For most of us, when we were 12 years old, schoolwork and video games may well be our only memories of those days. If we remember guns being pointed at our heads, we think that we must be remembering video games or movies.

    Unluckily, at age 12, that was Malala Yousafzai's real life.

    Malala lived a quiet life in Pakistan until 2009, when the Taliban, an Islamic organization of violence(暴力) took control of her village. They forbade girls to go to school as groups. They believe that educating girls is against Islam. But Malala didn't agree. She wrote on the BBC site, "We want all girls to get their schools back."

     However, her actions put her in danger. On Oct 9, 2012, when Malala was taking a bus a man from the Taliban holding a gun shot her in the head. Luckily, the shot didn't kill her. She was taken to a hospital in the UK, and she gradually recovered.

     The shot didn't kill her courage to carry on, either. She set up the Malala Fund, which helped put 40 girls from her former home province in Pakistan into schools.

     Malala has become an international symbol of inspiration and bravery, commented BBC News. Her survival has instilled(渗透) educators with courage and is slowly helping make Pakistani schools safer.

    Malala said in her speech, "The terrorists(恐怖分子) thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born."

    On Oct 10, the European Union awarded Malala its top human rights prize. She was considered an icon (符号) of courage for all teenagers who dared to follow their aspirations .

B

    Shu-How Lin was born on August 23,1988 in California in the USA．He's the newest well-known NBA professional basketball player. His ancestors lived in Fujian Province in China．In 1977,his parents moved to America．Although they live in the USA, they know they are Chinese. And they love their motherland. They try their best to earn more honor（争光）for China.

    When Shu-How was at high school, he showed a great interest in playing basketball. He practiced basketball much harder than any other student in his school. Because of him, the school team became the champion of all the high schools in America, which had never got a champion before. Meanwhile（同时）,he studied particularly hard during high school. He always got "A" in most of his subjects.

    After high school, his dream was to join a university, which was famous for basketball, to major in basketball. But none of these universities in America accepted him. They thought that he was just a Chinese and a Chinese could hardly become an excellent professional basketball player. He felt so sad and he had to attend Harvard University by his good grades, where professional basketball players are not wanted. But before long, he became the first man in Harvard who entered NBA after 1954.

    Shu-How never gave up his basketball dream. He joined several NBA teams, but he was never given a chance to show himself in each game. One day, two players of his team were badly hurt. There were no more players who could play the game. The coach had to let Shu-How go for it. This was a great chance for him. He showed his talent in this game. He got 25 scores!

    After that, Shu-How became one of the most outstanding basketball players around the world. He set a great example to all of us. According to him, we know nothing is impossible if we try our best.

    Hershey chocolate is famous around the world. The man who began it, Milton Hershey, was glad to share the fruits of success with others.

    Milton Hershey was born on 13 September, 1857. In 1871, he started working for a local printer. But he didn't like this kind of work and ended the job quickly. Later, he helped make candy in a factory. After a few years, Milton knew that he was a good candy maker and he wanted to start his own candy business. In 1886, he started a caramel (焦糖) business, and four years later his business was very successful. After seeing how chocolate was made. Milton loved it right away. He got married and sold the caramel company for one million dollars and opened up a chocolate factory.

    Milton built a town with houses, schools, and stores so the workers in his factory could live nearby. As Milton made more money, he built a school for orphans (孤儿). When his wife died, Milton took all of his money and gave it to the school to help those children. He also set up the M. S. Hershey Foundation to help people get an education.

    Milton Hershey died in 1945, but the world remembers him for not only making chocolate, but for his work to help people. He is someone who built a town and helped people get jobs. He is someone who built a school for children who did not have families. He is someone who helped those who were sick and someone who made that chocolate, that delicious chocolate which most of us throughout me world enjoy.

    When Mr. David retired（退休）, he bought a small house in a village near the sea. He liked it and hoped to live a quiet life in it. But to his surprise, many visitors came to see his house in summer holidays, for it was the most interesting building in the village. From morning to night, there were visitors outside the house. They kept looking into the rooms through the windows and many of them even went into the house. He decided to drive the visitors away. So he put a notice on the window. The notice said, "If you want to satisfy your curiosity（好奇心）, come in and look around. Price twenty dollars. "Mr. David was sure that the visitors would stop coming, but he was wrong. More and more visitors came and Mr. David had to spend every day showing them around his house. "I came here to retire, not to work as a guide（导游）, "he said angrily. In the end, he sold the house and moved away.

    Sydney Fredette is very busy. Not only is she a high school student, but she has also set up her own organization（组织）, Beary Merry Christmas. She volunteers(志愿) to offer services to poor children and families in Orange Country in California, US.

    To remember her best friend who died of cancer nearly 10 years ago, Fredette decided to offer services to those in Orange Country who are less lucky than she is.

    She began with the easy idea of collecting donated(捐赠) Build-A-Bears, the popular toy animal that is made by children themselves in the stores' workshops. Fredette then gave them as presents to the homeless children in California during the holiday season.

    With donations at more than 100 bears a year, Fredette and volunteers hold activities every year, where volunteers not only give out the bears, but also clothing, meals, and other things.

    Not wanting to limit(限制) the giving to just the holiday months, Fredette held other activities for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Halloween, offering the chance to her volunteer team to make a difference through the year.

    "I love making friends with the people I offer services to," Fredette said. "It's so cool to hear their stories and see how happy they are."

    Fredette even built a public food bank and offered a self-development class to students in her school.

    She plans to stay local and continue to help out in her hometown.