【推荐1】One night Mr. Lee was driving his wife home from work. She was a staff nurse in a hospital. It was almost midnight and she was quite tired out. She soon fell asleep. Mr Lee looked at her and smiled.

Mr. Lee was a cautious and experienced driver. He knew it was safer to drive slowly on a dark night. After some time he noticed a car following him. It was traveling very fast. Suddenly it overtook his car.

The driver of the car was in a hurry. He did not see the approaching lorry (货车). To avoid hitting it, he swerved his car. It skidded off the road and hit a big tree. The driver and his passenger were injured. They were badly cut by glass splinter from the broken windscreen.

Mr. Lee quickly stopped his car by the side of the road. His wife got out of the car to help the injured men. The lorry driver also stopped to lend a helping hand. Mr. Lee immediately drove off to telephone the police.

About twenty-five minutes later, a police car and an ambulance arrived. The injured men were carried into the ambulance and taken to hospital.

The policemen took down details of the accident. Mr. Lee and the lorry driver told them all that they could remember. The policemen thanked them for their help. Mr. and Mrs. Lee then got into their car and continued their journey home.

【推荐2】In a breathtaking incident in Berlin, a young man narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation where he became trapped beneath a bus.

The 16-year-old found himself unable to move beneath a tyre (轮胎) of the bus when   he fell down during an attempt to catch the departing vehicle at a local stop on a Monday afternoon. The quick response of the bus driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle, coupled with the assistance of roughly 40 people, including both passengers and bystanders, led to a remarkable achievement. Together, they managed to lift the right side of the bus sufficiently to free the young man.

Frank Kurze, one of the courageous volunteers who participated in the rescue, recalled the messy scene, stating, “I saw the men trying to lift the bus, and it was clear to me that I also had to help lift the bus and try to pull the young man from underneath.”

Nearby medical professionals from a healthcare center in the Spandau neighborhood of Berlin instantly arrived at the scene to provide vital first aid. Michelle Rueckborn, one of the nurses on duty, shared their response, saying, “We were at work when we heard screams, and our coworker looked out of the window and saw what had happened, and said ‘Grab the doctor’s kit and run.’”

Sandra Grunwald, another nurse present at the scene, added, “He was responsive but understandably confused, unsure of what was unfolding around him.” Despite the frightening circumstances, the young man unbelievably survived with only minor injuries, thanks to the collective effort of around 40 individuals who came together to perform a heroic rescue.

The Berlin police department praised the collective efforts of those involved in the rescue as “heroes” and expressed their gratitude on social media, stating, “Thank you, Spandau. Thank you, Berlin.”

【推荐1】In response to the more than 1,500 books challenged to be removed from libraries last year, the New York Public Library (NYPL) launched an effort to make some banned books available for everyone for free.

The initiative is called Books for All and allows any reader aged 13 and older to access commonly banned books through the library’s app until the end of May. There is no wait to access the books and no fines. Typically, access to books at the New York Public Library is only available to New Yorkers with a library card.

“ The recent instances of both attempted and successful book banning — primarily on titles that explore race, religion, and history — are extremely disturbing and amount to an all-out attack on the very foundation of our democracy (民主), ” said Tony Marx, president of the NYPL. “ Knowledge is power. Ignorance is dangerous, breeding hate and division. Since their inception (创始), public libraries have worked to fight against these forces simply by making all perspectives and ideas accessible to all, ” he continued.

The New York Public Library’s efforts were launched on April 13. The books currently available are Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and I bram X. Kendi, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

Brooklyn Public Library also announced a similar initiative called Books Unbanned for those aged 13-21.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The 1619 Project and a Brooklyn Public Library board member, said, “ This is such a fantastic move and a model for how other institutions in states that aren’t banning books can help those who live in states. Healthy societies do not ban books. ”

【推荐2】In late 2020, Detroit resident Oleita posted a video on Facebook that explained how to make sleeping bags from used potato chips and other snack bags. She could help the city’s homeless people find warmth during cold winters while also giving a second life to chip bags, which aren’t easily recyclable and usually end up in the trash.

Almost immediately after Oleita posted that first call for bags, people took notice. Local businesses offered to serve as collection points, and volunteers raised their hands to get involved.

“We’re all humans who share this planet together, and it’s my duty to make sure the person next to me has access to basic necessities,” says Oleita. “We have a major climate issue happening, and the people who are most influenced are those who are economically poor.”

For most of the Chip Bag Project’s existence, Oleita made sleeping bags all by herself. Now, she has some help. The group operates with a core team of 10 volunteers who do everything from making and delivering the bags to sourcing financial sponsors and doing community outreach.

The road to success has its ups and downs. For a while, the Chip Bag Project operated out of a small space donated by a local business, and the team recently had to leave. Yet they’re not giving up. Instead, the team does everything — including production, back-end business tasks and equipment and supply storage.

Oleita has served as a community organizer for the past decade, and she has experienced homelessness herself. She knew that this project needed to do more than just hand out sleeping bags. “This isn’t just a trash issue; it’s also a climate issue. And it’s not just a climate issue, but a human issue too. I’m always thinking of the world as interconnected — energy is neither created nor destroyed, only transferred.”

【推荐3】The example of a foreign teacher who volunteered to help fight the wildfires in Chongqing’s Beibei District with other local residents has touched many.

In the unbearable heat and drought conditions, multiple wildfires hit parts of Chongqing. On Sunday night, a forest fire broke out and spread in Beibei District. The local government issued an urgent call for volunteers with certain skills and experience, such as chain saw（链锯）operation, to join in the firefighting. Chain saws were used to create fire barriers.

“I was happy to help,” said Francis Stonier, a professor in a university. “I used to cut trees around my yard and neighborhood and had volunteered many times in the US in the past.”

Stonier found a translator—50-year-old He Wu, a foreign language professor—who also signed up to fight fires. Soon after arriving at the volunteer area, the pair were assigned to one of the chain saw groups—examining and adjusting chain saws.

“Stonier is responsible and focused, and is doing a really good job,” said He, adding that Stonier checked each chain saw carefully, to see if it was too tight or too loose. “Wherever I went, the volunteers and local residents gave me a big thumbs-up. It was an unforgettable experience,” Stonier said.

Thanks to the joint efforts of fire and rescue workers, as well as volunteers and residents, the scaring wildfire in Beibei had been put out as of Thursday night.

“It was great to see such an outpouring of help in the extreme heat,” Stonier said, noting that he was impressed with the number of locals who came to help. Motorcyclists gave up their jobs to transport materials and people up and down the mountains. Others gave their time to carry heavy supplies, prepare and serve meals or help organize.