Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath. “I suppose I had better go to the doctor,” she thought. She went to the doctor and told him her problem. “ I’m not at all surprised,” he said. “It’s obvious what your problem is .” He examined her and then gave her some advice. “If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “you will have a heart attack. It could kill you.” Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but that it would not be easy and it would take time.

The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop. “I’d like ten pounds of steak, please,” she said. “Certainly, madam,” the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale(天平). “That’s just under ten pounds,” he said. “That’s big enough.” Mrs. Parker said. The butcher worked out the price. “At $ 4.99 a pound that will be $ 49.50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into smaller pieces for you?” “Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said. “If you don’t want to buy it ,” the butcher replied angrily, “why did you ask me to get it for you ?”

“My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what ten pounds of flesh looked like.”

It is her ordinariness that makes her extraordinary.

Unlike many in the entertainment world，British singer-songwriter Adele - full name Adele Laurie Blue Adkins - isn't an image-obsessed（过分关注形象的）,diet fanatic（狂热者）.“My life is full of drama and I won't have time to worry about something like what I look like，" she told Rolling Stone magazine．I don't like going to the gym．I like eating fine foods and drinking nice wine."

Adele grew up with her single mom in north London．She is like any normal London girl，except that Adele has had countless number one hits and holds three Guinness World Records，one for being the first solo female singer to spend 11 straight weeks at number one in the UK chart．

Adele started writing songs at the age of 15 when she bought herself a guitar．She recorded three songs for a class project and posted them on myspace.com．They were spotted by a record company，and her career kicked off．Her first album，19 -her age at the time-shot to number one in 2008．

Fans love her deep，jazzy voice and Adele has her own tips for singing．“It's more impressive，somehow，if you don't try to impress，” she said．“Be natural with it．Say it straight．"

Her chatty London-girl attitude can have its downsides（不利方面）．She recently had to cancel a tour because of a vocal chord（声带）problem．She told The Sun that the root of the problem was "because I was talking too much"．

Adele is now number nine in the Sunday Times Rich List for British music stars under the age of 30，but she remains as grounded（脚踏实地的）as ever．In a recent interview with The Telegraph，she described how she enjoys her success：“Money doesn't matter to me…I give a lot to Great Ormond Street Hospital，monthly…It's important to me that I give，because people always helped me and my mom out when we needed it．

Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.

The woman, 85-year-old Janet Fein, received her bachelor’s degree (学士学位) from the University of Texas in December, 2018.

Fein has had a full life. She raised five children and then had a career as a secretary (秘书) until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement. She decided to major in sociology (社会学).

Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. In high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary.

After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including being a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from in 2011. She received an associate degree (专科学位) in 1995. But she also wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree. Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas.

She kept going to class even as her health condition worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she needed oxygen (氧气) too. She also developed knee problems. So, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements.

Renee Brown is one of Fein’s care-givers. She says Fein has also inspired her. At 53, she plans to begin nursing school to further her career. Brown says Fein told her, “Renee, you can do it. If I can do it you also can do it, and you will feel so good about it.”