Once upon a time, there lived a monkey in the forest. The monkey climbed up the tree and looked down at the river every day.

One day, the monkey saw a fisherman throw a net (网)over the river. He watched how the fisherman caught fish. Some time after, the fisherman left the net near the river and went to have lunch. Then, the monkey climbed down from the tree and went to the riverside. The monkey was planning to throw the net like the fisherman did. The monkey was confident (自信的) since he was good at imitating (模仿). Yet, the net went around the monkey when he touched it. Tied up in the net, the monkey fell into the water.

The monkey was regretful. “I should have learned how to use the net before touching it. After being unprepared and showing off, I am in a bad fix.”Luckily, the fisherman came back from lunch quickly and saw the monkey falling in the river. He saved the monkey’s life in time. After being saved, the monkey thanked the fisherman and learned that nothing can be achieved overnight.

It was a summer day. An old man walked on a hill cheerfully.

He wiped the sweat off his face with his left hand and kept singing songs.

Suddenly, he heard someone talking to him.

“Hello, sir.”

The old man turned around but saw no one.

“I’m here.”

The voice came from beside the old man’s feet. He looked down and saw a beautiful flower.

“Sir, can I ask you a question?” asked the flower.

“Of course, my child. What do you want to know?” said the old man.

The flower kept silent for a second and then said: “Why are you so happy? You don’t seem to have many days left to live.”

The flower didn’t wait for the old man to answer. She just kept saying, “My days have passed and I’m going to die very soon. That makes me so sad.” At this time, she began to cry.

The old man smiled.

“Yes, I don’t have many days left. But, so what?”

“Why ruin(破坏) such a lovely day for something that hasn’t happened?”

“What’s gone is gone. What’s to come is to come. You can’t change them. But you can decide to enjoy this very moment that you truly have.”

He didn’t wait for the flower to answer. He just walked away, continuing the song he had been singing.

Slowly the flower stopped crying. As the wind was blowing softly, she swung happily.

Just a few days after his 18th birthday, Beijing 2022 gold medal winner Su Yiming received a surprise gift—a letter from Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.

In the letter, Xi expressed his congratulations (祝贺) to Su and other sportsmen in ice and snow sports for their great achievements (成就) at the Beijing Winter Olympics, hoping what they had achieved would encourage young Chinese to aim (立目标) high.

When Su first stepped onto a snowboard at the age of four, a future as a world-class sportsman seemed to be “a dream too big” for him. Little did he know that he would not only compete for his country but also take home the gold medal. With the great excitement of winning an Olympic gold medal still fresh in his mind, Su wrote a letter to the president, telling him how lucky he felt to have made his dream come true.

Su still remembers what Xi wrote in the reply, “The new era is the time for young people to realize their dreams.”

“I have always kept those words in my mind,” Su said.

“When I made up my mind to be a professional (职业的) snowboarder, I know there is a big difference between my performance and that of the top sportsmen in the world. But I have been working hard to realize my dream. Now my story shows the fact that hard work will pay off.” Su said.

Su believes the sky is the limit. “Find the thing you love, believe in yourself and do your best. Finally, your dream will come true.”

Now Su has his strong wish to win all the competitions in his sporting field.