【推荐2】Daniel Foe, born around 1660, was the son of James Foe, a London butcher. Daniel later changed his name to Daniel Defoe, wanting to sound more gentlemanly. Defoe went into business in 1683, having given up his earlier plan to become a dissenting minister (大臣). He traveled often, selling such goods as wine and wool, but was rarely out of debt. He went bankrupt (破产) in 1692, and decided to leave the business industry altogether.

Having always been interested in politics, Defoe published his first literary piece, a political booklet, in 1683. He continued to write political works, working as a journalist, until the early 1700s. Many of Defoe’s works during this period focused on supporting King William III, the then King of England. Some of his most popular works include The True-Born Englishman which uncovered racial prejudice (偏见) in England following attacks on William for being a foreigner. Political enemies of repeatedly had him imprisoned for his writing in 1713.

Defoe took a new literary path in 1719, around the age of 59, when he published Robinson Crusoe, the best-known fiction novel based on several short essays that he had written over the years. A handful of novels followed soon after — often with criminals as lead characters — including Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack, and Captain Singleton. His last major fiction piece Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress came out in 1724. In the mid-1720s, Defoe returned to writing editorial pieces, focusing on such subjects as morality (道德), politics and the breakdown of social order in England. Some of his later works include Everybody’s Business, Is Nobody’s Business published in 1725.

Defoe died on April 24, 1731. Defoe is remembered today as a journalist and a writer, and has been praised for his hundreds of fiction and non-fiction works. The characters that Defoe created in his fiction books have been brought to life countless times over the years, in editorial works, as well as stage and screen productions.

【推荐1】Collette Divitto, 31, was born with Down's Syndrome (唐氏综合征) but she is far from disabled. This woman channeled her passion for baking into a cookie business with a global mission to change the world, one, cookie at a time.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, her company was founded in 2016. Although she didn’t plan on being a business owner, she really created jobs for disabled people with all types of abilities. She said that she opened the bakery after receiving numerous job interview rejections, often being told she was not “a good fit” for the company. “It was sad and it was hard,” she said. “To me, it felt like they didn’t like me at all because of who I am. No one would hire me, so I decided to open my own business.”

The path to success wasn’t easy. Divitto’s mother Rosemary Alfredo didn’t raise her daughter to think of herself as different from her classmates. But this changed when Divitto was in the fourth grade and she was bullied by a boy in her class who started calling her “Down Syndrome”. Her mother had to have a conversation with her about what it meant and from then on, Divitto worked hard to be fully accepted at school.

Divitto is not resting on her laurels (荣誉). A big part of her company’s mission is to help people with disabilities find jobs. She is also the author of two children’s books and she was featured on the documentary Born for Business, about pioneers with disabilities. Divitto also runs a nonprofit organization, Collettey’s Leadership Org.

Her first priority is to let people start seeing abilities in the physically disadvantaged and to employ the 82 percent of the people with disabilities who are capable of working but cannot find jobs. With her drive and vision, Divitto is sure to be a success.

【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.”

【推荐3】Kathy and Brandon Gunn are a couple from Michigan, and they were married in September 2007. One gift that they received on their wedding day was a box from Kathy’s great aunt Alison. On the front of the gift, it read, “Do NOT open until 1st disagreement.”

The couple had forgotten about the present for years, even though their marriage had disagreements and arguments. It wasn’t until they were thinking about getting a gift for a friend’s upcoming wedding that they remembered their one gift that was still to be opened.

“I thought back to our wedding day (nearly 9 years ago) and tried to recall the gifts that had meant the most to me,” Kathy wrote in a post on Facebook. “The funny thing? The gift that meant the very most was still sitting in a cupboard. . . unopened. All along, we assumed that the contents of that box held the key to saving a marriage—an age-old secret—unknown to us. After all, my great aunt and uncle had been married for nearly half a century.”

When Kathy and Brandon finally opened the mysterious present, what they found inside was so sweet. There was one note and some money, and addressed to Kathy. It read, “Kathy, go get a pizza, shrimp, or something you both like. Aunt Alison.” Brandon also had a note addressed to him. It read, “Brandon, go get flowers and a bottle of wine. Aunt Alison.”

“For nine years that box sat high on a shelf in various cupboards gathering dust, yet it somehow taught us about inclusion (包容), understanding and patience. Today, we decided to open that box, because I finally had a realization,” Kathy wrote in her post. “I realized that the tools for creating and maintaining a strong, healthy marriage were never within that box-they were within us.”