【推荐1】Frank and his brother Jack lived near the ocean. Frank was outgoing while Jack was shy. They liked doing different things. Frank was famous for organizing games of beach volleyball, football, and any other sport imaginable. Jack preferred to draw, paint, or build sandcastles (沙堡).

Frank didn’t understand why Jack would rather do artistic things than play ball. He believed sports often allowed many kids to play together. That was when Jack’s idea hatched. He would show Frank what doing things together looked like!

After Jack finished creating a special sandcastle with stairs, towers and walls, he took pictures of it. Then he painted colorful posters featuring (突出) his sandcastle and the question, “Can you top this?” He hung his posters everywhere in town, announcing his plan for a day of sandcastle artistry-all ages welcome.

When Frank saw poster, he not so nicely told Jack that no one would come. Still, shortly after sunrise on Saturday, Jack was on the beach digging in the sand. By mid-morning, four kids were sculpting (雕塑) the sand alongside him. By noon the number had increased a lot.

After Frank came back from his ball game, he went to check how his brother’s plan turned out. He couldn’t believe what he saw. At least 30 people were building a city of sandcastles, and everyone was chatting and laughing and working together! It was the most beautiful thing he had seen on the beach.

“I guess you’ve proved me wrong,” Frank said. “You should make this sandcastle day a yearly tradition!” Handing Frank a shovel (铲子) with smile, Jack got started together with his brother on their super creation in the sand.

【推荐2】After attending another parent meeting about my 7-year-old child’s behavior, I didn’t know what to do. It was the second school we had tried for Nathan and, as always, everything was being done for my child’s needs. It was also having bad influence on Nathan. He would come home and say, “Mom, I hate my life. I do not want to live any more.” I was afraid that my son was beginning to suffer from depression(抑郁) and that I was losing him. We needed help.

By the age of seven, Nathan had already had three surgeries (外科手术) for his ears. He was in great pain, which made it difficult for him to learn or pay attention. Despite Nathan’s bad condition, the staff at two former schools seemed as if they didn’t care. They often forgot to deal with his medication（药剂）. As a result of many times of ear infections (感染), Nathan had hearing loss. To make things worse, Nathan’s speech was not very good. Children would make fun of him and Nathan began to fall behind in study.

When I first set foot into Ripley House Charter School, I knew this was the school for my son. It felt positive from the moment I entered. From the start, Mrs. Elsen and her staff heard my concern over Nathan. Mrs. Elsen dealt with my concern, not with empty words but with action.

That day, Nathan came home from his first day of school saying, “Mom, I love school!” By the end of the week he was saying, “Mom, I like my life. I have a good life.” Ripley House Charter School gave me my son back and saved our lives. Thank you for giving me back what we had lost—HOPE.

Last summer, as part of my high school graduation project, I volunteered at Saunders House nursing home. I choose this experience because it was something that I had never done before and I wanted to lend a helping hand. At first it was challenging because I was extremely shy. My goal in volunteering was to bring a smile to the residents (住客) by doing different activities from word games to playing chess. I feel as if I had finished that goal.

At the nursing home, I did a lot of different activities with the residents ranging from Jeopardy to Wheel of Fortune. One of my favorites was a word game where I would write a ten-letter word on the board and the residents would try to come up with as many smaller words as possible. I could tell that it was one of their favorite games because they always seemed to be so enthusiastic (热心的) when they played. I also transported residents to and from their rooms when they needed help; and whenever it was a nice day out, I would take them outside to get some fresh air and relax. On Saturday mornings, I would deliver the newspaper to the residents and on Sundays, I helped with morning church services.

The most unforgettable part of this experience was when I had one-on-one conversations with the residents. It was incredible (难以置信的) how many great stories they had to tell. Their stories were so interesting and the experience was unforgettable for me.

【推荐3】Volunteering abroad is a mind-opening experience that exposes one to other cultures, languages and ways of life.    1    , the volunteer learns to appreciate the gifts of his home culture, as well as the benefits of the new. These volunteer opportunities often offer additional professional benefits, as well.

Any volunteer job instills a sense of "giving back." However, overseas volunteering can be truly meaningful in this area. People in foreign cultures understand that you might be giving up numerous creature comforts to help them out.    2     .

Overseas volunteers may not only learn a new language during their stay, they may also come to appreciate their native tongue all the more. Total being involved in the culture will require at least a conversational grasp of the language. Often, English speakers are called upon to teach English as a second language, which requires relearning often-forgotten rules of grammar and usage.    3     .

If the expression "ugly American" rings a bell, know that overseas volunteering is an excellent cure for that particular problem.     4    . The lessons may lead to the volunteer thinking twice about how their behavior appears to others in daily life.

Going to a foreign country for a volunteer experience is a huge boost (帮助) on a resume. Employers love to see a person that can think outside the box and work past their comfort zone. The added benefits of teamwork, foreign language knowledge, and plain old hard work also add polish (品味) to the volunteer candidate. Since business now happens on a global scale, the volunteer is armed with useful, and potentially actionable, information.

【推荐1】I was driving my newly acquired motorcycle across the vastness of North Dakota when all of a sudden it froze up on the road. I would later be told the timing melt had slipped and this caused one of the pistons（活塞） to crack a cylinder（气缸） head, or something like that.

Anyway, I sat on the side of the road for what seemed like hours. I even pretended to have been in an accident, which didn't help. Finally, a young man pulled over and offered me a ride, but given that he already had two motorcycles in the back of his truck, he could only take me.

He drove me to the next town, where I asked to be dropped off. Rather than drop me off, he waited while I asked around if anyone could help me to pick up my motorcycle. One elderly gentleman was working and said that I could use his pickup! Can you imagine that a stranger gave me the keys to his pickup?

It was quite an experience, I must say. So, as I drove back 20 miles to get my motorcycle, the gentleman who first stopped to help me followed me. We both put the motorcycle in the back of the truck, and then I followed him another 50 miles or so and we both unloaded the motorcycle at his place. Then, he followed me back to the small town so I could return the man's truck. I didn't have much cash on me, maybe $40, but I gave it to the man for the use of his truck.

Two strangers helped rescue me from spending the night on the side of the road in ND. I don't recall their names, but when I close my eyes I can see their faces as if it were yesterday. Thank you, strangers. You may be reading this right now.

【推荐3】Have you heard a story about Oliver Wendell Holmes and got what he meant? He once attended a meeting in which he was the shortest man present. "Doctor Holmes," joked a friend. "I should think you would feel rather small among us big fellows." "I do," smiled Holmes. "I feel like a dime（一角硬币）among a lot of pennies."

I ever believed only such a person like Holmes could think that way. But I was proven wrong.

Yesterday I watched a huge flight of geese winging their way south through one of those beautiful sunsets that colored the entire sky for a few moments. I saw them as I rested against the lion statue in front of the Chicago Art Institute, where I was watching the Christmas shoppers hurry along Michigan Avenue.

When I looked sideways, I noticed that a bag lady, standing a few feet away, had also been watching the geese with great attention. Sensing someone was looking at her, she cast a sideways look. Our eyes met and we smiled silently acknowledging the fact that we had shared an amazing sight, a symbol of the secret of the struggle to survive. I overheard the lady talking to herself as she walked away. Her words, "Life treats me kindly", nearly made my jaw drop.

Was the lady, this homeless street beggar, being kidding or even mindless? No. I believed the sight of the geese had reminded her of, however briefly, the difficult and unpleasant reality of her own struggle. I realized later that moments such as this one provided her with great comfort and encouragement; it was the way she survived the hardness of the street. Her smile was real.

The sight of the geese was her Christmas present. It was proof that hard work mattered. It was all she needed. I envy her.

【推荐1】Do you really care who wins Oscars? On February 24 this year, the Academy Awards were presented to actors, actresses, directors, musicians and many other people. Usually they are the “best” and we the audience, are persuaded that this is true.

This year, the nominations(提名)for Best Picture include Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book. According to many people, these are great movies, as are the performers who bring the stories to life. Whoever wins the award for Best Actor or Best Actress will undoubtedly become a Hollywood star.

However, Leonardo had never won an Oscar before 2016, but that doesn't mean that his films aren't amazing. I only need to mention Titanic and The Wolf of Wall Street and you can clearly see that he is an excellent actor. And of course, let's not forget Romeo and Juliet.

I'm afraid someone may wrongly apprehend my meaning. I am not saying that those who win Academy Awards are not talented people. They most certainly are talented. What I mean is that I don't think we should judge films and actors by how many awards they have. After all, at this year's Golden Globe Awards, Ricky Gervais compared the prizes to a doorstop and told the nominees to remember that no one cared about that award as much as they did.

So let's not judge an actor or actress just based on what(评论家)say. If you want to know how good an actor or actress really is go and watch the film he or she stars in.

【推荐2】I Don’t Think I Wrote Wrong

Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected and could earn a lot of money, so He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments but didn’t receive any answers.

Now he works in a factory. He’s busy at work. When he’s free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn’t eat anything. She said Miss GAO, her Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article “My Father” that evening. But she did not know what to write.

“That’s easy,” said Lao Yang. “Let me help you.”

Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.

“My teacher said your article digressed from the subject(离题),” said the girl.

“I don’t think so,” Lao Yang shouted angrily. “I described just my father!”

【推荐3】Jo Usmar is a writer for Cosmopolitan and co-author of the lifestyle books. Here she picks her top reads.

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

There are some books I would never pick up if it weren' t for review purposes and Frankly in Love is one of therm. I bad heard of this book and seen it all over Goodreads.

Within the first few pages of this book, I was all in. I think part of what was so engaging is that it's from he viewpoint of Frank Li, a teen of high school.

Game of Stars by Sayantani Dasgupta

Just like any 12-year-old girl, Kiran is just tying to figure out who she is. Unlike other 12-year-old girls, however, she has to0 deal with titles like "princess and "demon slayer (魔鬼杀手)”. She happens to be a princess from the Kingdom Beyond, a world where gods and demons existed. Now it is up to her to save the kingdom and be the hero.

Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

This is a remarkable book. The depth of the story went far beyond my expectations. The author paints a picture of Lincoln, a portrait (肖像) of strength, determination, and sacrifice in the face of personal and national disaster. Although some readers may find it rude to use a great leader of the United States in a fictional action book for entertainment, Grahame Smith tries to preserve an air of dignity and honor in the character of Lincoln.