A Leap（跳跃）to Honor

    Leaping on a narrow balance beam（平衡木） is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnast, is an expert at it. To perfect her skills, Lola 1 for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished seventh out of 16 girls.

    That's especially impressive. 2 she is legally blind, born with a rare condition that causes her eyes to shift constantly. She often sees double and can't 3how far away things are.

    When she was little, her mom 4 that even though she couldn't see 5, she was fearless. So her mom signed her up for gymnastics when she was three. She loved the 6 right away and gymnastics became her favorite.

    Though learning gymnastics has been more 7 for her than for some of her tournaments, she has never quit. She doesn't let her 8 stop her from doing anything that she wants to.

    She likes the determination it takes to do the sport. Her biggest 9 is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her during her routine. Sometimes she even closes her eyes. 'You have to 10 your mind that it'll take you where you want to go.' says Lola.

    To be a top-level gymnast, one must be brave. The beam is probably the most 11 for anyone because it's four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn't fall 12 the beam. In fact, she got an 8.1 out of 10 — her highest score yet.

    Lola doesn't want to be 13 differently from the other girls on her team. At the competitions, the judges don't know about her vision 14. She doesn't tell them, because she doesn't think they need to know. Her mom is amazed by her 15 attitude.

    Lola never thinks about 16. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her 17 is to reach level 9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she's learned to other kids 18 she grew up.

    Lola is 19 of all her hard work and success. She says it's helped her overcome problems in her life outside gymnastics, too. Her 20 for others is 'just believe yourself'.

    Over the years, thanks to my life's obstacles, I understood the meaning of faith and the strong will to survive. It was Hurricane Ike that made me fully1the beauty of our strength and a human's motivation to2.

Mom had a two-week3in summer. While we enjoyed our holiday in Southeast Texas, we didn't realize the fact that Ike4cause months and likely years of "labor". By September 7th, the "eyes of Texas" were watching Hurricane Ike more5, making the typical mad rush for last-minute hurricane 6. Two days later, both oil and ice were in7 demand.

    In the early hours of September 11th, some neighbors were planning to 8the storm in their homes,9others were making final preparations to get away. At first, we decided to stay. But that afternoon, the Houston-Galveston area would be on the more10side of the storm. Mom and I packed some of our most11belongings in the car and12the East Texas town of Lufkin.

    As Ike pushed farther inland, we13power in Lufkin. On Sunday, our next-door neighbor told us via cell phone that our14had remained well. Our hopes could not have been15. But a few hours later, the neighbors reported that our brick chimney had16, and it was sitting on our living room,17a hole in the roof between two skylights (天窗).

We wouldn't be allowed to return home18September 17th. I climbed upstairs, and looked toward the hole in the roof which showed a beautiful blue sky. Without hesitation, I shouted, "Wow! A third skylight!" My neighbors could not believe I was making jokes19crying, but20 is always good medicine. It was with that joke that I knew, given time, everything would be okay.

    A few days after Christmas, my friend Zachary came over with his snowboard. Zachary was very good at snowboarding, but I could 1 do it at all. I wondered if maybe my new board wasn't the right size for me, so I tried 2 Zachary's board, but I still didn't get very 3.

    While I 4 with Zachary's board, he was making run after run down the hill. He asked me if we could go to his favourite hill to do more runs, and not wanting to 5 his fun, I 6 said I would go.

    While out on the new hill, I still struggled to stay 7. I had fallen a few times when a teenager that I had never 8 before noticed that I was getting 9, and called me over to give me some advice. I don't talk to strangers as a 10, but my mom was with me, so I felt 11. So I listened to what he had to 12, and then I made another 13. He watched, and then came over to give me more 14. I did what he told me, and I was able to get all the way down the hill without 15. It seemed much easier with the instructions he gave me.

    This guy was so nice and helpful about 16 me. He could have chosen to make a few more runs for the day, 17 taking the time to help me. As 18 preteens, sometimes when we think of teenagers, we think of those who are troublemakers, or those who scare us. But this teenager made me feel 19 around him and was really helpful and kind to me.

    I'm a much better snowboarder now, thanks to the very 20 teenage stranger.

It is almost five years since I begin to learn English.I'm glad to say I'm getting along good with it.But first I came across a lot of difficulties.I couldn't pronounce English words well,so could I remember the words I had learned.In class,I couldn't understand that the teacher had said.I almost lost heart when the teacher told me,"Keeping on,and you'll do well." I was great encouraged.I started working hard at English.Under the help of him and my classmates,I made some progresses.I'm very pleasing,and I will work harder.

My 13-year-old daughter sent a postcard to us while we were still away on our most recent trip to California. It 1 our house about a week later. The touching 2 nearly brought me to tears.

"Even though we 3 have two days of adventures ahead of us, I am just so 4 for everything we have experienced together on this trip," she writes.

Our youngest daughter is just about to 5 11 years old. In those years, we have never taken a true 6 as a family of four to a place we've never been. Like most 7 , I have no idea where the time has gone. But I also think these are some of the best ages to 8 with kids.

This vacation to California was our very first 9 , long-distance trip together. The kids helped 10 the trip with input on things they might like to see and do. They reached for our hands in crowds. I can't remember the last time they held our hands 11 .

One of our family bonding moments came when we took a family surfing lesson. It was the first time any of us had tried surfing, although it was something the girls had been 12 . The smiles on the girls' faces were everything. They were so 13 when they stood up on the board and rode the waves one by one.

Those are memories I'm going to 14 . And yes, I will remind them of these times the next time I reach for their 15 .

In San Francisco,a large group of sea lions move themselves out of the bay waters and hang out on PIER 39, which is a popular tourist destination. According to dock（码头） officials, this is the most sea lions seen in the region in 15 years.

"Over 1,000 sea lions have been counted this week," PIER 39 harbor master Sheil a Chandor told many different medias. "The increase in sea lions is usually a good sign of their strong population and healthy living environment," said Adam Ratner, Director of Conservation Engagement at the Marine Mammal（海洋哺乳动物） Center in Sausalito, California.

"California sea lions are sentinels（哨兵） of the ocean," Ratner said. Their population to some extent reflects the health of the ocean. Therefore, seeing a large number of California sea lions is clearly a good thing.

For nearly 35 years, the animals have been a star attraction for visitors. That autumn in 1989, PIER 39 had just been repaired, but the ships had not yet been moved back. At that moment, the sea lions' unexpected arrival not only attracted fans but also created enemies. According to a website, some dock residents and workers were scared away by the strong and very unpleasant smell and noise of their new neighbors, while others saw these animals as a bright spot after the destructive Loma Prieta earthquake.

The officials sought help from the Marine Mammal Center to find a way to deal with sea lions. Ratner said that the final decision is to let the sea lions stay and coexist with humans. "The fact proves that this is really a good thing," he said. "This is just a proof of how we can truly work together and think about how we can share our coasts with marine mammals and other wildlife in a way that benefits all the parties involved."