【推荐1】In my opinion, my mother has the ability to do anything, especially chores such as ironing and cooking. However, teaching her how to use the Internet is as frustrating as untangling (解开) wires.

Once, my mother came to me to ask for help on how to find a recipe for all-beef Lasagna. I gave her very simple verbal instructions—go to the home page of a particular search engine and type in “recipe for all-beef Lasagna.” Fifteen minutes later, she came to me, telling me that she was unable to find the Internet icon. I went over to the computer and pointed out the icon to her.

Another fifteen minutes went by when I felt a tap on my shoulder. This time, my mother said that she was unable to search for the particular recipe. Gritting (咬) my teeth, I walked to her room again. I saw that she had typed “all beef La saga” instead. With frustrated strokes, I keyed in the correct spelling.

Yet another fifteen minutes went by again when my mother gingerly tapped my shoulder. I stormed next door without bothering to hide my frustration. The main page of the website had not shifted one bit. I then realized that she did not know how to scroll(滚动屏幕) down the page. What had initially seemed like an easy task was turning out to be an intense one.

To avoid being disturbed again, I decided to find the recipe for her. Without a word, I rapidly downloaded a few recipes, printed them out and passed them to my mother. However, seeing her embarrassment, I began to regret my impatience.

At that moment, memories flashed through my mind. When I was young, my mother endured my endless questions, enlightening me with much patience. Now that I am older, the roles slowly reverse. As my mother may increasingly need my help, shouldn’t I rethink how to respond to her needs?

【推荐2】Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, a crocodile was swimming toward him. His mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two. In great fear, she ran toward the water, shouting to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother．It was too late. Just as he reached her, the crocodile reached him. From the shore, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the crocodile snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The crocodile was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard their screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the crocodile.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s finger nails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go.”

Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they were made.

【推荐3】Ray Tokuda,a 54-year-old Japanese American,takes pride in the title his school has already given him.He is a Shifu,a Chinese word literally meaning a master,mentor or senior practioner of martial arts.

Surely, he has reason to be proud.He has been involved with Chinese martial arts for almost 40 years.After learning them at the martial arts school in New Mexico State,he is among the most experienced kung fu teachers of the school today.

Practicing martial arts two to three hours and helping students improve their skills have become Tokuda’s daily routine.He expects to practice and teach martial arts for the rest of his life.“I’m still learning.It’s worth more than a lifetime to learn Chinese martial arts,”he said.“Once I started,I just couldn’t stop.I think it’s also the magic of Chinese culture.”

Tokuda was sent to the martial arts school when he was 10.He still remembers how unwilling he was when starting out.“I remember my father had always wanted to learn Chinese martial arts but never got the chance,so he put his kid in,”he said.“I was so afraid at that time because I thought kung fu was all about fighting.”

But things changed after he learned that martial arts were more than punching and kicking.

“One of the things martial arts teach me is to overcome adversity,”Tokuda said.“As a little kid,my first lesson was like,oh,look,this is a thing that I can get through by diligence,perseverance（毅力）and dedication,and that was priceless for my life.”

Learning Chinese martial arts opened a gateway for him to better understand the culture of China.

Meanwhile,Tokuda has also been invited to various events in his home state to showcase traditional Chinese culture,including the dragon dance and lion dance,which he also learnt at the martial arts school.Because of this,he is now considered a cultural envoy(使者)in the eyes of the public.

【推荐3】Tabichi’s father, uncle, and cousins have all worked as teachers. He could see that his relatives were making a real difference to people’s lives and wanted to do the same. So for the past 12 years, Tabichi has worked as a math and science teacher in the hope that his lessons will give students a chance to improve their situations.

However, working at a remote village school in Kenya hasn’t been easy. The unique challenges and obstacles have forced Tabichi to find unique solutions for his students. The school only has one computer and unreliable Internet access. The school also has no library or laboratory. To make matters worse, there are not enough books for all the students and the school is desperately in need of more teachers. Most of the students are not able to concentrate, because they haven’t had enough meals at home.

One of the other major challenges that Tabichi faces is keeping kids in school as long as possible. So Tabichi spends most of his time outside of the classroom working on ways to keep kids in school. When the 36-year-old gets the feeling that a student is at risk of dropping out, he works to persuade families to put more value in education. To help those in poverty afford food, uniforms, and books, Tabichi also gives away 80 percent of his salary. Despite all the obstacles he faces, Tabichi is credited for improving the school and keeping much of the village’s youth in school. He has also managed to set up science clubs and addressed food insecurity issues.

Thanks to his tireless work, his students have excelled. In recent years, students have won national and international science competitions. In March of 2022, Tabichi was voted the best teacher in the world and won the prize of $1 million.

【推荐1】A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her, and she did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them on a plate. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a glass. Turning to her, he asked, “Darling, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted it.

“What does it mean, father?” she asked. He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong end hard. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. When adversity knocks on your door in your life, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

【推荐2】Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register (收款台), I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.

I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.

I wrote him and his wife a thank­you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holidays meaningful.

Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon, I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery (电池) was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership — a shop selling cars — was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the showroom. “Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.

“Thank you” — two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.

【推荐3】Arens, a driver of a delivery company, was making his rounds near a pond in Bozeman, Montana, when he heard an unearthly sound.

It was December 2018, and about 15 feet from the frozen banks was the source of that cry — a half-submerged brown-and-white wirehaired dog, struggling to hold on to a thin layer of ice.

How she got there no one knows, but an elderly man was already on the scene, determined to save her. The elderly man had entered the pond in a rowboat and was hacking away at the ice with a rock to create a path to the dog. It was slow going, and Arens, 44, thought he stood a better chance. He took off his clothes, even though the temperature was -30℃, and jumped into the rowboat.

His heart beating fast, Arens slid closer to the dog and used the other man’s rock to smash away at the ice. He gave himself a strong pull and slipped off the boat, crashing into 16 feet of freezing water. He resurfaced in time to see the dog going under. Using nervous energy to keep warm, he swam about five feet toward her, grabbed hold of her collar, and pulled her to the ice. He then boosted the dog into the boat and slid it back to the shore, where anxious bystanders carried the dog to the home of the rowboat owner.

Once in the house himself, Arens jumped into a warm shower with the dog until they both felt warmer.

A few more minutes in the pond, the vet (兽医) told Arens, and she would have likely suffered heart failure.

The next day, Arens was back working in the same neighborhood when the dog’s owner came over to thank him for saving Sadie.

Arens says, “That special delivery was the highlight of my career.”