All kinds of people come in to have their shoes shined．Most of them are friendly．But this man was different．
“How much do you make a week, boy?” he asked me．I felt he was 1 at me．
He kept taking a sharp 2 around every now and then．All the time I kept 3 where I’d seen his face．Suddenly I knew I’d seen his 4 in the post office many times．He was a big robber： 5 by the police in three states!
“You know,”he was saying,“it’s imagination people lack．You’ll never get 6 as a shoeshine boy．”
I kept brushing away at his shoes as 7 as I could．The sooner I finished the better．He said,“When I was sixteen, I had 8 ＄2500 of my own．”
That reminded me of something．Was it ＄2500 or ＄5000 or ＄25 000?I wasn’t 9 ．I knew a big reward was 10 for him．What could I do about it? 11 him with a can of shoe polish?A man has 12 could grind(碾碎)me into the floor．If only someone would come in!
He kept talking away,“Along with 13 , it takes courage．The courage to take a chance．Start something on a shoestring．”
Suddenly I saw Officer Dailey 14 across the street．Then, real fast, I began tightening the man’s shoestrings．
The policeman was at the window when I cried out,“Officer Dailey, 15 !This man’s a robber．”
“ 16 ,” the man shouted angrily．He started to jump off the stand．It didn’t go the 17 he planned．He fell flat on his face and knocked himself out cold．
“That was pretty 18 of you,” the officer said．“You’ll get a reward of ＄7500 for him．”
“Well, it really wasn’t my 19 ,” I said．“It was his．He told me if you had courage and imagination you could start something 20 on a shoestring．”
In a class I teach adults．I gave the task to “Go to someone you love, and tell them that you love them．”At the beginning of the next 1 , one of the students began by saying, “I was 2 with you last week when you gave us this 3 ．But as I began driving home my conscience(良心)started talking．Then I knew 4 who I needed to say ‘I love you’to．Five years ago, my father and I had a 5 and never really resolved it．We 6 seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at family gatherings．We hardly 7 to each other．So by the time I got home, I had 8 myself I was going to tell my father I loved him．Just 9 that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest．At 5∶30, I was at my parents’house ringing the doorbell, praying that Dad would 10 the door． 11 luck would have it, Dad did answer the door．I didn’t 12 any time－I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just 13 over to tell you that I love you．’It was as if a change came over my dad．Before my 14 his face softened, the wrinkles(皱纹)seemed to 15 and he began to cry．He 16 out and hugged me and said, ‘I love you too, son, but I’ve never been able to say it．’But that’s not 17 my point．Two days after that visit, my dad had a heart attack and is in the hospital．I don’t even know if he’ll 18 it．So my 19 to all of you is this：Don’t wait to do the things you know need to be done．What if I had waited to tell my dad？Take the 20 to do what you need to and do it now！”
Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7：34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch．Although we arrived at Liverpool Street Station at 10∶30, Joan 1 that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London 2 we went shopping．It was only after her sister had 3 into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should 4 her for lunch． 5 I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a 6 ．There seemed to be nothing we could do but take a taxi to the Tower of London．However, we didn’t find her．
It was now one o’clock, and the concert would begin at 2：30．“Perhaps she’ll 7 waiting outside the concert hall,” my wife said hopefully．By this time the fog was so thick that the road traffic had to 8 , and the only way to get there was 9 underground railway．Hand in hand we 10 our way along the road to where we thought the 11 station should be．An hour later we found Tower Hill Station．
By now it was far 12 late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2∶30．So we decided to 13 to Cambridge．It took seven long hours instead of two as usual to 14 that journey． 15 were we able to get any food and drink on the train．Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten． 16 the door, we heard the sound of the telephone bell．It was Joan．She had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for the concert, and had had a wonderful 17 at a restaurant near the hotel where she had decided to stay at night．Now she was 18 us to discover 19 we had an equally 20 day．
I once went to a town in the north of England on business．It was about 7∶30 in the evening when I reached the hotel．The manageress, a strict old lady of about 60, showed me to my room．When I asked her what time the dinner was, she said there was only one sitting at 6∶30, and I had 1 it．“Never mind, ”I said．“I’m not very 2 ．I’ll just have a drink in the bar(酒吧)and a sandwich．”
“Bar!” she 3 her voice．“This is a respectable hotel, young man．If you want 4 , you must go somewhere else．” She spoke 5 a glass of beer was a dangerous drug．I went to a bar and had some beer and sandwiches and then went to the cinema．At about 11∶30 I 6 ．Everything was in darkness．I knocked at the door, but nothing happened．The 7 sound was the church clock opposite, which suddenly struck the half-hour with such 8 that it made me jump． 9 a window opened upstairs．The old lady 10 and asked me what was going on．I explained who I was and she let me 11 after ten minutes’ wait．She was in her nightdress．She told me seriously that guests were 12 to be back in the hotel by 11 o’clock．
I went to bed but could not sleep．Every quarter of an hour the church clock struck and at midnight the whole hotel shook with the noise．Just before dawn, I finally 13 ．When I arrived at 14 , everyone else had nearly 15 and there was not enough coffee to go round．
“Did you 16 well, young man?” the old lady asked．“ 17 , I don’t think I could go through 18 night in that room,” I replied．“I hardly slept at all．” “That’s because you were 19 all night drinking!”she said angrily, putting 20 to the conversation．
A land free from destruction, plus wealth, natural resources, and labor supply－all these were important 1 in helping England to become the center for the IndustrialRevolution． 2 they were not enough．Something 3 was needed to start the industrial process．That “something special” was men- 4 individuals who could invent machines, find new 5 of power, and establish business organizations to reshape society．
The men who 6 the machines of the Industrial Revolution 7 from many backgrounds and many occupations．Many of them were 8 inventors than scientists．A man who is a 9 scientist is primarily interested in doing his research 10 ．He is not necessarily working 11 that his findings can be used．
An inventor or one interested in applied science is 12 trying to make something that has a concrete use．He may try to solve a problem by 13 the theories 14 science or by experimenting through trial and error．Regardless of his method, he is working to obtain a 15 result：the construction of a harvesting machine, the burning of a light bulb, or one of 16 other objectives．
Most of the people who 17 the machines of the Industrial Revolution were inventors, not trained scientists．A few were both scientists and inventors．Even those who had 18 or no training in science might not have made their inventions 19 a groundwork had not been laid by scientists years 20 ．