When my grandma fell ill just a few days before Christmas, I felt shocked and sad that she wasn't going to be at able for Christmas with the people she loved around her. Mother said, “If she can't come here for Christmas, we'll take Christmas to her !” She was very 1when we all arrived at the ward with a lot of2full of bustle(喧闹)and chatter.

    Afterwards, the idea for Secret Santa started to3in me. The following year, I decided to put my thoughts into action and 4a request on Facebook and Twitter asking people to donate presents to those who were in hospital at Christmas. The 5was incredible.

    The first year, in the week6up to Christmas, I put on a red Santa's hat and pushed a trolley(手推车) full of presents 7the hospital wards and the local children's hospice(收容所) handing out some Christmas8I made sure those who weren't 9 also received a present.

    And, of course, the nurses and carers were10big boxes of Chocolates. I also took presents into care homes for the11 Often it was just something little, but I think they were just12to see a friendly face. It felt good doing something for other people.

    13my grandma died last year, I was still determined to keep the 14running for a second year. This time I was overwhelmed(征服)by the response. There were twice as many presents15as there were the previous year.

    We'll be16presents right up to the Christmas Eve before going to Midnight Mass(子夜弥撒), so it takes a lot of energy and time. But it's 17worth to see the looks on the children's faces when they get their presents, and to see how happy the older folk are with a (n)18and a chat. I love being a real-life Santa Claus.

    My grandma always told me Christmas was about giving, not19“That's the real spirit of Christmas!” she used to say.20I can pass on that message to others.

He Had a Go

    It was a cool spring evening in Melbourne, Australia. I drove to my boxing gym for a Friday night training session. After1up, I started training. Then I noticed a tall and slim young man walking through the doors. There was something about him that caught my2.

    Before long, I realized that he might have a mental illness. Having volunteered for mental illness support groups, I really3his problems when I looked at him.

    He paid for the session, put on a pair of gloves and then started hitting the punching bags. I watched him from a4 and wanted to help him to punch straighter and better. Then I felt it was best to leave that up to the trainer who was 5watching him.

    After a few seconds of punching the bag, he stopped and started staring at the   6.The trainer went up to him and 7to help him. It was almost like he woke up from a dream. He8 eye contact with the ceiling at once.

    Then the bell rang and it was the end of the round.9 rounds we are required to do five push-ups(俯卧撑),10all the boys that were training that night did five push-ups. He11to complete his five push-ups. The bell sounded again and the next round began. He punched the bags for a few seconds and then he12. This time he was taring at the walls which were decorated with boxing posters.

    It was clear to me that he could not 13for long.

    When I finished training, I decided to go to him and offer him my help. I held the bag for him and asked him to punch. He14 the bag a few times and then stopped again.

    I smiled at him and asked, "Do you like boxing?"

    He replied with a very shy 15on his face, "Yes, boxing is alright."

    What else could I do than16 this man and his willingness to give it a go? Most people put self-imposed(自我强加的)17on their lives and stop themselves from having a go. I kept thinking about this man while admiring him for even turning up to a boxing gym, let alone training at what appeared to be his18

    There are many lessons to learn from this man. What I19admired about this man was that he had a go! That is what20ordinariness from greatness.

So what will you have a go at?

    It was Sunday and I was returning from my sister's place. I left1thinking that I might get a seat in the metro (地铁) and it would be a rather easy2. But since my bad luck was3me everywhere, I couldn't get a seat. I4and made my way straight to the end of the compartment. I5there leaning on the side rails. I was feeling very6about myself.

    After few7I got a seat. Just then, entered a8lady supported by the metro staff and she sat next to me. I helped her out of the wheelchair and made her sit. I9my MP4 player and pushed the earpieces just to keep all the10thoughts from my head. Just then I heard the lady calling me. She introduced herself to me and asked about me. I11my best possible smile and answered that much only and pushed 12my earpieces.

    She went on13and I had to take out my earpieces and keep them back in my bag. She told me she was a student at Ramakrishna Mission Ashram and goes there14. It gives her peace and strength. The strength to keep going15her to enjoy the human life as much as possible. She then gave me one of Swami's16and also recited some of verses. She kept on talking for the most of the time and I was very17listening to her.

    We were so busy in talking that we didn't even18our names and I didn't notice it until we came to our train station and we went our ways.19she left, I opened the booklet she gave and read inspirational20. There and then, I understood that whatever may come, it should not hamper our hopes and our expectations.

    Last summer I went on a two-day river rafting trip with my teenage daughter as the river guide. I was proud to see my baby girl 1 and confidently moving our raft through a variety of2 white-water conditions. I also found it3to have my daughter giving commands and barking4 as to when and how to paddle(用桨划船).

    As we approached the largest5 on the river I could feel my heart beating faster. Upon 6 the turbulent(湍急的) water, our boat got 7 on a large rock. I was in the front of the boat and reached 8 with my paddle, thinking I would help 9 us away from the rock. In the next instant I could feel myself falling out of the boat and into the river. I did have my moments of 10 and terror.

    This resistance disappeared quickly, 11 I landed in the cold, powerfully turbulent water. 12 my high-quality flotation vest, I was pulled underwater, 13 thankfully, within seconds I popped(冒出) back up to the 14. A few moments later one of the other trip leaders called for me to 15 toward his boat, where I was quickly pulled up and in. I was shaken, out of breath, and quite 16to be out of the turbulent water.

    An equivalent of this experience happens all the time in our lives. This is life. You cannot count on things going 17. When we do, we often 18 disappointed and unhappy. Resisting 19, which often arrives suddenly and unexpectedly, keeps us from 20  the scenario(可能要发生的事) unfolding before us clearly, and it can keep us from acting in ways that are smart and effective and that lead to results that make us feel good and proud of ourselves.

    People in the world sometimes are affected by natural disasters. When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Reader's Digest wrote about impressive rescues. The spirit of serving can be incredibly 1. Here is a story from Annalysa Longworth, a survivor of Hurricane Maria, in her own 2 .

    “The total 36 hours of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was 3 the scariest event we've ever gone through. Our house sits on the north-west coast of Rinc6n. In the 4 , over 100 mph winds changed direction causing a great amount of water flooding our 5 . The only place left dry and safe was our kitchen floor, where we were 6 to ride out the rest of the storm. It has been 50 days since the 7 , and we are still without power and water. During our regular afternoon showers, we are glad to 8 rainwater but are quickly reminded of the people living without roofs, and how 9 it must be for them. Our emotions are consistently in a state of 10.

    Recently, our good friends told us about a video interview they were doing with Watts of Love, a solar light company. The company generously gave us a headlamp for our personal 11 and a box with 50 headlamps to distribute throughout our town. Rincón was completely blacked out, so making a simple walk through a parking lot to our car is 12 . We used to rush to get things done before 13 , but now I continue daily chores in the dark. What 14 our lives most was being able to share this gift with others. We 15 the lamps house by house to the people in the mountains who needed them most, as even batteries and candles are 16there. Even though 17 have come slowly, people have been out of work and can't afford to 18 their electric bill. I'11 always be 19 to Watts of Love for allowing us to pay it forward and be witnesses to the smiles that 20 can bring. ”

It's 1:30 am in Kenya's populated north, and 50 people are lying on their backs on the shore of a dried-up river, staring up at the night sky. These stargazers have travelled 250 miles to Samburu to witness the Perseid meteor shower(英仙座流星雨). They are not disappointed: Every few minutes, arrows of light shoot across the sky like silent fireworks.

The Star Safari is organised by a Kenyan astronomer, Susan Murabana, who has brought a 50 kg,170 cm-long telescope to allow the group to view Mars and deep-sky objects. But here in Samburu, where light pollution is minimal, the Perseid meteors—visible with the naked eye (裸眼)—steal the show.

Every two months, Murabana and her husband load their telescope on to the roof of their 4×4 and set off to rural communities, where they give up to 300 children a chance to view the planets and learn about constellations (星座) and the basics of astrophysics. They primarily targets schools in remote areas because of her mission to give girls an opportunity that she wishes had been available to her.

"When I started this work, I didn't see people who looked like me. I was a lone ranger and I wanted to change that." says Murabana.

"There is a common misconception in Kenya that astronomy in general is hard, boring, and only for boys," she adds. "I'd like to teach young girls that astronomy is neither of these things and that they, too, can become astronomers," says Murabana.

Murabana's passion for astronomy began in her early 20s when her uncle invited her to join a similar outreach session organized by the Cosmos Education. "That was a gamechanger. If an outreach group had come to me when I was a young teenager, my attitude towards a career in astronomy would have been positive. I ended up studying sociology and economics, but maybe I would have desired to be an astronomer," she says.

Inspired by the Cosmos Education, Murabana completed an online master's degree in astronomy with the James Cook University in 201l and set up her own outreach programme. She looked to Dr Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, as a role model. "I hope that one day, through this work, I will spark a chain reaction that leads to the first African woman in space."