The Power of -atlon（决心）

    The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old mal stove（火炉）．A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the1and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates got there

    One morning they 2to find the schoolhouse burning. They dragged（拖）the little boy out of the building more dead than alive. Then he was 3taken to a nearby county hospital.

    The doctor told the boy's mother that4 the lower part of his body was seriously burnt, he couldn't use his legs anymore. However, the5boy made up his mind that he would walk. Unluckily his thin legs6hung there, all but lifeless.

    Finally he returned home from the7 ． Every day his mother would press his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control,8 ． Yet his determination that he would walk was as 9as ever.

    When he wasn't in bed, he would sit in a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he 10himself from the chair and pulled himself across the grass，dragging his11behind him.

    He worked his way to the white fence（栅栏）around the yard. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, he began dragging himself along the fence,12that he would walk. He started to do this every day. There was nothing he 13more than to develop life in those legs.

    In the end，through his determination he did14 ． He began to walk to school，then to run to school，to run15the joy of running. Later in college he made the running team.

      Still later in Madison Square Garden this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile!

      A jobless man wanted to apply(求职)for the position of “office boy” at Microsoft. The staff manager interviewed him and then gave him a   1 : clean the floor. The man pass it: he cleaned the floor very well.

      “You are hired(雇佣),” the manager told the man. “Give me your email address, and I'll send you the form to    2  . I shall also send you the   3    you should report for the work. ”The man replied, “I don't have a   4   , or email!”

      “I'm sorry ,” said the manager. “if you don't have an email, that means you do not exist(存在). And we can not  5   person who do not exist. ”

      The man was very  6 . He didn't know what to do. He only had 10 dollars with him. Once that was   7   , he wouldn't have any money to buy even food. He went to the supermarket and bought a box of tomatoes with his 10 dollars. He went from door to door and   8     the tomatoes in small bags. He doubled his money.

      He  9 this three times, and return home with 60 dollars. He realized that he could continue to live this way. He started to go earlier every day, and return later. He doubled or made even three times his money every day. Soon, he  10  a cart, then a truck. In a very short time, he had his many delivery trucks.

      Five years later, the man became one of the biggest  11   sellers in the country. He started to plan his family's future. He called an insurance(保险) broker, a man who sells insurance. At the end of the  12  , the broker asked him for his email address. The man replied, “I don't have an email.”

      Hearing that, the broker felt very   13 . “You don't have an email, and yet have succeeded in becoming so  14 . Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?” he said aloud. The man thought for a while, and replied, “an office  15 at Microsoft! ”

      If you just lost your job or just failed an interview, don't worry, think of the positive…Good days are on the way and something better will happen to you.

    Tom had a dog named Max. Max was 10 years old, which was quite 1 in dog years. Tom bought the dog to protect him and his family from 2. When Max saw something suspicious (可疑的), he barked loudly. There was one time when a bad man was trying to get into Tom's house. Thankfully, Max barked loudly and Tom's dad was able to 3 the bad man in time. Sometimes though, Max would bark when he saw another dog. Tom would go outside 4 something bad was happening, but it was really just another dog.

    Tom went on a lot of hikes and walks with Max. Tom did not like to exercise, but he did not 5 if it was with Max. Tom would also take Max to the dog beach, where Max could play with other dogs. Max was considered part of the 6. He was even in the family holiday postcard picture. Tom knew, however, that Max was going to 7 soon. He tried not to think about it.

    One day, Tom came back home from school and filled up Max's water bowl as usual. Except this time, Max did not run to the 8 as he usually did. Tom looked around the house for Max and found him lying on the floor. Tom was surprised. He 9 ran to Max and called his name over and over again. He was gone. Tom and his family buried (埋葬)him in their backyard. He 10 for a long time, and remembered all his good memories with Max.

    For a full­time worker and a mother of three, it seems impossible to spend time 1, but Hope Cooper can make it.

    Cooper volunteers at Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) in Varina High School. Her work is to 2 applications(申请表格)to students with scholarships (奖学金) for college. Cooper says, "I usually run to the PTSA meetings right after work. After the meetings, I have to run home and cook dinner for my own children."

    3 of Cooper's children goes to Varina High School, but she says, "Volunteering isn't all about helping the people you know best, but it's about helping those who 4 you most." Cooper chooses to volunteer in Varina High School because she 5 some poor students can't afford the higher education. She says 6 she can't help out every student, helping out one student is rewarding (值得的). Cooper thinks volunteering not only makes a difference to the students but also 7 her thought of what is important in life. Cooper says volunteering may seem 8 to one but means so much to those who need it. She 9 everyone to take part in it. She plans to keep on volunteering in the future. "Volunteering gives me a 10 that I need. I'll ask my children to volunteer, too," she says.

    When I was about 12 years old, I really wanted a new bike! I told my parents my birthday wish, but I knew there was little hope because my family could1have that money.

    On my birthday my parents told me they had my2outside in the backyard. At once I rushed out to the yard. There was my bike, 3it wasn't the bike that I thought it would be. This one was pink, old and worn with age. It was so disappointing(令人失望的)! I thought I4 my parents' feelings because I could see the disappointment5 their faces and I was sure they could see it on mine. I 6 the old bike and rode it, feeling7that I had made my parents feel this way. So I put on a smile, rode as fast as I could and didn't look back...

    As time went by, I began to understand my parents gave me 8 much more than just a rusty(生锈的)old bike. They gave me a life lesson about9. When you give something out of love, it doesn't matter what it is in fact. What matters is the love in it. I like to remember this story because giving a gift is not about money. It's about how much love you can feel from it. Do remember, a gift that10 two dollars isn't less valuable than one that costs one hundred dollars, or even more.

    I'm a middle school student. In the past, I had some bad1. I hardly had breakfast2I usually got up late. I didn't like exercising. I3exercised one to two times a month. In the evening, I always watched TV4more than two hours. Then I5the Internet. I liked to play computer games. So I often stayed up late. My parents thought(认为) staying up late was bad for my health, so they were not6with that.

    One day, I fainted(昏倒)in a P.E. class. When I7, I was in the hospital. The doctor said that my classmates sent(送)8there. He said that I was in poor (差的)9Then he told me to eat breakfast every day and do more exercise.

    From then on, I10to give up (戒掉) my bad habits. Now I usually get up early and have a good breakfast. After school, I always play sports with my friends. It's fun and good for my health.