1 . I began to grow up that winter night when my parents and I were returning from my aunt’s house, and my mother said that we might soon be leaving for America. We were on the bus then. I was crying, and some people on the bus were turning around to look at me. I remember that I could not bear the thought of never hearing again the radio program for school children to which I listened every morning.

I do not remember myself crying for this reason again. In fact, I think I cried very little when I was saying goodbye to my friends and relatives. When we were leaving I thought about all the places I was going to see — the strange and magical places I had known only from books and pictures. The country I was leaving never to come back was hardly in my head then.

The four years that followed taught me the importance of optimism, but the idea did not come to me at once. For the first two years in New York I was really lost — having to study in three schools as a result of family moves. I did not quite know what I was or what I should be. Mother remarried, and things became even more complex for me. Some time passed before my stepfather and I got used to each other. I was often sad, and saw no end to “the hard times.”

My responsibilities in the family increased a lot since I knew English better than everyone else at home. I wrote letters, filled out forms, translated at interviews with Immigration officers, took my grandparents to the doctor and translated there, and even discussed telephone bills with company representatives.

From my experiences I have learned one important rule: almost all common troubles eventually go away! Something good is certain to happen in the end when you do not give up, and just wait a little! I believe that my life will turn out all right, even though it will not be that easy.

3 . Mathea Allansmith isn’t your typical grandmother. She’s the oldest woman in the world to have completed a marathon. She was 92 years 194 days old when she crossed the finish line at the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, setting the record for the oldest female to complete a marathon.

Mathea, now 94, of Koloa, Hawaii, USA, stays in shape all year round by running seven days a week, no matter what the weather is. Come rain or shine, she covers 36 miles every week, even when she’s on holiday. The retired doctor didn’t take up running until she was 46 years old —after a friend suggested running two miles per day.

“The Honolulu Marathon is my favorite marathon mainly because it doesn’t close the gate at a certain time, which allows even the slowest runner to finish the race,” she said. “It’s one of the best races. Fantastic registration (注册), set-up and management make it a joy to run the race.”

Mathea, who doesn’t allow her age to slow her down, thinks she is the happiest person when she’s on the road. She enjoys running for miles and waving and saying hello to the people she passes. To stay in shape, Mathea keeps a steady training routine (惯例) . “I train all year round but increase the mileage 18 weeks before a marathon,” she said.

Mathea said it was her career as a doctor that allowed her to understand how her body and mind respond to diet and exercise. “I see the direct relation between moving and health,” she said. “It is important to reduce stress rather than ignoring it without a plan on how to do so. Of course, exercise of any kind is a natural stress reducer.”

Mathea thought getting through the finish line and winning a Guinness World Record title was the excitement of her life. “My family completely surprised me after the 2022 Honolulu Marathon, in which I achieved the world record, by wearing matching T-shirts stating my achievements,” she said.

6 . In 1990, Hal Donaldson was 23 years old, fresh out of college and found himself in Calcutta, India, where he was asked to interview Mother Teresa.

Donaldson says about the great woman famed for feeding the hungry, “She wasn’t wearing shoes and her ankles were swollen. She sat down with me and was very polite.” After the interview, Mother Teresa asked him, “What are you doing to help the poor?” Donaldson admitted that he was young and wasn’t focused on helping others. With a smile on her face, Mother Teresa said, “Everyone can do something.”

Those words deeply struck Donaldson and forced him to face hard truths about himself.

Hal Donaldson grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. When he was 12 years old, his parents were hit by a drunk driver; his father died, and his mother was seriously injured. To make ends meet, they went on welfare. Donaldson says, “I had holes in my shoes and clothes. When you’re teased at school for that, you just want to escape.”

He managed to do just that. Donaldson got into college and turned his focus to making money for himself. He says, “I was just trying to find my way out of insignificance.” However, it’s easy to overlook others along the way. I was the guy that would see a homeless person and cross the street, so I didn’t have to confront (面对) him. My focus was on climbing to the top instead of helping those trying to climb with me.

Donaldson returned home from India with a different thought. He traveled to eight cities in America and stayed on the streets and listened to stories of the homeless. “My heart broke,” he says. “I knew I could no longer just live for myself.”

Inspired by Mother Teresa’s words and the stories he’d heard across America, Donaldson loaded a pick up truck with $300 worth of groceries and handed them out to anyone who needed help. In 1994, Donaldson created the nonprofit organization, Convoy for Hope, which works with communities across America and around the world. Their work focuses on feeding children, women’s empowerment, helping farmers and disaster services.

7 . What a day! I started my new school this morning and had the best time. I made lots of new friends and really liked my teachers. I was nervous the night before, but I had no reason to be. Everyone was so friendly and polite. They made me feel at ease. It was like I’d been at the school for a hundred years!

The day started very early at 7:00 am. I had my breakfast downstairs with my mom. She could tell that I was very nervous. Mom kept asking me what was wrong. She told me I had nothing to worry about and that everyone was going to love me. If they didn’t love me, mom said to have a good talk with them. I couldn’t stop laughing.

My mom dropped me off at the school gate about five minutes before the bell rang. A little blonde girl got dropped off at the same time and started waving (招手) at me. She ran over and told me her name was Abigail. She was very nice and we became close straight away. We spent all morning together and began to talk to another girl called Stacey. The three of us sat together in class all day and we even made our way home together! It went so quickly. Our teacher told us that tomorrow we would really start learning and developing new skills.

I cannot wait until tomorrow and feel as though I am really going to enjoy my time at my new school. I only hope that my new friends feel the same way, too.

8 . In February, the U. S. stated that its Mars explorer, Perseverance, landed successfully on the Red Planet. Perseverance is on a task to collect Martian soil and rocks as part of a search for signs of ancient life.

Perseverance landed in an area of Mars called Jezero Crater. Scientists believe the area has a large ancient lakebed. NASA considers the area a promising place to find possible signs of microbial life.

Perseverance carried to Mars a small experimental helicopter (直升机) named Ingenuity. In April, NASA said Ingenuity had successfully completed a takeoff and landing on the planet. It said the flight was historic; it marked the first time any flying machines had performed a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

In July, British billionaire Richard Branson entered into space on a rocket plane built by Virgin Galactic, the space tourism company he created. Branson joined two pilots and three other task experts on the flight. Virgin Galactic aims to fly private citizens to the edge of space to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and observe Earth.

A little over a week later, American billionaire Jeff Bezos flew to the edge of space on a rocket built by his company, Blue Origin. Three other people took the quick trip with him: Bezo’s brother, a Dutch teenager and an 82-year-old pilot.

The flights by Branson and Bezos officially started a new industry that promises any citizen the chance to visit space. Such trips will be costly, however. Virgin Galactic’s price for a single flight is $250,000. Blue Origin has not publicly announced its price. Both businesses have built operating bases, called “spaceports”, in the countryside areas of the U. S.

And earlier this month, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa arrived for a 12-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The businessman arrived along with an assistant aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The price of that trip has not been made public, but some reports guess it costs up to $50 million.

9 . From now on, never spend your precious time thinking of reasons for your failures and shortcomings. Instead, realize that the seeds of success were planted within you when you were born. Only you have the power to make those seeds grow.

The seeds, and the power to grow them, are contained in the most awesome machine ever created: the human mind. Success is a choice and not a chance. You were born a winner: You can be a success if only you make the right choice.

You cannot be successful without first developing your self-esteem. Your level of self-esteem is always based on the degree of control that you are able to exercise over yourself, and thus over your life. People with low self-esteem are people who do not believe that they have any power, or responsibility for their lives. They are leaves tossed (摇摆) by the winds of chance blown about with any sudden change in the weather.

You can exercise control over your life only to the degree that you believe that you are responsible for everything that happens in your life. Failures think that everything happens by accident and chance. Successful people realize that they are responsible.

Everything happens as a result of something. If we can identify the cause, we can control the effect. We are responsible for what we choose to think and believe. One generally rises to the level that one expects. We are responsible for letting out expectations. Our success is dependent upon our level of confidence.

In short, in all areas of your life, whether they be financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual, you are responsible. Once you recognize this, accept it, and firmly believe it, you are on the road to success.

10 . The sun was shining brightly over our heads and sweat (汗水) was pouring off our backs and faces. We stood still without ______ any noise, all hot and tired. But everyone kept standing as straight as trees.

It was ______ most high schools give to new Senior One students-military training. We ______ four days in a closed environment. Although we couldn’t go home at night and the training was ______ and difficult, our humorous young drill sergeant (教官) with a funny accent was a real ______ of our days. We laughed at his jokes, sat in rows singing different songs and ______ him telling true stories about his life. He gave us the feeling that ______ and sweat were not the only things that military training ______ .

After this journey, we were more ______ than we had imagined and we were much braver than we had ______ . Girls who looked pale rested for a little while, then right away came back to the team. Boys who were being punished ______ to the playground at once and began to run. Sweat flowed down our faces when we thought about how to shout ______ than other classes.

Military training taught us perseverance (不懈) and determination. On the last day of our training, the confidence could be ______ on our faces. We shouted so loud that our ______ could be heard across the heavens. With eyes like burning torches (火炬) , we walked into the future. Now the sun is ______ at all of us.