I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was 1 and when I was 14 he said, “You're never going to be 2 but a failure.”

    After five years of 3  jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the best 4  that could have happened to me. I 5  to do something positive (积极地) with my life because I wanted to prove to 6  that what people said about me was 7 . Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let's 8  it, you've failed at everything you've ever done.” So I tried hard with my 9  and went to college. My first novel (小说) 10  while I was at college.

    After college I taught during the 11  in high schools and attended evening classes at London University, where I got a 12  in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of 13  that job to write full time 14  I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself — 15  was a working-class boy who'd 16  school early, now teaching at the university.

    My writing career (职业) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I'm rich and 17 , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars. 18  what does it mean? I 19  wish all the people that have put me down had 20 : “I believe in you. You'll succeed.”

    More than one year ago, I suffered from a medical issue lasting for almost two months. I didn't share it with everyone because I thought it didn't sound so important, but as time has   progressed, I've come to realize it was so much more than that.

    On February 13, 2017, I was in my kitchen 1 dinner with my youngest son. 2 I felt a sharp pain in my head, and I was very dizzy, seeing 3. I could see the concern in my son's eyes as he asked me to rest on the sofa while he finished cooking dinner.

    As I lay there, I acted as if I was OK but 4 it got worse. This headache along with other symptoms continued non-stop for the next seven weeks. 5 countless doctor and specialist appointments, and tons of medicines, the pain remained.

    Both doctors and several radiologists were 6. I'm a believer of God and I always have been, 7 sadly I was losing hope and I felt as if my faith was being tested this time. The emotional suffering began to affect my spirit.

    Thankfully I continued to pray and be grateful that I was fortunate to have medical care. So many people have no money for 8 and suffer daily. After 48 long days of 9 and going to bed with an extreme headache, my answer and healing finally came through a wonderful doctor and physical therapist.

    To God goes the glory!

    Looking 10 I feel so grateful for all the love everyone gave. I have so many considerate friends, caring coworkers, 11 a very loving and sweet husband and three amazing kids that show me every day how much I 12 to them.

    My mind went to so many places during this uncertain time and I was reminded that life is so fragile. Nowadays as challenging as it may be, I'm trying to 13 each day as if it were my last, remaining 14 and happy. I'll continue to be thankful and give back whenever and as much as I can. I 15 you to do the same.

    Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…

    At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds. I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to 1 bad feelings, to make myself feel better, and to celebrate. Worried about my health, I tried many different kinds of  2 but nothing worked. I came to believe that I could do nothing about my 3.

    When I was 50, my weight problem began to affect me 4 . I didn't want to live the rest of my life with this 5 weight any more.

    That year, I6 a seminar where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world. A seminar leader shared her 7 story —she had not only 125 pounds, but also raised $25,000 for homeless children.

    8 by her story, I created the As We Heal(痊愈), the World Heals 9. My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,00010 a movement founded 30 years ago to end hunger. This combination of healing myself and healing the world  11 me as the perfect solution.

    12I began my own personal weight program, I was filled with the fear that I would 13 the same difficulties that beat me before. While the 14 hung over my head, there were also signs that I was headed down the right 15. I sent letters to everyone I knew, telling them about my project. It worked perfectly. Donations began 16in from hundreds of people.

    Of course, I also took some practical steps to lose weight. I consulted with a physician(内科医生), I hired a fitness coach, and I began to eat small and 17 meals. My fund-raising focus also gave me new motivation to exercise 18.

    A year later, I19 my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000! I feel that I've been given a second life to devote to something that is 20 and enormous.

Running for a Dream

    I will never forget that November day. It was hotter than normal. This was the 1 my father and I had waited so long for, because we had been working towards this race for three years. Dozens of familiar faces from church and school flashed across my view. They had come2 me. I saw worry and 3 on my father's face. Then the race began!

For the first two and a half miles, I felt4. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with controlled 5 and a strict diet. My friends hadn't seen me in weeks, but they understood the 6 required to make my dream a reality. As in all of my races, I didn't 7out in the front. I loved the pleasure of passing people as my strength overtook their premature speed.

    Then without warning, my strength began to decrease. Neck and neck with one of my greatest competitors, I 8 see the finish line. I had begun the final dash into9 when my knees became weak and my legs gave way. Nothing I could do would make them 10 my weight.

    I watched as runners rushed by me. 11 I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race. However, my legs hurt badly. With all of the12 left in me, I got on my hands and knees and crawled(爬), inch by inch, across the finish line. Voices, both 13and familiar, cheered me on. They gave me the courage to keep 14 until the very end.

    The doctors were there in seconds, but my eyes searched the crowd for him. There was only one person I wanted to 15 to. I whispered, “I'm so sorry, Dad. I'm so sorry I 16 you." He looked at me, saying, “You could never disappoint me. Sometimes these things just  17. All that matters is that you did your best."

    "But we worked so 18. What about our dream?" He reached over for my hand and said, "Don't you know that you are my dream and it has come true?"

    It wasn't long before my running shoes were back on, marking a 19 path for my journey. I learned that all of the miles, the tears, the sweat, and the pain my dad and I experienced together were not for a  20. What I realized, though, was that to him, I was the greatest prize he had ever won.

    Yuan Longping, a great Chinese agriculturalist, was born in a poor farmer's family in Qianyang, Hunan Province in 1930. He 1 from Southwest Agriculture College in 1953 and has since devoted himself to agricultural education and research. Since his graduation, 2 ways to grow more rice has been his life goal. As a young man, he saw the great need for 3 the rice output. At that time, hunger was a 4 problem in many parts of the countryside. Yuan Longping searched for a way to increase rice harvests without expanding the area of the fields. 5 his help, Chinese farmers now produce more rice and these increased harvests mean that 22% of the world's people 6 from just 7% of the farmland in the world. Yuan Longping, 7 considers himself a farmer, is now circulating his knowledge in some less developed countries to increase 8 rice harvests. Thanks to his research, the UN has more tools in the battle to rid the world of hunger. 9 his hybrid rice, farmers are producing harvests twice as large as before. Dr Yuan 10 5-million-yuan State Supreme Science and Technology Prize for his high hybrid rice species. This award is viewed as "Chinese Nobel Prize".

    About rice, he always has a dream…

It was a long time since I had seen my parents last time. Last Saturday I drove a long way to visit them, 1neither of them was at home. So I waited patiently at their home 2their return. Not seeing them made me really3.

As I was walking around their bedroom, I 4 little reminders of them. Some

Christmas gifts were still 5in boxes. There were 6on the wall, which I guess must have a 7 meaning to them. What 8 was seeing my dad's emblems (徽章) from his military service of our country when he was young. My father never 9to us about the Korean Wars. As I looked at those emblems hanging 10 with all the photos that he treasures, I 11 that this was an important part of his life, but I never spent 12in talking with him about them. The photos of my mom with her close 13made me realize her life before she was my mom. I had been so 14running my business to raise my own family that I 15the chance to know about their past and experience.

We sometimes don't realize something is 16for us until we have lost it, so it's not too late for us to talk to our parents about their past. I am writing my story to 17 everyone who is fortunate to still have their parents 18to invest some time to learn about them. I am grateful to have 19of my parents. So I still have time to talk with them. I hope that readers will 20from my story and find the time to talk about those things in their life that mean so much to their parents.