Myles Kerr knew that being a Marine (水兵) comes with a lot of responsibility, but despite the huge weight he has on his shoulders, he has not forgotten the essence of being a public servant — that of being human.
Seven years ago, a photo of a Marine and a young boy running a marathon immediately went viral after it was shared on social media. But what seemed like a simple image packed a much deeper backstory. This story happened in 2013, but its relevance is still as powerful as ever.
The pair were running The Jeff Drench Memorial 5K in Charlevoix, Michigan when Myles Kerr came across Brandon Fuchs, a 9-year old boy struggling to keep up with the rest of his group. Brandon, exhausted and out of breath, asked the Marine: “Will you run with me?”
People who had their eyes on the prize would have refused, but the 19 -year -old was different. Being a Marine, he knew exactly what he should do. Kerr put aside his goal of beating his mates and instead slowed down to accompany the struggling boy to the finish line.
Because he chose to help the boy, the Marine ended up with the slowest time in his age group, according to the 5K results online.
Though he might have lost the race, the Marine won over people’s hearts. His act of kindness was celebrated on social media.
Kerr didn’t expect that his simple gesture would attract so much attention. He responded to a tweet praising his actions saying, “I was just doing what any man would do, but thank you! ” He also tweeted that he received gifts from the Fuchs family for helping out Brandon.
To Kerr, being a Marine was more than just being trained for combat — it also required learning how to be kind and compassionate towards the citizens they serve.
1. What was Myles Kerr seven years ago?A.A marine. | B.A public servant. |
C.A marathon runner. | D.A Michigan citizen. |
A.To win over people’s hearts. | B.To accompany the boy. |
C.To get the best score in his age group. | D.To build up his body. |
A.Kind and unselfish. | B.Enthusiastic and generous. |
C.Responsible and proud. | D.Stubborn and helpful. |
A.Being a Marine bears a lot. |
B.Kindness matters more than prizes. |
C.Being a Marine means a public servant. |
D.Good actions spread quickly. |
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【推荐1】In pursuing our dreams, we commonly encounter voices of doubt from those around us. Friends, family, or even strangers may question our ambitions, casting shadows of uncertainty on the path we’ve chosen. However, it’s important to remember that the opinions of others should not define our potential or limit our ambitions.
Shawn Warner, a 58-year-old Texas man, pursued his childhood dream of becoming a writer after being laid off. Despite facing discouragement from others, he published his first book, Leigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons-Pierce Manor, last year.
Surprisingly, Shawn’s journey took an unexpected turn—he became a Texas bestselling author when a TikTok video of him selling his book at a grocery store went viral (走红). TikToker Jerrad Swearenjin shot the video of Shawn sitting alone at a table with his books in a Texas Kroger store.
“I was just shopping when I noticed this man trying to promote his new book. I honestly don’t even read books nowadays. But something told me to get a couple. This new author seemed super defeated when I first walked past him. So before I left the store, I decided to go back,” the video text read. The video gained great popularity, with millions of likes and comments, and many people expressing interest in purchasing Shawn’s book.
Swearenjin shared his motivation for approaching Shawn, stating that he wanted to show kindness to a stranger, having experienced a lack of recognition despite working hard in the past.
As the conversation progressed, Shawn’s face lit up with joy when Swearenjin expressed interest in his books and offered support as a local author. He was in shock and struggled to find words to express his appreciation for the unexpected events.
Emotionally moved by the support from people worldwide, Shawn thanked Swearenjin and everyone who had shown kindness and generosity.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?A.To introduce the topic. | B.To explain a phenomenon. |
C.To show a type of person. | D.To add background information. |
A.He failed in many fields. | B.He was out of work. |
C.He was encouraged by others. | D.He met a kind TikToker. |
A.It saved his energy. | B.It won millions of likes. |
C.It contributed to his dream. | D.It was beyond understanding. |
A.Gratitude is the best attitude. | B.Kindness is the nature of human. |
C.Having trust in strangers counts. | D.Good luck comes with determination. |
【推荐2】For hundreds of years, Africans have preserved their history through storytelling. But some Africans worry that oral traditions will be lost to the Internet connections and social media.
This has led a Nigerian woman named Elizabeth Kperrun to create a mobile phone application as a way to preserve African folk stories. She calls her mobile app AfroTalez, which tells children’s stories that teach moral lessons.
“We can’t teach kids something by telling them, ‘Don’t do this’. I think kids need context to understand. In a story somebody stole something and then something bad happened to them. Alternatively, somebody else did something good and they ended up happy or rich.”
“Hello children. My name is Liz and I’d like to tell you a story about tortoises, elephants, and ...” The voice of “Aunt Liz” narrates the story, while a full-screen animation appears. An arrow signals when it’s time to move on. There are also quizzes on object recognition and counting throughout.
Kperrun asks her older relatives to help her collect stories for the application. The stories come from an ethnic group living in southeast Nigeria and northwest Cameroon. “I want to keep it centered on folk stories, not the ones that Walt Disney has made really popular... It’s fair and respectful to keep certain cultures alive because folk stories are part of the tapestry that keeps cultures together.” Kperrun once said.
Kperrun writes and reads the stories. Her business partner and husband Idamiebi Ilamina-Eremie does the animation (动画).
AfroTalez is available for Android users and can be downloaded for free. So far, AfroTalez has more than 50,000 users. Funding for the app has been a major challenge. Kperrun hopes to use a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the next version of AfroTalez to be released soon.
Kperrun believes technology doesn’t have to destroy or replace traditions. Her goal is to combine them to keep African culture alive. She says “Africa is our home, but we are so eager to become Western that we are forgetting things that are really important and should be passed on of who we are, and I don’t think that’s right.”
1. What caused Elizabeth Kperrun to create the mobile app AfroTalez?A.Desiring to make money through the Internet. |
B.Planning to keep technology replacing traditions. |
C.Dreaming of launching a crowdfunding campaign. |
D.Worrying about the disappearance of African oral traditions. |
A.are narrated by Kperrun’s husband |
B.are familiar to today’s African children |
C.are as popular as those of Walt Disney’s |
D.are means to teach children moral lessons |
A.will destroy African traditions |
B.is free for Android users |
C.has released two versions |
D.faces no financial problems |
A.Mobile App seeks to preserve African folktales |
B.African people pass on traditions by storytelling |
C.It is unwise for a nation to learn from western countries blindly |
D.Social media lead to the disappearance of African Oral traditions |
【推荐3】It was Monday. Mrs. Smith’s dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it: “Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently: “Take this to the butcher (*person whose job is selling meat), and he’s going to give you your lunch today.”
Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher’s. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady’s handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers (*people who buy sth. from a shop).
But, the dog came again at four o’clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher’s more surprise, it came for the third time at six o’clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He said to himself,“This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it!
1. Mrs. Smith treated her little dog quite_________.A.cruelly | B.fairly |
C.kindly | D.friendly |
A.before he felt sure that the words were really written by Mrs. Smith |
B.when he found that the words on the paper were not clear |
C.because he had sold out all the meat in his shop |
D.until he was paid enough by Mrs. Smith |
A.only the paper with Mrs. Smith’s words in it could bring it meat |
B.the butcher would give the meat to it whenever he saw it |
C.Mrs. Smith would pay for the meat it got from the butcher |
D.a piece of paper could bring it half a pound of meat |
【推荐1】Jennifer Mauer has needed more willpower than college students to pursue her goal of earning a nursing degree. That willpower bore fruit when Jennifer graduated from University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and became the first in her large family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Jennifer, of Edgar, Wisconsin, grew up on a farm of 10 children. Her dad worked at a job away from the farm and her mother ran the farm with the kids. After high school, Jennifer attended a local technical college, working to pay her tuition (学费), because there was no extra money set aside for a college education. After graduation, she worked to help her sisters and brothers pay for their schooling.
Jennifer now is married and has three children of her own. She decided to go back to college to advance her career and to be able to better support her family while doing something she loves: nursing. She chose the UW- Eau Claire program at Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield because she was able to pursue her four- year degree close to home. She could drive to class and be home in the evening to help with her kids. Jennifer received great support from her family as she worked to earn her degree: her husband worked two jobs to cover the bills, and her 68-year-old mother helped take care of the children at times.
Through it all, she remained in good academic standing and graduated with honors. Jennifer sacrificed to achieve her goal, giving up many nights with her kids and missing important events to study. “Some nights my heart was breaking to have to pick between my kids and studying for exams or papers,” she says. However, her children have learned an important lesson witnessing their mother earn her degree. Jennifer is a first-generation graduate and an inspiration to her family-and that’s pretty powerful.
1. What did Jennifer do after high school?A.She helped her dad with his work. | B.She ran the family farm on her own. |
C.She supported herself through college. | D.She taught her sisters and brothers at home. |
A.Her health. | B.Her good name. |
C.Her time with family. | D.Her chance of promotion (提升). |
A.Time is money. | B.Hard work pays off. |
C.Education is the key to success. | D.Love breaks down misunderstandings. |
【推荐2】For engineer Liang Kaiyu, one thing is clear: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Losing his left leg above the knee in an explosion (爆炸) when testing his self-built motor in January 2020, the 30-year-old used his engineering skills to make his prosthetic limb (假肢) more comfortable and powerful than a real leg.
Since late 2020, he has upgraded his high-tech prosthesis, including fitting a shock absorber and installing a charger port. “Although China has millions of amputees (被截肢者), people with a prosthesis are still a rare sight on the street. My video may, in some way, encourage them,” the man says, adding that prostheses can look cool.
Before the explosion, as an engineer, building things was a hobby in his spare time. When he saw that a foreign engineer had developed an autonomous e-bike, he found the materials online and decided to build one himself. It took him more than a year to finally make it, but he was not satisfied and, in January 2020, he tried to better it. “I tried to use larger parts to make the self-driving function more dependable, but I made a mistake and the explosion occurred,” Liang recalls.
“Physical recovery is the first step. Psychological acceptance matters more, which takes much longer,” Liang says. Liang’s focus is now on making the new leg comfortable. To know about the structure and system of the prosthetics better, he disassembled some secondhand prosthetic limbs that were made in China and abroad, which cost him hundreds of thousands of yuan. “I want to let more people know about these high-tech prosthetics, which are comfortable and safer to wear. It can build confidence with every step,” Liang says.
1. What did Liang do after the explosion?A.Feel stronger than before. | B.Lose his left leg under the knee. |
C.Make his prosthetic limb easier to wear. | D.Test his self-built motor. |
A.Treating his broken leg. | B.Improving his autonomous e-bike. |
C.Making self-driving function more reliable. | D.Accepting his situation psychologically. |
A.Rented. | B.Repaired. | C.Broke down. | D.Took apart. |
A.A man who never gives up | B.Engineer builds a new life |
C.Disability is not the end of life | D.Once an engineer, always an engineer |
【推荐3】The beloved ultramarathoner crossed the finish line in Central Park less than one year after being thought cancer-free.
In July 2020, the ultrarunning community was shocked to find out that Tommy Rivers Puzey had been diagnosed with an unusual cancer. Since then, Rivers Puzey, has been fighting for his life, and it appears that he is winning.
Aside from being a well-known ultrarunner, Rivers Puzey is a father to three young girls and husband to his wife, Stephanie Catudal. He had been struggling with COVID-like symptoms for several weeks in the hospital when he finally received his diagnosis.
His condition became worse quickly, and by October, he had lost 70 pounds and was thought unsuitable for a bone marrow transplant (骨髓移植) because he was too weak. According to his Instagram posts, he spent five months in the hospital, experiencing dangerous side effects. He had to re-learn how to talk, eat, and move his arms and legs. After six rounds of chemotherapy (化疗), he was told by doctors that his cancer was in remission (有所缓解).
One year later, his announcement that he’d signed up for the New York City Marathon caused his loyal followers to raise eyebrows. He slowly made his way through the city, smiling and high-fiving people as he went, and crossed the finish line in Central Park in complete darkness. Once a confident U. S. Olympic Trials marathoner, he called completing the marathon “the single most difficult athletic achievement” he’s ever accomplished.
Rivers Puzey’s fight is not over yet. The doctors have given him a 90 percent chance that his cancer will return without a bone marrow transplant, so he is now working on building up his strength so his body will be able to handle another four to six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a bone marrow transplant.
1. What can we know about Rivers Puzey?A.He was diagnosed with COVID-19. |
B.He struggled to support his family. |
C.He completed the most difficult marathon. |
D.He experienced a difficult process of recovery. |
A.Surprised. | B.Disappointed. |
C.Content. | D.Heart-broken. |
A.Enterprising and successful. | B.Responsible and devoted. |
C.Tough and determined. | D.Considerate and warm-hearted. |
A.To avoid transplanting bone marrow. |
B.To prepare for the follow-up treatment. |
C.To improve his ranking in the marathon. |
D.To set a good example to others by his action. |