A couple，whom we shall call John and Mary, had a nice home and two lovely children. One day, John and Mary decided to go on a trip to another city, so they found a kind woman to look after the children and left.

Several days later, they returned home a little earlier than they had planned. As they drove back to their hometown, John and Mary noticed smoke and went to see what it was. They found a house was on fire.“Oh,well, it isn't our house. Let's go home,”Mary said.

But John drove closer and screamed in surprise，“That's Jordan's home. He works in a factory. He wouldn’t be off work yet. Maybe there is something we can do to help.”

“It has nothing to do with us,”cried Mary. “You have your good clothes on,so let's not get any closer.”

John didn't listen to Mary. He drove up and stopped. They were both shocked to see the whole house was on fire. A woman was crying in the yard, “The children! Get the children!”

John seized her by the shoulder and shouted to her, “Don't cry! Tell me where the children are!” “In the basement(地下室)，”cried the woman,“down the hall and to the left.”

John used water to get his clothes wet and put a wet towel on his head before rushing to the basement. The house was full of smoke and fire, and it was very difficult for him to find the children. But he made it. He held one under each arm. As he left，he could hear some more crying. He took the two kids out of the house and into the fresh air，and then asked the women how many more children were still down there.

Thewoman told him there were two more.

As he took them out,he felt something strangely familiar about the little bodies.

When I was in the eighth grade, I became interested in mountain climbing. Then I climbed my first mountain— a fairly gentle 3,900-foot peak near where I live in surrey, British Columbia. I loved the challenge of conquering something bigger than myself. I like climbing more and more. Soon I’d climbed nearly l00 peaks. My parents were happy I’d finally found a hobby.

Two years ago, on December 30, when I was 16, I drove to Oregon to climb 11,240-foot Mount Hood with my friend Mel Olsen. It’s safer to start winter climbs at night when there’s less risk of the sun melting the snowpack (积雪). That day, we started at 3 a.m. The temperature was about 14 degrees. Along the way, we met two other climbers, and the four of us continued on together.

After about five hours, we reached Devil’s Kitchen, a plateau at about l0,000 feet. By this point, the wind conditions were nasty (极糟糕的). My exposed skin felt as though it were burning. The trail we followed grew narrower and steeper. At around 9 a.m. , we reached an ice step. I volunteered to go first. I placed my left foot on it.

Confident I was safe, I put my full weight on it. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise, and a whole slab of ice broke off the step, right under my foot.

In an instant, I fell backward, rolling down the mountain as if I were a character in a video game. After a few seconds, I came to a stop on a shallow slope just above the Devil’s Kitchen. I’d fallen 600 feet. My clothes were torn into small pieces, my helmet was broken, and my face was bloodied from cuts and scratches. Fortunately, for the most part, I was fine, except that I was suffering from a sharp, great pain in my left leg.

I yelled for help.

This accident made me have a deep reflection, but I was back climbing again.

After study for hours, I went outside and up to the roof nearby for a break and watched people cwimming in the sea. It was a sunny day—a blue, cloudless sky over a calm sea. But then, as I looked in the distance. I discovered a series of three or four big waves heading towards the shore. I’d seen these mini-tsunamis (小型海啸)many times before. They were heading at speed in the direction of the swimming area. Most people knew to look out for them, but from the screams that started coming from the beach, I could tell someone was in trouble.

Without thinking, I ran down into the street, holding my bodvboard (冲浪板)on the way and shouted at a stranger to call the coastguard(海岸警卫).My neighbor Tom had heard the screaming as well and was also outside with his bodyboard, so togetlier we rushed to the steps that led down to the sea.

Once we got closer, we discovered the waves had pulled a boy and a girl into the open sea. I knew that the nearest boat would take at least 30 minutes to reach us. I wasn’t used to this sort of emergency—I’d never been trained as a lifeguard—but I didn’t think twice about trying to save them. I suppose in a way I wanted to impress everyone; at 19, a deal like that can seem like a good opportunity to show off.

Tom and I dived into the water and it took us 10 minutes to get to them. When we finally reached them, they were almost lifeless with only their heads coming in and out of the water. We could tell they were still alive from their small breaths but it was clear they wouldn't have been able to stay there much longer. I held the boy and pulled him over my board. Tom then moved the girl onto his board.

65-year-old Mr. Fairfax had retired from teaching. He was very interested in adventure. This time he made an adventure on a sparsely (稀少地) populated land. In the cold winter, he tried a new place and forgot to bring his cell phone, the only time on the trip. He trekked (艰苦跋涉) more than half an mile with two dogs to a harvested wheat field.

With his dark staring eyes at the horizon in expectation of another rabbit, Mr. Fairfax stepped on the thin snow on a canal. Suddenly, it collapsed (坍塌) and dropped him four feet to the bottom.

Realizing that he was in trouble and was going to hurt himself, Mr. Fairfax was suddenly picking up a lot of speed. His left leg hit first, and he lay on his side to reach for his shotgun, unloaded it and used it as a crutch (拐杖). He spent an hour and a half climbing the canal but slipped and slid back down when he was partly up. This time, one of his feet got fixed between two rocks. Mr. Fairfax told himself that if he didn’t get himself out of that canal, he wasn’t going to have a very good night.

Mr. Fairfax walked his foot free and climbed more slowly and cautiously out of the canal. He immediately realized the difficulty of the task before him. The accident occurred about 2 p.m., and it was nearing 5 p.m. with the road far away as the sun was setting.

Mr. Fairfax focused on crawling to safety. Even with his gun supporting him, hopping was impractical. Instead, he sat down and pushed himself backward less than 40 inches at a time with his good leg. He was determined and sure that he must hold on. He was in exhaustion and had more frequent breaks. Temperatures dropped overnight, and his gloves and boots got wet. His hands and feet soon were completely numb.

Mr. Fairfax’s dogs had been playing in the field and eventually came up to him.

However, gleams (微光) of daylight remained — Mr. Fairfax saw the sixth car.

Mr. Taylor checked again: water, food, bandage, medicines, a compass, and a map wrapped in plastic... Bingo! He put all that he prepared for the coming hiking into his backpack.

Mr. Taylor was fond of hiking, this time in particular, for it was the first time for him to hike with his two sons, Harry and Joel. Joel liked reading books about explorers and Harry joined the hiking club in his school this term. “It will be an unforgettable experience, definitely.” he whispered to himself, unconsciously a smile spreading over his face.

Harry and Joel, however, argued for the first three miles of their hiking trip. Harry accused Joel of wearing smelly old shoes. Joel blamed Harry for using all of the bug spray (喷雾防虫剂). Harry told Joel he smelled terrible. Joel called Harry a coward (懦夫).

“Will the two of you just quiet down and enjoy our hike together?” their father said. “You’re missing all of the beautiful scenery!”

It was true. Neither Joel nor Harry had taken notice of the bear their father had spied at the start of their trip. They hadn’t looked up at the eagle he pointed out overhead. Worst of all, they hadn’t paid any attention to the turns and twists along the way while they continued their argument.

“Joel threw a stick at me!” Harry screamed. “That’s not true!” Joel shouted back.

Mr. Taylor could no longer contain his anger. “And both of you need to stop arguing!” he erupted. As he turned to face them, his left foot caught on a root. He slipped backward and down muddy bank, falling into the river that ran alongside the path.

Harry and Joel raced to their father’s assistance. They helped him up out of the water, and then dragged his wet backpack up onto land.

Fortunately, their wet-through father found himself just slightly injured.

But his glasses came off when he fell in the water.

“Just calm down.” Mr. Taylor shouted, “Without my glasses, we need to work together to find our way.

The skies were dark. Rain fell in big drops and thunder and lightning flashed across the skies, I shivered (瑟瑟发抖) with cold and fear as I walked through the streams of muddy water. Some people were rushing by, completely covered by the heavy rain.

Along the way, I saw some schoolchildren holding their heavy schoolbags and rushing home. I also saw that some road repair work had been abandoned by workers. Obviously, the workers had left in a hurry because of the storm. There were few signs and it was hard to see what was on the road. There were pieces of wood and blocks of metal and it looked like a hole had been dug and hurriedly covered with boards.

I moved on but suddenly stopped as I heard some sounds. It sounded like children crying. I quickly turned hack and went back to the place which the sounds came from. I was horrified! To my worry, I found that two small children had fallen into the gaping hole (漏洞) on the road. The boards had moved away with the force of the rushing water. I could hardly see the children as it was dark all around me. I told them that I was going to get help and ran away.

I was not sure of what to do or where to go but decided to go to the nearest house for help. I knew the man, Mr Lee, who lived there. I called Mr Lee and told him about the problem. He readily said that he would get a torch (手电筒) and some rope. He also called his good friend Encik Ahmad to come along with him. A few other neighbors also quickly joined the rescue party and together went to the rood. They managed to get the children out of the watery hole safely. The children were very scared and they shivered with cold.

Together the neighbors sent the boys home.

I was very happy that I had been part of this act of neighborliness.