Learn to Meet Challenges

    My classmates called me "the alien", and they avoided me like the  plague（瘟疫）. As a young boy, I1from a serious skin disease, which filled my arms with scars. The true2of my condition, however, was social: I lived a life of loneliness.

    Doctors predicted（预言）that I would never fully recover, but my parents encouraged me to hope for the future, teaching me that my difficulty could be overcome. I therefore took a/an 3 role in fighting against my disease, trying many medications and herbs, and my health 4 greatly before I graduated（毕业）. I realized that my personal5had led to this improvement. I regained self­confidence and made many friends at school.

    Years later, 6my personal battle against disease, I learned a great deal about7by overcoming difficulties.

    I joined the Culture Club as a Special Event Director. I8a group of six students in organizing various activities. I was the most advanced ESL student among the group. So I considered myself the most capable. But I quickly learned my9. While preparing for our first presentation, I was10with my team members and often rejected（拒绝）their11. I performed most of their tasks myself, allowing them to12me only with small details. As a result, the presentation was not very successful. The setback13me, and I spoke of it to the club's director. She responded that she14my ability to succeed in the future. This comment filled me with15, for I realized that I had never trusted my own team members. 16they were weak in English, they had many valuable talents. I immediately17my policy, allowing my team members to choose the tasks they desired and to complete them on their own. For our program, we had many meetings, which gave18to many good ideas. Most importantly, the atmosphere among us improved dramatically. We were19and eager to devote time to the program, and I learned what true leadership is.

    My experiences20improved my ability to handle challenging situations.

    When I was young, my father invited my grandmother to come from Ecuador and live with us. When I first saw her, I thought she wasn't the person I had 1 for. For the first few days we didn't speak much, beyond her 2 me that I played too many video games. I never 3attention. Then one day, she showed me a 2's multiplication table (乘法表) 4 I was playing my beloved games and told me that I couldn't play any more games until I memorized it. I was5 but had to try to understand the pattern that all these numbers followed. That was when she approached me and explained the 6 to me. Within an hour I had 7 multiplication by twos, and was about to make a break for my video games when she 8 me and told me to learn my 3's table next.9and sad, I sat back down at the kitchen table. Again, she came to the rescue, but this time we didn't stop after three; we kept going. She 10 was old and boring. I thought she was a genius （天才）who 11 everything.

    From then on she taught me a lot. Even when we walked around the streets, she would quiz me on 12 . All of our conversation included education, but in such a(n) 13 way. I began to14learning about math and the world. Over time, we developed a close relationship 15 our lesson. We shared stories with each other every day.

    16, after only a year, she moved back to Ecuador. We didn't spend as much time together as we had 17, but she often sent me letters.

    My grandmother recently passed away. She always wanted me to attend college, and I've made that 18 a reality. I owe my love of math to her 19, because she showed me that there was a 20 beyond video games, and that education was both fun and interesting. She changed my life.

    No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own 1.

    I learned this lesson from a(n)2many years ago. I took the head 3 job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

    It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the 4 team at the end of spring practice.

    The old team had no coach, and they didn't even practice to5the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldn't 6 I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to 7 that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were 8 me. I had to change my 9about their ability and potential.

    I started doing anything I could to help them build a little 10. Most important, I began to treat them like 11. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their 12, we met every day and 13passing and kicking the football.

    Six months after suffering our 14 on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to 15. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a16 for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest 17 of my life!

    From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can 18 the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and 19 them. I helped them to see themselves 20, and they built themselves into winners.

    Winners are made, not boom.

    Dale Carnegie rose from the unknown of a Missouri farm to international fame because he found a way to fill a universal human need.

    It was a need that he first 1 back in 1906 when young Dale was a junior at State Teachers College in Warrensburg. To get an 2, he was struggling against many difficulties. His family was poor. His Dad couldn't afford the 3 at college, so Dale had to ride horseback 12 miles to attend classes. Study had to be done 4 his farm­work routines. He withdrew from many school activities 5 he didn't have the time or the 6. He had only one good suit. He tried 7 the football team, but the coach turned him down for being too 8. During this period Dale was slowly 9 an inferiority complex (自卑感), which his mother knew could 10 him from achieving his real potential. She 11 that Dale join the debating team, believing that 12 in speaking could give him the confidence and recognition that he needed.

    Dale took his mother's advice, tried desperately and after several attempts 13 made it. This proved to be a 14 point in his life. Speaking before groups did help him gain the 15 he needed. By the time Dale was a senior, he had won every top honor in 16. Now other students were coming to him for coaching and they, 17, were winning contests.

    Out of this early struggle to 18 his feelings of inferiority, Dale came to understand that the ability to 19 an idea to an audience builds a person's confidence. And, 20 it, Dale knew he could do anything he wanted to do—and so could others.

    When most of us get a text message on our cell phone from an unknown person we usually say "sorry,1number! "and move on. But when Dennis Williams2a text that clearly wasn't intended for him, he did something3.

    On March 19, Dennis got a group text4him that a couple he didn't know were at the hospital, waiting for the5of a baby.

    "Congratulations! But I think someone was mistaken," Dennis6. The baby was born and update texts were7quickly from the overjoyed grandmother, Teresa. In her8, she didn't seem to realize that she was 9the baby's photos with a complete stranger. Well, I don't10you all but I will get there to take pictures with the baby, replied Dennis before asking which room the new11were in.

    Much to the family's surprise, Dennis stuck to his12! He turned up at the hospital13gifts for the new mother Lindsey and her baby boy. Lindsey's husband was totally14by the unexpected visit I don 't think we would have randomly( 随便地) invited him over but we15it and the gifts.

    Teresa16a photo of the chance meeting on a social network website accompanied by the17words: What a18this young man was to our family! He was so19and kind to do this. The post has since gained the20of social media users all over the world receiving more than 184 000 shares and 61 500 likes in just three days.

Learning his mom didn't have a job anymore, 9-year-old Aaron decided to take matters into his own hands. He had two main 1. First, to help support his family 2 so that they can 3 the shed(屋棚)where they live at a relative's home. Second, to bring his sister, Ayleen, back from Mexico. The girl had been 4 their grandmother because they didn't have enough 5 to provide her needs.

Aaron and his mom, Berenice, share a great passion for 6. Aaron gets a lot of mosquito bites. When they 7 that the aloe vera(芦荟)has some type of medicine that cures, that passion became a way for them to 8. Berenice only had $12 left in her pocket. Aaron asked if they could 9 it. With his mom's 10, Aaron then used the money to buy his first set of the plants and 11 them in different parts of the city.

Aaron's 12 caught the attention of many, including one of his mom's classmates, Esli Ramos. She wanted to 13 Berenice and her family, so she created a GoFundMe page for Aaron. Because of this fundraiser and several 14 on the media, Aaron's business is becoming more 15.

"We started selling last week. It's 16 that we ran out of plants. "Thank you to all the people that 17 a plant from me. It 18 a lot." said little Aaron. "They19 me to keep moving forward."

Aside from moving into a bigger 20 and bringing his sister back home, Aaron is on his way for other dreams.