I work as a volunteer for a group helping the poor in Haiti. Recently I took my son Brian (教育) there for a week, hoping to educate (教育) him.

Before leaving, I told Brian this trip would be tiring and hard. For the first two days, he said almost nothing. Then on the third day, when we were climbing a mountain, he turned to me and said, “Pretty hard.”

After that, a five-year-old girl, wearing a large dress and broken shoes, followed Brian around. Later he said regretfully (后悔), “I wish I could speak French (法语) well.” I was surprised that he said that because he always hated French classes.

However, the moment that really reached my heart away appeared in a village deep in the mountain. I was asking a poor woman villager some questions for an article. Through hard work, she learned to read and write and became the leader of the village.

Learning about her story, Brian was as touched as me by this woman’s experiences. His eyes were wet, and there was love and respect (尊重) on his face.

When leaving for home, Brain even wanted to stay there as a volunteer. I believe he learned a lot from the trip. Soon it will be his 18th birthday. He’ll be a man.

Small actions could make a big difference. Tina’s story is a good example of this.

Tina is only ten years old but she has a heart as big as the sky. ①She has always been interested in helping others. It all began when she joined a winter camp at the age of eight. During her stay in the camp, she went to visit some kids in poor areas. She felt sad when she found the kids there didn’t have new clothes to wear and toys to play with. After she returned home, she kept thinking about how to help those kids.

One sunny morning, Tina saw some elder kids selling lemon juice by the street. They wanted to raise money to help their friends. ②然后她想出了一个好主意。With the help of her mother, Tina set up her first lemonade stand (摊位). In a week, she made $52 with it. Although it was only a little money, she bought some books for 12 kids with it! She felt very excited when she saw smiles on their faces.

Encouraged by her first success, Tina and her mother started a program called Tina’s Lemonade for Love. Up till now, she has already raised more than $17,000! She is going to spend the money on clothes, toys and books for the poor kids, spreading love and hope where it is needed most.

An old man walked slowly into a restaurant with his cane (拐杖). His old jacket and shoes made him unusual that day.

A young waitress named Mary watched him move towards a table by the window. She ran over to him and said with a smile, “Here, sir. Let me give you a hand.” Without saying a word, he gave her a smile. She pulled the chair away from the table and helped him sit down. Then she put his cane against the table so that he could reach it. In a soft, clear voice, he said, “Thank you, Miss.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” she replied, “I will be back in a moment, and if you need anything, just wave at me!”

After he had finished a good meal, Mary brought him the change. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door. Holding the door open for him, she said, “Comeback and see us, sir!” The old man turned around and smiled.

When Mary went to clean his table, she was shocked. Under the plate, she found a business card, a 100-dollar bill and a note. The note said, “Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself, too. It shows the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness.”

In fact, the old man was the owner of the restaurant. That was the first time that Mary, or any of his waitresses, had seen him.

6 . Chris is not a traditional explorer—he usually works in an office for a large organization. Yet his job can sometimes be just as exciting and dangerous as being an explorer.

Chris works for MSF, an organization also known as Doctors Without Borders (国界). MSF sends trained doctors all over the world to help people after a war or a disaster. Chris is a doctor from France who has traveled to many places to organize programs that help people.

At the moment, there are over 27, 000 trained medical staff taking part in MSF projects and tasks. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be prepared to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should expect difficult conditions. Doctors with experience in tropical (热带的) diseases are especially useful because most of MSF’S work is in Africa. When MSF accepts a doctor for a task, he has to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks, they might be sent on an emergency task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.

But why would a doctor leave a comfortable life and a good salary to join MSF? According to Chris, the experience you gain is a great help in your career. Besides, just like the explorers of the past, you need to keep an open mind and learn to mix well with the people you meet. Most importantly, at the end of each task, you have made a real difference to people’s lives.

7 . When Will Harris was in the fifth grade, he received bus safety training at school. Local bus drivers taught students about the buses’ two­-way radios and showed the students how to use them in emergency (紧急) situations. Will used what he learned to help an injured bus driver get quick medical treatment. People in his hometown now call the 11-­year­-old a hero for his brave actions.

Will was taking the bus to school one morning. Like all the other students on the bus, Will was listening to music on his phone. He had to stay for 10 minutes or so before he could get off the bus.

But then he heard a loud noise and looked up to see what happened. He saw that the bus driver was no longer in the driver’s seat. She had passed out and slumped over (瘫倒) on the bus stairs. Will left his seat, took the two­-way radios and reported that the driver was hurt. The radios on each bus let Will’s friends hear him report the emergency. Soon, another bus driver and an ambulance (救护车) arrived to help.

When they got there, the bus driver was awake and sitting up. They sent the driver to the hospital. Will and everyone else on the bus went to class as usual.

Will’s brave actions got a lot of attention. A local TV station even interviewed him, although he didn’t want to be in the spotlight.

8 .

Jeff is ten years old. He lives with his parents in the USA. Jeff’s birthday is coming. He wants to get some nice gifts (礼物).

Jeff has an aunt. She is in Kenya, Africa. She has a great idea. She gives some money (给些钱) to a group to celebrate (庆祝) Jeff’s birthday. The group helps save elephants.

On Jeff’s birthday, he gets an e-mail from the group. They say thanks to him. Jeff is very happy. He wants to learn about elephants and the group’s work. So he finds time to go to Kenya with his mother. The boy loves the animals and he wants to help save them, too.

When Jeff comes back, he sets up (设立) a group. It tells people to save the elephants in Kenya. Jeff also works to make money for an elephant park in Thailand. “On my next birthday,” he says, “I don’t need any gifts. I hope my friends can give money to the park.”

Jeff loves his work and he is happy that he can help elephants.

If you have no special plans for your holidays, why not spend your time helping others? Don’t listen to people who say that the young people today often think only of themselves. It’s not true at all. More and more people in the USA volunteer to spend their school holidays working for others. And they don’t do it for money. Here are some of their stories.

Alice Hamilton, 17

I’m going to help the Forest Center build new hiking paths (小路) in the mountains. It’s going to be wonderful — I’ll spend the whole summer living in the tent and breathing the clean mountain air. I’m going to sleep under the stars. It’ll be a nice sport, and I’ll be able to do something good at the same time.

.Jason Moore, 18

This summer, I’m going to volunteer with Special House Program. They build good, low-cost houses and sell them to families that are not very rich. They’ll teach me what to do, so I’ll help people and also have a chance to learn how to build houses.

Trish Anderson, 16

I’m going to teach kids who have trouble reading. I’ll work for a program called Reading For Life. Every day, I’m going to help kids choose and read books that they like. I want to be a teacher and I love children and reading, so this is going to be a great experience for me.