After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his son's school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake.

    He was shocked. He didn't know what he should do for a while, and then he remembered the words he had said to his son, "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins (废墟).

    As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, "It's dangerous here! There's nothing you can do!" To them he replied with one line, "Are you going to help me now?" And then he kept on digging.

    He went on because he needed to know for himself, "Is my boy alive or is he dead?" He dug for eight hours… 12 hours… 24 hours… 36 hours… Then, in the 39th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son's words. He shouted his son's name. "Armand!" He heard back, "Dad?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me, and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, 'No matter what happens. I'll always be there for you!' You did it, Dad!"

    "What's going on there? How is it?" the father asked. "There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When the building fell down, it made a triangle (三角形) and it saved us."

    "Come out, boy!"

    "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me."

    September 21st, 2050—At a press conference today, it was announced that the first tourist heading for Mars would be the 38-year-old American businessman Patrick Clifford. He would leave the Earth in the launching window of June, 2052, and he would set his foot on the surface of Mars in November, together with 6 astronauts who would further explore the planet.

    Patrick has a two-year training ahead of him to get ready for the trip. Not only will he spend five months in getting to Mars, but another 600 days there before he can go back home. Patrick was very excited, "This has been my dream since I was four, and seeing the first man on Mars 20 years ago made me realize that it was possible."

    To be able to pay the 1.3 billion dollars for his ticket for the trip, Patrick sold his majority stocks in the company which his father had built. "I know that my father would have been proud of me if he had still been alive today. He knew what this meant to me," says Patrick.

    So, how is he going to spend his 600 days on the red planet? "Well, since I don't have a job, when I get back after selling the company, I have plenty of time to come up with a new business idea," Patrick says and laughs. If he brings a shovel(铲子), he can start building the first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn't expect too many guests until someone can offer a lower transfer fare.

    That year, I was a Junior 2 student. Falling off the stairs hurt me in the head. Almost everyone thought I was dead. But they were wrong. However, it was difficult to get back to normal life. I had to leave school and learn everything, walking, talking, and yes, maths.

    To help me with that task, Mrs. Pillar volunteered to come to the hospital and later to my house once a week. We began with basic maths skills. As time passed by, I made progress.

    I remember very vividly how she came to my home on Sundays, sat with me at the kitchen table and threw different coins on the table. She asked me to show her 38 cents, 17 cents, 63 cents. It was challenging, but she also made it fun.

    After a year and a half, I had progressed a lot, both in body and mind, to return to school. Seven years later, I graduated from the University of Texas at the top of my class.

    As years went by, I always kept in touch with Mrs. Pillar. Unluckily, one day my parents told me that Mrs. Pillar had been in hospital because she suffered a stroke (中风).

    Now it was my turn to help her. Mrs. Pillar lay in bed, unable to speak or know anybody around. I pulled some coins out of my pocket, dropped them on her bed, and asked her to show me 12 cents. The nurse thought that my action was very strange until one day Mrs. Pillar smiled happily as I began working with—just as she had worked with me years before. She made progress every day and was moved out of ICU (重症监护室) and finally out of hospital.

    One day, I called to wish her a happy New Year. She spoke into the phone excitedly, "Happy New Year to you and your family, Michael. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

    Mrs. Pillar was one of my Junior 2 teachers, but she taught me so much more about life than only maths.