【推荐3】One of the luckiest things in life is that someone offers help when you are in need. Such warm stories happen these days in our city.

We’ve never depended on deliverymen for our daily needs so heavily as we do now, when we work from home to stop the spread of the COVID-19. Some of the deliverymen were afraid that they would not be able to come out to work the next day if they went home and found an overnight lockdown (封锁) in their communities. So they chose to sleep under overpasses (天桥) or on park benches. Photos of them sleeping in those outdoor places were put online. The next day, the government took action and offered them free places to live in either at hotels, at schools or at courier stations (快递站).

Another recent case that shows ordinary people are cared for was about a bun (面包) seller. The man left a message below a post on the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission (市健康委员会)’s WeChat account. He said he had trouble running his store because of the recent spread of the COVID-19. Community workers in his area paid him a visit to see what they could do to help. On the night of the same day, the man received an unexpected large order from his community.

There is a long list of such small acts of kindness in almost every corner of the city. It tells us love and care is powerful to help us overcome the difficulties.

【推荐1】I didn’t quite know what I was looking for when I flew to Mongolia for a term abroad. I just needed something different, far from the late-night libraries of my college town. Most different, I hoped, would be my rural homestay: two weeks in central Mongolia with a family of nomadic(游牧的) herders.

I was studying Mongolian at the time, but still, there was so much I couldn’t say or understand. As we walked in the snow behind the goats, my host mom would ask me if I was cold, then giggle (咯咯地笑) and copy a big shiver to make sure I understood. In the evenings, she showed me how to make dumplings with her fingers. My host siblings would talk with me, speaking too fast for me to understand, as we explored the rocks around our tent; I’d listen and nod.

This verbal(言语的) barrier was strangely freeing. In the crowded dining hall at home, meeting new people made me anxious. I’d stay quiet, measuring out my words, struggling for something to say that wouldn’t expose me as unfunny or boring. In Mongolia, I couldn’t perfect my words. I could only smile, and try out one of the phrases I’d mastered: “May I help?” “Where is the dog?” “Are you tired?” My host family laughed at my pronunciation, at the way I threw up my hands and eyebrows in a frequent gesture of confusion. But in their laughter, I felt safe, unembarrassed.

With my Mongolian family on the grassland, I found a feeling of ease I’d never felt before. We were so different, they and I, and not just in language. Their skin was hardened and darkened by sun; I’d been hidden under hats and sunscreen since birth. My host siblings(兄弟姐妹) grew up drawing water from frozen streams and jogging behind herds of sheep; I spent summers at tennis camp.

For me, these gaps made all the difference. Without shared social measures, I wasted no time wondering how I was measuring up. Only real things—kindness, helpfulness—mattered.

【推荐2】When news came that the UK actor Idris Elba,46, was named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for 2018, Elba showed an interesting response to it. “I was like, ‘Come on, no way. Really?’’’ he told People. “It was nice - an ego (自我) boost for sure.”

The reason that Elba needed an “ego boost” is probably that even though he’s famous now, having starred (主演) in many famous films, Elba hasn’t always been a confident person. He went through an awkward phase growing up, not feeling good about his look. And living in London as a child of an African immigrant (移民) family wasn’t easy for him either. “I was very tall and skinny. And my name was Idrissa Akuna Elba, okay? I got picked on a little bit,” he said. However, for the rest of us, the news of his award for being the “Sexiest Man Alive” was no surprise at all.

Elba is far more than just an actor. He is the voice behind the versatile (多才多艺的) chief of police in Disney’s Zootopia. He is the director of crime drama film Yardie. He designs clothes, DJs and produces his own music. He also learned to fly a stunt (特技) plane. It was probably all these experiences that gave Elba the confidence that he has today. But still, Elba managed to keep a humble (谦逊的) attitude toward life and people around him. “I love being confident, but also I know when to contain it and just stay humble and rational,” Elba told Entertainment Weekly.

These “complicated contradictions” in Elba, as US movie producer Amy Pascal told The New York Times, “make every character he plays fascinating”. And it is this ability to fascinate that got Elba an Officer of the British Empire medal in 2016, for his “services to drama”. And it’s perhaps also these “complicated contradictions” that makes Elba charming.

【推荐3】In his past 79 years, Robert Hume has served for the Navy, taught high school American government, owned a bus tour company for 28 years, and drove a bus for James Madison University.

But now after moving to Georgia to be with his son earlier this year, Hume was looking for an opportunity and a way to give back to his new community. He decided that now was a perfect time to further his education in public health by enrolling in the Graduate Certificate in Gerontology at the University of Georgia.

Hume’s wife was diagnosed with kidney disease in 1994 and it kickstarted his focus on public health. “I gave her a kidney in 1995 that lasted for 17 years. I was so amazed by the medical aspect of that and begun an interest in it,” said Hume.

While enrolled in the gerontology program, he also volunteers as a medic at a rescue squad in Virginia. When he isn’t volunteering in Virginia, Hume responds to medical calls in Towns County, Georgia, his new home.

Above everything, having an impact in his community is what Hume strives for every single day. “I’m not looking for a career. I had a chance to join as a paid person, but I didn’t want to do that. I felt very strongly over the years that I wanted to be a volunteer in the medical field… I want to make a difference.”

Once he completes the certificate program, he has no desire to stop-he plans to start a Master of Public Health program at UGA.

“I think that what’s important to me is that I can do whatever I set my mind to do, I can accomplish any goal. I’ll pick something and succeed, because I have the right frame of mind … you wouldn’t know that I’m 79,” Hume said. “And anybody can do this if you have the right frame of mind.”

【推荐2】Emily Meyer was just 5 years old when she was admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, New York, on Christmas night. While she was recovering, someone from Child Life stopped by her room to give her a present. She and her mom said that they had already received some, after all— but they insisted that every child would get a gift!

“The Child Life team explained that no child should be in hospital during the holiday season, but if they are, they should feel the joy of the holidays,” Emily said.

That moment made a lasting impact on her. She decided she wanted to help the charity provide gifts for kids who are stuck in the hospital over the holidays, so she started her own toy drive in 2010.

Emily’s Awesome Toy Drive set out to collect new, unwrapped gifts that would be delivered to sick kids, and it’s still going today! “We collected about 20 toys the first year,” Emily said. “Every year from then on, it just grew and grew. It just became this whole big thing.” Even the COVID -19 couldn’t keep her from her mission! She is celebrating her 10th year of helping sick children by matching last year’s donations of $2,500, despite the challenges of isolation(隔离).

In order to hit that goal, she started collecting toys way back in the summer months and created an Amazon wish list to give people a contact-free delivery. Many kids in hospital will receive a present this Christmas, and it’s all thanks to Emily’s efforts! Even better, Emily’s parents help her deal with the toys, and they love it just as much as Emily does.

“When kids are able to play and use toys to distract themselves, it makes a stay at the hospital so much easier,” her mom, Tara Decola, said. “It’s been amazing how it’s grown over the years and knowing that she is able to provide comfort and care for anyone ill just gives us a lot of joy as a family.”

【推荐3】Charles Rose, an eight-year-old boy, lived in the country with his father, who taught him to read and write. Mr. Rose told his son that, when his morning lessons were over, he might amuse himself for one hour as he pleased.

There was a river nearby. On its bank stood the small house of a poor fisherman. He and his wife worked very hard and they were too poor to send their son, Joe, to school.

Charles called at the fisherman’s one day to look for his dog. He found Joe sitting by the table, on which he was making marks with a piece of chalk. Charles asked him whether he was drawing pictures. “No, I am trying to write,” said little Joe, “but I know only two words. If I could only learn to read and write, I should be the happiest boy in the world.” Charles said, “I can teach you that though I’m a little boy.”

So, on the next day when the hour came, Charles put his book in his pocket, and went to teach Joe.

Some time after, Mr. Rose was told that Charles often went to the house of the fisherman. Fearing that Charles went out in their boat, Mr. Rose went to the river in search of him. Not seeing Charles, he grew uneasy and went to the fisherman’s. There a pleasant sight met his eyes. Charles was sitting at the table and Joe was reading to him.

The next day, Mr. Rose took Charles to town, and gave him books for himself and Joe, with writing paper, pens and ink. Charles was the happiest boy in the world when he came home. He ran to Joe, his heart beating with joy.