Robinson was born in a poor family. At seven, he had to pick coal in a deserted mine near his home, and then he sold what he had picked and earned a few coins to help his parents. He had no schooling, for being so poor, how could they afford school fees? When he was fifteen, he worked as a servant in a school. Seeing other children studying in the classroom, he felt sorry for himself. In the day time, after he finished sweeping and cleaning, he could stand by the window outside the classroom trying to catch what the teacher said. At night, he tried his best to remember what he learned during the day. He worked so hard at the lesson that he sometimes had only three or four hours’ sleep. The more he learned, the greater interest he had. A maths teacher discovered him and came to like this delight ( 勤奋的 ) boy and allowed him to sit at the back of the class. In one exam, he came first in grade in the whole school. He would have been given the scholarship if he had been a regular student of the school. Robinson struggled through six long years with his study of maths and wrote several articles which caught the attention of some university professors. They appreciated ( 欣赏 ) his diligence as well as his cleverness. To give him the better chance, they hired him as a librarian ( 图书管理员 ) and offered him free guidance. Robinson was filled with joy, for he felt that before him there was a broad road leading to success.