The Boy Made It!

One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.

Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.

He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter form the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.

Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.

By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could- he huddled(蜷缩) in his cave and slept.

The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.

Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls’ survival show. Man vs. Wild. That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life, In each episode(一期节目)of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.

When Grylls heard about Nicholas’ amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.

One day last summer, watching the boys and girls trying to catch butterflies I remembered something happened when I was young. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage.

We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening the mockingbirds would come and rest in the trees and sing. No musician can sing more beautifully than the birds. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and in that way would have my own private musician.

I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, the bird flew about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home. I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician.

I had left the cage out, and on the second day my new pet’s mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth. The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I about how to feed her baby.

The following morning when I went to see how my bird was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened! I had taken good care of my little bird.

Arthur Wayne, the famous ornithologist, happened to be visiting my father at the time. Hearing me crying over the death of my bird, he explained what had occurred. “A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poisonous berries (干果). She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in cage.”

Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free.

 A man hated his wife’s cat and decided to throw it away. One day, he drove it over one mile from his home and left it in a park.

But when he got home, he saw that his wife was playing with the cat.

   The next day he drove the cat about three miles away. He put the cat out of the car and went home. Driving back his driveway（私人车道）, the cat was there already.

   The man keep taking the cat further and further away and the cat would always get home before him. At last he decided to drive more than ten miles away. He turned right, then left, past a bridge, then right again and another right until he thought he was far enough from home and left the cat there.

   Hours later the man was still driving home. He was lost! He called home and asked his wife,“Jen, is the cat there?”

  “Yes,” his wife answered,“why do you ask?”

   The man answered,“Put it on the phone. I’m lost and need directions.”

                                                                                                                                                                                       December 15, 2014

Dear Alfred，

       I want to tell you how important your help is to my life.

       Growing up, I had people telling me I was too slow, though, with an IQ of 150+ at 17, I’m anything but stupid. The fact was that I was found to have ADHD (注意力缺陷多动障碍). Anxious all the time, I was unable to keep focused for more than an hour at a time.

       However, when something did interest me, I could become absorbed. In high school, I became curious about the computer, and built my first website. Moreover, I completed the senior course of Computer Basics, plus five relevant pre-college courses.

       While I was exploring my curiosity, my disease got worse. I wanted to go to college after high school, but couldn’t. So, I was killing my time at home until June 2012 when I discovered the online computer courses of your training center.

       Since then, I have taken courses like Data Science and Advanced Mathematics. Currently, I’m learning your Probability course. I have hundreds of printer paper, covered in self-written notes from your video. This has given me a purpose.

       Last year, I spent all my time looking for a job where, without dealing with the public, I could work alone, but still have a team to talk to. Luckily, I discovered the job—Data Analyst—this month and have been going full steam ahead. I want to prove that I can teach myself a respectful profession, without going to college, and be just as good as, if not better than, my competitors.

       Thank you. You’ve given me hope that I can follow my heart. For the first time, I feel good about myself because I’m doing something, not because someone told me I was doing good. I feel whole.

This is why you’re saving my life.

Yours,

Tanis

It was Mother’s Day morning last year and I was doing my shopping at our local supermarket with my five-year-old son, Tenyson. As we were leaving,we found that only minutes earlier an elderly woman had fallen over at the entrance and had hit her head on the concrete.Her husband was with her,but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock.

Walking towards the scene,Tenyson became very upset about what had happened to the couple.He said to me,“Mum,it’s not much fun falling over in front of everyone.”

At the front of the supermarket a charity(慈善)group had set up a stand selling cooked sausages and flowers to raise funds.Tenyson suggested that we should buy the lady a flower.“It will make her feel better,”he said.I was amazed that he’d come up with this sweet idea.So we went over to the flower seller and asked her if we could buy a flower for the lady to cheer her up.“Just take it,”she replied.“I can’t take your money for such a wonderful gesture.”

By now paramedics(救援人员)had arrived,and were attending to the injured woman.As we walked up to her, my son became intimidated by all the blood and medical equipment.He said he was just too scared to go up to her.

Instead I gave the flower to the woman’s husband and told him,“My son was very upset for your wife and wanted to give her this flower to make her feel better.”

At that,the old man started crying and said,“Thank you so much,you have a wonderful son.Happy Mother’s Day to you.”

The man then bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from.Though badly hurt and shaken,the old lady looked up at Tenyson with love in her eyes and gave him a little smile.

I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s (房地产代理人的) office, but it’s the same story. “ I might have something by the end of the week”, he says, or, “ Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.”

    I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “ It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “ I want peace and quiet.”

    Last week I visited the agent again. “ I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. But it’s next to a cemetery (墓地)！” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbours,” my agent said. “ It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”

In 1977, a dead author of detective stories saved the life of a 19-month-old baby in a most unusual way. The author was Agatha Christie, one of the most successful writers of detective stories in the world.

   In June 1977, a baby girl became seriously ill in Qatar, near Saudi Arabia. Doctors were unable to find out the cause of her illness with confidence, so she was sent to Hammersmith Hospital in London. She was then only semi-conscious and on the “Dangerously Ill” list. A team of doctors hurried to examine the baby only to discover that they, too, were confused by the very unusual symptoms(症状). While they were discussing the baby’s case, a nurse asked to speak to them.

   “Excuse me,” said Nurse Marsha Maitlan, “but I think the baby is suffering from thallium (铊) poisoning.”

   “What makes you think that?” Dr. Brown asked. “Thallium poisoning is extremely rare.”

   “A few days ago, I was reading a novel called A Pale Horse by Agatha Christie,” Nurse Maitlan explained. “In the book, somebody uses thallium poison, and all the symptoms are described. They’re exactly the same as the baby’s.”

   “You’re very thoughtful and you may be right,” another doctor said. “We’ll carry out some tests and find out whether it’s thallium or not.”

   Tests showed that the baby had indeed been poisoned by thallium, a rare metallic substance used in making special glass. Once they knew the cause of the illness, the doctors were able to give the baby the correct treatment. She soon recovered and was sent back to Qatar. Later it was reported that the poison might have come from an insecticide (杀虫剂) used in Qatar.

When I was 8 years old, I decided to run away from home after a quarrel with my mother. With my suitcase packed and some sandwiches in a bag, I started for the front door.

My mom asked where I was going. “I’m leaving home,” I said.

“What’s that you’re carrying?” she asked.

“Some clothes and food,” I replied.

“If you want to run away, that’s all right,” she said. “But you came into this home without anything and you can leave the same way.”

I threw my suitcase and sandwiches on the floor and started for the door again.

“Wait a minute,” Mom said. “You didn’t have any clothes on when you arrived, and I want them back.”

Thisinfuriatedme. I tore my clothes off — shoes, socks, underwear and all — and shouted, “Can I go now?”

“Yes,” my mom answered, “but once you close that door, don’t expect to come back.”

I was so angry that I shut the door forcefully and stepped out of my home. Then I noticed down the street two neighbor girls walking toward our house. I was so shy that I saw the big spruce (云杉) tree in our yard and jumped under the low-hanging branches (树枝). A pile of dried-up brown needles (针状物) were beneath the tree, and you can’t imagine the pain those sharp needles caused to my body.

After I was sure the girls had passed by, I ran to the front door and knocked at it loudly.

“It’s Billy! Let me in!”

The voice behind the door answered, “Billy doesn’t live here anymore. He ran away from home.”

Looking behind me to see if anyone else was coming down the street, I said, “Mom! I’m sorry. I’m still your son. Let me in!”

The door opened and Mom’s smiling face appeared. “Did you change your mind about running away?” she asked.

“What’s for supper?” I smiled back.

Many years ago, when I was just out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station (加油站) 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 (收款台), 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 stopped 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 into the city, and when I get out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.

I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I got a Christmas present from them. Their note said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.

Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I had left the lights on all day, and the battery (电池) was dead. Then I found that the Friendly Ford dealership—a shop selling cars—was right next door. I walked over and found two salesman (销售员) in the showroom.

Just how friendly is Friendly Ford? I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment; so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I got 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.