Once upon a time, a hardworking farmer had a fine farmland. And the harvest is always 1 under his care. But he knew that his three sons 2down upon the farm work, and were3to make wealth through adventure.

    When the farmer was old and felt that he would 4soon, he called the three sons to him and said, “My sons, there is a pot of gold hidden in the5 Dig for it, if you wish it.”

    The sons 6to get him to tell them in what part of the farmland the gold was hidden; but he would tell them 7more.

    After the farmer was dead, the sons went to work to 8the pot of gold; since they did not know9 the hiding-place was, they 10to begin in a line, at one end of the farmland, and to 11until one of them should find the money. They dug until they had turned up the 12from one end of the farmland to the other, round the tree-roots and between them.13no pot of gold was to be found. It seemed as if someone must have14it, or as if the farmer had been playing a joke on his15The three sons were very16to have all their work for nothing.

    The next year, the farmland produced 17food than they had ever given; when it was sold, it gave the sons a whole pot of18

    And when they saw how much money had come19the farmland, they suddenly understood what the 20father had meant.

    Over the years, thanks to my life's obstacles, I understood the meaning of faith and the strong will to survive. It was Hurricane Ike that made me fully1the beauty of our strength and a human's motivation to2.

Mom had a two-week3in summer. While we enjoyed our holiday in Southeast Texas, we didn't realize the fact that Ike4cause months and likely years of "labor". By September 7th, the "eyes of Texas" were watching Hurricane Ike more5, making the typical mad rush for last-minute hurricane 6. Two days later, both oil and ice were in7 demand.

    In the early hours of September 11th, some neighbors were planning to 8the storm in their homes,9others were making final preparations to get away. At first, we decided to stay. But that afternoon, the Houston-Galveston area would be on the more10side of the storm. Mom and I packed some of our most11belongings in the car and12the East Texas town of Lufkin.

    As Ike pushed farther inland, we13power in Lufkin. On Sunday, our next-door neighbor told us via cell phone that our14had remained well. Our hopes could not have been15. But a few hours later, the neighbors reported that our brick chimney had16, and it was sitting on our living room,17a hole in the roof between two skylights (天窗).

We wouldn't be allowed to return home18September 17th. I climbed upstairs, and looked toward the hole in the roof which showed a beautiful blue sky. Without hesitation, I shouted, "Wow! A third skylight!" My neighbors could not believe I was making jokes19crying, but20 is always good medicine. It was with that joke that I knew, given time, everything would be okay.

    I recently heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs（突破）. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him1 he thought he was able to be so much more 2 than the average person.

    He responded that it all came from a(n) 3 with his mother that happened when he was about 2. He had been trying to 4 milk from the fridge when he 5 the slippery(光滑的) bottle, its contents running all over the kitchen floor.

    When his mother came in, 6shouting at him or giving him a lecture, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful 7 you have “drawn”! I have 8 seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been 9 . Would you like to get down and 10 in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up？”

    His mother then said, “ You know, what we have here is a 11 experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two 12 hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can 13it .” The little boy learned that if he 14 the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful 15 !

    This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be 16 to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just 17 for learning something new, which is, 18, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn't 19 ,” we usually learn something 20 from it.

    On Thursday morning, two teenage boys were rescued by a drone (无人机) in Australia while lifeguards were still training to use the machine.

    The 1, aged 15-17, got into difficulties about 700 feet off the coast of Lennox Head, New South Wales (NSW). A passerby saw them 2 in dangerous waves. Lifesavers 3 sent the drone to drop a lifeboat, and the pair made their way safely to the 4.

The drone, known as "Little Pipper", was actually not 5 to be saving anyone just yet—lifeguards were being trained to 6 the machine. When a call came about the swimmers 7, the drone happened to be nearby.

Jai Sheridan was the lifeguard who 8 the drone. He described the experience as 9. "The Little Ripper 10 proved itself today. It is a highly efficient (高效的) piece of lifesaving equipment. I was 11 the drone when the alarm was raised. I directed it towards the swimmers, and dropped the 12. With its support they made their way to safety. They were 13, but not hurt. The teens were rescued in just 70 seconds with the drone—while a lifeguard would have taken up to six minutes to 14 the rescue."

    John Barilaro, an official of the state, 15 the rescue as historic. "It was the world's 16 rescue by the unmanned aircraft", he said. "Never before has a drone been used to 17 swimmers like this."

    Last December, the NSW state government 18 some "Little Ripper" drones for 247,000 pounds. 19 some are designed to spot sharks, others are 20 with lifeboats, alarms and loudspeakers. "It was money well spent," said John Barilaro.

British rower Helen Glover is preparing for her fourth Olympic Games, pushing herself to the limit. Despite resisting bloodied and blistered hands and pale skin, Glover knows that physical 1 are just one aspect of the intense training required for the Olympics.

For Glover, the real challenge 2 the day-to-day tiredness and the constant 3 of waking up and training. With two gold medals from the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, her fourth-place finish in Tokyo was remarkable considering her 4 preparation. Just a year after giving birth to twins and four years after 5 , Glover made the bold decision to 6 in the Olympics with only six months of serious training. Juggling（尽量兼顾）childcare with her 7 schedule, she managed to reach the starting line and 8 miss out on a medal.

After Tokyo, Glover initially 9 her retirement but later changed her mind and decided to compete in the coxless four（四人单桨无舵手）at Paris 

2024.This time, her preparation is more straightforward, and her racing experience gives her an 10 .

11 on her journey, Glover acknowledges that in the past, her happiness seemed dependent on results and success. However, becoming a 12 has shifted her perspective. Now, even on 13 training days, as long as her children are happy, she finds contentment.

Glover understands that her decision to continue rowing is a personal 14 . Her growing success does not 15 her whole life, but she is determined to excel in the sport she loves and give her best.

Volunteering has been a way of life for me for the past five years since I was fifteen.

In 2020 I1 with a newly founded social enterprise, which conducted cooking lessons for visually impaired (视障) trainee2 . I absolutely loved it as it involved meaningful 3 with people and I was fully4 throughout the entire time I was there. This was unlike some other types of volunteering, which may involve mostly behind-the-scenes work that can get5 after a while.

We called ourselves "sighted assistants" and each of us was6 with a visually impaired trainee chef. As a volunteer, I would walk with the trainee to the Enabling Village7 , and then ensure their 8 as they learned to cook a new dish. This included helping them9 the position of the sink, ensuring proper use of electrical appliances,10 boiling and hot objects, as well as being careful with knives among other things.

Being there with them made me truly11 appreciate how difficult life can be when you are partially sighted or completely blind. Every tiny task12 requires massive effort. There are so many people with visual impairments, I realized13 . While medicine still does not have the power to cure all of these conditions, we are never short of ways to empower these individuals by making life14 easier and 15 more meaningful for them.