Some years ago on a hot summer day in South Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming lake behind his house.

In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind his shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam towards the middles of the lake, an alligator(鳄鱼) was swimming towards the shore.

    His mother in the house was looking out the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In extreme fear, she ran towards the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him.

    From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched(夺取) his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war(拔河). The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate. A farmer happened to drive by, took aim and shot the alligator.

    After weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. The newspaper reporter asked if he would show him his scars(伤疤). The boy lifted his legs, then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. T have them because my mum wouldn't let go."

    Some scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds are because love has refused to let go.

    Many people think heroes need to be handsome, rich, or very smart. But as for me, a hero is a person who always helps others. My hero is Uncle Bill. He is the oldest son of a worker, and he grew up in a poor family with four younger brothers and two little sisters.

    He was good at neither writing nor maths. In fact, he never did well in school. So he had to give up school at a very young age. He worked and gave all his money to help his parents. When he was getting older, he found that he was very interested in fixing things. He collected broken things which people threw away and fixed them. He could fix almost everything that did not work. He worked hard and never gave up. Finally, he opened his own repair shop. It took him about 20 years to become a successful shopkeeper.

    Now, he is very rich and has four shops. But he never forgets the days when he had nothing. He gives money to poor families, helps poor kids buy books and offers them free lunch. He also encourages people to reuse things. He always says, "Make good use of what you have because we just have one earth."

    I am proud of Uncle Bill. He is really a hero.

    I live on the twelfth floor of a building. One afternoon I was coming home from a friend's house. It was just after four o'clock. I got quickly into the lift and pressed Button(按钮)13.

    The lift started to go up, but very slowly. And then, halfway up, it suddenly stopped between two floors. I couldn't understand it. I pressed all the buttons from 1 to 14.I called for help very loudly. But nobody answered.

    Then suddenly the lights went out, and I was alone in the dark. I started to cry and beat the walls of the lift. I cried and cried until I had no voice left. Then, I felt hopeless, and pressed all the buttons with my hands. And at the same time, there was a bell far away. It rang and rang. It was the fire alarm. I thought the whole building was on fire. I said to God quietly, "Just get me out of here. I'll never be bad again."

    Just then, I realized the lift was moving very slowly. On the ground floor it stopped, and the door opened. A man was standing there. "How long have you been there? It is good that you pressed the alarm bell. But haven't you learned to read at your school?" He pointed at a small piece of paper on the wall beside the lift. It said:

    "Attention: This lift will be stopped for repairs between 4 p.m. and 5p.m. on Thursday, March 13."

When most kids go to the beach, they're always busy playing with sand. But for Cash Daniels, the plastic straws(吸管) on the beach made him start a lifelong career(事业) in saving the planet.

Now Cash is 14 years old,and he has had a really positive influence(积极的影 响) on his hometown. Besides organizing river cleanups, he has written a children's book about river pollution. He has also raised enough money to put 17 recycling bins(回收箱) along the Tennessee River.

Cash has always loved nature. Once he learned that 80% of waste from land and rivers ends up in the ocean, he couldn't sit back and do nothing.

With the help of his family, Cash took the first step — cleaning up the river. It quickly went from a family act to a community(社区) activity with hundreds of volunteers and neighbours.

"I started The Cleanup Kids with my friend Ella," Cash said. "We want to make a difference first in the place where we live. We also want to teach kids how their actions are influencing the water and the ocean."

"The ocean is important. Everyone should take care of it. If you love the ocean and love what lives in it — you'll want to protect it," Cash continued. "We have only one Earth. Every little action matters. One person can make a positive change if he simply stands up and joins in."