2 . The ability to walk is the sort of thing many people take for granted, but for Ella Weiske, it’s a monumental achievement. Ella was born with cerebral palsy (脑瘫) and requires a wheelchair to get around, yet she always dreamed of walking across the stage to collect her high school diploma on her own two feet.

In spring of 2023, Ella finally got that chance! The teenager spent months before her graduation from Ripon High School in Wisconsin building strength and practicing walking on an innovative new device called a Trexo. All of her efforts were worth it when she stepped onto the stage to a standing ovation (起立鼓掌) from teachers and students.

Walking on graduation day was important to Ella so her family raised $45,000 with an online fundraiser to buy the Trexo device, which is a wearable robot designed to help children walk. The device is controlled by a tablet, and it helps Ella gently move her legs. She can adjust how much support is needed, walk angles, and speed.

Ella says just the feeling of her feet hitting the floor makes her happy, but it’s the independence the device offers that gets her really excited. She dreams of hanging around downtown, going to her brother’s baseball games, and opening up her world with help from her robotic legs. But first, graduation!

On the big day, Ella was able to use her Trexo device to walk across the stage with the other members of the class of 2023. The entire school body was on their feet, cheering for her, as she collected her diploma with help from her sister, Liz Weiske. It was an emotional moment for the teachers and students who have rooted for Ella for the past 4 years.

Just graduating is an achievement on its own, but Ella’s life-changing walk meant so much to her, and to everyone who knows and loves her. We’re so proud of Ella for working hard to accomplish her goals.

3 . A 17-year-old boy nicknamed Tao Tao with cerebral palsy(脑瘫) has made positive attempts to achieve greater self-reliance through selling self-made popcorn on the street on his own, touching the hearts of netizens and winning him an education opportunity.

According to Tao Tao’s mother: Yao Chuanhua, her son was born with the disabling condition. Over the years, she has continuously tried to train him to adapt and live as normally as possible.

As Tao Tao grew up, the idea of fostering his independence by selling homemade popcorn has brewed in the mother’s mind. She taught Tao Tao how to make popcorn at home and helped set up a stall in Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou city of East China’s Zhejiang province.

“Tao Tao, don’t worry. Take it easy even if no one comes to buy,” after a few words of encouragement, Yao stepped aside and let his son take charge.

Initially reserved and unaccustomed to street vending, Tao Tao struggled to attract buyers. To boost his confidence, the mother even paid some passers-by to buy popcorn from her son’s stall.

Gradually, despite shyness and physical difficulties, Tao Tao has become more active and confident, managing the business smoothly without relying on a megaphone to peddle the product.

“The moment you stood here, you were already a success,” Being proud of Tao Tao’s progress, Yao shared videos of her son’s popcorn selling story online, receiving immense care and support from netizens.

Some traveled specifically to buy popcorn from Tao Tao, and one viewer even ordered thousands of buckets. Many expressed a desire to donate, but Yao declined any form of donations.

“My goal is to encourage him to make a brave step forward and connect with the outside world. I hope that one day he could live independently through his own efforts.”

“Tao Tao is a persevering child. He insists on making and packaging the popcorn all by himself, trying his best his best to prove that he can make it,” Yao added.

The online video sensation has drawn the attention of the local education authority to Tao Tao’s situation. After learning that the teen failed to receive proper school education due to health conditions, they have arranged for local special education teachers to offer him door-to-door teaching.

5 . The story of Oprah Winfrey’s life is one of overcoming incredible odds and achieving great success. Born into poverty in Mississippi, Winfrey faced numerous challenges throughout her childhood. She was raised by her grandmother, who installed in her a love of reading and a strong work ethic. However, Winfrey was also the victim of abuse and neglect, both at home and in her community.

Despite these obstacles, Winfrey showed great promise from a young age. At age 19 she became a news anchor(主播) for the local television station, and in 1976 she was made a reporter and co-anchor for the ABC news in Baltimore, Maryland. She found herself limited by the objectivity required of news reporting, and in 1977 she became co-host of the Baltimore morning show People Are Talking.

Winfrey excelled in the casual and personal talk-show format, and in 1984 she moved to Chicago to host the faltering(衰退的) talk show AM Chicago. Winfrey’s honest and engaging personality quickly turned the program into a success, and in 1985 it was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Winfrey’s warmth, intelligence, and empathy made her a beloved figure to millions of viewers. She used her platform to address important social issues, such as child abuse, domestic violence, and poverty.

Despite her success, Winfrey faced many challenges along the way. She struggled with her weight, and was often criticized for her appearance. She also faced many personal and professional setbacks in her life and work. However, Winfrey refused to give up. She continued to work hard, launching her own production company, Harpo Productions, and starting her own cable network, OWN. She also became a philanthropist, donating millions of dollars to charitable causes.

Today, Winfrey is one of the most successful and influential people in the world. She has won lots of awards for her work. She is also a best-selling author and a respected public speaker. Winfrey’s story provés the power of perseverance, hard work, and faith in oneself.

6 . Pat Patterson, a pilot for 25 years, had never met anyone like the handsome young man in the wheelchair who faced him at the Medford, Oregon, airport on July 28, 1976. Mike Henderson, a quadriplegic (四肢瘫痪者), wanted flying lessons.

As a 22­-year-­old Coast Guardsman eight years before, Henderson had fallen off a dock and landed on a floating log, breaking two of his bones. Doctors said that he would probably never walk again, let alone fly. “Here was this doctor telling me how it was going to be,” he says, “but no one was going to limit my freedom to try.”

Henderson parked his wheelchair next to the airplane and began to climb up onto the wing. He injured his elbow on the way, and after a great struggle, finally managed to pull himself into the airplane’s pilot’s seat. In the flight office, Pat Patterson watched in disbelief. “He crawled his way up that wing!” he says. “It took him 45 minutes. When I went out, he was sitting in the pilot’s seat, bleeding from his injured elbow all over the place. When I saw him go through that much pain, I knew nothing could stop him.”

Now everything was up to the instructor and the student, and together they set about solving each problem as it arose. A small piece of carpet gave Henderson traction (摩擦力) to climb the slippery wing. A headset freed his hands from the radio microphone, and the two men developed a moving bar that enabled Henderson to operate the airplane more easily.

Three weeks and eight flying hours after the first lesson, Henderson and Patterson happily phoned Dr. Stoddard — Henderson’s physician. At the airport, as the physician looked on, Henderson quickly wheeled himself around the airplane, doing a thorough, professional ground check. With Patterson and Dr. Stoddard on board, he went through his preflight instrument check. Minutes later, engine starting, the plane rolled down the runway and took off into the gray sky.

9 . Bella, a 14-year-old cat from Huntingdon, UK, has claimed the Guinness Record for the world’s loudest purr (猫叫声) by a domestic cat, with a noisy purr______at 54.59 decibels (分贝).

The Spink family has had Bella for almost 15 years, and they’ve always______that she might have the world’s loudest purr. Friends and family would always ______her loud purring, and Nicole Spink’s late husband would ______that she was louder than the TV.

One day, they decided to put Bella’s purring to the test―they ______a smartphone app to measure the cat’s purr and were blown away by the______. She was louder than the Guinness World record for the loudest purr by a domestic cat, so they applied for an official record______.

Measuring sound with a smartphone app and having it measured by a sound engineer can bring about totally______ results, but in this case, the Spinks were lucky to have their measurements______. After feasting on a bowl of her favorite food, Bella got to enjoy some much-needed petting by her owner and she produced some ______loud purring.

The standardized class-1 sound meter recorded Bella’s ______pur at 54.59 decibels. That was more than enough to beat the 50-decibel requirement to______the Guinness Record.

It’s important to note that while Bella has ______the record for the loudest purr by a living domestic cat, she doesn’t have the loudest purr in history. That ______belongs to the late Smokey and Merlin, two cats who purred at the ______noise level of 67.8 dB, a full 13.21 louder than Bella.