【推荐2】A few years ago, I realized that I had a fear of heights. Sometimes I would feel uncomfortable if I looked down from somewhere high and the higher I got, the worse I felt. However, there were some things that made me nervous when I looked up at them—such as drop towers.

About a month ago, my family and I went on a trip to Marineland—an amusement park with a sea animal theme. One of Marineland’s attractions is a huge drop tower called the “Sky Screamer”. My dad wanted to ride it, and he wanted to take me with him. He kept nagging me, and I finally gave in, because I wanted to face my fears.

Going up was terrible. I got stomachaches from just looking at the tower. When we reached the tower, we lined up and got seated on the ride. When it reached a few feet off the ground, it stopped for a moment, before sending us straight to the top at great speed. I squeezed my eyes shut and I held the handlebar as tightly as I could. A few seconds later my heart was in my mouth and I was screaming my lungs out. At the top, I opened my eyes and looked forward, not down.

I tried to prepare myself for the way down, but it didn’t really help. There I was, with my eyes squeezed shut, holding the handlebar and again, screaming at the top of my voice. In fact, it was even worse than going up! But when I got to the bottom, I felt relieved. I thanked my dad for forcing me to go on the ride, and I was pleased I had faced my fears.

So, was the “Sky Screamer” scary? Well, maybe just a little bit.

【推荐3】Since my son went to college in Chicago, I made quarterly trips there for the next three years. My friend George was a cook there and he knew many outstanding restaurants. One of them was a Chinese restaurant called The Bird. It was owned and operated by Chef Benny Moy who happened to be an old friend of George’s.

The dishes Benny prepared were unique, and everything was in his mind when he was cooking. Just by changing, adding or removing an ingredient or two, he could come up with an entirely new dish.

As a fan of Chinese food, I was always attracted by its recipes. After a year went by, I Road in finally gathered the courage to ask Benny if I could spend a week learning cooking in his restaurant kitchen. To my joy, he agreed readily.

I was very nervous the first day I showed up. But I didn’t have to wait long to find out how I would start. “Put on this jacket, go over to the stove and clean the two woks (锅) there,” he said. I was excited. What a beginning! I was allowed to clean the master’s woks.

Then things just seemed to fall into place. Benny was very concentrated when he was doing preparing work or cooking. I would just follow him around, trying very hard not to get in his way. Besides, I would talk into my hand-held recorder to document everything he did; in effect, I had all his recipes. He had a teaching style that was all his own. And I just watched and learned everything he did by heart

At the end of the week, when my time in the kitchen was over, I came away feeling that I have had the most exciting, unusual, and unique cooking experiences. Plus, now I know how to cook Benny’s most-known dish: Moo shu pork.

【推荐2】Late last year, I needed to transport some furniture from our house to my son’s flat in central London. I should have paid a man to do it, but foolishly confident in my driving ability, I decided to hire a lorry and drive it myself.

Moving the lorry backward in my yard, I crashed into a small shed, causing permanent damage. Fortunately, I owned the shed. I loaded up with the furniture and set out. By now it was rush hour. My nerves broke down, as I drove the huge lorry through the streets nervously.

At last I arrived at Charlotte Street and found an available parking space. I moved the lorry into it only to notice three people at a pavement cafe waving to me. I got out, trembling violently, like one who had just finished a stormy Atlantic crossing. “You’ve hit the car parked behind you,” they said. I examined the car. There were white scratches on its front face. It bore a disabied sign. So, now I was a bad driver and a bad man. Under the severe look of the three, I left an apologetic note on the damaged car’s windscreen, giving my phone number.

I unloaded the furniture, dripping the sweat, wanting only to escape from the monster. I drove it back to its base at Edgware. On arrival, the boss told me I must fill it up with petrol before returning it. “Just charge me,” I cried, still shaking with fear. He stared at me with understanding. No doubt he’d witnessed others in this state before. “How about I drive you to a petrol station, you fill up and I drive it back?” he asked.

He danced the great lorry through the traffic so carefully that it would have shamed me if I had not been so grateful.

【推荐1】People are often surprised by my fear of blood and needles. Working in a public health unit, I probably have more daily interaction with syringes (注射器) than the average person. But the truth is, having my blood drawn scares me.

When I was 9, I had an extremely high temperature. A nurse rudely stuck the needle into my arm, causing a sharp pain. I avoided having blood taken from my body for the next years. A few months before I turned 30, my doctor ordered a blood test as part of my physical exam. I panicked. Sensing my fear, she gently suggested I see a psychiatrist (精神科医生). “Dr. M helped my other patients with the same fear,” she said.

When Dr. M called to set up an appointment, I hesitated. Talking about personal problems to a medically licensed stranger was uncommon in my family. “A psychiatrist?” Mother asked. “He’ll just put you on drugs. Can’t you get over this yourself?” I almost listened. But I went to Dr. M’s clinic finally. “Phobias (恐惧症) are pretty easy to treat,” he said. I wasn’t convinced of his words. But despite my doubts, I was running out of options.

We started with basic exposure treatment. I watched videos of blood being drawn every day. As I started to feel more at ease with needles, Dr. M suggested drawing blood. As he gently pressed the needle into my flesh, I felt dizzy and breathed deeply. After a few minutes, I looked at the needle. It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t pass out. “You’re doing well,” Dr. M said.

I still find it unpleasant getting blood drawn, but thanks to several months of treatment, I’m less scared. I hate to admit it, but Dr. M is right — phobias can be treated. Sometimes, we have to leave our comfort zone and face our fears. And this can lead to freedom in the end.

【推荐2】An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money. Only a very expensive operation could save him now and there was no one to lend them the money.

When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother, “Only a miracle (something couldn’t happen) can save him now,” the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her money from its hiding place and counted it carefully.

She hurried to a drugstore (药店) with the money in her hand.

“And what do you want? ” asked the salesman. “It’s for my little brother,” the girl answered. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.” “Pardon?” said the salesman.

“My brother Andrew has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?” “We don’t sell a miracle here, child. I’m sorry,” the salesman said with a smile.

“Listen, if it isn’t enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs.”

A well-dressed man heard it and asked, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” “I don’t know,” she answered with her eyes full of tears. “He’s really sick and mum says he needs an operation. But my daddy can’t pay for it, so I have brought all my money.”

“How much do you have?” asked the man. “$ 1.11, but I can try and get some more,” she answered.

“Well, what luck,” smiled the man. “$ 1.11, the price of a miracle for little brothers.”

He took up the girl’s hand and said, “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”       

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a famous doctor. The operation was successful and it wasn’t long before Andrew was home again.

How much did the miracle cost?

【推荐3】A British woman, Dr. Mantri, growing up in India started to notice his son, Dhruv, was struggling with simple math problem when he was in fifth-grade. After noticing this, she started employing an abacus (算盘) to help her son visually comprehend mathematics.

“I would ask him something like 35 minus 13 and he couldn’t do it.” said Dhruv’s mom Dr. Mantri. “I decided to change the way he looked at numbers,” she said. “An abacus is a tried and tested method, and the Egyptians used them for building the pyramid.” In just six days he started to show progress with the abacus and would go on to become a whizz kid with numbers, with even his classmates’ parents reaching out for help.

She never thought she would teach her son using an abacus, which she used as a child in India and it was always helpful. Within six days she started to notice a difference and see results. So dramatic was the turnaround, that school staff asked him to perform with the abacus at a meeting, where some parents even came to ask for advice on using it for their kids.

IT specialist Dr. Mantri said the humble abacus can be used for calculations into the trillions and kids enjoy learning on it because it’s like a game. “It becomes a playing tool for younger children, for it feels like a game. I think the success comes because children can touch and feel an abacus and visualize them.” She added.

By the age of 12, Dhruv was giving online cyber security class and is now pursuing a career in data science and analytics. Dhruv has now landed an apprenticeship (实习) at an international firm. During the four-year apprenticeship, he will spend one day a week studying Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at Glasgow Caledonian University. “He is so confident now and I am so proud,” she said, with Dhruv adding “I don’t think my teachers would have guessed that I would be following a career in data science at that time.”