Everybody usually makes decisions. They can be as important as what you will do in the future or as simple as what you will eat for breakfast . Any decision could be the turning point of your life.

    I made an important decision when I was in Junior 3.

    Before I made that decision I was one of the boys who tried too hard to act as an adult. I didn't know that only kids want to show themselves as adults. I didn't listen to my parents and teachers, and my grades became poor. Then came the high school entrance exam.

    At the turning point of my life, my mom wanted to have a conversation with me. I wanted to turn it down but when I looked at her eyes, I felt I couldn't refuse. Instead of asking me to study hard, to my surprise, Mom just asked what I wanted to do in the future. Without thinking too much, I just said I would like to study hard .

    Mom smiled and asked again: “ I asked: what do you WANT to do?”

    I never seriously thought about the question. So , I kept silent. “Whether you want to go on studying or enter the society,” she went on, “it is your own decision. Your life ought to be decided by you, not by anyone else, including me.” After saying that, she had tears in her eyes.

    For the first time in my life I was asked to make my own decision. I sat in my chair and thought about myself, my life and what kind of person I wanted to become.

    It took me what seemed to be ages to make the biggest decision so far in my life. I wanted to be a man who makes a difference in the world. To achieve that, I needed to study hard.

    The path to my future became clear to me. I didn't act rebelliously(叛逆地) any more. With passion(激情) in my heart, I studied hard.

    Now, I'm 17 and I'm in one of the best schools in my city, in one of the best classes at the school and I am one of the best students in the class.

    Thanks to that decision, I have become what I am today.

    Liu Xiang is a famous runner in the world. He was the winner(获胜者) of the Athens Olympics(雅典奥运会). The Chinese people are proud (自豪) of him. He is a hard-working young man. He is still strong and healthy. Why is he in good health? He usually gets up early in the morning and exercises every day. He likes listening to music and he sings well. He has good eating habits. He never eats junk food and hardly ever smokes and drinks. He goes to bed early and sleeps 8 hours every night. He often says, "It is important(重要) for health to have a good lifestyle."

There was a little boy whose name was Peter. He lived by the sea. The villagers built sea walls to keep sea water from the doors of the houses. But once the sea walls almost put the village in great danger.

One day, Peter was walking on his way back home along the sea wall when it began to rain. All of a sudden, he saw a hole in the wall, from which the sea water was running. Peter shouted for help because he knew the hole meant that the sea was making its way through the sea wall, but no answer came. He realized he should do something else as quickly as possible, or the sea water could be pouring over the whole village. He started to rush towards his village. At the same time, the rain became heavier and heavier.

It was getting dark, but Peter rushed on and on. He felt cold and hungry. In the rainstorm, he fell down over and over again. Many times he thought about giving up, but he fought on. He remembered his father's words, "Lots of strong men have made every effort to build the walls which can keep the village safe from danger. The sea walls are really important."

Finally, when the boy's father saw him, Peter had been black and blue all over. The boy told the villagers what had happened to the sea wall. They repaired it in time. "Thank God! He saved the village," they praised Peter. All the villagers called him "Peter the Guard" from then on. Peter's parents were really proud of him!

Life's a long, long journey. 

Setting personal goals(目标) can give our life a sense of direction. Goal setting is used by top sports players, successful business people and high achievers in all fields. Before you set personal goals, think about what you want to achieve in your life. Try to set goals in some of the following categories(类别). 

●Education — Will you achieve the educational goals after finishing high school? Are you still growing and learning?

●Family — What kind of relationship do you want with your parents and other family members?

●Occupation — What do you want to do when you grow up? What do you need to learn to make your dream come true?

●Pleasure — How do you want to enjoy yourself?

Write down the goals and think about them carefully. To help make the process easier, divide your goals into smaller tasks. For example, if you want to reach a main goal in five years, set a three-year goal, a one-year goal, a three-month goal and a one-month goal. Then create a daily To-Do List of things that you should do today. When a goal is achieved, take the time to enjoy your success. This helps you build the self-confidence. 

Remember, your goals can change as time goes on. But be sure your goals are things you hope to achieve, not what your parents, family or teachers want. 

 Dawn Loggins was born in North Carolina, America. She had a hard childhood because of her {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (父母) problems. There was {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (从不) enough money for food and living, so the family often lived in buildings without power or running water. Dawn really wanted to learn, but {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (学习) at home was difficult with no lights.

 As she got older, Dawn {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (明白) that education was the only way to change her life. When her parents {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (突然) moved away to Tennessee, she was left behind and moved in with a woman. The woman was a hotel {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (经理). Dawn was finally in a normal home. To make money, she took a job as a school cleaner and worked every day before classes {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (开始). With great efforts, she always got A {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (在······期间) her teenage years and worked even harder. She hoped to get into Harvard {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (大学) one day.

 As the saying goes, "No pains, no gains." Her dream came {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (真的) and she studied biology there. This was a fantastic achievement for a teenager whose life had been far from easy.