you want to come home with me?" she asked.
"Woof!" I said. She smiled and took me home.
I know I will live here happily for the rest of my life.
