Do you know any 9-year-olds who have started their own museums? When Theodore Roosevelt was only nine and two of his cousins opened the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History". The museum was in Theodore's bedroom. It had a total of 12 specimens(标本). On display were a few seashells, some dead insects and some birds' nests. Young Roosevelt took great pride in his small museum.

    Born in New York in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt was not always healthy. "I was a sickly, delicate boy, "he once wrote. Roosevelt had a health condition called asthma (哮喘). He often found it hard to breathe. Instead of playing, he watched nature and then read and wrote about it.

    Roosevelt's interest in nature sometimes got him into trouble. Once, his mother found several dead mice in the icebox. She ordered him to throw them out. This was indeed "a loss to science", Roosevelt said later.

    Because Roosevelt was often sickly as a boy, his body was small and weak. When he was about 12, his father urged him to improve his body. Roosevelt began working out in a gym. He didn't become strong quickly. But he did decide to face life's challenges with a strong spirit. That determination stayed with Roosevelt's whole life. And finally his body did get strong. As an adult, he was an active, healthy person. He enjoyed adventures and loved outdoors.

    In 1900, at the age of 41, Roosevelt was elected Vice President. A year later, President Mckinley was shot and killed. Roosevelt became the 26th president of the USA. At 42, he was the youngest leader the country had ever had.

    Terry Fox was only seventeen when he got a cancer (癌症). He must have felt hopeless when the doctor said his right leg would have to be cut off 6 inches above the knee.

    But to everyone's surprise, Terry Fox made up his mind to become a long-distance runner and do something about the cancer. What a dream!

    Although it seemed impossible, Terry decided to run across the whole country. He hoped to raise one million dollars for cancer research. Few believed he would make it. Anyway, on April 12, 1980, Terry Fox began his Marathon of Hope. For the first days of his marathon, Terry Fox was alone. He started running at 4:30 am. Day by day, people began to realize that something big was happening on the lonely road. As people saw Terry, they stopped and donated (捐赠) money for cancer research.

    However, his health took a rapid turn for the worse several months later. He had to give up his marathon on September 1, 1980. Terry died three months later, at the age of 22. In his short life, he raised $24 million for cancer research—one dollar for each person in his motherland.

    Since his death, the yearly Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to be the world's largest one-day fundraiser (筹资活动) for cancer research.

    A little boy almost thought of himself as the unluckiest child in the world because he was born with a lame (瘸的) leg. He seldom played with his classmates and always lowered his head without a word.

    One spring, the boy's father gave each child a small tree to plant." Whoever grows the best tree will get a favorite gift," he said to them. Seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees happily in the garden, he had a terrible idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So he never cared about it.

    A few days later, he was surprised to find it not only didn't die, but also grew some fresh leaves, and it looked greener and healthier than the others. He got a favorite gift and was told by his father: from the tree he planted, he would become a great botanist (植物学家). One night, looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly remembered what his teacher once said: most plants grew at night. Why not go to see the lovely tree? When he came to the garden, he found his father was watering his tree carefully. At that time, he understood: his father had secretly taken good care of his shall tree! He returned to his room with tears (泪水) running out.

    Many years passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist, but he was known as a great president of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

    If you want to study in a foreign country, you have to think about where to live. Because I'm still too young to rent a flat by myself. I am living with a homestay family in Canada and I feel like I'm part of the family.

    I had a homestay in 2013 for the first time. During that time, I stayed in Ajax, a town in Canada for a week with a homestay family. Carlton lives with his nephew and hisniece-in-law9侄子和侄媳妇）.Carlton drove me to a school to learn about Canadian culture every morning, and he picked me up in the afternoons. Our free time was in the evening. The meals he made for me were delicious and we usually watched a movie after dinner. I couldn't forget the life there although I didn't live there for a long time.

    I'm now living with a Hungarian（匈牙利）family with another Chinese boy. There are two family members — Mrs. Perger and her son, Robert. I've already lived here for nine months. Once, my roommate went running and didn't come back for a long time. Mrs. Perger called him, but he didn't answer the phone. She began to worry about him and cry. Fortunately, he was fine and got back home later. I was deeply moved.

    However, living with a homestay family also has some problems. when you live with a foreign family, you live a lifestyle different from your own family's. It may take you a long time to get used to (习惯于)it.

    Living with a homestay family teaches me how to communicate with different people and what we should do when different lifestyles and cultures meet together.