An old man walked slowly into a restaurant with his cane(拐杖). His old jacket and shoes made him unusual that day.

A young waitress named Mary watched him move towards a table by the window. She ran over to him and said with a smile, “Here, sir. Let me give you a hand.” Without saying a word, he gave her a smile. She pulled the chair away from the table and helped him sit down. Then she put his cane against the table so that he could reach it. In a soft, clear voice, he said, “Thank you, Miss.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” she replied, “I will be back in a moment, and if you need anything, just wave at me!”

After he had finished a good meal, Mary brought him the change. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door. Holding the door open for him, she said, “Come back and see us, sir!” The old man turned around and smiled.

When Mary went to clean his table, she was shocked. Under the plate, she found a business card, a 100-dollar bill and a note. The note said, “Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself, too. It shows the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness.”

In fact, the old man was the owner of the restaurant. That was the first time that Mary, or any of his waitresses, had seen him.

Do you know the pretty girl? Her name is Tian Wei. She was born on April 5, 1986. She was from Beijing. She had two big eyes and short hair. She was good at Chinese. And she loved writing.

She was unlucky. When she was in Grade 8, she was seriously ill. Her doctor said she would lose her life anytime. But she wasn’t afraid of death. She kept on studying and writing. She died on August 13, 2007. She smiled till the end of her life.

Tian Wei had a great dream. She hoped that people could read her book in the bookshops. In March, 2009, her only book Hua Tian Ban Mu came out. It had more than 500 thousand words. In her book she said, “I’m always aching (疼痛). If possible, I’ll let my right eye weep (哭泣) but the other one smile.”

George Stephenson was born (出生) in 1781 in a poor family. He had to work when he was only eight. When he was 14, he became his father’s helper (助手). It took him a lot of time to learn about engines (发动机). On holidays, he often took engines into pieces and studied each piece carefully. Soon he became a very good worker though he could not read or write.

He began to learn the English letters (字母) when he was 17 years old. Every day after he did twelve hours of hard work. He walked a long way to have lessons from a young teacher.

On his eighteenth birthday, he wrote his name for the first time in his life. George invented (发明) many things in his life. The train was the greatest one. Today when we watch or take trains from one place to another, we will think of this great man—George Stephenson.