When my mom announced that my dad had fixed the old car in his garage, I felt excited—I had wheels! I called my friend Steph and made plans to have dinner at her house the next day.

The following morning, I woke up early and put on a black skirt and jacket. “Aren’t you dressed too lightly?” Mom asked. “There’s a snowstorm coming.” “I’ll be inside,” I replied as I headed out.

As I began the forty-minute drive, I was in high spirits. However, halfway there it started to snow like mad. Cars slowed. The sound of a siren announced the approach of an ambulance and I pulled aside to let it pass. As I inched back into my lane, the traffic light ahead turned red. I stopped.

When the light turned green, I pressed on the gas, but the old car died. I tried to start it. One click, then nothing. Before I could do anything else, two young men raced over from the nearby sidewalk. I rolled down my window a little.

“Give us a second,” one of them said, “We’ll help you out of here.” Soon, they began pushing the car. With their guidance, I steered into a parking spot in front of a grocery store. “You’ll be fine now,” they said, and before I could even thank them, they walked into the grocery store.

The snow was falling faster now. I called Steph on my cellphone to cancel our plan. Next, I called my parents to come and get me. Now all I had to do was wait, but I was very hungry and cold. I sighed, regretting not taking my mom’s advice.

Just as I sat waiting in the car, I noticed a man walking towards me. It was one of the men who had just helped me. I rolled down the window at once.

Alex sat quietly at the back of his Chinese class, his eyes fixed on the textbook before him. As a shy and unnoticed student, he felt like a lone wolf, struggling against the complexities of high school life. Ms Lau, his Chinese teacher, was a light in his otherwise dark world. Her warm smile and gentle behavior made her stand out among the sea of teachers. She was the only one who seemed to understand his conservative nature, always encouraging him to step out of his comfort zone.

One day, after class, Ms Lau approached Alex with excitement shining in her eyes. “Alex, I have an offer for you,” she said, her voice filled with enthusiasm. “I am organizing a cultural exchange program to China, and I believe it would be a great opportunity for you to explore a new world.”

Alex’s heart skipped a beat, the prospect of traveling to a foreign country both exciting and terrifying. He hesitated, unsure if he had the courage to start such an adventure. But Ms Lau’s firm belief in him gave him the push he needed to take a leap of faith.

Under Ms Lau’s guidance, Alex began preparing for the trip. He got really interested in Chinese culture and learned about its long history and traditions. Ms Lau became his mentor(导师), teaching him not only the language but also invaluable life lessons. She taught him the importance of being confident and not giving up, reminding him that growth only happens outside one’s comfort zone.

The day of departure arrived, and Alex found himself on a plane headed for China. He couldn’t help but feel amazed as he stepped off the plane and into a world so different from his own. The busy streets, bright colors, and unfamiliar sounds flooded his senses. Yet, Ms Lau’s comforting presence by his side provided him with the strength to face the unknown.

During their time in China, Alex wholeheartedly enjoyed the experience.

Back in the United States, Alex was a changed person.

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.

Dave had loved basketball for as long as he could remember and he had never had a day without playing it. At primary school and junior high school he joined basketball clubs, attended training programs and watched basketball games, from which he learned the moves of the star players, wishing to play in a professional team like them and shine on the court.

Now as a senior high school student, however, his dream of becoming a professional player was dimming (变暗) because he was only of average height. He had to give up the hope of joining the school team. The guys on the school team were all tall boys who played matches and won honors for the school. They were like heroes. Dave watched them play and cheered them but he knew he would never be one of them.

Dave felt it a pity not to be tall enough, but this didn’t stop him from pouring his passion into basketball. He just played for the love of the sport. He played in the school gym with other boys or by himself every day, even during holidays and weekends, when it was open for two hours in the morning. He enjoyed every minute on the court making every effort to play better.

It was one Saturday morning. Dave was playing in the gym by himself, as all the other boys were busy with other weekend affairs. Then he noticed a tall boy approaching. It was Lankas. Everybody knows him as captain of the school basketball team. “Hi, Lankas,” Dave greeted him. “My name is Dave.” “Hi, Dave,” Lankas replied as he got closer. “Nice to see you here. Do you need an opponent to play against?” Dave was shocked, frozen right there, unable to believe his ears but somehow, he answered, “Why not?”

I watched with interest as my husband worked on his casting technique with his new fly rod (假蝇钓鱼竿). Fly fishing has always been an inviting sport to me because it requires more activity than just standing and waiting for a fish to pull your floater underwater.

I was asked to watch over the other four fishing poles he had brought with us. They were baited (装诱饵) with live shrimp and had colorful floaters moving up and down on top of the water. I wanted to try my hand at casting the line too, but it was his pole, and I figured I would wait for him to wear its newness off.

He worked for a while and then complained that maybe he was throwing the line too hard and said he needed to work on his casting efforts. I made fun of him by saying something like: “You’ve got to put your whole self into it.”

I had watched fly fishing on TV, and it seemed to me that when people fly fished, they used their entire body to work with the rhythm (节奏) of casting and pulling the fly through the water.

I couldn’t stand it any longer. I wanted to see if I could cast the fly rod the way I had seen it done on television, so I jumped at my chance. “Could I try the fly rod?” I asked. “Sure,” he said, “but it is hard to do. I will probably have to help you.”

I picked up the long pole with the yellow rope-looking line and caught the extra line in my left hand while drawing the pole back with my right hand. The bait was pulled awkwardly backward through the air. I immediately threw it forward. It dropped into the water, but it wasn’t smooth. I tried again and again until I could feel a rhythmic movement.

After a while, the line was sailing easily. My husband was truly impressed when he saw me casting, and I was becoming sure of myself.

I decided to try one nice, long, smooth casting motion. 

The next thing I knew, I was face down in the water. 

Twins Katie and Sarah Monahan arrived at Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg College. They are determined to strike out on independent paths. Although the 18-year-old sisters had requested rooms in different dormitory, the housing office placed them on the eighth floor of the same building, across the hall from each other.

Katie was a very lovely and kind-hearted girl. She always did her best to prevent others from any problem. Once the dormitory was out of electricity and her roommate, Windy was studying in the classroom only leaving Katie alone in the dormitory at that time. Katie had just finished her favourite horrible American TV series. She felt very scared. But she didn’t want to disturb Windy, so she just stayed in the dark dormitory alone till Windy got back to the dormitory. Windy was a nice girl too. She gave Katie a lot of comfort and care. She would like to make Katie relax after stressful study. She often shared her happiness with Katie. They lived a very happy life together.

While Katie got along with her roommate, Sarah was having difficulty in dealing with the relationship with her roommate.

Sarah liked quiet, while her roommate, Lily spent two hours a day practising the guitar, or turned up her sound system to the point where the whole room vibrates (颤动). Sarah was always cold. but Lily never wanted to turn on the heat, even though it was snowing heavily outside. Sarah liked wearing fur in winter and she also enjoyed cutting up frogs in biology class. But Lily is an vegetarian (素食主义者) and believed all living things are holy (神圣的), even ants and mosquitoes. She and her roommate silently warred over matters ranging from when the lights should be turned off to how the furniture should be arranged. Finally, they gave up communicating.

One day. there was a dormitory contest, which needed roommates to join hands to decorate their dormitory. Sarah wanted to win in the contest but she thought it was impossible for her to finish it because she didn’t talk with Lily.

Depressed and hopeless. Sarah ran across the hall to seek help from Katie.

Hearing what Katie said, both Sarah and Lily lowered their heads.