Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my
parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma
City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register,
    I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
    I wrote them a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterwards, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays
meaningful.
    Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In the late afternoon I returned to my car and found I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery(电池) was dead. Then I
noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom.
     I told them my trouble. They helped me but accepted no payment. So when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said. “Thank you” — two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.

  Bethany Meilani Hamilton was born on February 8, 1990 Kauai, Hawaii, where she grew up with two older brothers. Hamilton’s parents were both surfers and they started teaching Bethany how to surf at a young age, and she learned quickly with the support of her brothers. By age 8, Bethany was winning first place in surfing contests for her age group. Hamilton began competing more seriously at the age of nine, winning several more competitions in her age group.

     On October 31, 2003, while surfing with friends near Tunnels Beach, a 14-foot tiger shark attacked her. Bethany said, “My arm was hanging in the water, and it just came and bit me. It kind of pulled me back and forth. But I just held onto my board and then the shark let go.” The shark tore off Bethany’s left arm just below her shoulder. Hamilton’s friends rushed her to the hospital. Bethany made it through several surgeries without infection(感染), and miraculously survived even though she had lost almost 60% of her blood. The doctor said that her athletic training helped her to survive the attack and blood loss.

     While she was healing, Bethany thought for a while that she might not surf again. She was concerned that it would be much harder to stand up on the board using only one hand and that her balance would be completely off. But with hard work and determination she returned to surfing. She says,“It’s hard for me to describe the joy I felt after I stood up and rode a wave in for the first time after the attack. I was greatly thankful and happy inside. The tiny bit of doubt that would sometimes tell me ‘you’ll never surf again’ was gone in one wave!”

     As for fear of another shark attack, Bethany says that sometimes her heart pounds when she sees a shadow(阴影) under the water. But she believes that faith provides hope and a future for those who feel down and defeated in their lives.

     Bethany’s popularity and hope for the future led her to partner with World Vision to create “Surfing for Children in Crisis”. Bethany hopes that her involvement in the campaign will help provide disabled children from around the world with care, support, and hope. 

Many years ago，my dad was facing a serious heart condition．He was unable to do a steady job．He fell suddenly ill and had to be admitted to the hospital

He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children’s hospital．My dad loved kids．It was the perfect job for him．He ended up working with the seriously ill children．He would talk，play, and does arts with them．

One of his kids was a girl with a rare disease that paralyzed(瘫痪)her from the neck down．She couldn’t do anything，and she was very depressed．My dad decided to try to help her．He started visiting her in her room，bringing paints，brushes and paper．He stood the paper up，put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint．He didn’t use his hands at a11．All the while he would tell her, “See，you can do anything you set your mind to．”

At the end of the day, she began to paint using her mouth，and she and my dad became friends．Soon after, the little girl was sent home because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her．My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became i11．Sometime later after my dad had recovered and returned to work，in came the little girl who had been paralyzed and only this time she  was walking．She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight．She gave him a picture she had done using her hands．At the bottom it read：“Thank you for helping me walk．”  

My dad would cry every time he told US this story and SO would we．He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctor, and my dad—who died just a few months after the little girl gave thepicture--loved every single child in that hospital．

I’ll never forget the day that Jace, one of my students shyly raised his hand and said that he had never received a gift. My class were discussing a story about a boy who got nothing for his birthday because money was tight when Jace’s honesty surprised us.

Then I remembered his story. His mother was out of the picture and he lived alone with his dad. His father had a hard time holding down a job. Although life was difficult, Jace always came to school with a smile and enthusiasm for learning.

A couple of weeks after Jace’s comment, he was absent from school. This happened to be the day to plan for the classroom Christmas gift exchange. As we were discussing, a girl raised her hand and suggested that we each buy a gift for Jace. The enthusiasm grew as the students discussed the kinds of things they knew Jace would like. With great excitement, the gifts began to come in.

After several days of absences, you can imagine our disappointment when we learned that Jace’s absences were due to the fact that he had moved away! Apparently, Jace’s father had lost his job, causing them to move. No one knew where they were, and the cell phone number would ring with no response. Finally, at 9:30 PM on Christmas Eve, I decided to try one last time. Amazingly, Jace answered the phone!

I explained the story to Jace and I spoke with his father. Then I was driving to Jace’s home. When I arrived, I was excited to see Jace. It took several trips to my car to get all of the gifts inside. Jace was so surprised and grateful. His joyful smile that evening lit up the sky.

I went to sleep that night thinking about Jace and all of the fun he had. I thought about my thoughtful students and how excited I was to tell them all about finding Jace. With a smile of my own, I was thankful to be a part of one of the most important “lessons” of their lives.

Cycling to school or work is now faster and more efficient than any other types of transport in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The city has gone all out to encourage its cyclists — it has laid out more than 1,000 km of cycle lanes (车道), and improved traffic signals at the crossroads.

   No wonder Copenhagen’s cyclists hardly break traffic rules. Several of the city’s main streets are closed to cars and instead have only cycle lanes and cycle parking areas. Bike lanes along the major roads are wide and slightly raised. Copenhagen is developing 38 bike superhighways along the main city routes. The city’s light rail system has recently permitted cyclists to bring their cycles on board, and it is free of charge.

   The city planners are absolutely committed to make cyclists feel safe. So when cyclists approach a major crossroads, sensors (传感器) a little way down the streets tell the traffic lights to give them a “green” signal, which means cyclists are rarely held up by traffic. It is simply a smooth continuous journey from home to school! Even in the bitterly cold winters, the cycle lanes are cleared of snow before car lanes.

    Lately, however, the government is facing a new and curious problem. Many cyclists have now started leaving their cycles just about anywhere. Often, the biggest challenge faced by cyclists is getting their bike out of these huge piles without getting chain oil onto themselves. Perhaps the solution lies in turning more car parking spaces into cycle parking areas, or else, building multi-story or underground parking spaces for cycles.

    Meanwhile, other urban cities are following this capital city’s example. London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Beijing and many others are all adopting measures to encourage cyclists, inspired by the City of Cyclists.

Parents often believe that they have a good relationship with their teenagers.But last summer，Joanna and Henry noticed a change in their older son：suddenly he seemed to be talking far more to his friends than to his parents.“The door to his room is always shut，” Joanna noted.
    Tina and Mark noticed similar changes in their 14-­year-­old daughter.“She used to cuddle up(蜷伏)with me on the sofa and talk，” said Mark.“Now we joke that she does this only when she wants something.Sometimes she wants to be treated like a little girl and sometimes like a young lady.The problem is figuring out which time is which.”  Before age 11，children like to tell their parents what's on their minds.“In fact，parents are first on the list，”said Michael Riera，author of Uncommon Sense for Parents with Teenagers.“This completely changes during the teen years，”Riera explained.“They talk to their friends first，then maybe their teachers，and their parents last.”  Parents who know what's going on in their teenagers' lives are in the best position to help them.To break down the wall of silence，parents should create chances to understand what their children want to say，and try to find ways to talk and write to them. And they must give their children a mental break，for children also need freedom，though young.Another thing parents should remember is that to be a friend，not a manager，with their children is a better way to know them.

D

    Florence Nightingale was born on May 12th, 1820 in Florence, Italy. She was born to a wealthy and well-educated English family. When she was young she became interested in caring for the sick and wanted to work in nursing, but her parents would not allow her to be a nurse. They expected her to get married and live a traditional woman’s life.

     However, Nightingale had made up her mind, so her parents had to give in. She traveled throughout Europe during her early years and learned many languages including Greek, Latin, French and Italian. She also visited many of the hospitals in these cities and took many notes of the sanitary (卫生的) conditions in these hospitals. In 1849, she traveled to Europe to study the European hospital system. In 1854, she worked as a manager at the Hospital for In-valid Gentlewomen in London.

     The following year, the Crimean War (克里米亚战争) broke out. Florence led 38 nurses and traveled to Scutari to help the wounded soldiers. When they arrived there they found the hospital conditions were very poor. Many of the wounded did not have beds and were lying on the ground. Florence and her nurses managed to improve the conditions. Florence also cared about the social welfare of the soldiers and would visit them during the night after every-one else had gone to sleep. She was referred to as "The Lady with the Lamp".

     In 1860 she founded the Nightingale School for nurses at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Once the nurses were trained, they were sent to hospitals all over Britain where they introduced what they had learnt. Nightingale’s concerns for sanitation, military (军队的)health and hospital planning practices are still in existence today. She died on the 13th August 1910.

A Simple Lesson

“Another bad day at school？” my father asked as I came into the room.

“How could you tell? I didnˈt shut the door heavily or anything，” I replied. Over the past two months I had either done this or thrown my backpack across the room every time I came home from school. Papa thinks it has something to do with moving to a new house.

“I know this move has been hard on you. Leaving your friends and cousins behind is tough，” Papa said, as he put his arm around my shoulder. “What you must remember is that, with a lot of hard work and some time, you will make new friends.”

“You donˈt know how hard it is. This year my baseball team would have won the championship. They wonˈt even give me a chance to pitch (投球) here. All I get to play is right field, and thatˈs the worst！”

Papa turned toward me. “Things will get better, I promise you. Let me ask you, do you know why you were named David Lorenzo？”

“Yes, your name is David and grandfatherˈs name is Lorenzo.”

“Very good, and what makes your grandfather so important？”

“He was the first in the family to come to this country and all that，” I answered.

“That is only partly correct. Your grandfather was a very great man. In Mexico, he had been a teacher. When he came to America he could only get low­paid labor jobs because he didnˈt speak the language. It took him two years before he spoke English well enough to be allowed to teach here, but he did it. He never complained because he knew change could be difficult. Did he ever tell you that？” my father asked.

I looked down at my feet, ashamed at my behavior. “No. That must have been hard，” I said sheepishly.

“Your grandfather taught me that if you let people see your talent, they will accept you for who you are. I want you to always remember what my father taught me, even if it takes a few years for people to see who you are，” said Papa.

All I could say was, “Okay.” Then I asked, “What should I do now？”

Laughing, Papa said, “How about you pitch a few to me? You need some work.

It’s been over 12 years since I’ve had such a day. I felt the usual butterflies and excitement of a fresh start. I was in a room full of people like me, students who have dreams, ideas and fears like I do. I met people from Russia, South Korea, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Malawi, Canada and the US.

I felt welcome. I met quite a few professors and tried to express my goals for my studies. I told the story of how I came to be at the University of Edinburgh and how my husband was here to support me. Each first year postgraduate student talked about how they got here. Student leaders made us know the secrets to the bus and rail system, as well as how to work a “buy-one-get-one-free” deal in restaurants all over town. Thank the Lord for student discounts.

We toured the library, going up and down many stairs and seeing quite a few study rooms. Each student is assigned a study space where we can leave our books. Many students who have been here for a year or more tell me they come in at 9 and leave at 5, like a regular job. Students decorate their study spaces. I saw one with a white-board that laid out his or her progress and one with a little bookcase to hold their books. Students decorate their cubicles （隔间） to their personalities. The strong desire to make a difference and adapt is common.

My school’s student body is different, yet there is also commonality. Each person has come, often from afar, to study and research in their area of interest, but we all have come to learn.

B

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on. Usually, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, several older boys stopped by to watch.

“What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors.

“We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” one of the brothers answered excitedly.

The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a bottle full of spiders and insects. He removed the lid(盖子) and showed the wonderful contents to the visitors who were laughing at them. Then he said quietly and confidently, “Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look at what we found along the way!”

Their goal was far too difficult, but it made them big. And that is what a goal is for—to make us move in the direction we have chosen. In other words, it sets us digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!” And I believe it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.