The old shoes had brought him much trouble that Jonny decided to throw them away. He went out and threw the old shoes to the rubbish. "Now, they cannot bring me any trouble," he said. He returned home, lay down on his bed and slept.

    Jonny had a dog, and the dog often looked for food in the rubbish. The dog saw the shoes and knew that they were Jonny's. So it got the shoes back. When Jonny wake up, he saw the shoes by his bed and was afraid. "The shoes can walk by themselves. They must be done away with," he thought.

    Then he made a large fire(火) in front of his house and put the shoes in it. Just then, a strong wind came up, and before long the fire made the house burning. His neighbor came at once but could do nothing. The house was burnt down, but the old shoes were saved by the dog again.

    On the way back from work every evening, more often than not there would be a homeless man standing at the exit of the freeway(快车道). He looked to be in his late 40s but was probably a lot younger. He had shoulder length straight black hair and a short beard.

    Every day after work I would remember to gather any spare change, and put it aside to give to him if I saw him. A feeling of joy would come over me every time I saw him, while coming off the ramp(坡道). So did he. Sometimes the red light would be on for a minute and we would ask each other about our day. His answer would always be the same, "I'm blessed!"

    Then one day I was called into my boss's office and was told that I was being laid off. For the rest of that day all I could think of was "how am I going to provide for my kids as a mother, how am I going to pay rent?"

    Needless to say that on my way home that day I was very sad and upset. I didn't remember to look for my spare change and keep it ready like I usually did. Yet there he was as always, as I turned the ramp. He set his eyes on me, while still smiling and waving at others as usual.

    While I was waiting for the red light to turn, he strolled(闲逛) over to my car. He had a big smile. He looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Today I will give you a dollar." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.

    You see that day he taught me a valuable lesson more than a dollar bill. No matter what material things are taken from you, no one can take away your choice to be joyful. Every time I'm faced with challenges, I think of the homeless man's valuable lesson and remember that I am blessed.

    " Were the birds on the ice ducks or geese (鹅)?" Cruz, 11, and Anthony, 12, couldn't agree. There was only one way to find out. So on a cold January evening, the two friends took a risk onto the frozen(冻结的) lake near their homes.

    "First, we threw a stone onto the ice to test it. We thought it would hold our weight. Then we stepped on it," Cruz said. Anthony went first. He took a few steps, then... He fell through the seemingly frozen ice!

    Cruz rushed to help his friend. The lake "ate" him, too. Cruz managed to lift himself out of the freezing water and onto some ice. He then tried to work his way toward Anthony. But the ice didn't hold, and he fell in again. This time, he couldn't get out.

    The boys were up to their necks in icy water and quickly losing feeling in their arm sand legs. Cruz had a sense that he was going to die.

    Anthony's older sister had seen all this and started shouting for help. John Lavin, a neighbor driving nearby heard her.  He quickly pulled over. He caught a nearby float(浮板), kicked off his shoes. And ran into the water, clearing his way through the ice with his free hand. "It was kind of a ' Hulk smash'" Lavin later joked.

    Lavin made his way to pull the boys back to land. They were taken to hospital immediately. The doctor said their five-minute stay in the water made their body temperature drop nearly ten degrees. Luckily, the boys got well soon. They admire their fearless neighbor just as Hulk, one of Marvel Superheroes.

    Different people have different characters. Now look at the following people and try to find what you can learn from them.