【推荐1】When I was in college, a white cat liked to show up on our campus (校园). It was clear that he was a stray (流浪的) cat because he looked thin and weak. Students would play with him after class and feed him all kinds of food. The school didn’t say anything about the cat for a long time.

But one day, we knew that one of our fellow students had an infectious (传染性的) disease and that the cat was possibly the reason. After that, we couldn’t touch any stray animals on campus. The school started to make efforts to keep animals off campus as well.

Since we couldn’t feed the white cat, it was hard for him to find food on the street. He became weak and thin again. But while the rest of us ignored (忽视) the cat, a security guard (保安) at our school decided to take on the work of caring for him. He took the cat to a veterinarian (兽医) for a health check. He then went to a nearby supermarket and bought food for the cat, as well as a small bed for him to sleep in. He made sure the cat was healthy and comfortable.

It might seem like a small effort to some people. But this man risked his job—just to feed a small cat who no one else cared for. It was a very heartwarming thing to see.

Alex Honnold is a famous American rock climber. He made history in 2017 when he became the first man to climb El Capitan without ropes. Four years later, his mother Dierdre Wolownick became the oldest woman to reach the top of El Capitan on her 70th birthday.

Dierdre Wolownick, the writer and language teacher, was always trying something new. In her 40s, she taught herself swimming. In her 50s, she took up running. In 2008, when Honnold was home and had time, Wolownick asked him to teach her rock climbing. So they visited a climbing club. She finished 12 routes (路线) on the first day with his help. Wolownick fell in love with the sport. Soon, Wolownick began to practice her skills. A new world opened up to her. When many people her age were thinking about retirement (退休) and slowing down, she didn’t want to stop. She decided to climb El Capitan. In 2017, she finished the climb with her son at the age of 66. At 70, she did it again and broke her own record (记录).

Wolownick wrote a book about her experience—The Sharp End of Life: A Mother’s Story. In her book, she tells people that age is just a number. Courage (勇气) can take a person to surprising heights. Wolownick believes it’s never too late to learn. Her story will encourage people to realize one dream after another.

The following were three good officials (官员)—Zichan, Zijian and Ximen Bao in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

Zichan was the official of Zheng. He was known for making changes to make the country stronger. While doing this, he listened to the ideas of ordinary people. He later made the people know the law by writing them on bronze ding (青铜鼎). Such fair and open ways won the hearts of people.

Zijian, who lived in the State of Lu, was an official in Chanfu, which is in today’s Shandong province. Believing in non-action (无为), he asked clever and kind people to help him. Though he spent much of his time playing music, people there lived a happy life and thought he did a good job for the country.

Then there was Ximen Bao in the Wei State. He served Ye County, which is in today’s Hebei province. There, every year people sent a girl to the so-called River God as his wife. Several dishonest officials said this could stop the flood from happening. Ximen Bao stopped them by throwing them into the river. Then he rebuilt the river to stop the flood for real.

According to the Records of the Historian (《史记》), these three men were wise leaders. Zichan made it impossible for people to cheat him. Zijian made people not bear (忍心) to cheat him, while Ximen Bao made people dare not to cheat him.

On a cold December day, I headed to the store to pick up another week’s basic necessities. I listened to music while I was driving to avoid the radio news, which always spoke of the world’s huge problems. It usually just left me feeling helpless.

Still, I gave my son a dollar to put in the charity（慈善）box at the door of the store. We went in and soon got our food. Then we walked toward the self-checkout machines. I hated using them. I much preferred to chat with the friendly cashiers（收银员）, but the line was very long, and I just didn’t have the time. As I pulled my cart（手推车）up, though, I heard the man at the machine next to mine complaining（抱怨）in a low voice, trying his hardest not to say dirty words. He only had a few things but every time he put his old, torn 20-dollar bill into the machine, it pushed it back out. He was really mad at it. I quickly took a newer 20 out of my wallet and gave it to him. He thanked me with a warm smile and paid for his goods. I told him to keep his money but be insisted（坚持）that I take his old, torn 20. I agreed, put it in my coat pocket, and wished him a Merry Christmas.

After checking out, I remembered something Mother Teresa had once said about bow we all can change the world. “Help one person at a time,” she said. “And always start with the person nearest you.” I reached into my pocket, smiled, and went outside. Then I dropped that torn 20 into the charity box and walked to my car happily.

The number of Chinese high-speed trains is the largest in the world. There are more than twice as many high-speed trains in China as the rest of the world added together. Huge cities like Beijing have several hundred high-speed trains stopping in the city every day.

During the Chinese Spring Festival, over 3 billion trips take place in two weeks. It would be just like every American taking 10 trips during Christmas, or every European taking 5 trips during Christmas. All the train tickets are sold out(卖光) in about 10 seconds.

I had my first chance to take the high-speed train last week when I went to Zhengzhou for a business(商务) meeting. As someone who grew up with a dislike for public transportation, I was afraid of the experience. I pushed hard to fly, but someone told me that it would be much better if I took the train.

The train was fantastic. I traveled on an Amtrak train before in the US, but I hated(厌恶) taking trains in America because it was slow and there were many stops. However, Chinese high-speed trains are on a different level.

First, when I say they are high-speed, I mean they are high-speed. The trains are clean and the seats are huge and you can’t even feel how fast the train is moving. Traveling at 300 km/h is so windless. Also, the trains are very modern and the stations are new. The station in Zhengzhou looks like you could fit a million people in it. It has different kinds of shops and restaurants to you’re your needs.

I’m traveling again this week by train and I’m excited, because I think Chinese high-speed trains are wonderful.

Long time ago, there was a man living in a village. He believed that he could read the future in the stars and called himself the Astrologer（占星家）. He spent a lot of his time at night looking at the sky.

One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were, as usual, fixed on the stars. He thought he saw in them that the end of the world was about to happen. Right at that moment, he felt himself falling. Finally, he fell into a hole full of water.

He tried his best to climb out but failed, so he began to shout. His cries for help soon brought the villagers out of their homes. One after another, they came to help him. While pulling the man out of the hole, one of them said, “You try to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is at your feet! You should care more about things around you, and let the future look after itself.”