1 . After a long day at the office, Jane Hodgson was on her way home and looking forward to relaxing with a nice cup of tea. While driving, she noticed that there was a car pulled over at the side of the road and a crowd had started to gather around someone who was lying on the ground.

Jane, who had completed first aid at the work course with the British Red Cross, pulled over to see if she could do something and it turned out to be lucky for the victim.

Describing the scene she saw, Jane says, “A crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene. A couple of young men were cream-faced and looking lost. They were completely terrified. When I walked up, first-aid kit in hand, they said, ‘You’re a first aider — Oh thank goodness.’ They were so shocked that they hadn’t even thought to call an ambulance yet.”

A young girl called Jenny was lying there. It turned out that the teen had been hit by a car and gone over the handlebars of her bike, landing on her head and shoulder.

“I was worried because she had not been wearing a helmet when she got knocked down, and I thought that she should not be moved as I couldn’t be sure about a spinal (脊柱) injury, but after looking her over, in relief, I felt fairly confident that she had escaped relatively unharmed. Even so, as time passed and we continued to wait for an ambulance, the amount of pain the girl was in was increasing. To avoid the risk of her going into shock I kept her talking. We chatted about her boyfriend and anything I could think of to keep her mind off the pain. She squeezed (捏) my hand when the pain got too much and this helped,” describes Jane.

Thinking back, Jane says, “I never did find out what happened to the girl. Apart from the boyfriend I wasn’t thanked by anyone else, but that’s OK. For me, knowing that in a small way I helped that girl through what was a frightening experience is all the reward I need. It felt great to know I’d made a difference.”

2 . It was the day before Thanksgiving and Kaleb Benham was wandering around outside his home in Noring California. His 90-pound pit bull, Buddy, was playing around nearby, doing what dogs do: getting into trouble. And this time, Buddy was getting into a whole lot of trouble.

The unmistakable sound that no one wants to hear alone in the woods caught Benham’s attention. It was the deep, strange roar of a black bear. Benham wheeled around to see the beast, which Benham figured weighed around 350 pounds, some 100 feet away. In an instant, the bear fastened on to Buddy’s head and started dragging him away.

Benham, a thin, fit 24-year-old, took off after them. “Honestly,” he told CBS13, “the only thing I could think of was ‘save my baby’.” Sprinting, he lowered his shoulder and plowed into the bear. But it only tightened its grip on Buddy. Benham grabbed the bear by the throat. Nothing. He tried getting its mouth open, but the jaw was locked tight. Benham resorted to street fighting—punching the bear over and over around its snout and eye. It worked. The bear dropped the dog and ran off into the woods.

Buddy was in bad shape. His face was bloodied and ripped up. His ears were dangling. He had a bite mark clear through his lip and one that barely missed an eye.

“My first thought was that I was going to lose him,” Benham said. He scooped up Buddy, put him into his car, and sped off to a nearby veterinarian. Buddy’s surgery took nearly four hours. Benham watched the procedure through a window. “I just stood there,” he said, watching as Buddy’s ears were stapled back on and skin flaps were stitched, and tubes were inserted into his head to drain fluid.

This was the second time Benham had rescued Buddy, says CBS13. The first was from a shelter a few years ago. “If it was your kid, what would you do?” he asked. Nodding toward Buddy, he added, “That’s my kid.”

4 . Nearly two years ago, Lauren Kornacki, a recent college graduate, walked outside her family’s home in Virginia to ask her dad if she could borrow his car. As she rounded the corner from the front yard into the garage, Lauren, saw her father, Ale, lying unconscious, pinned on his back beneath his car. The car had fallen off the jack while he was changing the brake pads on the right rear tire.

Lauren yelled inside at her mother to call emergency services, and then ran to the car. “I thought, I’m going to lose my dad,” she says. Unsure of what to do, she stuck both hands under the wheel hub where Alec had removed the tire and pulled up with all her strength. To her surprise, she lifted the car. Then she held it up with one arm and, with the other, pulled her father out from under the car by his pants leg.

Alec wasn’t breathing, so Lauren, a lifeguard certified in CPR, began performing chest compressions. Within seconds, Alec took a breath and opened his eyes. “Stay with me,” Lauren whispered as they waited for the ambulance. “Just keep breathing.”

Doctors treated Alec for five fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, and fractured vertebrae, but he was able to return to his job as an IT professional two months later. Lauren, now a computer engineer, says she didn’t stop to think. “Everyone has a basic instinct to help the ones they love,” she say.

8 . It was late, about 10:15 p.m., when Janice Esposito arrived at the Bellport, New York, train station. She jumped into her car, and began the 20-minute drive home. Having traveled the route so many times, she practically drove on autopilot. But suddenly, out of nowhere, a car crashed into Esposito’s minivan, pushing her backward onto the railroad tracks. She sat in the minivan, totally shocked by the impact and by the vehicle’s airbags.

As it happens, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed when he heard the high-pitched noise of the crash. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, never stopped to think. He ran out the door, still clad in his pyjamas.

The first car he came upon, 2, 000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had hit Esposito. Once DiPinto concluded the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Esposito’s minivan lying on the railroad tracks. And then he heard an unpleasant sound: the bells signaling an oncoming train.

“The gates were starting to come down,” he told Newsday. “I see the headlight of the train.” DiPinto sprinted to Esposito’s minivan and banged on the driver’s side window. She just looked at him, her eyes unfocused. “I don’t know where I am,” she said. She seemed unhurt.

“You’re on the railroad tracks,” DiPinto shouted. “We have to get you off right now!” He pulled the handle, but the door was smashed in and jammed shut. The heavy train, traveling at 65 miles per hour, was running toward them. DiPinto ran to the passenger side and threw open the door. He grabbed Esposito’s arms, and managed to pull her out across the passenger seat. Within six seconds, the train plowed into the minivan. “It was like a Hollywood movie,” DiPinto told reporters the next day.

But this one had a twist. “Last night,” South Country Ambulance chief Greg Miglino told CBS New York, “the hero arrived in pajamas, not in a fire truck.”

9 . Mount Hood is the highest mountain in Oregon, a state in the western United States. At 3, 400 meters it is attractive to many people, some of whom, of course, run into trouble. Each year 25 to 50 people have accidents or get lost on Mount Hood and need rescue（营救）. Although most of these are understandable accidents, a few result from careless risk-taking.

In one recent case, three experienced climbers went hiking in the middle of a snowstorm in December. Most hikers climb Mount Hood in May or June when the weather conditions are good. But in December, the mountain is covered in snow and ice. Winds up to 135 kilometers per hour blow the snow around, making it difficult to see. Temperatures can drop below freezing. As one rescue worker put it, "What were they thinking? They were just asking for it. "

During a rescue a few years ago, a helicopter full of rescue workers crashed and the rescue workers were almost killed. Linda Carle, who lives in the Mount Hood area, asks, If someone made a muddled decision, why should rescue teams have to risk their lives to save them? Why do people take unnecessary risks and do things that aren't right if they know that they can get into trouble? "

Most of the Mount Hood rescue workers are either volunteers or part of the local police department There is no charge for these rescues. It is the taxpayers who pay the bill. Linda Carle suggests that people who take careless risks and need rescue should ay for the rescue. She fees it is only fir that costs for things like damaged helicopters and medical care for rescuers should be paid for by the people who take the risks. What would you do if you were the local police officer at Mount Hood?

10 . It was about 10:15 p.m. Janice Esposito got off the train at the Bellport, New York, got into her car and began driving home. She had traveled the route(线路) so many times that she almost drove automatically: a left onto Station Road, then a left on Montauk Highway, and then—bang! Out of nowhere a car crashed into Esposito’s car, pushing her backward some 100 feet onto the railroad tracks. Injured but mostly shocked by the crash and by the airbags that popped up, she got stuck in the vehicle.

As it happened, Pete DiPinto was getting ready for bed when he heard the crash coming from not far outside his bedroom window. A volunteer firefighter and retired teacher, DiPinto, 64, never stopped to think. He grabbed a flashlight and rushed out. “Any firefighter would have done what I did,” he said. “We’re always on duty. ”

The first car he came upon 2,000 feet from his front yard, was the one that had hit Esposito. Once making sure the driver was OK, he looked around and spotted Esposito's car straddling (骑跨) the railroad tracks. And then he heard a bell sound, which signaled a coming train. DiPinto rushed to Esposito’s car and hit on the driver’s side window. She just looked at him, “I don’t know where I am,” she said.

“You’re on the railroad tracks,” DiPinto yelled. “We have to get you off right now!” The train was traveling at a speed of 65 miles per hour toward them. The driver’s door couldn’t be opened due to the crash, so DiPinto ran to the passenger side. He threw open the door, pushed aside the airbags, seized Esposito’s arms, and pulled her toward him across the passenger seat until he finally got her out and walked her to safety as quickly as he could. Within seconds, the train crashed into the car. “It was like a Hollywood movie, ” DiPinto told reporters the next day.

“Last night, ” said Greg Miglino Chief of the South Country Ambulance, “the hero arrived in pajamas(睡衣), not in a fire truck. ”