In 1769, long before computers were invented, a man from Hungary(匈牙利) built a machine that could play chess very well. Many people believed that it was a truly thinking machine. However, other people thought it was a hoax. The secret of the machine was finally revealed(揭示) in 1837. An article explained that there was a man inside the machine playing chess.

On November 9, 1874, an article in an important newspaper in New York reported that all the animals in the New York Zoo had suddenly escaped and were running all over the city. It also said that there were 27 people dead and 200 injured. People in New York were afraid, but there was really no reason to be frightened. The article was a total hoax from beginning to end.

On April 21, 1980, the first woman to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon was 23-year-old Rosie Ruiz. However, as she climbed the stairs to receive her prize, people began to doubt(质疑) her because she didn’t even seem to be out of breath(气喘吁吁).None of the other runners saw her, and her pictures never appeared in photographs or TV broadcasts of the race. Later, several people said that they saw her join the race near the end. She had run only one half of a mile! Her prize was taken away, of course!

A group of swans flew down to a beach where a crow(乌鸦) was jumping around. The crow watched them with disdain(鄙视).

“You have no flying skills at all!” he said to the swans. “All you can do is to move your wings. Can you turn over in the air? No, that’s beyond you. Let’s have a flying competition. I’ll show you what real flying is!”

One of the swans, a strong young male, took up the challenge. The crow flew up and began to show his skills. He flew in circles, performed other flying tricks, and then came down and looked proudly at the swan.

Now it was the swan’s turn. He flew up, and began flying over the sea. The crow flew after him, making all kinds of comments(评价) about his flying. They flew on and on till they couldn’t see the land and there was nothing but water on all sides. The crow was making fewer and fewer comments. He was now so tired that he found it hard to stay in the air, and had to struggle to keep himself from falling into the water.

The swan pretended(假装) not to notice, and said, “Why do you keep touching the water, brother? Is that another trick?”

“No,” said the crow. He knew he had lost the competition. “I’m in trouble because of my pride! If you don’t help me, I’ll lose my life…”

The swan took pity on him, and took him on his shoulder and flew back to the beach.