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    There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every voyage and took their wages (工资).

    On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, “If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages.”

    The sailors (船员) had heard about the captain's cheating, so they didn't trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water, and, though it was very cold, he stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore about half a mile away.

    “You are cheating,” the captain said to the sailor. “The fire's warming you.”

    “But it's half a mile away!” said the sailor.

    “A fire's fire,” answered the captain. “I have won.”

    The sailor came out of the water, and said, “Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can't cook a chicken.”

    “I can,” answered the captain.

    “If you cook this chicken,” said the sailor, “I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can't, you will give me your ship.”

The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, “Where's the fire?”

    “There it is,” answered the sailor. “On the shore.”

    “But it's half a mile away,” said the captain angrily.

    “‘A fire's fire,' you said,” answered the sailor. “If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken.”

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同类题2

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    Look at the light and beautiful snowflakes (雪花) falling. Ever wanted to hold them in your hands? They are always lost when they meet your hands.

    Well, this isn't just a problem for you. It was a problem for Wilson Bentley, too. In the 1870s, Wilson Bentley was just a teenager. His family lived in a small town in northeast America. Winters there were long and hard. Bentley's mother was once a school teacher. She taught him at home. Bentley didn't go to school until he was 14. He was a quiet boy, and loved reading his mother's books. But he was interested in his mother's microscope (显微镜). When the other boys were playing with balls, little Bentley was studying things like drops of water, flowers and snowflakes.     

    Bentley loved watching snowflakes. For the next two years, young Bentley spent many winter days in a cold room watching these ice crystals (晶体) under his microscope. The boy thought they were beautiful enough for him to start to draw pictures of them. But there were so many snowflakes that he couldn't draw them all.

    How could he keep their beauty all the time? Bentley thought of buying a camera.

    The boy and his mother asked his father to buy one. But, his father didn't agree. He thought the whole thing was a bad idea. He thought the only thing a farmer should do was farming.

    But finally Bentley did get a camera. For more than a year he tried to take pictures of snowflakes. On January 15, 1885, during a snowstorm, Bentley took the first ever photo of an ice crystal with his camera. “It was the greatest moment of my life,” Bentley said later.

    For 13 years, Bentley worked quietly and took thousands of photos of ice crystals. Later he became famous as “Snowflake” Bentley.

同类题5

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    The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor. Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.

    As the general standard of living in the country rises, the poverty line does, too. Therefore, even with today's relatively high standard of living, about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line. However, if these people had stable jobs, they could have an acceptable standard of living. Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs.

    For one thing, more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. By law, children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries. A large number of poor people are old. Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old, the normal retirement age.

    Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons: they are sick, they do not have any motivation, they have family problems, or they do not believe that they can find a job.

    Other poor people look for a job, but cannot find one. Many poor adults never went to high school. Therefore, when they look for jobs, they have few skills that they can offer.

    At the present time, the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways:

    First, if the national economy grows, businesses and industries hire more workers. Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment. Then they will no longer below the poverty line.

    Second, if society invests in the poor,the poor will become more productive.

    If the government spends money on social programs, education and training for poor people, the poor will have the skills to offer. Then it is more probable that they can find jobs.

    Finally, if the government distributes society's income differently, it raises some poor people above the poverty line. The government collects taxes from the non-poor and gives money to the poor. These payments to the poor are called welfare.

    Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem. However, at the present time, many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.