Though traveling is not a big deal for me today, before my trip to the mountains, I used to be a homebody. I had friends to hang out with, several hobbies, and I felt completely comfortable spending weeks or even months in my hometown — or sometimes even on my block — without going anywhere. All my demands of novelty were satisfied by the Discovery and National Geographic channels, and I seriously thought there was no difference between seeing something on the TV and with one’s own eyes.

The situation changed when one day David, my best friend who always has a couple of colorful bugs in his head (or, in other words, was always carrying out several crazy plans at once), walked into my room and declared his disgust (厌恶) for civilization. I will not describe how he managed to persuade me to join him on his journey to the Rocky Mountains; all I will say is that we departed in five days. This was my first time in the mountains, so I was turning my head in all directions. Unfortunately, the weather was foggy most of the time, and the higher we got into the mountains, the worse the visibility was.

Even despite this fact, I still enjoyed the hike — I felt like I was Bear Grylls, whose show I used to watch with excitement: in the wild, with food and water in my backpack, carrying a flashlight and a knife. On the first day, we were making our way along the foothills; but the next day, we started to climb on one of the peaks. Though it was not that steep and high, I was still excited. I regularly hastened, and because of that, I ran out of energy long before we got to the top; David, on the other hand, was more well-paced.

When we finally got to the top, nothing had changed. The same fog was covering the surroundings, and even though I was filled with positive emotions, I felt disappointed, because I counted on seeing the view from above and perhaps being able to take some photos.

We spent a couple of hours on the top, and decided to turn back.

Seeing all this scenery with my own eyes was truly an eye-opening experience for me.

Ryan Swift was a bright and thoughtful boy with a big heart. He lived in Adams County, Colorado, and attended a small primary school. His teacher, Mrs. Miranda Green, was a kind and dedicated educator who always spend extra time with the kids to help them.

At home, the Swifts often expressed gratitude for Mrs. Green’s daily emails, which provided them with ways to help Ryan improve. They sometimes mentioned that the teachers were not fully rewarded for the contributions they made in developing children into responsible adults. Kids were always listening to their conversations, and they were quick to model adults’ behaviour.

As Ryan’s birthday drew near, a sense of excitement grew inside him. He would get this year’s birthday money from his parents, but this time, he wanted to do something truly special rather than spend the money on toys or treats for himself. Ryan decided to give Mrs. Green, his beloved teacher, a well-deserved pay rise.

The next morning after his birthday, Ryan arrived at school with a big smile on his face. Holding his school bag to his chest, he had a secret of his own — he had carefully placed $15 in bills along with a heartfelt note inside a plastic zip-lock bag.

I don’t think that you get paid enough for what you’ve done for us, so will you accept this gift?

Ryan Swift

He was the first to arrive at the classroom and tiptoed up to Mrs. Green’s desk. With a bit of anxiety, he placed the zip-lock bag on her desk, making sure it was hidden under a pile of papers. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he quickly returned to his seat, trying to act as usual.

Throughout the morning, Ryan stole glances at Mrs. Green, wondering when she would find the surprise. The anticipation was almost unbearable, but he knew that the joy on her face would be worth it. “Mrs. Green must be thrilled to have this pay rise!” Ryan couldn’t help smiling to himself when picturing the scene in his mind.

During winter, Leo noticed that of all the houses on the block, there was one with a messy, dirty yard that looked unattended. One day, after all the snow had melted and the trees were starting to bloom (开花) just in time for spring, Leo couldn’t help but stare at his neighbor’s messy yard a little longer. The melted snow showed all the buried leaves and other trash.

He went back home and brought the tools he needed. It took Leo the entire afternoon to clear the yard. He moved the melting snow out of the pathway and swept the leaves from the ground. He also trimmed (修剪) the bushes and left them as neat as he could.

The following morning, the old woman, Abigail, opened her door with joy. She had quietly watched the young man clean up the yard the day before, much to her relief.

Abigail had not left her house in months. She relied totally on her caregiver for her basic needs and was eager to get fresh air. After sitting in her wheelchair in her front yard for a couple of minutes, her neighbors started to notice her. They walked toward her to say hi, and soon, the crowd grew.

“It’s so lovely to see you outdoors, Abigail! How have you been?” one of them asked.

“I’m so happy to be breathing some fresh air for a change. I couldn’t leave the house for months because of the snow. It was too deep, and I couldn’t afford to hi re someone to help me with it,” Abigail admitted.

“But yesterday, I saw a kind young man cleaning my yard the entire afternoon. I wanted to thank him, but I had no food to offer him because my caregiver had not arrived yet,” she shared. “He is such a blessing. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him!”

When Abigail praised the “kind young man” who helped her, they immediately knew it was Leo. The neighbors looked at each other, with guilty all over their faces. They realized they had been so blind to Abigail’s problems that no one thought to help her by cleaning her yard.

They decided to thank Leo by visiting his house.

When he opened his front door, Leo was surprised to see his neighbors bearing gifts.

The sea was shining across the horizon as my husband, Michael, and I looked out over the rocky cliff（悬崖） of Gleesons Landing in Yorke Peninsula. "Careful Abby doesn't fall down the rocks here," Michael warned as he pulled out his fishing rod（鱼竿）. Abby was our two-year-old rescue dog（搜救犬）we'd adopted one year earlier.

Leaving Michael to his fishing, Abby and I wandered off. We'd been walking for a while when we saw a small path that led down the side of the cliff towards the beach. Abby raced off and as I followed, my leg caught on a rock and I fell down the cliff. Landing three meters down, my left leg cracked violently. Shocked, I tried to keep myself calm. I couldn't feel any pain but when I tried to get up, my body just fell back down. "Go and get Daddy," I signaled to Abby as she paced nervously beside me. At first she refused to leave my side. But somehow she realized I needed her and raced off.

Alone and staring out to sea, my world faded to black. Staying awake some time later, I discovered Abby hadn't returned. Suddenly, I heard movement coming from above. "Sue?" Michael called out. Relief flooded through me as I looked up and saw Michael and Abby. "I think I broke my leg," I shouted back. "I'll go get help," he promised. "If I try to reach you myself, they'll be rescuing two of us."

Faint and tired, I held on to consciousness. Abbey came down to me and kept me company until the rescuers arrived. They carried me on a stretcher（担架） to a helicopter, where I was flown to hospital in Adelaide while Michael and Abby drove.

At the hospital, the pain caused by the fall finally hit me.

“She led me to the exact spot where you were,” Michael explained.

Mr. Ward couldn’t stand students cheating the most. Whenever there was an exam, he watched very closely, making sure no act of cheating was neglected, and any student who cheated would be seriously punished.

I remember many times after tests, Mr. Ward found that the students sitting around me had better scores than the others and the further away a student was from me, the worse his grade. Mr. Ward suspected that some of the juniors “accidentally” got some of my answers. So he and I had a very interesting talk about cheating.

Mr. Ward once told me of some of the ways students tried to cheat. Student A intentionally “dropped” his pencil an unusually far distance from his desk. Then he stood up and walked slowly across the room to take it back. On the way, he glanced at the papers. Student B got a piece of paper and wrote down all the formulas (公式) on a tiny bit of paper taped to the inside of the kid’s palm. These incidents weren’t very rare.

The last day of the entire school year, all I had left was my math exam and there seemed to be some definite tension in the air because this was the biggest test of the year. I saw some kids trying to do some last minute studying, some trying to calm themselves down by breathing slowly and some saying a silent prayer.

Mr. Ward went to the front and started handing out the tests by rows. After explaining the rules of the test, he said very clearly, “If you cheat, I will take your test and tear it up. You will get a 0 for the biggest grade of the year.” Mr. Ward moved very effortlessly and efficiently about the room and during every test he went into a sort of RADAR mode. He sat at the front and watched the room for anything that might look like cheating. During this RADAR mode, if you were cheating, you would be caught. Guaranteed.

Our test started and we were sitting there busy working on our papers.

Then Mr. Ward asked the kid he was watching to go to his office.

In a small town lives an old man named Mr. Benson. He lives alone. He has a big scar on his face that makes him look a little scary. No one talks to him, and no one helps him carry his things up the difficult stairs to his home.

Mr. Benson does not have any friends. He is not married. But one day, a new family moves into the neighborhood. They are a nice couple, Mr. and Mrs. Clarence, and their children, Amanda and David. They move into the building where Mr. Benson lives.

The other people who live in the building welcome the new family. They say hello to Amanda and David, but they tell them not to talk to Mr. Benson. “He is a scary old man. He has no friends and he has a strange scar.”

Amanda, David, and their parents think this is very silly advice. When they see Mr. Benson in the hallway or in the street outside their building, they always say hello with a smile and ask how he is feeling today.

Mr. Benson is very happy to see them. He tells them they are always welcome in his home. He gives Amanda and David some delicious cupcakes to eat.

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence always help Mr. Benson with his groceries, and Amanda and David like to sit and drink tea with him. He tells wonderful stories! He was once a very famous chef, and he makes the most delicious desserts in the whole world, in Amanda’s opinion.

One evening, all the neighbors in the building hear laughter and the sounds of cups and plates and silverware in Mr. Benson’s apartment. They are very confused! It sounds like a delightful dinner. They all wonder why they are not invited.

The next day, Mrs. Clarence talks to her neighbors.

Soon, they all enjoy Mr. Benson’s delicious cakes every weekend at their dinners.