Ever since an accident put him in a wheelchair, Dan has had one dream:1.

    That is why he was 2 to learn about a piece of research that could possibly lead to his 3. But there are two 4. First, the research may take years before it becomes a treatment. And the second is the most 5 of all considerations: money.6by love for Dan, friends worked hard through a series of 7 to raise 20,000 pounds for his future surgery. Dan felt he could really start looking forward to the day when he could turn his 8 into a reality.

Then he 9 Brecon, a 5-year-old who 10 from cerebral palsy (脑瘫). Dan read about a new surgical operation that could 11 the little boy to walk unaided. But the surgery would 12 more than 60,000 pounds — money Brecon's parents were having a 13 time raising.

    Dan said, “I'm in pretty much the 14 condition, but it appears that Brecon can 15 walk if he gets his surgery, and I can't right now. So I thought I might as well pass the money on to him. I'm 16 to everyone who has helped me out, but this boy needs it 17 I do at the moment.”

    And so he took this dream out of the bank and 18 it over to Brecon's parents, telling them, “It would make me very happy to see the 19 made to Brecon's life.”

    “I wanted to help someone whose life could get better,” he said. “If I can help someone to walk, I will. Even if it means 20 a dream to do it.”

    I'm a seventeen-year-old, counting down the days till graduation, just like every other senior in the world. I've1a lot in my short seventeen years of life, but I have also made mistakes. I'm not2. I'm on the path of self-discovery, which as I've come to realize is not3.

    After many years, I still4remember the last time I had to5. At that moment, starting a new6wasn't really that big of a deal. I spent the next four and a half years in Mountain Home. I made four7friends anyone could ever ask for. When I had to8them, I was depressed.

    I soon9that starting a new high school was different from being the “10girl” in elementary or even middle school. It wasn't as easy to gain the “approval(认可)” of my11now as it had been back then. Back in elementary or middle school,12I was a freshman, I had my friends and people I knew. I could very easily13well over ninety percent of my class.14, at this new school, I15no one.

    I've been told over and over by my mom that I'll16have to enter the “real” world and that the17I have over all of these things will soon disappear. What adults18to realize is that every day in a teenager's life is a battle. We're no longer children, but not quite adults. We struggle to19who we are.

    Although I still have about a year and a half left, I honestly believe that being a teenager has been the hardest20in my life, something I'm sure I'll carry with me for the rest of my existence.

    It's about 250 miles from the hills of west-central lowa to Ehlers' home in Minnesota. During the long trip home, following a weekend of hunting, Ehlers 1about the small dog he had seen 2 alongside the road. He had 3 to coax（哄）the dog to him but, frightened, it had 4.

    Back home, Ehlers was troubled by that 5 dog. So, four days later, he called his friend Greg, and the two drove 6. After a long and careful 7. Greg saw, across a field, the dog moving 8 away. Ehlers eventually succeeded in coaxing the animal to him. Nervousness and fear were replaced with 9. It just started licking（舔）Ehlers' face.

    A local farmer told them the dog sounded like one 10 as lost in the local paper. The ad had a 11 number for a town in southern Michigan. Ehlers 12 the number of Jeff and Lisa to tell them he had 13 their dog.

    Jeff had 14 in lowa before Thanksgiving with his dog, Rosie, but the gun shots had scared the dog off. Jeff searched 15 for Rosie in the next four days.

    Ehlers returned to Minnesotan, and then drove 100 miles to Minneapolis to put Rosie on a flight to Michigan. “It's good to know there's still someone out there who  16 enough to go to that kind of 17," says Lisa of Ehlers' rescue 18.

    I figured whoever lost the dog was probably just as  19 to it as I am to my dogs,” says Ehlers. “If it had been my dog, I'd hope that somebody would be 20 to go that extra mile.”

    I played a racquetball game against my cousin Ed last week. It was one of the most 1 and tiring games I've ever had. When Ed first phoned and 2 we play, I laughed quietly, figuring on an 3 victory. After all, Ed's idea of 4 has always been nothing more 5 than lifting a fork to his mouth. 6 I can remember, Ed's been the least physically fit member in the family, and 7 proud of himself. His big stomach has always ballooned out between his T-shirt and trousers.

    Although the family often 8 about that, Ed refused to buy a 9 T-shirt or to lose weight. So when Ed 10 for our game not only with the bottom of his shirt gathered inside his trousers but also with a stomach you could hardly 11, I was so surprised that I was 12. My cousin must have made an effort to get himself into shape. 13, at the point in our game when I' d have predicted (预计) the score to be about 9 to 1 in my favor, it was 14 7 to 9—and Ed was 15. The sudden realization was painful. We 16to play like two mad men. When the score was 16 up, I was having serious 17 about staying alive until 21 years old, let alone (更不用说) 18 that many points. When the game finally ended, both of us were lying flat on our backs, too tired to 19. In a way, I think we both won: I the game, but cousin Ed my 20.

    I was the fool at school, regarded as a special needs student. I was termed as such, obviously, because I was not interested in school and did not care for my 1.

    Over time, I started to believe in my stupidity. I 2 the fact that I was in special needs classes and poured it out as anger and depression. But one activity 3 this view of myself: chess.

    I started to play chess with my father after school simply because I wanted to 4 him at something. My father was a 5 man, fond of physics, writing, religion…, almost every 6 . He was called a walking dictionary. So, winning in chess against my father would be a 7 that I had intellectual power. On the small chessboard, I had a chance to 8 my so-called inability.

    Game after game, I wanted to beat my father even more. I started to study chess books and play against a chess computer to 9 my skills. One weekend, I finally checkmated(将杀)my father on a ferry ride, which made me feel 10.

    Two years later, I became the second board on my school chess team, with our top board being the best high school player in the state. But before the tournament season, our top player 11 to come. There came my chance to play as top board against the best players in other states.

    I was determined to show who I had become: a(n)12 person able to win with calculation, logic and will. My most 13 game came in the final round. Our team was facing a high school which only excellent students attended. It was 14 a match between a special needs student and a smart soul. My opponent(对手) was playing well and kept 15 while I kept defending to keep my king safe. He spent long trying to break down my defenses, but could not find the final push. I 16 with more defensive moves, trying to make it as difficult for him as possible. With little 17 left, he started to make rapid moves.18 he could make the final decision, he ran out of time. Honestly, as his clock flag fell, I jumped up out of my seat and kissed the floor out of excitement. Of course it was not the most sportsmen-like 19, but I could not control my emotions.

While holding my winner's cup, I knew I was not 20. The inferiority complex(自卑感) had melted away, and I realized that underneath our thoughts, each person is a genius.

    Clara Daly was seated on an Alaska Airlines flight when a flight attendant asked a(n)1question over the loudspeaker, "Does anyone on board know American Sign Language?"

    Clara, 15 at the time,2the call button. The flight attendant came by and 3the situation. "We have a passenger on the plane who's4and deaf." she said. The passenger seemed to want something, but he couldn't5his message.

    Clara6to have been studying ASL for the past year and knew she'd be able to finger spell into the man's palm. So she7her seat belt and walked toward the seat of Tim Cook, then 64.8taking his hand, she9, "Are you OK?" Cook asked for some water.

    When it arrived, Clara returned to her seat. She came by again a bit later because he wanted to know the time. On her third10, she stopped and stayed a while.

    "He didn't need anything. He was lonely and wanted to11." Clara says.

    So for the next hour, that's what they did. She talked about her plans for the future. Cook told Clara12he had gradually become blind over time and13stories of his days as a traveling salesman. Even though he couldn't see her, she "looked14at his face with such kindness," a passenger reported, "We can see she smiled with happiness,15she made a difference in someone's life."

    "Clara was amazing." a flight attendant told Alaska Airlines in a blog interview. "You could tell Tim was very16to have someone he could speak to, and she was such a(n)17."

    Cook's18, "Best trip I've ever had."

    Life is a continuous learning experience. As for Clara, she said, "I've also learned a lot. The best thing for19is to learn something. Learning is the only thing that never20.