One afternoon，my son Adam asked me，“Are all people the same even if they are different in color？”

    I thought for a minute，and then I said，“I'll explain，1you can just wait until we make a quick 2 at the grocery store. I have something3 to show you.”

    At the grocery store， we 4 some apples—red，green and yellow ones. Back home. I told Adam，“It's time to 5 your question.” I put one apple of each 6on the table. Then I looked at Adam， who had a7 look on his face.

    “People are like apples. They come in all8colors，shapes and sizes. On the 9 ， some of the apples may not 10 look as delicious as the others.” As I was talking，Adam was 11 each one carefully.

    Then， I took each of the apples and peeled(削皮)them，12them back on the table，but13 a different place.

    “Okay， Adam， tell me which is which.”

    He said， “I 14 tell. They all look the same now.” “Take a bite of 15. See if that helps you 16which one is which.”

    He took17 ， and then a huge smile came across his face. “People are 18 like apples！ They are all different， but once you19 the outside， they're pretty much the same on the inside.”

    He totally 20it. I didn't need to say or do anything else.

A Welcome Gift

    Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them 1 side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud 2 filled the room and made them feel very happy.

    The next morning, 3, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a 4 under their door during the night. One of their neighbor had written to complain(抱怨) about the sound of the piano. Dario's mother asked the building superintendent(管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all 5 people and he couldn't imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their 6 and apologize for their playing.

    “Maybe we could go and 7 everyone in person.” his mother said. “What if we invited them to come here for a 8 instead? Dario asked. They both loved the 9. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts 10 their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers(彩带) and party lights.

    Finally, the day of the party 11. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to 12. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, 13 Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

    “I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I 14 that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don't think I disliked the playing.”

    Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we 15 you an apology.” she said. “I didn't 16 how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.

    “You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such 17 music.”

    “These songs are beautiful music.” Dario's mother said. “We will be 18 to play them in the evening.”

    “And we won't play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to 19 the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother's face. It gave him a feeling of 20 and made him feel that they were home at last.

    As I walked into the primary school, I looked down at my new black Mary Jane shoes—I wanted to be anywhere in the world but Fountain Inn Elementary School. I stood at Mrs. Blackstone's door. Before I tried the1, the wooden door suddenly opened. "We've been waiting for you!" Mrs. Blackstone, my new fifth grade teacher said at an unusually2voice. With a smile my mom walked away and I was left3in front of a group of students.

    Over the next few days, Mrs. Blackstone made it her4to find me a new best friend and help me join a choir（合唱队）. During history5, when I sat down at my desk6I didn't want to speak in front of the class, she would not only call on me but have me stand up to7my classmates. She laughed at my nervousness when I wouldn't get in line to sharpen my pencil 8being embarrassed. Her silliness made me smile and finally feel9in the new environment.

    One spring afternoon, Mrs. Blackstone 10me to stay after class. "I'd like to speak with you, Amanda." My mind 11. Had I made a bad grade? Had I hurt someone's feelings? "Are you enjoying your new school?" she sat comfortably behind her desk, "I want to tell you12, between you and me, not to be shared with anyone else." "Okay." My throat 13felt very dry. With her14raised, she said, "I see something15in you. I've been a teacher for over twenty-five years; I can16it. But you17believe in yourself. That's very important. Remember that and you'll go18."

    Her voice was19to my ears that day. I walked out of her class,20staring at my Mary Jane shoes. My teacher saw something special in me!

    Dealing with a disability can be a difficult task for anyone, but it's nothing for Roger. Having double disabilities all his life has made life a forever1. Roger was born prematurely (早产)and2in the hospital for nine months after birth. He was3of any other medical issues that he suffered at that time.

    Roger knew that he had poor4when he was a little boy. In school he couldn't see clearly what other5did, so the Library for Blind and Physically Handicapped provided him with large-print6and audio cassettes. He had barely graduated from high school due to the7of earlier assistance in high school. In 2008 he lost the remainder of usable sight8. The loss of vision was because of Graves' disease. He did not know he had it9he went to a specialist.

    As for his secondary10, his legs have given him difficulty all his life due to injuries. He severely broke his both11at 5 years old owing to falling on the ice. At that time he was too12to receive special surgeries (外科手术). As Roger gets older, he has had four surgeries on his knees. Even though the surgeries are all successful, Roger cannot13as common people do.

    To this day, it is a daily battle and he continues to14. Roger won't sit around and says if he only lives in this way, this is a15of his time. He never16, because he always believes that disability does not17incompetence. Roger always tries his best to enjoy every day and realizes his18or goals. By teaching Braille (盲文)and working at his local community, now he is famous in the US. Whoever you are, you can always try to do19good for other people, which makes your life more20.

That morning in September, at a five-kilometer race, I waited for my 11-year-old son at the finish line. He'd run 30:34 at another 5k in late spring, so I 1 he could run a 5k in about 30 minutes. When I didn't see him at the 35-minute mark, I began to 2 .

It'd already been an 3 morning. About an hour earlier, when we drove into town, my son noticed a lovely tiny green tree cricket （树蟋） in my car. It jumped onto my son's hand where it stayed so long that we eventually gave it a name: Little Friend.

Minutes before the race, it jumped onto the sidewalk. Maybe it wanted to seek freedom, but this wasn't a safe place due to the 4 pedestrian traffic. So my son knelt and 5 his hand. Little Friend came back. But I told him he would 6 it during the race.

I ran well and felt thrilled at the finish line. However, that 7 gave way to anxiety when my son didn't show up. I 8 asking people if they'd seen him. No one had. So I returned to the race headquarters. In my confusion, I didn't even see him 9 the finish line. But there he was, just ahead of the 45-minute mark, with Little Friend 10 on his right thumb.

My 11 were wrong. My son didn't run fast, and he didn't lose Little Friend. These two 12 seemed somehow related. He 13 a cold he was getting over, but I knew it was more than that.

Sometimes life gives you something beautiful, but fragile （易碎的）. There's no need to 14 ahead. Treat it 15 and hold on when you can.

A grandmother was filmed taking notes during a Marvel superhero movie marathon, which at this point includes 30 movies. She wanted to be closer to her1 and talk to them about their2 .

Cheryl Skiados, who is in her 70s, has 13 grandkids3 , aged from 6 to 22, and they're all big Marvel fans. Rather than writing off their interests as silly, as grandparents are 4 doing, she decided to try to get on the same 5 as them.

"I just 6 my grandparents, and I noticed my grandma was making her way through all the Marvel movies," said 18-year-old Jackson. "She was7 them in the order they came out and she asked if I wanted to watch one with her, so of course, I said yes8 ."

"I think it really shows how much she9 her grandchildren, because she is willing to10 there for hours and watch superhero movies, and take notes on them, just so she can have something11 to talk to her grandkids about."

The video has 12 the hearts of many online and racked up(累计) nearly seven million views, and hundreds of thousands of likes, along with it.

"We all 13 Grandma is getting the recognition she deserves for being a(n)14 grandmother," said Jackson.

Skiados, in response to the15 , says she "thinks it's funny," and "her heart was warmed by all the comments."