An Excerpt from The Mexican

—by Jack London

A mysterious youth came to the America—based Mexican Revolutionary Committee, requesting for its admission.

Nobody knew his history. The first day he drifted into their busy rooms, they all suspected him of being a spy of the Diaz regime(迪亚兹政权), which had been carrying out the dictatorial rule since 1876.

Boy as he was, he announced that he was Felipe Rivera, and he wished to work for the revolution. The revolutionists looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. And what made revolutionists the most confused was Rivera’s whereabouts—he always came back with his arms or legs seriously injured, dressed in ragged clothes. So what had he been doing recently? Everyone in the Revolutionary Committee started to take precautions against him.

The situation changed totally when the Committee was in bad need of funds. Much to their surprise, such a slender boy should have successively brought them batches of gold and silver coins. Then came the most urgent situation where 5, 000 dollars were needed to buy guns for those revolutionists on standby on the border between the US and the Mexico. Rivera stood out and made a promise that he would give them 5,000 dollars within three weeks.

So, how could he get so much money within such a short period of time?

Rivera was determined to help his people at the cost of his life. He fought against stronger and tougher boxers in the ring to make money for his people. One day he was engaged in a very tough fight against a champion boxer, Danny. Rivera didn’t match Danny in height, weight, or skills. And he was not half as popular. However, “The winner takes all!” And Rivera stubbornly asked for all—all he had on his mind was making the money for his people.

The fight was going on and on. The whole stadium was cheering for Danny; there were few on Rivera’s side. However, Rivera survived one blow after another; his excellent defence was frightening.

Danny rushed, forcing Rivera to give him a clinch. Was it a trick? Rivera thought to himself.

Yes, it was. But Rivera was smart enough to avoid it. He backed and circled away.

He pretended to clinch with Danny’s next rush. Instead, at the last instant, just as their bodies should have come together, Rivera went quickly back. He had fooled him!

While Rivera was dancing away, Danny kept challenging him openly. Having run after him for two rounds, Danny found the boy not even daring to come near him. He started to throw all caution to the winds. Rivera was struck again and again. He took blows by the dozen—just to avoid the deadly clinch.

In the seventeenth round, Rivera, hit heavily, bent down. His hands dropped helplessly. Danny thought it was his chance—the boy was at his mercy. He decided to strike the deadly blow. But before he could do that, Rivera caught him off his guard and hit him in the mouth. Danny went down. When he rose, Rivera gave him another blow on the neck and jaw. He repeated this three times.

Danny did not rise again. The audience shouted for him to stand up. But the miracle did not happen.

“Count!” Rivera cried to the referee. When the count was finished, Danny, gathered up by his assistants, was carried to his corner.

“Who wins?” Rivera demanded.

Unwillingly, the referee caught his gloved hand and held it high up.

Rivera, unattended, walked to his corner, where his assistants had not yet placed his stool. He didn’t care. All he could remember was that he had got the $5,000 he needed. “The winner takes all! ” What mattered to him was that________.

Lakshmi grew up in India in the first half of the twentieth century, seeing many people around her who did not get enough food, were often sick and died young.

In the 1960s, she was asked to help manage a program to improve nutrition in her country. At that time, most advice on nutrition came from North American and European countries. Nutritionists suggested foods that were common and worked well for people who lived in these nations.

For example, they told poor Indian women to eat more meat and eggs and drink more orange juice. But Lakshmi knew this advice was useless in a country such as India. People there didn't eat such foods. They weren't easy to find. And for the poor, such foods were too expensive.Lakshmi knew that for the program to work, it had to fit Indian culture. So she decided to adjust the nutrition program. She first found out what healthy middle class people in India ate. She took note of the nutrients (营养物)available in those foods. Then she looked for cheap, easy-to-find foods that would provide the same nutrients.

She created a balanced diet of locally grown fruits, vegetables, and grains. These foods were cheap and could be cooked with simple equipment. Her ideas were thought unusual in the 1960s. For example, she insisted that a diet without meat could provide all major nutrients. Now we know she was right. But it took her continuous efforts to get others to finally accept her diet about 50 years ago. Because of Lakshmi's program, Indian children almost doubled their food intake. And many children who would have been hungry and ill grew healthy and strong.

I experienced years of loneliness as a child. 【小题1】 His friends teased him about babysitting his sister and his interests were far different from mine. With no other kids of my age in the neighborhood, I had to spend hours by myself.

A bright spot for me turned out to be reading. My love of the written word began early as my mother read to me every evening. 【小题2】 I started reading books on my own before age 5 and my mother took me to the public library once a week to borrow several books. I quickly graduated from typical children’s books to ones with fewer pictures and longer chapters. Reading opened new worlds to me. 【小题3】

My mother also encouraged me to make what I wanted. I tried making toy cars with cardboard boxes and constructing buildings from leftover cardboard and bits of wood my father gave me. When my mother saw my creations, she told me how creative my designs were. 【小题4】 I learned a lot about how to extend the life of objects and transform them into something new and useful. It was a trait(特点) others found helpful, and I soon had friends who wanted to make things with me.

【小题5】My parents made it a point for their two kids to spend time outside, no matter the weather or season. My brother, of course, raced off to be with his friends, while I had plenty to do myself. There was making leaf houses in autumn, ice skating in winter, and so much more. They’re all memories I treasure today.