While my father was an officer of the British army in South Africa, we lived in a two-storeyed house. One evening my father and sister and I were sitting together. He was1the window. I suddenly2that he was turning very pale. I sat3, for I didn't want to4my sick sister. Soon father said in a5voice, “Kate and Joan, a friend of mine6here to see me this evening, and I wish to be7him. Will you go up to your own room?” We obeyed, went to our room and closed the door.

    Soon I heard a8like that of a door burst in, and then a climb of feet. They were hurrying9the narrow stairs. Fearing that there was10near, I seized the pistol (手枪) on the table. Then I heard my father cry out, “For God's sake, child, 11the door.” I did so. To my scare, I saw,12my father's shoulder; a gorilla (大猩猩), the worst enemy of the soldier in Europe, he was13my father. I raised the pistol and fired. The animal fell backwards with an/a 14loud cry. Father took the still 15pistol from my hand, and fired another shot, which killed the gorilla.

    It happened when father 16us upstairs because he thought he would be able to 17the door—which was twenty feet away 18the animal reached it. However, the gorilla was too 19 and this was the cause of the 20flight (=escape) up the stairs.

A Commitment to Life

    The snow was falling and the roads had become dangerous. The schools were dismissed early, but much to my surprise, my 1 wasn't canceled. So I went, feeling especially heroic. As far as I could see, I was risking my life to keep my 2. Snow or no snow, I would be on time for my scheduled donation at the local 3 center.

    When I got there, I discovered I wasn't 4. Four more “hero-types” were already lying back in donor chairs with lines 5 to their veins(静脉), and machines quietly pumping away to 6 their lifesaving gifts.

    Seeing my fellow donors honoring their own commitments, I realized why I was there. I lay back in my donor chair, ready to make a 7 to the life of someone I would never 8.

    To be honest, I'd never really thought about why I donate. I just did it. 9 a few months ago, during one of my 10 donations I learned that my blood was specifically for a cancer patient and for a newborn baby—both patients needed what I would give in order to live. I've viewed my visits to the blood center 11 ever since.

    My wife Karen is a 12, too. And more importantly, she has been on the bone marrow (骨髓) list for fifteen years, ever since she 13 to provide bone marrow to a kindergartner with leukemia(白血病). That little girl died before Karen's bone marrow could help her, but Karen was called again recently. Her test results were still on file, and it turned out she was a potential 14 for someone else. The caller asked Karen if she would still be willing to become a bone marrow donor. “Yes,” she said and then immediately began answering questions on the pages of paperwork for further testing. It was a race 15 time.

    I wish I could say that this 16 was won. It wasn't. The caller later thanked Karen for her participation and asked a few more questions—including whether or not she'd 17on the donor list. “Of course,” Karen answered.

    Last week Karen gave blood and next week I'll make my usual donation. I'll clear an afternoon from my schedule and make an appointment. I don't know whose life my donation may 18. Most likely it will be a 19, but on any day the person needing blood could be you or me or maybe a loved one. It is worthwhile to 20our time to donate.

    I really do feel proud every time I donate. And I like the feeling.

    In the past year I have lost two of the people I loved most. One was my little sister, and the other a best friend. I 1 them. They are still in my heart, and there they'll 2.

    3, when I moved to another city eight years ago, I didn't get to see them as much as I wanted to. Something always seemed to get in my 4­work, my dogs and, yes, the money to fly up for 5 visits.

    I was too 6 to whisper in their ear what they meant to me and to thank them for the 7 they gave me. And this is something I 8. But instead of beating myself up, I'd rather9 from this hardest of lessons.

    I've decided to put those I love 10 everything from now on­to make keeping in 11 the very first to do and to enjoy time with them while they are here. In fact, I have 12 I am going to take something 13 from their loss and enjoy everything more. Not to 14 doing things I can do straight away. To enjoy everything I own. Why? It's as John Lennon said, "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans".

    After the funerals (葬礼) of my darlings, I watched as their 15 dealt with their possessions. It 16 me of sorting out my mother's things following her 17, and the sadness that brought me. I've given up trying to "get ahead" in life; now my very 18 thing is myself and the people and things that make me happy. And I am going to remind those I love that this is the case, not just in writing 19 face to face and as often as I can. Because leaving anything for later is taking the risk that later may never 20.

    One evening, Catherine was at home as usual. As her1swung between what she was going to do with her life and their dinner plans for the evening, she was unexpectedly2by an urgent call from her sister "Get over here! Turn on NBC and check these guys out. They are just like you…" One Facebook message and a phone interview later, Catherine3herself on a bus with 8 strangers in the middle of the sweltering desert heat of Utah, picking up trash and4awareness about zero-waste and climate change.

    With a deep5of the environment and a desire to make a6, Catherine, Davey, and a group of self7"environmental pick-up artists" went on a coast to coast road side trash pick-up. As they walked, sometimes only80.9 miles in an entire day, they9and steadily made their way across the United States for three years, picking up a total of 201,678 pounds of trash.

    Catherine and Davey10with us wonderful stories of hope and inspiration that fueled their11to continue their journey. After spending weeks silently12how she would have enough13to fly home for their two-week spring break, Catherine found a blank, unidentified envelope14with $850 cash in the desert. Just enough to get her home and back. After their bus15outside of Denver, they unexpectedly got16and arrived in Yosemite National Park three weeks later, just in time for the "Yosemite Facelift" where17from all over the state came together with a18of cleaning up trash all over the park.

    Being at the right place at the right time became almost normal, and they realized that much of what they19was more than just a coincidence. Together, their team learned to simply20themselves to their task, and surrender to the journey.

Minu Pauline is the owner of Pappadavada Restaurant in Kochi, India. Late one night, as she watched a homeless woman searching through the garbage bin outside her house, a realization hit her with full force—she had been abandoning perfectly good leftover food while someone in need was looking for food.

Touched by this sad sight, Pauline knew she had to find a solution to this problem. That woman had been sleeping and was woken up by her hunger, so she had to go in search of food instead of sleeping.

Inspired by her desire to make a difference, she decided to take action. The idea was simple but mighty: She placed a refrigerator at the entrance of her restaurant, stored with leftover food that anyone could take for free. This refrigerator became a beacon (灯塔) of hope for the hungry and the homeless.

Each day, Pauline fills the refrigerator with 75 to 80 packets of leftovers, carefully labeling each one with the date it was cooked. And there are days when she goes above and beyond, putting in 100 packets to ensure no one leaves hungry. The self-service refrigerator is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, allowing anyone in need to access a warm meal whenever they require it. It's about recognizing the value of resources and combating food waste.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, she passionately emphasized that while money may belong to individuals, resources are a communal asset. She believes that wasting resources, especially food, is not only a loss for individuals but also a disservice to society as a whole.

Through her selfless act, Pauline has sparked a ripple (涟漪) of kindness and compassion in her community.

Damarie Thomas, a twelve-year-old Jamaican teen, was concentrating on practising his skills for the upcoming football contest when he felt a hard tackle(抢断球) from behind, which pushed him to the ground. His world changed overnight. Though his injuries did not result in paralysis(瘫痪), they were serious enough to affect his movement. It was the last time that he had played football.

Now Thomas is an adult and he uses a wheelchair to travel distances. Despite a number of difficulties, he perseveres in his attempts to walk. He proudly claims that from being able to move only two steps at a time, he can now do five steps unaided. Limited resources have influenced his treatment, but he is hopeful that he will be able to complete recovery soon. Having an experience like this would have broken many an adult, but not this young man. "It's not what happens but how you come back from it that counts," he said.

After his injury, Thomas did well in his primary school exams and gained a place at one of the top-rated high schools in Jamaica. However, at that time the school was not equipped to accommodate a physically disabled student and he had to accept a transfer to a high school near his home.

It is a blessing that Thomas has now signed up for an information technology course at Abilities Foundation, proudly claiming his improvement by learning coding(编码). The Abilities Foundation aims to equip the disabled with skills through training. The training centre encourages Thomas to chase his dream — he wants to become a successful software engineer, creating innovative technology accessible and beneficial to all, especially people with disabilities.