The Sixth Time I Went to the Principal's Office

    When I was in the seventh grade, I had problems behaving. My heart was in the right place, but I couldn't always follow the rules. I played many tricks on my schoolmates. Once, I even pulled a girl's hair on the school bus to get her attention. As a result, I was repeatedly sent to the office of the principal（校长）.

    Although I hated going there, I did not hate the principal, Mr. Ratcliff. Mr. Ratcliff was a kind, elderly man. When he spanked（ 打屁股） me for putting some ants into a classmate's pencil box, it didn't hurt at all, but it did hurt my feelings. I thought so much of him and moments like that seemed to prove I was hopelessly bad.

    When I got called to Mr. Ratcliff's office for the sixth time, I had no idea what I had done. I felt disappointed as I walked down there. I went into his office, sat down, and looked at the floor. Then he said the last thing I expected to hear:” Kevin, I've heard you've been behaving really well lately. I want you to know how proud I am of you, and I just called you down to my office to give you a peppermint.”

    “Really?” I was surprised.

    “Yes. Now you can take that peppermint and go back to class.”

    I carried the peppermint with me as if it was a gold coin. When I got into my classroom, I bragged （ 吹嘘） to my classmates about my turnaround, excitedly. I wasn't so bad after all.

    Mr. Ratcliff was really kind. He made me realize that I was just a kid who had problems with behavior. He bought some peppermints and took the time to notice me when I got something—anything—right. Mr. Ratcliff gave me some hope by giving me some love. I will just remember him for the rest of my life.

    Lei Haiwei, a 37-year-old fast food courier(快递员) from Hunan Province, got first place in a televised Chinese poetry knowledge competition. He beat other competitors, including a master's degree（硕士学位） graduate from Beijing University, in the third season of the Chinese Poetry Conference on CCTV on April 4, 2018.

    "My interest in ancient poems began as early as I was six years old. My father hoped I would grow up to be a man who keeps the mountains, rivers, lakes and seas in mind," the courier said.

    In 2001, the younger Lei found a job in Shanghai and began to read books related to ancient poems at bookstores or libraries in his spare time, since he didn't make much money. The young man also developed a habit of reciting poems he liked and writing them down after returning home.

    Though Lei works as a fast food courier in Hangzhou later, his love for poems never died. Even on his busiest work days, he used any available moment to recite poems. "For example, I am used to reciting poems when I wait for food at restaurants, and traffic lights on my way to deliver food.  Reciting poems not only enriches my knowledge, but also makes my job less boring. As for my future plan, I will stick to reading and reciting poems," Lei said.

    My name is Sam. I joined a club called" passing help" last month. Now let me tell you why I joined it.

    One evening this May, on my way home my old car was broken. It was 25 miles from my home. I wanted to take a taxi, but there was no car. I decided to take a bus home. I went to a bus stop nearby.

After a while, a bus came, but it did not go to my town. The bus driver was a young woman. She was kind and she told me which bus I should take. I waited there for about thirty minutes, but no bus came. At last a car came to me and a woman came out of the car. She was just the bus driver.

    "When I reached the bus station, I got to know that the bus to your town couldn't come, so I returned here. I just can't leave you here," she said," Get in my car and I will take you back to your home."

    "It is a long way." I said.

    "Come on, sir, "she said," Let's go."

    On the way she told me a story. A few days ago, there wasn't gas(汽油）in her car. An old man drove her up to a gas station and then back to her car.

    When we got to my home, I wanted to give her some money to thank her, but she didn't accept it." I only want to help others and do something nice for somebody. Pass it along." She said.

    A young woman turns around and around quickly, and jumps high. In the background, a young girl reads a rejection(拒绝)letter from a ballet school." You have the wrong body for ballet," it says, " and at thirteen, you are too old." This was one of the most popular advertisements(广告)of 2014 and it describes American Ballet Theatre's principal(主要的)dancer Misty Copeland.

    This was not a real letter. But Copeland says it is very similar to letters from her childhood. While many dancers start at the age of three, Copeland only began to study ballet in 1995 as a thirteen­year­-old girl. People often told her that she was too old，or that she didn't have the perfect body type(She is only 157 cm tall). Her family moved a lot, and it was sometimes difficult for her to attend ballet classes. But Copeland loved dancing and did not want to give up. She stayed with her ballet teacher during the week and spent time with her family only at the weekend. This was a difficult life, but she worked hard and won her first national competition when she was fourteen years old. Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and performed in many ballets over the next few years. In 2007, she became a solo(单独的) performer, and in 2015 she became its principal dancer.

    Copeland is now a dancer, author and Broadway performer. She also starred in the 2015 film A Ballerina's Tale. So what's next? According to Copeland, anything is possible：My career(职业)really is just now beginning.