1 . Noah Wall recently celebrated his ninth birthday. The little boy from Cumbria, England, uses a wheelchair to get around. He’s extremely smart and loves learning about the solar system. His life is pretty normal, which is astonishing considering doctors didn’t even expect Noah to survive his birth.

His mom, Michelle Wall, was pregnant when tests revealed that her little one had spina bifida (脊椎裂) . When they performed more tests, a scan of Noah’s head showed a cyst(囊肿) that was destroying his brain.

Michelle and her husband Rob prayed for a wonder. On the day Noah was born, he let out a huge cry the moment he appeared to let his parents know that their little guy wasn’t going down without a fight!

Scans showed that just 2 percent of Noah’s brain had survived the cyst in his head. Seven weeks after birth, he received an operation to close the opening in his spine and place a shunt (分流管) in his head to lead fluid (积液) away from his brain. Yet Noah is not mentally disabled. In fact, he’s impressively clever! At 9, he is physically active and dreams of becoming an astronaut someday.

“They told us he might not be able to speak, hear, eat, or anything,” Michelle said. “But I see he can tell the time, read, do maths and love science. He can talk about the solar system. He has unbelievable dreams. ”

Noah has gone through 11 surgeries so far and there are many more to come, but he has already exceeded everyone’s expectations —in every possible way!

“Every single day he does something that impresses me,” Michelle said. “I’m so extremely proud of him. I will help him all I can and always be there for him.”

Noah! What a wonderful reminder of the importance of keeping hope alive.

4 . As sixth graders, kids were separated into groups, but I wasn’t sure where I belonged.

Our teacher gave us a task called “secret friends” for the coming week. We were supposed to do nice things ________ our friends without letting them know who was doing it. We could leave ________ notes or cards either on their desks or in their backpacks. Before doing the task, with our eyes closed, from a basket, we drew a name of a classmate who we were to secretly befriend over the next five days.

Soon, the task was turned into a competition of giving ________ instead of notes. Everyone was getting cool presents except me. My friend followed the teacher’s directions without a fault. I received nothing but handmade cards with nice words about me.

On the last morning, I finally got a package. When I ________ it, the girls around all ________. It was perfumed powder, an “old lady” gift. My face went red.

I tried to forget about the ________ gift, but when the same girls ________ it again during the break in the bathroom, I joined, “How stupid! My grandmother wouldn’t ________ want it.”

The girls laughed at my ________ and filed out of the bathroom. Washing my hands, I let the water run through my fingers as I thought about my words. It wasn’t ________ like me to say things like that.

“I’m your secret friend.” It was Rochelle. “I’m sorry about the gift,” she whispered to me, tears ________ down her face.

From a poor family, she was a ________ at school for those with rich parents. Yet she just took all the ________ and the horrible treatment silently.

I was sick to my stomach as my hurtful words ran through my mind. She had heard everything. How could I have been so cruel?

Later I learned she had felt bad all week about not being able to leave me any cool present and her mum had given up her only luxury.

And I had ruined everything for her.

I told her that I had only said those things to try to ________.

“We aren’t that different from each other, are we?” She smiled ________. Her simple words, spoken from her heart, found their way straight into mine.

In the past three years, my dad had tried his best to give me guidance on my running and encouraged me to do better and better. Running was everything to me, and also to my dad. He was a runner and was amazed by my progress in running. He would attend my every race, even flying home early from business trips to see me run.

I always listened for his voice, which rang above the crowd—telling me to relax my arms and calling out my time. He pushed me, cheered me on and believed in me. We spent countless hours running in the sandy areas of Arizona. Breathing in the dust of the desert and the smell of the farm, we made our way across our city. We pounded miles and miles into our-running shoes, marking our journey towards greatness with every single step. It was a journey that was just ours and a dream passed on from one generation to the next.

Then, we welcomed the arrival of the important race, the state cross-country race of my senior year of high school. During the past three years. my dad and I had been working hard for the race. Finally, it came.

I will never forget that November day. It was extremely hot. As I waited for the gun to fire, my throat felt like a field of cotton cracking (裂开) with the summer heat. I looked out at the crowd; dozens of familiar faces from my community and school shone across my view. They had come for me. They all had confidence in me. I saw my dad setting his watch. Obviously, he was a little worried.

My heart was beating with excitement, and then the race began. For the first two and a half miles, I felt great. I had never been so ready for something. The hot sun beat upon my back, blinding me with its brilliance. Nothing was going to stop me, though. Determination made me focused and guided my steps. In all of my races, I was in the front.

Then without warning, my strength began to weaken.

My lungs fought to take in enough air and my feet felt like bricks.

The medical workers were there in seconds and covered my mouth with an oxygen (氧气) mask.

6 . My son had just gotten his driving license. On the way home, I ______ the car to a side road, unfastened my seat belt, and ______ places with him. “Okay,” I said, “I want you to drive home.”

Sitting behind the steering wheel, his body looked tense and ______ . “Mom,” he said quietly, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready.”

“It’s okay!” I said, “You’re ______ going to feel ready. You just have to go for it.”

“No,” he took a deep breath and ______ my father’s words. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits. You told me that!” For a brief moment, time ______ I saw the very old photograph forever ______ in my memory. It shows my family standing arm in arm and ______ for the camera, with the then tallest roller coaster (过山车) we decided to ride together in the background. No one knew I was ______ terrified. I just didn’t want to be the one to stay behind. We ______ our way up the line and finally reached the end. Suddenly, my body was stiff (僵硬的) with ______ , and I knew: I just couldn’t do it. Too ______ to face my family, I simply called over my shoulder to Dad that I was leaving. Dad asked me what happened. “I guess I was too chicken. Sorry.” What Dad said next ______ surprised me. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits,” he said, “And don’t let someone make you do something you’re not comfortable with. I’m proud of you for the choice you made.” This was the exact ______ of what I had expected him to say.

Instantly, I understood exactly how my son felt. Knowing the limits isn’t an ______ of weakness. It’s actually a sign of strength.

Jane was still sleeping when the phone rang in the living room. She opened her sleepy eyes and looked at the clock on the table. It was already nine o’clock! Although Jane was still very sleepy, she knew she had to get up because her mother was working in her office and she couldn’t expect her younger brother Tom, who was sleeping like a pig, to answer the Phone. She quickly put on a coat and ran to the living room. When she picked up the receiver, on the other end came the warm greeting, “Good morning!”

It was from her father, who was a seaman and rarely came back. Suddenly, Jane’s sleepiness disappeared.

Born in a not-so-rich family, Jane and Tom felt the stress of life, but they were happy to enjoy the family atmosphere. At school, they were straight-A students and took part in various after-school activities. They were the pride of the family.

“Good morning, Dad. Why do you call us so early on the weekend?” Jane said and pretended to be annoyed. “Tom and I have been very nice recently.” “My dear, today is your mother’s birthday, and I have ordered a cake online and it will be sent to our home late in the afternoon. Do remember to take the cake. It is my surprise for your mother.”

Hearing her father’s words, Jane felt a little ashamed. How could she forget her mother’s birthday?!

While she was chatting with her father, Jane looked around the room and saw a lot of dirty clothes on the sofa. The floor hadn’t been cleaned for a few days since her mother had to work all this week.

She looked at the clock again and was sure that she still had enough time to prepare a surprise for her mother.

“Well, Dad, now I’m going to wake Tom up. We will give Mum a surprise, too!” Jane said and hung up the telephone.

Jane hurried to Tom’s room and shared her plan with him.

“Happy birthday, Mum!” Jane and Tom shouted when their mother opened the door.

Emily White was born seventeen years ago with many physical issues affecting her tiny body. Some of her organs, bones and muscles were out of shape. Though no one expected her to survive, she did make it. But she had a strange figure that everyone could recognize, even from a distance.

In Emily’s hometown, there was a yearly outdoor performance in the school hall at Christmas. It had been performed for so many years that it had become one of the most important events for many of the townsfolk. Each year, many people tried out for the show, but most were turned down. Only the best performers could be included.

Emily had a most beautiful singing voice. Last year, she asked Mrs. Owens, her music teacher, if she could join in the performance. Mrs. Owens took a look at her body and said, “Child, you just don’t fit. Everyone would stare at you and that would make you uncomfortable. It would make them uncomfortable too.”

Without singing a single note, Mrs. Owens sent Emily back through the door of the choral room (合唱室). Hurt and upset, Emily decided never to try out again. But things changed as the following school year, Mrs. Owens retired and a new music teacher arrived—Mr. Butler.

He had heard about Emily and suggested that she give it a try again. Emily didn’t want to be rejected again, so she hesitated about it. But finally her love for singing and strong desire to join in the performance outweighed her hesitation. She tried out again and learnt the result would be posted the next day on the door of the choral room.

Emily couldn’t sleep that night, having turned in bed back and forth thousand times as she was worried that she would be rejected again and would never fit in.

The nex tday, Emily hurried to school and anxiously glanced at the list of the result.

Finally, the day of the performance came.

Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.

An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.

“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.

“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”

“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.

Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.

Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，

“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”

At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.

But things began to change as she was doing the chores.