One day, a woman traveled alone in the mountains．When she was walking, she found a precious (珍贵的) stone．She was very happy and put the stone into her bag.

    The next day, the woman met another traveler．The traveler was hungry and the woman opened her bag to s hare her food with him．The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and said, “How beautiful the stone is! Can I have a look?” The woman gave it to the traveler．The traveler looked and looked, and then he asked the woman whether she would like to give it to him．She gave the stone to him without hesitation (犹豫).

    The traveler left．He was very happy because he knew he could get lots of money by selling the stone and he could live a rich life．But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman.

    “I know how precious the stone is,” the traveler said． “But I gave it back．I hope that you can give me something even more precious.” “Even more precious? What is that?” the woman asked． “Your beautiful mind is more precious than the stone,” the man said.

    A young woman turns around and around quickly, and jumps high. In the background, a young girl reads a rejection (拒绝) letter from a ballet school. You have the wrong body for ballet, 'it says,' and at thirteen, you are too old. This was one of the most popular advertisements (广告) of 2014 and it describes American ballet Theatre's principal (主要的) dancer Misty Copeland.

    This was not a real letter. But Copeland says it is very similar to letters from her childhood. While many dancers start at the age of three. Copeland only began to study ballet in 1995 as a thirteen-year-old. People often told her that she was too old, or that she didn't have the perfect body type (She is only 157 cm tall). Her family moved a lot, and it was sometimes difficult for her to attend ballet classes. But Copeland loved dancing and did not want to give up. She stayed with her ballet teacher during the week and spent time with her family only at the weekend. This was a difficult life, but she worked hard and won her first national competition when she was fourteen years old. Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and performed in many ballets over the next few years. In 2007, she became a solo (单独的) performer, and in 2015 she became its principal dancer.

    Copeland is now a dancer, author and Broadway performer. She also stars in the 2015 film A Ballerina's Tale. So what's next? According to Copeland, anything is possible: "My career (职业) really is just now beginning.'

    It was 8:30 and I was lying in the sun, listening to my CD.

    Then my mum came out. She wanted me to go out with her. She told me about this place called Give Kids the World. It's a special place for families to spend a vacation when a child had a life-threatening（致命的）illness. There were several jobs she did there, like gift giving and ice-cream serving. Mum said I would enjoy it, but I thought this was a boring job.

    Mum told me we were going to take a toy and an ice-cream to every child in the village. We got to the first house and I knocked on the door and shouted, "Gift Giving", and a woman answered it. Sitting in the middle of the bedroom was a boy in a wheel chair. I gave him the gifts, and his face lighted up with happiness. I walked out and thought," That must be boring, unable to jump around."

    As I came into the second house with gifts, it seemed a little strange that the child didn't see me. His mum said something was much wrong with his eyes, so I needed to go and stand in front of him.  When I did that, he became very excited and made a sign for "thanks", though his legs couldn't move at all.

    When we went back home, Mum told me these kids might not live to see tomorrow. Suddenly, I understood I should be more thankful that I don't have these illnesses. I no longer wanted to be at home listening to my CDs. I would rather be doing this, maybe making a difference in these kids' lives.

    One day a young man was standing in a crowded place, shouting that he had the most beautiful heart in the world. Most of the people who saw his heart were amazed at the beauty of his heart. It had no little flaw (瑕疵).

    Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, "Oh, my son, your heart is not as beautiful as mine."

    The old man showed his heart to the young man. It was beating strongly, but full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in. But they didn't fit quite right, and there were gaps and rough(崎岖不平的) edges. Some places have never been filled in.

    The young man laughed, "My dear old man,   ▲   Comparing your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is full of scars."

    The old man said, "Dear boy, my heart is just as beautiful as your heart. You see, each scar shows where I have given my love. Sometimes people give me a piece of their heart back, and it fills the space as best it can. Other times, I give my love and get nothing in return. Those are the empty spaces. They hurt, but they show me that I can love and love again. "

    The young man stood still. His eyes were filled with tears. He walked up to the old man, tore a piece of his heart and gave the piece to the old man.

    The old man placed it in his heart, and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever.

    What could a poem writer and a film director share? More than you think！Langston Hughes began writing poems in high school and soon became one of America's greatest writers. Most of his writing is about his experiences as an African American. He wrote poems about people who worked hard through life but still found things to be happy about. He wrote plays and books about justice(正义)for all people, and he wrote kids' books, too. The Sweet and Sour Animal Book is a book of his animal poems. Pictures and photos were used in the book." Hold fast to dreams" is a line in a famous Hughes poem. That's exactly what he did throughout his life.

    When Steven Spielberg was in middle school, he wanted to make a film. He had an idea for a film, but no money. He started a tree-planting business and made his film with the money he earned. Spielberg never stopped making films, even after many film schools refused him. Today he is one of the most popular and important filmmakers in the world. His films are about people who are adventurous(爱冒险的), brave, kind. His characters often fight for what is good. Some of his films are about his Jewish background, such as Schindler's List. Spielberg once said, "I don't dream that much at night because I dream for a living." In different ways, both Hughes and Spielberg have encouraged people of all ages to reach for their dreams.