Many years ago, I owned a service station and roadhouse（路边小店）on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide.

    One very cold, wet night at about 3:30 a.m., there was a1on the front door of our house. A young man, wet from2to toe, explained that he had 3out of petrol about 30 km up the road. He had left his pregnant（怀孕的）wife and his two children4at the car and said that he would hitchhike（搭便车）back.

    Once I had5a can with petrol, I took him back to his car where his two-year-old and four-year-old children were both 6saying that they were cold. Once the car had started, I suggested that he7me back.

    Before leaving, I had turned the heater 8in the roadhouse, so that when we went in, it was nice and9While the little ones played and ran 10I prepared bread and butter for the children, and hot chocolate for the11.

    It was about 5 a.m. before they 12.The young fellow asked me how much he 13me and I told him that the petrol pump（加油泵）had14$15. He offered to pay “call-out fee”, but I wouldn't accept it.

    About a month later, I received a 15from Interstate, a large bus company that we had been trying to16to stop of at our roadhouse for a long time. It17out that the young fellow I had helped was its general manager, the most 18person in the company.

    In his letter, he thanked me again and 19me that, from then on, all their buses would stop at my service station. In this 20a little bit of kindness was rewarded with a huge amount of benefits.

    Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned twelve, a bunch of white gardenia (栀子花) was delivered to my house. No card or note came with it.1to the flower shops were not helpful at all—it was a cash2.After a while I stopped trying to 3who the sender was and just delighted in the beauty and perfume of the white flowers in soft pink paper.

    But I never4 imagining who the sender might be. Some of my 5moments were spent daydreaming about it. My mother6to these imaginings. She would ask me whether there was someone for whom I had done a(n)7kindness and said that he/ she might be showing 8. Perhaps the neighbor I helped when she was9 a car full of groceries. Or maybe it was the old man10the street whose mail I helped to get during the 11so he wouldn't have to risk down his icy steps. As a young girl12 I tended to guess that it might be a boy who had noticed me a long time 13I didn't know him.

    One month before my high school graduation, my father died of a heart attack. My feelings ranged from grief to abandonment and fear. He was 14some of the most important events in my life. And I became completely15 in my upcoming dance in my graduation ceremony.

    The day before my father died, my mother and I had gone shopping for a dress. We'd found a splendid one, but it was the wrong size. When my father died, I16about the dress. My mother didn't. The day before the graduation ceremony, I found that beautiful dress, in the right size, on the sofa. I didn't17whether I had a new dress or not, but my mother did. She wanted her children to feel18and lovable, believing that there was a magic in the world and19in the face of hard times. In truth, Mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia—lovely20 and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery.

    My mother passed away ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.

    I volunteer some of my time in order to give back just a little of what I am so blessed to have. This month. I had an unbelievable opportunity to 1 my dream, and step out of my 2 surroundings. I volunteered to go to Guatemale (危地马拉) with an eyeglass.

    Our 3 went to a small town in Guatemala. San Augustin. We 4 our tables and packages of pre-made 5in the dirt courtyard of a clinic, get up the Snellen chart on a wall, and began 6 people. Young and old, they came from many of the 7 town. Most had never had an eye exam before.

    They waited for hours8 in the sun, never complaining. If we could help them out with a 9 pair of glasses they would feel deeply 10. Some only left with eye drops or sunglasses, and 11 these people were grateful.

    We saw over a hundred 12 a day and a good part of those we saw got glasses. We 13over and over from people who knew their eyes 14help that they had not gone to a doctor because it was too 15, or had not got the glasses they needed for the same reason. We saw children who were16 out of school because they could not see the17, and we met women who could not see to thread needles, drivers with 18 seeing road signs.

      We are not doctors, and there were several people we could not help. But for those we could, we watched with pleasure as their lives19. What a gift sight is and what a difference it 20to see clearly.

    Spelling was sort of my superpower. I wasn't a math or science guy, but I could chew and 1 books.

    "Your word is onomatopoeia," said the announcer. On the stage of "School Bee," my brain 2 to the spelling bees ahead: first the county championship, then the state, and finally the national spelling bee. I glanced back at Alexa, who wanted another chance at 3. If I missed this word, she'd be 4 in the game. But that wouldn't happen. Chin up, shoulders back, I 5 my throat, "O-n-o-m-a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a." I made it.

    The trophy (奖杯) was presented to me. I shouted onstage, "I am the alpha-best". Surprisingly, my sister, Deandra, rolled her eyes. "You're a 6 winner." Deandra made a 7 face. "She tried to shake your hand but you 8."

    I didn't 9 at all. "Anyway, I won the school bee." "Don't be proud. You'll soon be facing the 10 of the best in the county bee."

    "Will they 11 me? I am the alpha-best with no efforts at all." After six rounds, the number of students 12 from more than 100 to just seven and I was one out of the seven. If I had been given words like aerospace or conical, I'd make 13 already. Unfortunately, I 14 with the word maestro at last. I stood 15 for the longest moment.

    The final winner acted the exact 16 of mine. He accepted his trophy with a small bow, and then shook hands with the runner-up (亚军). I got to know Deandra's words 17.

    I apologized to Alexa, "I'm sorry I was so 18 when I won." "How was the county bee?" Alexa asked. "A 19." If you need a study partner for next time, I'm happy to help." "Really? Let's 20 on it, partner." "Better late than never." Alexa said, shaking my hand.

Day Camp

Our Day Camp is more than a place where children simply play. We are a group of devoted educators who long to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children. 

Sailfish

Entering 3rd & 4th Grades

Sailfish groups are separated by gender(性别) and enjoy intramural(校内的) sports with a greater emphasis placed on teamwork and sportsmanship. Sailfish group also enjoy all of the aquatic(水生的) activities our waterfront campus has to offer, along with a daily schedule of activities that enrich the mind and body. 

Tadpoles

Entering Kindergarten

This group of campers have their own learning facility(设施) and take part in age-appropriate specials throughout the day. The Tadpoles swim twice daily in our in-ground swimming pool. A certified teacher and counselorsc指导老师) arganize and monitor the day's activities, helping the Tadpoles to prepare for the fun of the upcoming school year. 

Minnows

Entering lst & 2nd Grades

These campers are grouped by gender and have the chance to play sports-centered games, explore art and saence and become acquainted with the excitement of sailing on Stony Brook Harbor. Daily swimming lessons are also included, and trips to the beach are a favorite of the Minnows. Both certified teachers and senior counselors work with these campers to provide a safe and enriching experience. 

Dolphins

Entering 5th & 6th Grades

These campers participate in a wide variety of sports and activities. Same-gendered grouping allows flexibility for the groups to choose their favorite games during meeting times. Dolphins also spend time sailing on the Harbor, swimming in our in-ground swimming pool and participating in adventurous activities. 

For nearly two decades, a thin, sun-burnt postal worker could frequently be seen carrying packages along a dangcrous mountain trail in the Taihang Mountains.

The 10-kilometer-long route, which is between 20 centimeters and 1 meter wide, is known as the "cat road" by locals, meaning that it is so dangerous that only cats could walk on it. Whereas, Zhao Yuefang, a postal worker in Ewu township in Huguan county, Shanxi province, had to walk the route every day to deliver mail.

Every day at the crack of dawn, he would start his journey along the "cat road". From picking up the day's post to delivering it to villagers and returning along the same route, it took Zhao four days. During rainy and snowy seasons, the mountain road, part of which hugs the cliffs, would become slippery and dangerous. One day in the winter of 2003, the "cat road" was covered in thick snow and he slipped off the trail. Fortunately, he was able to stop his sharp descent by grabbing a tree branch and slowly managed to climb to safety.

By 2012, Zhao had walked more than 300,000 km and delivered over 800,000 pieces of mail. Born and raised in the deep mountains, Zhao truly understands the significance of mail deliveries to villagers. "They depend on the mail to keep in touch with the outside world," he said. "Their sheer joy written on their face while receiving any post struck me," he added.

In 2012, a 67-km-long tourist highway was built and gone were those days when Zhao risked his life to walk on the "cat road". But Zhao was even busier than before. "The number of packages I handle daily now exceeds the number I used to deal with in the past," said Zhao, adding that villagers are turning to online shopping and ordering more and more goods by post.