One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Cindy, my company wants to promote (升职) me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you've done well and allowing you to skip (跳) a grade, but you'll have to leave your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was lost in thought. The question kept me wondering for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the difficult decisions adults had to make.

     For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd eagerly wait for the phone to ring and then tell her everything happened during the day. A phone call, however, could never take her place and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large empty apartment,   ▲  It was then I started to understand the difficult choices she had to make. She needed to think about both family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn't know whether you make the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with a positive attitude.

     Back home, I reminded myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she managed to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learn how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. I've learned a lot because of this separation. There are lots of difficult decisions that we have to face in our life. We need to have a positive attitude no matter what happens.

    The volunteers who brought the nine-year-old girl to the orphanage(孤儿院) knew little about her. They found her in the street which had been her home for many years. Her parents were unknown. They had left her long ago.

    At the orphanage, the girl was taught to read and write. There she also learned to be independent(独立). At twenty-one, she left the orphanage and began work as a secretary.

    And then, in 1975, she entered the Miss Hong Kong competition -- and won it. This was the turning point in her life. Now Mary Cheung was very popular in Hong Kong.

    Mary entered the competition because she was full of ambitions（抱负） and she wanted to show that orphanage girls could be something. Winning the competition gave her the chance to start a new life. This led her first into television and then to a business manager. When she was working as a manager, she had trouble with her reports. “My English just wasn't good enough.” she said. Fortunately, her husband helped her.

    Mary studied management at Hong Kong Polytechnic and graduated in 1980. She started her own company in 1995. But she was still working hard to develop herself. She then studied for a Fine Arts degree at the University of Hong Kong. Her ambition was to teach arts in Hong Kong. Since 1987, she has spent a lot of her time on photography. She has held several exhibitions of her work in many places, including China, New Zealand and Paris. She still found time, however, to work on TV and for charity, to write for newspapers and bring up her family.

    The girl from street has come a long way, but her journey is not finished yet.

    Mrs. Brown, who lived alone in the Bridge Block, was asking for help because of his missing cat. "My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly," said Mrs. Brown. She said that Clyde, her 12-year-old cat, didn't come home for dinner more than a month ago. Although he was old and weak, Mrs. Brown loved him a lot. The next morning, he didn't appear for breakfast either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.

    When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was twelve years old and totally white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.

    "Is Clyde your child or your pet?" the officer doubtfully asked. "Well, he's my cat, of course,"Mrs. Brown replied. "Lady, you're supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS," said the irritated policeman. "Well, who can I report this to?" she asked. "You can't. You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyer （传单）replied the officer.

    Mrs. Brown figured that a notice board would work a lot better than a piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the highway. Cars only passed by smoothly between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the highway was so full of drivers that no one moves. She took most of the money out of her savings account and rented the notice board with $3,000 for a month.

    The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if anyone could help her rent the notice board for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.

    My name is Sam. I joined a club called" passing help" last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it.

    One evening this May, on my way home my old car was broken. It was 25 miles from my home. I wanted to take a taxi, but there was no car. I decided to take a bus home. I went to a bus stop nearby.

After a while, a bus came, but it did not go to my town. The bus driver was a young woman. She was kind and she told me which bus I should take. I waited there for about thirty minutes, but no bus came. At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car. She was just the bus driver.

    "When I reached the bus station, I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come, so I returned here. I just can't leave you here," she said," Get in my car and I will take you back to your home."

    "It is a long way." I said.

    "Come on, sir, "she said," Let's go."

    On the way she told me a story. A few days ago, there wasn't gas(汽油）in her car. An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.

    When we got to my home, I wanted to give her some money to thank her, but she didn't accept it." I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along." She said.