1 . When I was four, I lost my sight by falling off a box car and landing on my head. Now I’m thirty-two. I can vaguely remember the brightness of sunshine and what color red is. It’d be wonderful to see again, but a disaster can do strange things to people.

    1    . The loss of my eyes made me appreciate more what I had left.

It took me years to discover and strengthen this belief. It had to start with the most trivial things. Once a man gave me an indoor baseball. “I can’t use this,” I was hurt, thinking he was teasing me. “Take it with you,” he insisted, “and roll it around.” The words stuck in my head. By rolling the ball I could feel where it went.     2    —playing baseball. Later, at Philadelphia’s Overbrook School for the Blind, I invented a successful variation of baseball. We called it ground ball.

    3    —I believe it! The more readily you are able to make them, the more peaceful your private world becomes. The adjustment is never easy. I was once puzzled and afraid, knowing nowhere to go. But I was lucky, for I have my parents, teachers and others who saw in me a potential to live.

The hardest lesson I had to learn was to believe in myself. Had I not done that, I’d have broken down and become a chair rocker for the rest of my life. And the path to the belief is never smooth.     4    .

2 . After a car crash left 14-year-old Collin Smith unable to walk, doctors told him he had a 20 percent chance of finishing high school.The opportunity to attend college seemed even slimmer.Yet eight years later, Collin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from High Point University.Collin had achieved the nearly impossible --- with the help of a kind man five decades his senior.

Dial back to 2005.Ernest Greene had just moved to the same area that Collin and his parents lived.The families did not know each other.But when Ernest heard about Collin's accident and the fact that his parents would not be able to care full-time for their son, Ernest says, he felt a calling.“The Lord was leading me to help,” he says.He had time to spare.

Ernest approached Collin’s parents with the idea that he would look after the boy while they were at work.The Smiths gratefully accepted.Collin, now23, says it was hard for him to understand then “how someone I didn’t know would drop everything to help me.”

Ernest sought training to care for Collin and then began arriving at the Smiths’ home early on weekday mornings.He would help Collin get out of bed, wash, and dress.He would help him have breakfast.Then he’d drive Collin to school.And at 3 p.m., every day, Ernest would drive back to pick him up.Then, while the two waited for one of Collin's parents to get home, “we played a lot of Monopoly,” says Ernest with a laugh.

Collin graduated from high school with the rest of his class and was accepted to nearby High Point.Ernest accompanied him to every class.“The first year was interesting,” Ernest recalls.“Collin didn't want to stick out.” Ernest.on the other hand, says he took full advantage of the opportunity, taking down notes and often commenting in class.

On graduation day, Ernest received an honorary degree in humanities.“I was floored,” he says.But Collin wasn't surprised.“Ernest is an example of the way a man should live --- calm, humble," he says.

4 . The Secret Garden-A Classical Novel about Hope and Redemption

The Secret Garden is a popular work of children's literature.The novel is set in theearly1900s! The main character is Mary Lennox, a 10-year-old British girl.     1    Mary is then sent to live with her wealthy uncle Archibald Craven, who owns a large estate in the countryside. At first, Mary is bored by the people she meets as well as the slow pace of rural life. One day, a maid tells Mary about a hidden garden that Mrs.Craven kept before her death.The tale of Mrs. Craven's secret enclosure awakens Mary's curiosity. She makes it her mission to find out more about the mysterious garden.

While exploring the property, she sees a robin resting on a mound of dirt. Mary digs through the soil and finds the key to the locked garden door.     2     She decides to do whatever it takes to bring the secret garden back to life.

Meanwhile, Mary starts to hear haunting cries on the estate at night. One evening, she follows the sounds and discovers Mr. Craven’s son, Colin. Mary learns that Colin is ill and can’t walk.    3    

Mr. Craven ordered his servants to care for Colin but would never visit because his son reminded him of his wife.

Mary and Colin become good friends. Mary convinces Coin that he can use his mind to overcome his illness.     4     There, they meet Ben Weather-staff, one of Mr. Craven’s servants. They all decide to work together to restore the area. When their work is finished, they plan a surprise for Mr. Craven. He arrives at the garden and finds the flowers in bloom, just like they were when his wife was alive. More importantly, he’s overjoyed to lean that Colin has become a healthy boy. Their relationship is repaired, and they look forward to a brighter future.

5 . The first two years of Stuart Singer’s retirement were pure play, killing time in the New York City by bike and visiting museums and art galleries.

“At some point, I realised I should do more than this,” said Mr Singer, a former high school teacher.

Now Mr Singer, 74, and his wife Madine, 69, are involved in the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme. Mr Singer volunteers with the Community Health Advocates Programme, which started in 2010. The programme helps consumers to know better about the health insurance coverage(医疗保险). And it helps them to find access to low-cost or free care. Mr Singer’s main task is to answer phones for the Community Health Advocates’ helpline.

“There are lots of calls from different people who need medical care, but they can’t get it because their insurance company won’t pay for it,” he said. “And you got to go through doctors, and get the papers filled out. But when you get it done, yeah, it feels good.”

The helpline helps about 250 callers each week and has saved consumers $12.1 million since it began. Mr Singer comes in once a week, helping 10 callers every shift. In total, he estimates he has saved New Yorkers $443,000.

Despite the challenges, the work is a joy, not drudgery for Mr Singer, which inspired his wife to sign up for volunteer training after she retired in late 2014 as vice president of the Insurance Information Institute. It put her fear of retirement at ease.

Mrs Singer trained with the Advocacy, Counseling and Entitlement Services Project before being placed with the Actor’s Fund, a national human services organization for performing arts and entertainment professionals founded in 1882. “It just seems so unfair that these people have trouble finding housing,” said Mrs Singer. Since she started in early 2015, Mrs Singer has had more than 270 appointments with clients, from ticket takers to screenwriters to dancers. “Having someone help them really means a lot to them,” Mrs Singer said.

Much of her work is helping clients who are applying for affordable housing sort through a variety of income sources they receive. “It keeps the mind going,” Mrs Singer said. “It keeps the social life going, and I’m doing something.”