Most people have ambitions. An ambition is something we want to do, want to be or want to have. A student’s ambition, for example, might be to pass his or her exams and then get a good job. An athlete’s ambition could be to win an important competition. A businessman’s ambition is usually to make a lot of money.

Not all ambitions are about success at work, however. Some people just want to be good people, have a family or help others.

Ben’s ambition is to be a sports writer. He writes the sports reports for his class newspaper. He likes most sports, and swimming and football are his favorites.

Trudy’s ambition is to be a concert pianist. She is very serious about it and practices every day with her best friend Lily. It is very important to her.

Harry’s ambition changes every day! One day he wants to be an astronaut. The next day he wants to be a pop singer. The next day he wants to drive a racing car. His mother would be happy his ambition was to get up in time for school every day!

Do you know Snoopy? He is a black-and-white dog from the Peanuts comic strip (《花生漫画》). His writer is Charlie Brown, a kind boy. Snoopy, Charlie and Charlie’s friends all play together. 

American cartoonist (漫画家) Charles Schulz draws this popular comic from 1950 to 2000. This year, Peanuts is 70.

Snoopy is a lovely character (角色) in Peanuts. He plays tricks on Charlie. He hates the cat next door. He often sleeps on the roof (屋顶) of his doghouse and makes daydreams. He wants to become a man, travel to the moon and keep a bird for a pet. He also wants to become a writer and publish (出版) great novels (小说).

People around the world love Snoopy. There are articles about him in more than 2,600 newspapers in more than 70 countries. This year, there will be a lot of shows to celebrate his birthday, including one in Shanghai’s MoCA (上海当代艺术馆). 

Here are some famous words from Snoopy:

“To live is to dance; to dance is to live.”

“Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I might still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement (提升).”

“Nothing says ‘I love you’ like a great big hug (拥抱).”