His palms were sweating. He needed a towel to dry his grasp. The sun was as hot as the 1 he faced today at the National Junior Olympics. The bar (横竿) was set at 17 feet. That was three inches higher than his personal best. Michael Stone faced the most 2 day of his pole-vaulting(撑竿跳高) career.

    You couldn't tell whether Michael Stone was surprised, excited or vain about clearing the bar at 17 feet. As soon as he 3 on the inflated(充了气的) landing mat, Michael immediately began 4 for his next attempt at flight. He seemed 5 the fact that he had just beaten his personal best 6 three inches and that he was one of the first two competitors in the pole-vaulting 7 at the National Junior Olympics.

    When Michael 8 the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches, again he showed no 9. As he lay on his back and 10 the crowd sigh, he knew the other vaulter had missed his final jump. He knew it was time for his final jump. Since the other vaulter had 11 misses, Michael needed to clear this vault to win. A 12 would get him second place. It was nothing to be ashamed of,13 Michael would not 14 himself to have the thought of not winning first place.

    He rolled over and found his pole, stood and stepped on the runway that 15 the most challenging event of his 17-year-old life.

    As he sprinted (冲刺) down the runway, something felt wonderfully different, yet familiar. When he took a deep breath, it happened. He began to 16 like an eagle.

    He later went on that day to clear 17 feet 6 inches: a new National and International Junior Olympics record.

    With all the media attention and sponsorship possibilities, Michael's life would never be 17 again. It wasn't just because he won the National Junior Olympics and18 a new world record. And it wasn't because he had just increased his personal best by 9 inches. It was simply because Michael Stone is blind.

    A chance encounter can sometimes make all the 19 to whether hardship brings 20 the best in us or the worst.

    I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like attention drawn to myself.And1 otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher,I always2to sit at the back of the classroom.

    All this3after I joined a sports team.It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team.At first I thought it was a crazy4because I didn't have a good sense of balance,nor did I have the5to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me.But for the teacher who kept insisting on my 6for it", I wouldn't have decided to give a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts（选拔）was only the7of it!When I first started8the practice sessions,I didn't even know the rules of the game,much9what I was doing.Sometimes I'd get10and take a shot at the wrong direction which made me feel really stupid11I wasn't the only one "new" at the game,so I decided to12on learning the game,do my best at each practice session,and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't13"just yet".

    I practiced and practiced.Soon I knew the14and the "moves".Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive15in me was winning over my lack of confidence.With time,I learned how to play and made friends in the16—friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

    With my17self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates.I have gone from 18 in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself19raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent20I had the right answer.Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

    All of us can give others a hand as long as we are willing to do so. Actually, there are some people doing kind things all the time. Spreading kindness, one good deed at a time, is Karla Gibson's mission. "I wish everyone could join me. There are so many 1things going on in the world; I mean every day," said Karla.

    Karla had the commitment and sense of2in December of 2013. The single mother of three said she tended to feel depressed around the holidays, so she 3to do something to cheer others up. She started a Facebook page and4her good deeds each day, from feeding the homeless to giving Easter gifts to the incarcerated( 囚犯) .She hoped to 5others.

    "We have to do something. Our6can make a difference in someone's day. You7know when someone might be having their worst day, and then something like buying them a coffee can change their whole attitude," Karla8

    Karla's greatest9so far had to do with coffee. On September 27th, Karla's birthday, she went to her local Starbucks and gave the10$ 127 to pay for othe: people's drinks. She sat at the end of the drive-through holding a11that read. "Have a great day." She ended up12about 23 customers. "It was really fun. I was13one of the best birthdays ever," she said. Her kindness that day didn't go 14One couple were so grateful that they surprised her with flowers and balloons to show their15.

    Karla's acts of kindness have become a16affair. Her two sons are always17others. "Sometimes I'll ask Kyle, 'So, did you do anything extra nice today? and his answers are like 'Somebody18something in the hallway and I picked it up or 'I held the door for someone', that kind of thing," said Karla.

It's because of Mom that the boys think it's19to give a hand to others." think it's a great idea of hers. It's always nice to help someone out20they real need it," said Karla's 15-year-old son Chad.

    In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live. These things come to represent, in fact, what I call 1 and love.

    I don't remember my father ever getting into a swimming pool. But he did 2 the water. Any kind of 3 ride seemed to give him pleasure. 4 he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along.

    But I never really liked being on the water the way my father did. I liked being  5 the water, moving through it, 6 it all around me. I was not a strong 7, or one who learned to swim early, for I had my 8 . But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my father's office and 9 those summer days with my father, who 10 come by on a break. I needed him to see what I could do. My father would stand there in his suit, the 11 person not in swimsuit.

    After swimming, I would go 12 his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me 13 anything I found in his top desk drawer. Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk 14 he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn't be playing with his 15. But my father always 16 and said easily, "Oh, no, it's 17." Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get 18 an ice cream…

    A poet once said, "We look at life once, in childhood; the rest is 19." And I think it is not only what we "look at once, in childhood" that determines our memories, but 20, in that childhood, look at us.

    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.

    I never thought I would be a "runner". I was the girl who1slowest in the PE class. A few years ago, I was walking with a group of2in the Race(比赛) for the Cure, a 5km race designed to3money for the fight against breast cancer(癌), 4one lady caught my5.

    She was one of the weakest-looking women I've ever seen. She must have been close to seventy years old,6a T-shirt with the word "Survivor". She was so small that it seemed as if she could even be7by a strong wind. But, she was running. And she was8me and my group of friends. She ran slowly, but 9- as if each step pushed her cancer further into her past. Right at that moment, I10that in the next Race for the Cure, I'd be running along with her.

    A week later, I found myself in the11, running on the treadmill(跑步机). Three minutes after I started, my face was bright red. I felt like my lungs were going to burst. I12slow down to a walk. I thought of the13at the race. I kept it up. I was able to go a little14each time. Three and a half minutes. Four minutes. Five.

    A year later, I was15at the Race for the Cure, but this time, I16with the runners. When the race started, the other runners passed me by. I ran forward. I17if I'd be able to do it. But then, I remembered the18woman. I ran as fast as I could until I finally crossed that finish line. I had just19my first race! I looked down at my legs, amazed. They had done something I'd never thought20. I have never felt stronger than at that moment. And I knew that I wanted to do it again.