“Meet one more and I’ll definitely ask a favour.” Gina thought, looking up at the street lights, everything immersed (沉浸在) in the dark night. “Alas! This unlucky stuffi” She said to herself, helpless.

Behind her came the jingling of bicycle bells. Hardly had Gina let out “ah” when a cycling young man swept past.

“Why, the cyclist was back?” Gina whispered to herself. The young man suddenly returned and was already in front of Gina before she knew it.   Gina’s heart was pounding under high tension. “What will he do on such a dark night?” “Called me just now?” The young man got off his bike. Gina shook her head repeatedly but gently. A strong sense of self-defense overcame her and she refused to say yes.

“Something wrong with your bike?”A pair of smiling eyes met hers. Gina became somewhat calm. “The front tire has gone flat.” she responded, head down, a ray of hope arising. “Well, I can’t help it with no tools.” The young man managed a smile. Gina’s heart sank again. “Do you live far?” the young man searched her face for an answer. “Me?” she asked, keeping pushing her bike forward. “Well, on the left side of the street end is a repair shop. Wish you luck!” With these words, the young man rode away. Gina almost burst into tears. “It’s almost midnight. Where can I find a repair shop? A liar.” She started to hate the young man.

Almost at the end ofthe street, Gina couldn’t help but look up. Near the sidewalk, there was really a shop with the light still on.

She paused hesitantly, and out of the shop came a girl in her twenties.

With the help of the young man and the girl, the tire was soon repaired.

Alice had just been appointed in the multinational bank. After one month of severe training, today was her first day to go to work.

She got up a bit earlier than usual, and decided to skip her gym workout as she did not want to risk being tired or getting late to her office on her first day. She went through her morning routine and spent a lot of time in selecting what to wear. None of her dresses seemed to appeal to her—they were either a little too casual or too dull and she definitely wanted to make an impression right from the start. Finally she settled on the white embroidered (刺绣的) dress.

She waved bye to her mom and set off cheerfully towards the bus stop. But she saw a bus leaving the stop just as she crossed the street. Now she would have to wait for a good 15 minutes. 15 minutes passed and then 30 minutes and there was no sign of the bus. “It must be stuck in heavy traffic”, a kind lady who was also waiting for the bus told her. Hearing that, Alice got anxious. She had to reach her office on time. Then she saw a taxi approaching but when she tried to stop it, the taxi driver sped by without even taking a glance at her. Alice was wondering what she could do.

It was then that a car stopped near her and a man waved to her. The driver asked her where she was going and after Alice told him that she was going to the bank at Nariman Point, the man said “Oh, my office is in the nearby building. Can I give you a lift?” Alice hesitated for a moment and got into the car. They exchanged names and began to talk for a while. Then the driver switched on the radio and was absorbed in the song. Alice looked out of the window and imagined her first day at work, worrying whether she was capable of the new job, and if she could get along well with her colleagues. After about ten minutes, Alice realized they were not on the familiar route to her office.

She began to worry that she might get into the car of a bad man.

Then the car turned around a corner and Alice saw the tall building where her office was unexpectedly.

The January snowstorms in Canada usually come suddenly and violently. On January 31st, 2022, residents in Canada were bracing for a major snowstorm.

Shannon St. Onge knew the storm was coming. She just thought she had more time. She is the director of finance at First Nations University of Canada. When she received a call about a check that needed her signature (签名) around 3 p. m. , she rushed to the city of Regina, which is about 15 miles from her home in Pense, to get the job done. She finished her task quickly and began heading back home, where her two kids were waiting for her.

Before leaving town, Shannon filled her gas tank and picked up a pizza for her kids to have for dinner. But as she started for home, the weather quickly worsened with the storm arriving hours earlier than predicted, and before she knew it, she was driving straight through a snowstorm!

Shannon drove as long as she could by sticking her head out the driver’s side window so she could see the obstacles on the edge of the road. Eventually, she was forced to stop the vehicle entirely.

She called 911 for assistance, but there wasn’t much the operator could do. They said they would send out a cruiser to check on her, but no one ever came. That’s when the single mom started to worry seriously.

“Would the gas tank last until morning? What if I was hit by another vehicle? What if I fell asleep and the tailpipe was blocked? What if I didn’t make it home at all? ” thought Shannon.

Looking around for clues about her location, Shannon was able to make out a sign that said Bouvier Lane. She shared the location with one of her friends. As luck would have it, her friend recognized a farm near where Shannon was stuck, and said, “ I know that family. I’ll contact them.”

Inside the house, Andre Bouvier Sr. , an 80-year-old retired farmer, was enjoying a quiet evening with his wife, when he got a call.

Once Shannon was inside their home, she was warmly welcomed.

I had tried unsuccessfully to get Frank to the dentist for a good clean. He felt that cleaning his teeth didn’t matter. Only after suffering for several days with a toothache did he finally agree, but under one condition. The dentist would have to treat him in his wheelchair. I called Dr. Bob, who was willing to satisfy my husband’s special needs.

The big day arrived. It was a hot day in June. The office was easy to locate, but parking was very limited. We decided to take our chances and parked across the street at a place with a “No Parking or Towing (拖)” sign. After parking, we walked two blocks to the office. As Dr. Bob had promised, Frank didn’t have to leave his wheelchair and after a few shots, the teeth were painlessly removed. Then we prepared to leave.

Frank uses an electric wheelchair with a breathing control system. He drives the chair by breathing through an air tube. Breathe in to go backward. Breathe out to go forward. His mouth was still too numb to control the wheelchair. Not a problem. I could drive for him.

Once outside, the chair was not responding properly. I had to push with both hands on the handlebars. I pushed the wheelchair with all my strength. The sunny day turned extremely hot with no shade between us and the car.

Exhausted, I stopped pushing. “I have to stop and rest,” I told Frank. Frank had a brilliant idea. His mouth was too numb to breathe out, but he might be able to breathe in, which would move the wheelchair backward. I agreed without hesitation.

We continued moving backward slowly up the sidewalk as I turned my head from left to right looking behind me for obstacles in our path. I noticed several cars slowing down and the people in the cars looking in our direction as they passed. Only when two ladies stopped and asked if we needed help did I realize how silly we looked.

Of course I declined their assistance.

Luckily, just as suddenly as it started, the rain stopped and I hurried to the parking.

Anybody passing by the school’s football ground wouldn’t miss noticing Jake Harvey and his friends talking about soccer. The boys always thought they would merely select those who had the physique(体格)and skills to represent their team.

One day, the team’s “head”, as they called him, Jake, was busy playing soccer with his friends when the newcomer, Sam, in their class walked over. The little boy called out saying he was ready to play, but Jake’s team paused and turned in disbelief, staring at the boy’s artificial leg. “How on earth will you play for us with that artificial leg?” Jake said. Sam got depressed when Jake’s words echoed in his ears. He almost cried but he didn’t want his tears to weaken him in front of the boys.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jones, the school’s physical trainer, saw the whole thing from his office window. After the practice session, he walked over to Jake and took him aside for a word in private. “I saw what happened, and if I’m not wrong, you sent away that newcomer, right?” Mr. Jones asked Jake. “Do you have any idea who he is?” Jake was shocked after Mr. Jones revealed Sam’s background.

As it turned out, Sam was captain of the soccer team in his previous school. He was also an excellent goalkeeper who had won several gold medals for his team. “Maybe, Mr. Jones... But I don’t see any hope of having him on our team. Just look at his leg,” Jake said to the teacher.

Seeing that Jake felt dissatisfied with Sam’s condition, Mr. Jones unfolded another story about how Sam lost his leg.

One day, Sam’s school bus met with a car accident on the way back from a trip. The school bus was set on fire;though Sam got out and reached safety, he realized one of his classmates was still on the school bus. He risked his own life to save her without hesitation. With all his strength, he carried her out of the bus. As a result, the girl was saved but Sam’s leg was severely injured and had to be amputated(截肢).

Jake was deeply moved by Sam’s bravery and became teary-eyed.

The next day, Jake went to the classroom, saying he had an important announcement to make.