It had been only two weeks since my family moved to the new house near the woods during my senior 2 holiday. Yesterday I heard a new noise in the woods, not drowned out by bird calls. My first thought, a hopeful one, was a deer. What if I had a deer family living in the woods behind my house? A peaceful animal to symbolize the gentleness of our new life? Or could it be something dangerous, even terrifying? A dangerous animal, a wild man? But no. This was our new home. Our new life. There would be no monsters (怪物).

It could be a groundskeeper. Who was I kidding with monsters? We moved to rural. This wasn’t an absolute wilderness. There were trails in these woods, maintained by the Homeowners’ Association. So, what was it in the woods?

I made a plan. I put on long pants and boots and announced that I would walk into the woods and found the trail. I would look for signs of life — animal droppings, fur, satanic (邪恶的) symbols. My sister, Roger, wanted in. My brother, Ben, was busy showing all his toys to our grandfather, who came to visit us.

Roger and I went to the edge of the property line and kept going. Birds got quiet, sensing strangers. We walked on, not paying particularly good attention to landmarks. Without much trouble, we found the trail and a banyan tree with multiple trunks shooting out from the ground. Roger immediately climbed it and declared, “This is the fairy tree!” She threw her arms in the air, and asked me to take a picture with my smartphone. She was in boots and a dress and looked perfect among the trees.

Walking deeper into the woods, we found a clearing with some downed trees and declared it the “play area.” She climbed the fallen tree trunks and jumped off them, sent up a puff of dust. We continued our adventure until it was getting dark, but found nothing. We decided to go back.

Soon, I realized we were lost and couldn’t find the fairy tree.

We promised to take Ben to adventure the next day.

“I’ve sent my resume(简历), but I haven’t received any emails or heard anything. So, I came here,” Sandra said to Mrs. Cleaver, the manager of the grocery store where she applied to work during her summer holidays.

Sandra was raised by a single mother who worked very hard but still didn’t have much to save for the 18-year-old’s future. So Sandra decided to send out resumes and work as much as possible. Usually, her mother would not allow her to work during the school year because she wanted Sandra to focus on her study. But Sandra insisted and applied at several places. However, this grocery store was the best option. It was close to her house, and her mother wouldn’t worry about her much if she was there.

“I’m sorry, child. We’re just not hiring right now,” Mrs. Cleaver said.

“Please, I’ll do everything. I can work part-time or full-time, and I can do anything that others don’t want to do. I’m also pretty strong, though I look skinny,” Sandra explained eagerly. Mrs. Cleaver gave her a knowing smile. Sandra explained that she wanted to save money for medical school, and Mrs. Cleaver finally nodded.

“Can you start working today?” Mrs. Cleaver asked. Sandra almost hurt her neck while nodding fiercely. She was excited. Mrs. Cleaver took her in the back and gave her a vest and a broom. Her first assignment was to sweep the dirt and leaves. Sandra did it without complaint. Mrs. Cleaver then assigned her to clean the bathrooms, which was a rougher request. But Sandra didn’t complain and kept her word. Eventually, Sandra started getting all the dirty and heavy tasks other employees hated. She did everything gladly for everyone, no matter how difficult and tiring the task was. Mrs. Cleaver liked her attitude and took note of it. In a world where young people of her age wanted to become Internet stars, it was nice to see someone enjoy honest hard work.

Mrs. Cleaver spoke to the store owner Ronald about Sandra.

Learning that Ronald allowed her to apply for a scholarship, Sandra couldn’t believe her ears.

It was a small town with nice landscapes that attracted a lot of rich people to live in. Ming was also attracted by the scenic spots of the town. But he had little money, so he rented a cheap house after he arrived. But what drew his attention most here was those wealthy people. So he took up a job to sell cell phones. But his cell phones were not good in quality.

One day, Ming’s pocket was empty again and wanted to earn money. Luckily, there was still a phone in his pocket to sell. Soon enough, he spotted a target—a seemingly wealthy middle-aged man in an old jacket. Ming came up to him and smiled politely, saying, “Hey, friend...” But the man was very cautious and asked, “What’s up?”

Ming said to him   immediately, “Friend, I have a phone. I bought it at 5,000 yuan. But now I could sell it to you at only 3,000 yuan.” The man seemed uninterested in his phone and wanted to go away. Ming stopped him and said, “What about 2,000 yuan?” the man shouted at him, “What do you want to do with me?”

Ming immediately put up a poor face and hugged the man’s legs, crying to him, “Oh, my dear friend! Only 1,000 yuan, is it OK?” Ming began pouring out his “sad story” as he was crying.The man，after seeing this，felt a little bit moved and put his hands into his pocket. Then he took out 1,000 yuan to Ming and took the phone away.

After earning 1,000 yuan, Ming felt happy. As he felt hungry, he went to a small restaurant to have lunch. Ming ordered several dishes and handed over a note of 100 yuan to the cashier. The cashier stared at the banknote (钞票) for quite a while, as if checking if it was a fake note (假币), and then said to Ming, “Sorry, I could not find the change for you for the moment. Please wait a minute.” Then he went away. Staying in the restaurant without anything to do, Ming sat at a table and started to watch TV. After all, his cheap-rented house had no TV.

The TV was broadcasting a piece of news

The police car stopped before the small restaurant and

In a small town, there lived a young girl named Emily. She had a deep passion for table tennis and dreamed of becoming a professional player. Despite her young age, she was determined to work hard and make her dream come true.

From the moment when Emily picked up a table tennis paddle, she was impressed by the sport. She spent every spare moment practicing her shots, focusing on her footwork and mastering different techniques. Each time she stepped on the court, she was eager to improve and pushed herself to the limit. Unluckily, Emily faced a visual impairment (缺陷) that threatened to slow her progress. She was born with a condition that affected her sight. Some people doubted her ability to play table tennis and said, “Emily, your impairment is a disadvantage. It is impossible to play table tennis well!”

But Emily refused to let their doubts consume her. With solid determination, Emily turned her impairment into strength. She used her other heightened senses to her advantage, relying on touch and sound to anticipate her opponents’ moves. While others relied on sight, she developed an incredible sense of intuition (直觉) and strategy.

Emily finally excelled in table tennis, achieving incredible milestones and representing her town in many competitions. She became an advocate of the sport in her town. However, Emily decided not to settle for winning in her comfort zone but to challenge for something higher. She joined a training team guided by a world-class coach, which brought together the world’s top table tennis players.

In the training team, Emily went through a series of trials. She carried out high-intensity training. She needed to improve not only the batting skills but also perseverance and the sense of teamwork. Her coach often encouraged her and said, “Anyone, regardless of ability, could find success.”

A few years later, Emily’s efforts paid off. She got her chance. As a member of the national team, she took part in an important international competition. That was the stage for her to show her skills, and it was also the important moment for her to realize her dream.

In the competition, Emily found herself facing a strong opponent, Lily.

After the competition, Emily’s story spread throughout the table tennis community.

On February 15, 1910, Irena Krzyzanowska was born in Warsaw, Poland. Irena studied Polish literature at Warsaw University, and eventually joined the Polish Socialist Party.

Then World War II broke out. It was 1940 and Germany had taken over. The Germans had begun shifting Warsaw’s population of 380,000 Jews to a separate Ghetto (聚居区). Irena worked in the Warsaw health department and was allowed to enter the Ghetto.

Irena was a member of Zegota (援助犹太人委员会), a secret organization set up by the Polish government. The goal of Zegota was to rescue Polish Jews. Irena’s job was to rescue as many children as she could.

Regardless of the danger it posed, Irena began aiding Jews in earnest (真挚地) in the early 1940s. She and her sympathetic co-workers created more than 3,000 false documents to help Jewish families, and that was just the beginning of the efforts.

Irena and her team began smuggling children out during these visits. They used various methods, such as hiding them in ambulances, leading them through sewer pipes or underground passages, even stuffing them into suitcases or boxes that they’d then take through the courtyard to the non-Jewish area.

Irena was helped by a network of over 30 volunteers, most of whom were women. Their hope was to get the children back to their families once the war was won. Irena and her helpers noted the names of the children on cigarette papers and sealed them in glass bottles. Then they buried the bottles in a friend’s garden for safekeeping. When the war was done, the bottles were dug up and the lists handed to Jewish representatives. Sadly, reuniting the children with their parents proved mostly impossible, as almost all had been killed in concentration camps.