【推荐1】There was a man playing the piano in a bar. He was a good piano player and always performed in this bar. People came in just to hear him play. But one night, a customer told him that he didn't want to hear him just play the piano any more. He wanted him to sing a song.

The man said, "I don't sing."

But the customer was persistent (执着的). He told the bar manager, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want that man to sing！"

The manager shouted across the room, "If you want to get paid, sing a song. Our customers are asking you to sing！"

So he did, He sang a song. A piano player who had never sung in public did so for the first time. And everyone was surprised by his song Mona Lisa. He got lots of applause(掌声) that night.

He had such a talent for singing, but he just had been sitting on his talent for the past years! If without such a chance, he may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. However, now he has become one of the best known singers in America.

You, too, have skills and abilities. Maybe your "talent" is not as great as the singer above, but it may be better than you think! And with effort, most skills can be improved. So, in your life, you should be brave enough to try doing different things and find out what talents you really have!

【推荐2】For years I wanted a flower garden. I’d spend hours thinking of different things I could plant that would look nice together. But then we had Matthew. And Marvin. And the twins, Alisa and Alan. And then Helen. Five children. I was too busy raising them to grow a garden.

Money was tight, as well as time. Often when my children were little, one of them would want something that cost too much, and I’d have to say, “Do you see a money tree outside? Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.”

Finally, all five got through high school and college and were off on their own. I started thinking again about having a garden.

I wasn’t sure, though. I mean, gardens do cost money, and after all these years I was used to living on a pretty lean tight budget(财政紧张).

Then, one spring morning, on Mother’s Day, I was working in my kitchen. Suddenly, I realized that cars were tooting their horns(按喇叭) as they drove by. I looked out of the window and there was a new tree, planted right in my yard. I thought it must be a weeping willow(垂柳), because I saw things blowing around on all its branches. Then I put my glasses on—and I couldn’t believe what I saw. There was a money tree in my yard!

I went outside to look. It was true! There were dollar bills, one hundred of them, taped all over that tree. Think of all the garden flowers I could buy with one hundred dollars! There was also a note attached: “I owe you eight hours of digging time. Love, Marvin.”

Marvin, my first son, kept his promise. He dug up a nice ten-by-fifteen-foot bed(花坛，花圃) for me. My other children bought me tools, a sunflower stepping stone(踏脚石) and gardening books. We built a garden together.

That was three years ago. My garden’s now very pretty, just like what I wanted. When I go out and weed or tend my flowers, I don’t seem to miss my children as much as I once did. It feels like they’re right there with me. When I think about what my children have done for me, I get tears in my eyes every time. I’m still not sure whether money grows on trees. But I know love does!