[1]Stamp collectors usually collect stamps only from certain countries or regions. The traditional method of stamp collecting is to organize stamp collection according to the issue dates.

     [2]Of course, there are many    .  . You can collect stamps relating to a particular theme. For example, sport lovers may choose the Olympic theme. They try their best to find Olympic stamps issued by various parts of the world every four years. Some of them may want to concentrate on even more specific sport activities like ball games, gymnasium, swimming, etc.

     [3]If you like astronomy, you may be keen on collecting stamps describing the stars, planets, spacecraft, spacemen, etc. once you have fixed the topic, you no longer need to bother about stamps other than the theme you selected. Then, you can put all your effort to collect the stamps around it.

     [4]China issues zodiac animal stamps (十二生肖邮票) every year to celebrate the Lunar New Year. They are extremely popular and a lot of collectors wait patiently for 12 years to collect a full set of them. Hong Kong's Lunar New Year special stamp series began in 2000 with the Year of Dragon and the twelfth and final set was issued in 2011, the Year of Rabbit. Recently some Western countries have issued zodiac animal stamps, which attract a lot of attention as well.

     [5]You may choose any theme you like. However, you should bear in mind an essential point. The topic you choose should not be too narrow. Otherwise, it is very difficult to accumulate stamps around the topic. You will be depressed and even lose your interest in collecting stamps.

      [6]Collecting stamps with themes is especially popular among teenagers because there is a wide range of choices for them. The main challenge is how you organize and expand your collection around your theme.

    Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn't stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.

    For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world's best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women's record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.

    Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reading Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.

When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things—travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.

    We met a little girl seven years ago during one of my daughter's occasional hospital stays. Her name was Beth and she was my daughter's roommate for a week. My Daughter had an incurable kidney(肾) disease. Beth was a very happy girl, despite the fact that she had cancer. I was amazed at her will and determination to never give up, however sick her treatment made her. She was always concerned about my daughter and the other children with cancer.

    My daughter's hospital treatment was completed in a week and we were waiting for her final discharge orders when Beth appeared. She said “I want you to have this. I know you need a new kidney, so keep this angel pin with you till you get better. She will watch over you and make you smile. My friend, John, gave it to me to watch over me. When you get your new kidney and smile, you can give this angel to someone that needs her, too”. My daughter thanked her and the girls exchanged hugs and big smiles. Later that year, Beth passed away.

    We kept that angel for six more years. Finally, a kidney became available and she received a transplant.

    Now she felt it was time to give it to someone who needed to be watched over until he or she could smile again. She gave it to an elderly man trying to recover from a heart problem.

    How many families and hearts this angel has touched, no one knows for sure. But all that it took was a single gift of kindness. So in this Christmas season, create a tradition with your children or maybe someone you love. Give them a gift that keeps on giving. It's a gift from your heart.

    What kind of house will you buy in the future? Would you like to live in a house where your plants can call your phone to tell you that they need to be watered? Or a house that helps you cut your energy bill by turning off the lights when you leave a room? It may sound like science fiction, but it already exists! Come and visit the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Illinois. It will show how you can live a green lifestyle by making use of advanced technology throughout the home that makes your life easier and simpler.

    The Smart Home uses green technology to record the energy it uses, including electricity, water and gas. The house's energy dashboard (仪表盘) lets you know your energy use through your television and computer. The house greets you with the new information when you walk in the door. It is able to record when you enter and leave rooms, and can switch the lights, television and music off                    .

    The Smart Home is made entirely of recyclable and renewable materials. The furniture is made from used light bulbs, plastic bottles and other renewable materials, but you can't tell from just looking at them. The kitchen countertops (工作台面) are made of recycled glass.

    The entire house is designed to control the use of energy. The roof of the Smart Home has a sustainable vegetable garden, which does little harm to nature. Even the personal computer is green: it uses less power than a 60-watt light bulb. The house can raise and lower the window shades by itself.

    The 82-year-old Frances Wood entered the Nazarene University two years ago. At that time, her husband of 59 years died, which left her a little lonely and sad. As a result, she started to study at university.

    Ms Wood said that she was the oldest student on campus, and was known as “Granny Franny”. The lady is just like a grandma away from home. The students wanted to vote Ms Wood as the homecoming queen, but the granny refused to accept the honor. So instead, the school honored her during half time at a football game by making her become the homecoming granny queen, the first award of its kindness ever given by the school. Ms Wood got a standing ovation(鼓掌) and was presented with flowers. To prove her popularity further, she had three male youths holding on her arm for the evening ceremony.

    Ms Wood took classes in finance, history and literature at university. She said after being widowed two years before, she needed something different to do. When she got to college, she said it was a little surreal being surrounded by the young ones. “I think this is unbelievable and dreamlike to do this,” she said.

    Eager to get into her little classmate circle, she handed out homemade business cards with her phone number and e-mail address, so that the students could reach out to her. The cards also featured a photo of her, saying “about 10 years ago”.

    On my first job as a sports editor for the Montpelier Leader Enterprise(MLE), I didn't get a lot of fan mail, so many attention was caught by letter on my desk one morning.

    When I opened it, I read: "Sweet piece of writing on the Tigers. Keep up the good work." It was signed by Don Wolfe, the sports editor. Because I was a teenager, his words couldn't have been more inspiring. I kept it in my drawer until it got old. Whenever I doubted I had the right stuff to be a writer, I would reread Don's note and walk on air again.

    Later, when I got to know him, I learned that Don made a habit of writing a quick, encouraging note to people in all walks of life. "when I made others feel good about themselves," he told me, "I feel good, too."

    Over the years, I've tried to copy Don and write uplifting words, in a world too often cold and unresponsive, such notes bring warmth.

    Why are positive note writers in such short supply? My guess is that people who shy away from the practice are too self-conscious. They are afraid they will be misunderstood. Thus, it may cause troubles and problems. And it sounds insincere on the phone. Also, writing takes time; it is far easier to pick up the phone.

    The drawback of phone calls, of course, is that they do not last. A note attaches more importance to our well-wishing. It is a matter of record, and our words can be read more than once, savored and treasured, and they bring strength and love to us.

    Today I sent a warm letter to my old boss. I don't know if it will make his day, but it made mine. As my friend Don Wolfe said, "Making others feel good about themselves makes me feel good too."