Stephen Hawking was born in England in 1942． He is one of the most well﹣known scientists on space and time in the world． Hawking is researching how the universe began and how it ends． He is called the King of the Universe．

    When he studied math and science at Oxford University， he became seriously ill， which made him unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines． Till now， he can't move or feed himself and he is helped to dress， eat and wash by a nurse． However， he has a wheelchair with a special computer， with which he can communicate with others．

    In spite of all these difficulties， he refused to give up his hope of living and went on to study at Cambridge University after graduating from Oxford University． In 1965， he got a Doctor's Degree of philosophy（哲学）． Because of his serious illness， it was difficult for him to draw diagrams or to write． So he started to think in pictures． With this new way of thinking， he is respected by people in the world． Then in 1988， he wrote his first important book， A Brief History of Time． It has been sold more than 5.5 million copies in 33 different languages． He was once invited to China to give lectures． His self﹣confidence and humorous conversations impressed us deeply．

    From Hawking's unusual experiences ， we learn that nobody should lose hope， no matter how bad the situation is．As he once said， "Life is not fair， you just have to do the best you can in your own situation．"

（1）Is Hawking one of the most famous scientists in the world？　　

（2）Why was Hawking unable to speak or breathe without the help of machines？　　

（3）When did Hawking get a Doctor's Degree of philosophy？　　

（4）What's the name of Hawking's first important book？　　

（5）What can we learn from Hawking's unusual experiences？