Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole that was behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out of the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

    He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator (美洲鳄鱼) was swimming toward the shore. His mother in the house was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} It was too late.

    Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim, and shot the alligator.

    Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} And, on his arms were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma(痛苦的经历), asked the boy if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And, then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go.”

We have scars, too. Not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}We foolishly get into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with danger and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That is when the tug-of-war begins. If you have the scars of love on your arms, be very, very grateful. And never judge another person's scars, because you don't know how they were made.

A. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.

B. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you, and provides for you in every way.

C. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

D. That began an incredible tug-of-war (拔河赛) between the two.

E. His legs were extremely scarred by the violent attack of the animal.

    Never Put off Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

    Want to put off studying for the physics test? Or writing that thirty-five-page research paper on future uses of biotechnology? Sure you do? And who wouldn't? But it's still a silly idea to put off doing something until a future time. Here is why ....

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. The task will be still the same. It won't be any more fun and you still won't want to do it. As the deadline gets closer and closer, the task seems to become larger and larger if you haven't started the work. And the stress increases. Now not only do you have to write that paper, you have to do it under great pressure.

{#blank#}2{#/blank#} . Before you start, it seems that the task is unlikely to be accomplished. But you know what? You're probably miscalculating. Get started ——-- maybe on a small piece —— And you will discover that you have more resources and know more about the subject than you thought. Result? You won't experience nearly as much suffering as you expected to. Things are guaranteed —— 100 percent ——- to get better.

{#blank#}3{#/blank#} . If you leave your work before the night before it's due, you give up the possibility of getting input from your professor. Professors regularly give advice —-- or at least a few useful tips —- during office hours. Unfortunately though, they don't usually hold office hours at midnight, so you will be out of luck when you discover the night before the midterm that you have no idea how to do the questions that will count for two-thirds of your grade.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Ever wonder why the professor assigns the papers two weeks before it's due? It's because he or she expects you to be thinking about the issue, or doing the research, for two weeks. No, not every waking moment, but at least some of the time. After all, the professor could just as easily have given the assignment one week before it was due if he or she expected less thinking. When you throw together a paper or a report at the last minute, your ideas are half-baked. And your professor will know it.

{#blank#}5{#/blank#} . If you put things off at the last minute, you might find that you haven't budgeted enough minutes to finish the necessary tasks. It's the easiest thing in the world to miscalculate how long it will take to do all the work especially when new issues arise —— like illness, family problems, computer breakdowns, trouble at work, and all the other things ——- as you are thinking through your paper argument or preparing yourself for the coming test. If you keep delaying, you don't allow yourself time for those various life events that have an adverse(不利的) effect on your ability to complete your assignment.