The Brown Bear

    My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, “Dad! The bear is right behind us!” An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back— the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

    I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

    Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

    The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five to six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back toward the forest, before returning for another attack—- The first time I felf panic.

    Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family reminded clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

    A little old couple walked slowly into McDonald's one cold winter evening. They were so old that they looked out of place among the young families and young couples eating there that night.

    Some of the customers looked admiringly at them. You could tell what the admirers were thinking. “Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more!”

    The little old man walked right up to the cash register (收银台), placed his order with no hesitation and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray (托盘). There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.

    As the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking, “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them.”

    As the man began to eat his French fries one young man stood and came over to the old couple's table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. The old man replied that they were just fine. They were used to sharing everything.

    Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

    Again the young man came over and begged them to let him buy them something to eat. This time the lady explained that, no, they were used to sharing everything together.

    As the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly with a napkin the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.

    After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. “Ma'am, why aren't you eating? You said that you share everything. What is it that you are waiting for?”

    She answered, “The teeth”.

    When my son, Bob, was in the third grade, he saved all his pocket money for over three months to buy Christmas presents. The third Saturday in December, Bob said he had made his list and had twenty dollars in his pocket.

    I drove him to a nearby supermarket. Bob picked up a basket and went in while I waited and watched in the car. It took Bob over 45 minutes to choose his presents. Finally he came to the checkout counter and reached into his pocket for his money. It was not there! There was a hole in his pocket, but no money. Bob stood there holding his basket, tears falling down his face.

    Then a surprising thing happened. A woman came up to Bob and took him in her arms. "You would help me a lot if you let me pay for you," said the woman. "It would be the most wonderful gift you could give me. I only ask that one day you will pass it on. When you grow up, I would like you to find someone you can help. When you help others, I know you will feel as good about it as I do now."

    Bob took the money, dried his tears and ran back to the checkout counter as fast as he could. That year we all enjoyed our gifts almost as much as Bob enjoyed giving them to us.

    I would like to say "thank you" to that very kind woman, and tell her that four years later, Bob went from house to house collecting blankets and clothes for the homeless people in the fire. And I want to promise her that Bob will never forget to keep passing it on.

    The third week of SEAL training means Hell Week. It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats（泥滩） and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing-cold mud, the howling wind and the increasing pressure from the instructors to quit. As the sun began to set that Wednesday evening, my training class, having broken the rules, was ordered into the mud. The mud consumed each man till there was nothing visible but our heads. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit—just five men and we could get out of the extreme cold.

    Looking around the mud flat, it was apparent that some students were about to give up. It was still over eight hours till the sun came up--eight more hours of freezing cold. The chattering teeth and shivering moans (呻吟）of the trainees were so loud that it was hard to hear anything. And then, one voice began to echo (回荡）through the night--one voice raised in song. The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing. We knew that if one man could rise above the great suffering then others could as well. The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing—but the singing went on. And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little less bitter and the dawn not so far away.

    If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world it is the power of hope. The power of one person, Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala, can change the world by giving people hope.

    So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you're up to your neck in mud.

    Teaching English is the best way to get paid to travel the world. Flexible hours, paid holidays, and paid accommodation (膳宿) are just some of the reasons why teaching English is popular with those who want to take a gap year abroad.

    Flexible hours!

    Teachers can choose their hours in many teach-abroad programs, so if you want to spend a day walking in the city, taking a cooking class, reading a book, learning a new language, or simply resting under a tree, teaching English gives you that flexibility to addict yourself to the new culture. Tell us what you would do for fun in another country and gain a free Teaching English to Young Learners specialist course when you enroll in (报名) the Advanced 120-hour TESOL Certificate Course!

    Paid Holidays!

    Our paid teach-abroad programs include paid holidays, so you can take a few weeks to travel anywhere in the world.

    Save Money to Travel!

    The TESOL job package includes accommodation. Many employers also offer teachers a transportation fee and health insurance coverage. When you have all your living expenses paid for, you can use every dollar that you earn from teaching English abroad to have fun and travel!

    What are you waiting for? Go Abroad!

    TESOL offers free job placement help to certified teachers. You don't even need a degree in education or a teaching license to teach English abroad. A TESOL certification (证书) is your key to ditching your 9-to-5 job and getting paid to travel the world. The TESOL course will give you all the training that you need to teach English. It only takes 120 hours of TESOL training to get qualified to teach abroad and you can complete the course in less than 4 weeks!

    Being highly successful in any field is pretty rare. It takes a combination of natural talent, luck, determination, and plenty of outside support for someone to make it big in sports, entertainment, or business. But what if competing is all that matters to you, whether you are likely to succeed or not? This was the goal of Michael Eddie the Eagle Edwards, and that he reached that goal was an amazing achievement.

    Born in the U.K. in 1963, Michael was an enthusiastic downhill skier whose dream was to compete for Britain in world-class competitions. He would have liked to represent his country in the 1984 Winter Olympics, but there were a large number of downhill competitors, and Edwards didn't qualify. Seeing his chance elsewhere, he switched to ski jumping. Ski jumping didn't cost nearly as much, and there was almost no competition for a place on the Britain team.

    But number of hurdles (障碍)could have meant the end of Edwards' dream. He weighed more than most competitors, which put him at a disadvantage. He had no financial support for his training. Poor eyesight meant that he had to wear glasses under his goggles (护目镜)- not a good thing when they steamed up at high altitudes. But he couldn't let any of this discourage him. He saw himself as a true lover of the sport who simply wanted the chance to compete. Winning wasn't the point. Having the opportunity to try was all he cared about. And nothing could stop him from trying.

    In the end, Edwards took 55th place in the 1987 World Championships. He then went on to the Calgary Olympics in 1988, where he finished last in both of his events. Many athletes would have been embarrassed by this result, but he is proud of his achievement to this day. His determination to fight against all the odds made him a global hero, and in 2016, the inspiring film Eddie the Eagle was made about his life.