Mattie J.T. Stepanek, an American boy, has (be) a hero to people around the world.

    Mattie suffered from a serious (疾病) called muscular dystrophy (肌肉萎缩症). He was in poor (身体状况), so he used a wheelchair to move around. But he never thought that he was too (虚弱的) to do anything.

    Mattie began writing when he was about three years old. He wrote thousands of poems and short stories. His first book Heart Songs (出版) in 2001 and was the No.1 on the New York Times bestseller list. His seven other books sold more than one million (份). He hoped that people all over the world could live in peace. So he wrote Just Peace: A message of Hope. To make his (梦想) come true, he kept (与……战斗) until he passed away in June 2004, just before his 14^th birthday.

    His love of reading and writing encouraged many people who are not physically (身体上) (健康的). In Mattie's words, "We must remember to play after every storm and to celebrate the gift of life as we have it. We must always listen to the song in our (心), and share that song with others."