【推荐1】The years 1347—1351 saw Europe suffer from the worst disease—the Black Death. At least one third of the population in Europe lost their lives. Even the Catholic priests(牧师) with all their influence could not survive either.     1    

Against this background, Giovanni Boccaccio, an Italian writer, decided to collect stories from history to both comfort victims and challenge the church.     2    

In the book,10 people get together at a faraway place to stay away from the disease and share stories there to deal with boredom.     3     After each one finishes their turn, the others then share their ideas on the stories. In this way, we not only enjoy the book’s interesting stories, but also get to know the values held by people at the time.     4     As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, works like The Decameron(《十日谈》) stand against the ignorance of the Middle Ages and reflect the people’s hope for spiritual liberation.

    5     So I could fully understand the characters’feelings of panic when what they used to believe in suddenly fell away. For people in medieval times(中世纪), it was their belief in church. For us today, it might be the certainty of our global systems. But it was from the mess of the Black Death that the Renaissance and humanism were born. In today’s post-pandemic society, new lifestyles, technologies, and other changes have come to life. My most valuable lesson from The Decameron is this: We must learn from the past to better shape our future.

【推荐1】It is October again. It has been a year since my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer; a year since she started her good, brave fight. It has been a year marked with so many milestones, so many shared smiles and secret fears.

Usually, children, with eyes that see all and minds that are still free to wonder, are extraordinarily accepting the changes in routine, the shift in seasons. This week, however, when I took my two younger boys with me for a visit to Mom’s without telling her in advance, Sean ran into her bedroom to greet her, then quickly returned to the living room to talk to me. “Mom,” my four-year-old whispered, careful not to be overheard or offending, “Grandma has no hair.”

Mom came through her surgery that removed the tumor (肿瘤) in her lung with faith and grace. She also came through thin and tired. And the side effect was total hair loss. It should grow back eventually, but my mother decided to have a wig (假发) to cover her head. She wears it mostly for the comfort of others. When she is alone, she usually leaves her head uncovered, finding the wig uncomfortable when unnecessary.

“Grandma has no hair,” Sean said, because we had caught her by surprise.

“I know, Sean. Isn’t it funny?” I asked him as my mom joined us in the living room. We explained to him that Grandma had to take medicine that made her hair go away, but it would come back.

“Would you like to touch my head, Sean?” my mother asked as my son stared at her, his blue eyes filled with questions and curiosity. It is surprising to see your mother—or anyone you love—without hair, but surprisingly it’s something that you can get used to quickly. We are, after all, not really these bodies—these are just the shells that transport who we are, and no matter what the physical changes, those connected by love seem to be able to recognize their own.

【推荐2】When I was a kid, I really looked forward to all holidays.     1     A lot of delicious food, a lot of toys and the whole family in one place. I look forward to them even now, of course, as things have stayed pretty much the same, except that I don’t get toys anymore.

    2     We get filled with warmth knowing that everyone always has a place to go back to, no matter what part of the world their lives take them to. A lot of people prefer to chase their ambitions (追求他们的抱负), which is tiring and filled with stress.     3     It feels so good seeing someone after a long time and catching up on each other’s lives.

    4     It’s always been associated (联系) with a feeling of connection. Taking part in the preparation of a meal together with your family is such a worthy experience.     5     Also, you’ll enjoy it more knowing that everyone helps bring the food to the table. It brings smiles to our faces when we have that meal together. It’s also fun to help clean up the dishes when everyone’s full.

【推荐1】In 1920, Walt Disney moved to Kansas City and worked at the Kansas City Film Ad Company. There he became interested in animation and started to experiment with his stories. Soon he opened up his own animation business. Later, Disney and his employee, Fred Harman, made a deal with a Kansas City theatre to screen their cartoons. They were very popular, and Disney used the profits he made. to start his own studio. Afterwards, he expanded his business, but, by 1923, had to declare bankruptcy (破产).

Moving to Hollywood with his brother Roy, they. started the Disney Brothers Studio — which later became The Walt Disney Company — to produce films. From there, they were on their way up. They made the character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, and, soon after, created Mickey Mouse and associated characters, with the first successful Mickey Mouse film being a short called “Steamboat Willie”.

After some setbacks (挫折), such as the character of Oswald having its rights stolen by his distributors, Disney soon found himself and his studio well on their way to great success. From there, Disney went on to create hundreds of movies, as well as Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.

Walt Disney’s story is a great inspirational story. It’s about a man who had a dream and put his entire effort into making it happen. Whenever there were setbacks, Disney kept going to make his dream come alive.

The inspirational message to take from Disney’s story is to keep your dream in your sights and to go after it with all of your faith, trust, belief and joy. If you can dream it, you can achieve it.

【推荐2】For most graduating students, the college-admission season, usually in July and August, is a nervous time that is often described as a life-changing moment.

An anxious 18-year-old Peng Lanxi got his admission letter from Hunan University of Science and Technology on July 26, bringing his dream closer-making prosthetic limbs (假肢) more advanced and accessible to people like him. His mother Wang Chunmei couldn’t hold back her tears because she knew how her son had overcome the difficulties.

Peng Lanxi lost his legs in a car accident in 2005, when he was a baby. Having learned to walk using just his hands, he enjoys life as much as the teenagers around him. On his wheelchair, he plays basketball and badminton. Once a week, he goes for a 40-minute swim, and his best time for 100 meters is one minute and 15 seconds.

“I believe that obstacles (障碍) are there to be conquered. Someone says that life is like a mirror, and we get the best results when we smile at it,” Peng Lanxi says.

His story has gone viral (在网上快速传播的) on social media platform Sina Weibo, which has been viewed more than 19 million times and he won admiration from its users for his courage, determination and hard work. A user named Shuangpi comments that Peng lost his legs, but he doesn’t let that get in his way.

The official account of Hunan University of Science and Technology on the platform has even commented, “Welcome Peng to the university.” Lu Ming says that the school will help Peng to pursue his dream—to be a prosthetics engineer, a career that will change lives. Peng is not alone, as authorities have improved the presence of disabled people on mainstream campuses in recent years. 14,559 students facing physical challenges entered college last year. From 2016 to 2020, about 57,500 special needs students were admitted into universities, a more than 50 percent increase compared with the 2011-2015 period.

【推荐3】When I was about 4 years old, I was diagnosed with a learning disability known as autism (自闭症). It made my mom really upset and for me, it was very rough growing up with it, considering the fact that I wasn’t able to have an actual conversation until I was about 7 years old.

School was very difficult for me when I was younger. Teachers would always discuss with my parents about ways to improve my learning. I have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which allows special accommodations for school. But I still face some discrimination from school staff. I asked my mom about how that played out when I was younger.

“It was right when you were going into kindergarten,” she said. “I stopped to talk to your brother’s former kindergarten teacher and I asked her if she was ready to have you in her class the next year. And her response was, ‘I don’t think Zachary is going to be a good fit for my classroom.’” She said she was really shocked by the teacher’s response, but finally managed to find another kindergarten teacher who was willing to take me on.

My mother is a huge advocate for me. She made sure I got every treatment, camp program and accommodations. She even created a parent support group at my elementary school. She wanted to help the parents that were struggling and the ones that didn’t know how to advocate for their children.

By the time I got into middle school, I didn’t struggle at school anymore. I told a few people that I was autistic but they didn’t believe me since I looked quite normal. And that’s all thanks to my mother, whose support and loving care really helped me through those tough years.