3 . Mr Jason has taught math in a remote rural area for ten years. Last year, he was awarded (奖励) $2,000 as “The Amazing Teacher”. People thought he would move with his parents to a nice house in the city. But he surprised then all. When students came back from their holiday, they found the chairs, desks and projectors (投影仪) were all replaced. Even the walls of the classroom were painted white.

As a teacher, Mr Jason not only focuses on students’ studies, but also helps students overcome the difficulties in life. In the rural area, most families are poor and some students often dropped out of school. Mr Jason always tries to help then out.

When interviewed, he said, “When I was in middle school, a Mr Smith helped me until I graduated from university. I attempted many times to find him after graduation, but failed. I thought maybe what he most wished was not my thankfulness but another Mr Smith. So I am here.”

“Mr Jason is the best teacher I have ever had. Without his help, my whole life would end in the village. When I was in Senior Two, my family couldn’t afford my tuition (学费) so I stayed at home. At that time, I felt hopeless. It was Mr Jason who asked my parents to send me back to school. Luckily, I was admitted into my ideal university finally,” said Julia, a fresh college student. “Now, I believe the road                           ahead is promising.”

Mr Jason’s goodwill touches many people. When the activity “The Amazing Teacher” was launched, someone posted his story on the Internet. And it soon spread over.

Later, Mr Jason wrote: I just have done what a teacher should do. I hope people could pay attention to those children in need and help them realize their dreams.

4 . Would you sail over 12,900 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean in a boat made from plastic bottles?

In 2010, a crew of six people did. They sailed on the Plastiki, an 18.3-metre boat made from recycled materials. Everything about the Plastiki was environmentally friendly. The sails were produced from recycled plastic and the masts that held them from used aluminum pipes. Organic materials, such as glue made from nuts and sugar, were used to keep the bottles in place. To power the boat, solar panels and wind turbines were used.

During the journey, crew members lived in a plastic cabin. Their daily routine consisted of sleeping, eating and doing chores. For food, they mainly survived on fresh vegetables grown in a hanging garden as well as canned and dried food. They also ate fresh fish, but were surprised to discover that they found more plastic than fish. “From above, the oceans still look beautiful and untouched,” David said, “but just below the surface is this toxic stew that could quickly end up on our dinner plates.”

The leader, David, organised the voyage in order to draw people’s attention to the environmental dangers our oceans face and the need to recycle plastic. He planned to visit damaged coral reefs and islands in danger from rising sea levels. However, his most important objective was to see the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge mass of plastic particles floating in the North Pacific. David hoped that, by sailing through the Patch, he could show the world how serious plastic pollution had become.

Unfortunately, the Plastiki was more difficult to control than expected. Therefore, the boat missed its main destination. However, the crew did make stops at islands in the mid-Pacific, where they picked up supplies and talked to local students. Along the way, they battled fierce ocean storms, torn sails and temperatures that reached up to 38°C.

When the Plastiki finally sailed into Sydney’s harbour, the crew were greeted by cheers. The Plastiki’s journey had shown that if we understand how to use waste materials efficiently, they can be transformed into valuable resources. It had also revealed that it was more important than ever to deliver a serious message: our oceans are filling up with plastic faster than we thought.

5 . “My mom found a house for us to look at.” said my fiancé (未婚夫), Jon. “It’s in Richfield, not far from where I grew up.”

“Wow, that’s great!” I said. “Maybe this will be the one.”

Jon and I had been searching for our first home for months. Nothing seemed right. The listings in Richfield had been off the mark. But if my soon-to-be mother-in-law, Ruthann, had come across a house for us to look at. I was going to check it out.

I hadn’t known much about Ruthann. Her beloved grandmother, Nana, had recently passed away, and she was in grief(悲痛). Nana had been the heart of the family, and Ruthann had been especially close to her. I regretted not getting to meet Nana. I felt I was struggling to find my footing with my future in-laws. So, I would do whatever I could to draw us closer.

The next day, Jon and I drove over for the viewing. I was pleasantly surprised–the house Ruthann picked looked fantastic. My hopes rose as Jon and I walked into the dining room, which had an ivy(常春藤)wallpaper border, It perfectly matched the pretty set of ivy plates I’d been storing away. I knew we found our home.

We bought the house and got married. When it was time to move. both of our families helped out. I set a few things on the shelves in the dining room, leaving a large space in the center for my ivy plates. Ruthann walked in as I was carefully lifting the plates out.

“Where did you get those?” she asked.

“I bought them a long time ago,” I said proudly, happy that my mother-in-law seemed to like them.

Ruthann sat down, shaking her head in disbelief. “Sandy, you don’t understand…Those dishes have the same pattern as the dishes Nana had in her house. So many family gatherings and special occasions happened with those plates…” she smiled. “We sold them along with the other items in the house. Now here you are, with a matching set you bought years ago…”

I suddenly realized I needn’t have worried about fitting in with Jon’s family.

8 . A blind man and a woman born with spina bifida (脊柱裂) overcame all difficulties together with the purpose of climbing mountaintops.

Melanie Knecht was born with spina bifida, and Trevor Hahn had lost his sight 5 years ago. “It just seemed like common sense,” Knecht said. “He’s the legs and I’m the eyes. Together, we’re the dream team.”

They met at a rock climbing class and got to know of their love of nature. Knecht had spent her childhood camping outdoors, and had been to Easter Island recently and climbed high cliffs (峭壁) in a carrier placed on someone’s back.

Hahn was also an outdoor sports person, and even after he lost his sight, he kept at it. They two decided to go out into the Colorado wilderness. So Knecht is secured in a carrier, and lifted by a friend onto Hahn’s back, and Hahn hikes along the path with Knecht giving him directions. “I describe everything I see and exactly how Hahn needs to move,” Knecht said.

They love the fact that when hiking together, they are able to give the opportunity to each other to do what may seem impossible. “It made me so happy to help someone experience what I’ve been able to experience in my life,” Hahn said. Knecht is able to feel free. “I’ve been in a wheelchair my whole life, and it’s an amazing feeling to leave it,” she said.

These two are now encouraging the physically healthy people to think more about helping their friends with disabilities. “Ask questions of people with disabilities, to see what they like and what they want to do. Don’t include them because you think they won’t be able to do something,” Knecht said.

10 . With about 1,000-meter-high steep cliffs (陡峭的悬崖) around, there Xiazhuang, Chongqing had only one pathway out of the village, and it took villagers three days to walk to the main town. People there used to risk their lives going out of the mountain village. In the 40 years to 1997, 23 people had died from falling off the cliff while cutting firewood or travelling to the county seat, and 75 people had been injured or disabled while doing the same activities. Then, village head Mao Xianglin held a meeting in 1997 and suggested building a road snaking along the mountains, but almost no villager agreed because they had no money, no machines and no confidence to take on the tough project.

Later that year, around 100 people volunteered to do the work after Mao’s efforts. Workers from ropes and used hammers, drills and even explosives to create the road. Falling rocks and other dangers led to the deaths of six villagers. When they slept in caves (洞穴) at night, they tied a rope around their bodies with the other end tied to the root of an old tree to make sure they did not fall off the cliff.

“Mountains had isolated us from the outside for generations. We had to do something to ensure the next generation could go out of the mountains for a good life,” Mao said. When the 8-kilometer road was completed in 2004, it enabled many villagers to travel out and find work. Incomes increased as a result. Mao will retire in five years, planning to widen the current road and focus on ecotourism. “The spirit of the Xiazhuang people can’t be lost and has to be passed down from generation to generation,” he said.