2 . A big company wanted a manager, so John went there. In the interview the director asked him a question. “Who paid for your school fees(学费)?” “My mother paid for them by washing clothes.” Hearing this, the director asked John to show his hands. John showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect. The director said, “When you go back today, go and clean your mother’s hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.”

When John went back, he happily asked his mother to let him clean her hands. However, his tears fell as he cleaned his mother`s hands. It was the first time he noticed that there were so many bruises (伤痕) in his mother’s hands. After finishing the cleaning of his mother’s hands, John quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

The next morning, John went to the director’s office. The director noticed the tears in John’s eyes and asked, “Please tell me your feelings.” John said, “First, I know what appreciation (感激) is now. Without my mother, I would not be successful. Second, by helping my mother, now I realize how difficult it is to get something done. Third, I have realized the importance of family relationship.”

The director said, “This is what I am looking for to be my manager. You can get the job.”

A Hero in My Heart

6 . In a room at Stanford University, scientists are studying a small animal called a gecko (壁虎)．It’s a(n)__________animal because it can move very quickly up and down a tree and even upside down on ceilings (天花板). The scientists are particularly __________the gecko’ s feet. They want to use the__________design on a metal robot that looks like the gecko. It has four feet and can walk up walls made of glass or plastic, __________it still has trouble walking upside down.

Animals and plants can__________humans a lot. As a result, many engineers, scientists, and designers spend time__________them. When they have a problem, nature often has the__________. This science is called biomimetics. Bio means “living things”and mimetics means “copying”. In other words, scientists—or biomimeticists-study animals and plants in order to__________their design.

For example, engineers in Canada are studying whale flippers (鲸鱼的鳍) because they move so__________through water. The engineers believe the shape can__________the movement of wind turbines (风力机). Similarly, engineers at Mercedes-Benz in Germany are__________the shape of the boxfish to one of their new cars because it makes the car__________and more fuel efficient.

Velcro (威扣魔术贴) is probably the most famous__________of   biomimetics. Most people have some Velcro on an item of clothing. It was__________by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral in 1948. He was walking in the countryside when he pulled a burr (牛蒡芒刺) off his clothes. He noticed how well the burr__________his clothes so he studied its design. The__________was Velcro, which became an affordable__________for the traditional zipper(拉链).

In 1982 inventor Wilhelm Bartlott got a great idea studying the leaf of a lotus plant. He noticed that water always ran off the leaf. When he had a closer look, he discovered how this__________. Bartlott copied the leaf’s__________ surface and now you can find it in specialized paint products that don’t allow water and dirt to stick to them.

In conclusion, biomimetics not only has helped to__________our world but promises many more possibilities.

7 . Louis Bleriot was a French aviator (飞行员), inventor and engineer and had become very interested in flying aircraft while he was at school. He first decided to experiment with aircraft design, after seeing a flight show at the World Fair in Paris. For about eight years he experimented with several designs and escaped from two serious air crashes with relatively minor injuries.

In 1908, a British newspaper announced that it was offering £500 in prize money for the first person to make a flight across the English Channel, before the end of that year. When 1908 passed with no serious attempt to make the flight across the Channel, the prize money was doubled to £1,000 and the offer lengthened to the end of 1909.

On 25 July 1909, Bleriot decided to make his attempt. The distance of the flight was about 45 kilometres, his speed was around 70 kilometres an hour and he flew at a height of 45 to 90 metres. He did not take a compass for direction, but followed the ship Escopette, which guided him towards Dover (in England). During the flight visibility worsened and Bleriot later said, “For more than ten minutes I was alone and lost and couldn’t see anything.” Fortunately, the clouds lifted and he was able to land his aircraft near Dover Castle, on the cliffs (悬崖).The actual contact with land was very hard. In fact, not only was the aircraft’s propeller (螺旋桨) broken, but part of the framework which carried the engine was also damaged. However, these damages were small compared to the success of the flight. Bleriot had crossed the Channel, had won the £1,000 prize and had survived uninjured.

After his success, Bleriot began his own aviation (航空/飞机制造业) company and produced 900 aircraft in the next five years. In 1927, when Charles Lindbergh became the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to France, Louis Bleriot was there to meet him at the airfield. They were surely two of the bravest men that ever flew an aircraft and they pioneered an industry.

10 . Sam was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself to find a better-paying job.

Except for Sundays, Sam hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with a better life. Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Sam passed with an impressive performance! Soon after, he was offered a better job which paid handsomely. Sam could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and a vacation abroad. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. To make himself a worthy candidate for the promotion, he registered another course in an open university. Sam’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Delightedly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough. It would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a larger apartment.

Sam resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see him much of the time, Sometimes Sam had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. As expected, Sam’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful apartment with amazing scenery overlooking the coast.

From then on, he was able to devote more time to his family. It was time for him to enjoy the fruits of his labor finally.