1 . Smartwatches and fitness trackers (健身追踪器) have gained popularity recently. These tools can record your daily steps, heart rates, etc.     1    . If yes, it might be a sign that you’re addicted to your fitness tracker.

    2    . If you keep setting unrealistic daily goals that involve working out for too long, and if you begin to ignore friends and responsibilities to make time for your workout, then you’re most probably addicted to your fitness tracker.

It’s a struggle to overcome the addiction to fitness trackers.     3    . For example, the number in your smart watch showing how far you’ve come can give you a sense of achievement.

Of course, failing to meet your daily goal can be discouraging. You might focus on your shortcoming rather than your progress. Another problem is that you might find yourself paying too much attention to the step number rather than how your body feels.     4    .

Therefore, if you’re spending too much time looking at your smartwatch, limit your daily step count to a comfortable level.     5    . For example, concentrating on your hobbies or socializing with friends can be a great way to keep your mind on other things.

2 . At the beginning of Grade Two, I joined the cross-country running team in our school.

When I came to the first practice, I was filled with optimism. But as the distance we ran in each practice gradually increased from three to four, to six miles, I realized with surprise that no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t able to run as fast as others. In fact, I was one of the slowest on the team.

What was the point of putting myself through so much pain? After the first few weeks, I wanted to quit.

Then we had our first cross-country meet.

When we started the race, I felt the great pressure of expectations sink onto my shoulders. And after a while I stopped running and struggled to walk up the hill. But then I heard my coaches shouting my name from the top of the hill. I felt confused and embarrassed; why were they cheering for me? I was running terribly! As I tried my best to finish the race, I realized that my coaches didn’t care how fast I ran. Neither did my teammates. During the rest of the season, they were always on the sidelines of every race, cheering for me just as loudly as they’d cheered for the front runner.

From then on, I began to put my effort into supporting my teammates instead of focusing on my own performance. In that way, I celebrated my teammates’ victories as if they were my own; I felt their pain and exhaustion as if they were my own.

Cross-country running made me realize I don’t need to be the best to be successful in life. It taught me to value my relationships with people more than my relationship with my ego. It taught me to cheer for others even if I don’t know their names.

4 . The quick action of Nick helped five people escape a fire on Hope Road. Nick said he usually left his house about 5: 30 am to lift weights, but he decided to stay at home to get his daughter ready for school that day.     1    “I saw smoke and flames and ran over and started beating on the side of the house shouting, ‘Your house is on fire! Your house is on fire!’” Nick remembered it was at about 9 am that the firefighters put out the fire.

Beverly Penny and her husband, Clark, along with their younger daughters, were sleeping in the living room, next to the kitchen, when they heard Nick beating on the walls. She opened the bedroom door and black smoke rolled in.     2     Her dog tried to hide under the bed, but Penny caught it by the leg and threw it out of the door.

    3     “When we arrived with our fire trucks, there were heavy flames outside on the house,” Jerry said. He called Nick a hero, saying that without his quick response the result could have been much worse. “The firefighters were fast.” Nick said.     4    

“They did a great job, and I can’t thank them enough,” Penny said, then looked at what remained in the house and shook her head as tears rolled down in her eyes. “Everything I have is gone.     5    ” She said the fire could have been caused by an electrical problem.

6 . For days, Hunter Mollett’s stomach growled with hunger because he had nothing to eat, but, he still headed to Enterprise High School in Mississippi. Mollett never complained: he’d simply do his work, hang about with his friends, and attend band practice.

From the second year to the third year in high school, Mollett experienced varying degrees of homelessness. However, as one of the smartest students in his grade, when struggling to find stable housing, he also wanted to attend Harvard University.

Jackie Lewis first learned of his dream when she met him in her ninth grade math class. “He told me he was going to Harvard,” she recalled, “but I was unsure if he was going to make it.” However, after having Mollett in class, Lewis changed her view on his chances in the Ivy League.

When he was in first grade, Mollett first decided on Harvard when he was watching Boston Legal with his mother. He asked her how the characters became lawyers; she said they went to Harvard. Though he didn’t know if they went to Harvard or if she was just joking, Mollett decided that’s where he wanted to go.

When Mollett’s teacher learned of his unstable housing, they started helping when they could. If Mollett needed school pictures, a teacher would buy them for him. If he needed a ride, someone would take him. Meanwhile, Mollett worked hard toward his goal of becoming a surgeon. He took his tests and started applying to colleges, including Mississippi State University and Harvard.

Soon he learned Mississippi State accepted him and offered him a full ride. Then he got an email about financial aid at Harvard. He felt bewildered until he realized he received the financial aid acceptance letter before his university acceptance letter.

“I sat there for 16 minutes just staring at my phone. I was amazed I got it.” Mollett, 18, said.