1.A decade ago, Nancy did what so many Americans dream about. She quit an executive position and opened a household device store in her neighborhood. People like Nancy made the decision primarily for the improvement in the quality of their lives.But, to run a business on a small scale is by no means an easy job. Without her steadyincome, Nancy had to cut back on her daily expenses. Sometimes she did not even have the money to pay the premiums for the various kinds of insurance she needed.Fortunately, through her own hard work, she has now gotthrough the most difficult time. 5. Amid the atmosphere of Thanksgiving George was immersed in the diary left to him by his father, who died at sea after he completed two successive trips around the world. The diary brought back every moment George had spent with his father and many of the specific things his father did on his behalf. George's father used to impress on him the need to undergo all kinds of hardship in quest of excellence. He also taught him that nothing in the world could be taken for granted. Even today, George still remembers how his father would quote Aesop's famous saying "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls" and tell him to accord the greatest importance to it. 3. It is almost impossible to keep a determined burglar out. All you can do is discourage him for a few minutes, thus exposing him to police patrols or those wandering around. Common sense tells us that lighting is a barrier to criminal activity. A light should be fixed in the doorway and switched on at night. Make sure/assure yourself that you don’t leave the door on the latch if you happen to be the last to come in. If you decide to buy a sophiticated electronic alarm system, be sure to ask for its signs and put them up on both windows and doors. In addition you may have it hooked up to a police station. 7. Tom was born a cripple, with one of his limbs useless. Early in his childhood, he learned that unless he exerted himself to rise above his limitations, he could not earn a living,and unless he succeeded in making a living on his own, he could not win / gain the respect of others. That was the price he had to pay for his dignity as a human being.Tom applied for numerous jobs only to be turned down before he finally got one as a delivery boy for a Pizza Hut. He then worked as a sales representative as a sports wear company in a territory no one would want. Today he owns a profitable retail shop in his hometown, and hires several people to work for him on straight commission. 2.She is determined to continue pursuing her vision of a better life.Shortly after he achieved freedom he became a member of an organization that assisted fugitive slaves. He secretly returned to the United States from Canada several times to help others to travel the Underground Railroad to freedom. Once some slave catchers closed in on the escaping slaves and Henson when they were on the run. He disguised them and successfully avoided capture. In addition, later he built a small settlement in Dresden in Canada for escaped slaves, setting up a chapel and a school where they could learn useful ways of making a living. He held to the conviction that slavery would be abolished, all the slaves would be liberated, and the day was bound to come when racial discrimination no longer existed. 6. Here and there we see young artists who stand out from other people. They may be in worn out jeans all the year round, or walk barefoot / in bare feet even in winter, or drink to excess, or cling to the fancy of creating a masterpiece without actually doing any creative work. In fact, many of them act like this just to look the part, or to be "in tune with" other artists. They have forgotten that only through persistent effort can one achieve success. 4. What was remarkable about 2005 was perhaps that the United Nations declared it “The World Year of Physics”. It was the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s theory of relativity and the 50th anniversary of his death. In 1905 Einstein published five highly important essays in the history of science, thus revolutionizing physics. His great achievement can be credited to his impressive powers of imagination, constant questioning, and not giving a fig for authority. It is beyond doubt that Einstein was the greatest scientist in the 20th century. 8.Dolly the sheep resulted from a cloning experiment by a group of Scottish scientists in 1997. A fierce debate on human cloning has ever since been going on. This contentious issue had focused on ethical and social implications of the technology: what the technology might do to the very meaning of human reproduction, child rearing, individuality, et cetera. The majority of scientists are adamantly opposed to reproductive cloning and support therapeutic cloning for treating diseases. The reason is that therapeutic cloning does not involve any type of risk to human life and actually provides tremendous potential for the relief of suffering in human beings. Scientists believe that with policies and monitoring in place to ensure that therapeutic cloning is used safely, we canal benefit from this procedure. 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/79bbc375a8956bec0975e37f.html