【推荐1】When Trudy stepped into the water on August 6, 1926, few people thought the nineteen-year-old had a chance of swimming the Channel. Although the narrow sea that separates England from France is only twenty-one miles wide, the tides are dangerous, the water is freezing cold, and the weather is unpredictable. To make matters worse, the Channel is filled with seaweed, stinging jellyfish, and heavy ship traffic.

The Channel was so dangerous that by 1926 only five people in history had been able to swim across it, and all of them had been men. “Women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance, they must remain forever the weaker sex,” a London newspaper had said just one day before Trudy’s swim. Trudy was determined to prove this view wrong.

Actually, Trudy had tried to swim the Channel once before. In August of 1925, Trudy had come within six miles of England. Then she had gotten horribly seasick, so her trainer had to pull her out of the water.

The sea was a chilly sixty-one degrees Fahrenheit when Trudy dived into the water off Cape Gris-Nez, France, at 7:09 a.m. Trudy had chosen this day for her swim because weather forecasts were favorable. But at 1:30 p.m. it started to rain. Within a few hours a storm struck the Channel. By 6:00 p.m. it seemed hopeless. The waves and tide were so fierce that for every few yards Trudy swam, she was pushed back twice as many. She fought the storm for three more hours and finally arrived at Kingsdown, England, at 9:40 p.m. She had been in the water for fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes. Trudy wasn’t just the first woman to swim the Channel, she was the fastest person to swim it. She had smashed the world-record time by almost two hours.

But Trudy’s swim had taken a toll on her body, especially her hearing. Trudy eventually gave up professional swimming and became a swimming instructor for deaf children.

【推荐1】It takes a lot of hard work and determination to achieve big goals. Many times, people must persevere in spite of obstacles to realize their dreams. Collette Divitto is a talented baker who managed to do just that. She used her bright personality, determination, and talent to become an entrepreneur.

Collette Divitto was born in Boston. Like many others, after graduating from college, she wanted to get a job. She went to many job interviews, but she kept getting rejected. Many employers said she was “not the right fit”. Divitto believed she was being rejected so often in that she was born with Down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder related to a person’s chromosomes. People with Down syndrome often have intellectual or physical disabilities.

Facing many job rejections, Divitto felt discouraged and hurt. She felt she wanted to open her own business and be her own boss. She thought about her hobbies and passions. Divitto knew she loved baking. She would always create delicious recipes to share with her family and friends. One of these recipes was for a chocolate chip cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar. Her mom tasted the cookies and urged her to write down the recipe to make them again. Divitto began baking and selling her chocolate cookies locally, calling her business “Collettey’s Cookies”. She took her cookies to a local grocery store named Golden Goose Market. Immediately after tasting the cookies, the market decided to sell Devitto’s cookies. Golden Goose Market became Divitto’s first client. Eventually, a television station shared the story of Divitto’s ccokie business. Her story went viral!

Divitto didn’t just create Collectey’s Cookies to sell delicious baked goods. She has a great ambition to expand her business so that she can hire as many people as possible. Currently, many of her employees have disabilities. Divitto also wants non-disabled business owners to see the strengths and talents of people with disabilities. The majority of disabled people who can work cannot find paying jobs. Even when they do get jobs, they are often paid less than the minimum wage. Divitto wants to change these statistics. She wants to make sure people with disabilities get jobs that pay fairly.

【推荐2】A Virginia teen is doing his part to make sure frontline health care workers are getting the meals they need to help them take care of themselves and others.

Arul Nigam, 17, of Tyson's Corner, Va. , has had to make several adjustments since his school year ended abruptly in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic(新冠疫情）。“We didn't have any classes for like over a month and then after that there were a lot of technical difficulties. So I started to have a lot more free time,” he tells Yahoo Life. “It was really saddening, but it was also something that really surprised me, that our health care workers are facing something like that,” Nigam says. “So I wanted to see what I could do to help them because obviously, they're sacrificing so much and giving so much for all of us. ”

In late March, the teen started fundraising efforts with the help of friends and family to help these health care workers receive much-needed meals. He also began doing research about what hospitals had the most amount of coronavirus cases, so he could prioritize those places first. He was also arranging for the orders to be fulfilled at local family-owned restaurants impacted by shutdown orders. So far, Nigam has delivered over 1,000 meals to 22 hospitals in 13 states, including New York, Massachusetts and Maryland.

Nigam's efforts have not only helped health care workers, but restaurants as well. With quarantine restrictions taking a toll on the food industry, places like Best Coast Burrito in Oakland, Calif. , have lost business over the last few weeks. Best Coast's owner,Alvin Shen, tells Yahoo Life that being able to partner with Arul and others in efforts to feed those on the frontline has been a big help.

【推荐1】Charlotte (the spider) and Wilbur (the pig) were alone.Wilbur lay resting after the excitement of the ceremony. His medal still hung from his neck.

“Charlotte,”said Wilbur,“why are you so quiet?”

“I like to sit still,”she said.“I’ve always been rather quiet...”

“Yes,but you seem different today.Do you feel all right?”

“A little tired,perhaps. But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring competition this morning was, to a small extent, my success. Your future is assured. You’ll live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, and then the snow of winter. You’ll live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a lot to Zuckerman (the owner) and he’ll not harm or kill you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen and the ice will melt. The sparrows will return and sing and the frogs will awake. All these sights and sounds will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur - this lovely world,these precious days...”

Charlotte stopped and a tear came to Wilbur’s eye. He then said.“Charlotte,when I first met you, I thought you were cruel!”

When he recovered from his emotion,he spoke again.

“Why did you do all this for me?”he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.”

“You are my friend. That in itself is a big thing.” replied Charlotte. “I made my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while and we die. A spider’s life can’t simply trap and eat flies. By helping you, I was trying to lift up my life a little.“Well,”said Wilbur.“I’m not good at making speeches. I haven’t got your gift for words. But you’ve saved me, Charlotte, and I’d gladly give my life for you-I really would.”