You might think that Olympic athletes are the healthiest people in the world. It's true that many are. However, it's also true that many Olympic athletes had to overcome (克服) illness early in their lives.

    One excellent example is Wilma Rudolph. She competed in track-and-field (田径) events in the 1960s Olympics. She didn't win just one gold medal (奖章).She won three. At the time, people called her ”the fastest woman in the world”.

    Actually, as a young child, Wilma could not take part in sports. She had serious illnesses, and then, at the age of 4, she got polio (小儿麻痹症).She lost the function of her left leg, and the doctor said she could never walk again.

Wilma's family did everything they could to help her walk again. Wilma and her mother used to travel 100 miles to get treatments for her leg. Her brothers and sisters took turns to give her leg a daily massage (按摩).Four times a day, they helped her do special exercises for her leg. Amazingly, by the time Wilma was 9 years old, she was able to walk again. Before long, she started playing basketball and running. In high school, she was a track star and then she went to the Olympics.

    Wilma stopped being a runner when she was 22 years old. She then became a teacher and a track coach. Her story encouraged many people to work hard and to overcome difficulties.

    Mr. Black decided to know more about the different jobs of his students' parents. But some of students were laughing as he talked with Mary. Betty shouted, "Mary's father is a garbageman!"Then everybody in the class laughed out loud. Mary felt her face tum red.

    "Be quiet! Stop laughing!"Mr. Black said," It is difficult but useful to be a garbageman. We should all be thankful to Mary's father."

    Mary's father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn't run up to him the way she always did. When they got back home, Mary went to her room and cried for a long time. Her father came into her room, "What happened? Why are you so sad?"

    Mary told her father what happened and looked at him sadly. He didn't seem angry or hurt, "Well." He said," They are right. Being a garbageman is a dirty job. Tomorrow's Saturday. Come to work with me, Mary."

    Mary wrinkled her nose because of the bad smell. "Don't worry. In five minutes you won't smell a thing." said her father.

    Everybody there was working hard, and they seemed to have a good time. Mary's father handed her a pair of gloves and told her to get the little plastic bags and throw them into the truck.

    It was fun, but also hard work. At last, no more garbage was left and Mary felt very proud and happy.

    "Garbage makes us uncomfortable and unhealthy but when we clear it away, everything is nice and clean. You can make yourself happy only by making others happy."

    Mary gave her dirty, smelly garbageman daddy a big kiss because she regarded him as an unselfish man. Now whenever someone asks Mary what her daddy does, she says, "He is a garbageman! Everyone makes garbage, but my daddy takes it away!"

I like reading. I love many different kinds of books, because they not only open my mind but also   {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(鼓励;激励) me a lot.

Up to now I have read a lot of books, such as magazines, storybooks and  {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(长篇小说). But one of the books that I like best is The Story of My Life. Helen Keller wrote it in 1903. She was a blind and deaf  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(人). In the book, she wrote that she had not been able to see, hear or speak  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(自……以来) she was one year and seven months old. This unusual thing made her very sad. Luckily, she  {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(遇见) her good teacher, Miss Sullivan, at the age of seven. Helen was getting  {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(更高兴的) every day. Then, Miss Sullivan helped her learn how to write English words. At first, Miss Sullivan wrote some words on Helen's hands  {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(用……) her own fingers again and again. Helen was a very hard-working girl. She tried as much as possible to   {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (记住) words. After that, she wrote many famous works, which was a huge   {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(成功;成就) for anyone like her.

It shows us an important truth: Nothing is difficult if you put your  {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(心) into it! This is why I like the book best.

Confidence is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude (态度). A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier. They can have more chances to make themselves successful. But how to be more confident? Here are some suggestions: 

Speak loud 

When you are not confident, you can't do well what you want to do. You speak in such a low voice that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak loud enough so that people can hear you clearly. The high voice can help you become more confident. 

Play sports 

Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed. A strong body helps you be full of confidence. 

Encourage yourself Write down a list of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody happy? Give yourself praise for the good things you've done. 

 Get rid of (消除) fear 

Fear comes along with failure (失败). But it's easy to overcome (克服) if you know that failure is part of your life. Don't hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better. 

Pick up a hobby 

If you like singing, sing as much as you can. In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding. And it will make you happy and confident.