When two ninth-grade students found smoke coming out of the back of their school bus early Tuesday morning, their bus driver knew just what to do. Thanks to her1 thinking, more than 50 students' lives were2.

    While3a group of 56 students to their middle school in Duncan, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Teresa Stroble noticed the heavy4rising from the back of her bus. She5pulled the bus over, evacuated (疏散) the students, and radioed the transportation office to ask6to call 911. Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after the fire began and quickly7the fire, which CBS News reports was so8that people driving by were able to feel its heat inside their cars. Parents of the children on the bus were9the fire, but thanks to Stroble, the news they received was all10: not a single child had been hurt.

    Since then, Stroble, who has been a bus driver for seven years11also works as a teacher's assistant (助教), has been12for her brave actions. “We are so13of our bus driver,” headmaster Scott Turner told local CBS News. “She was14. She also kept the students calm. She made sure they were safe. She didn't leave the bus15they all left. She is our16today.”

    The local fire department is still unsure what 17 the fire, but some say that this 199518has been known to have wiring and electrical problems.19, we're so happy that Stroble was able to,20on her feet and keep everyone safe and sound.

    Many people spend their New Year's Eve getting dressed up and dancing their way to midnight. My brother and I decided to do things a bit1.

    We each filled a backpack with clothes, shoes and other things and headed out to the 2. The first person we saw was a 15-16-year-old boy picking up 3 plastic bottles on the train platform（站台）. We called him over and started up a(n)4. We had a look at his 5 and noticed he had 6 fingernails（手指甲）. We explained that it was 7 to keep short nails and then we 8 cutting them for him. When we were 9 we offered him some chocolate candies, which made him look at us 10. We talked to him some more and began 11 some of the chocolate ourselves. Finally, he 12 took the chocolate himself and then began telling us his 13.

    His name was Raju. After his mother died, his father remarried. Unable to 14 his stepmother（继母）, Raju ran away from 15 and has been living on the streets for 3 years, collecting and 16 empty plastic bottles.

    When we met Raju, he wasn't wearing any 17. One quick look into our backpacks and we18 what we were looking for-a pair of Nike shoes. When we dressed him in them-Raju's eyes were full of19. “These shoes are so great. Nothing will hurt my 20 .Thank you so much!” Touched by our actions, he joined us as we walked around and looked for those in need.

My Hero

    What does it mean to be a hero? I think a hero is someone who goes out of his way to make others happy. My hero is Mr. Wright, my chorus(合唱队) teacher.

    When I was 12 years old, my grandparents passed away. I was really close to them, and losing them was the hardest thing I've ever had to 1through. I couldn't eat, sleep, or think; I felt like I couldn't even breathe. It was as if my whole world had fallen down from under me, and I2into this huge hole of depression(抑郁).

    3I was battling depression, I was determined to make my high school years the best of my life. It was difficult to be 4, but I had to try. I joined Women's Choir. Mr. Wright was the choral director and he was so funny that the first day, I just knew I had made the best 5of my life.

    As the year progressed, I loved the chorus more and more. I began to smile again and really enjoy 6.

    Then one day that all changed. My friends—or those that I thought were my friends—started talking about me behind my back. I was 7, and I sat by myself. Mr. Wright came over and asked what was wrong. The look in his eyes told me that I could 8him. Trying hard to 9back tears, I told him the whole story.

    When I finished, he nodded and told me,“If you never learn anything from me, learn this: No one is worth 10your joy.”What Mr. Wright said really 11a chord(心弦) in my heart. He12cared about me and what was going on. I'll never be able to thank him enough, because he not only saved me but has13every day of my life since. Any time I feel like giving 14, I remember Mr. Wright's words and push forward.

    I'm proud to say that I 15my depression, and I'm now a senior. I'm still a 16of chorus, and now I'm also in the best choir at my school.

    Mr. Wright is a hero 17everyone he meets. He cares about every single person who walks through his door, and he loves what he does more than any other teacher I've known. That's 18he deserves to be Educator of the Year. He deserves the 19not just this year but every year.

    I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet you, Mr. Wright. You are an 20teacher, and I hope you realize that. You're my hero.

    I had just arrived in this Asian country for a one-year teaching position. One day, I took the subway to visit some ancient palaces and temples in the downtown. The following account of what happened to me has taught me much about culture 1.

    Since all the 2 were taken, I stood. Suddenly, I felt someone pulling on my bag.3 I probably was in someone's way, I moved over slightly. 4 in one quick motion(动作), I felt my bag removed from my back, and in a flash it was5. I turned around to see who the thief was. I looked at the people standing behind me, but didn't see my bag or any 6.My heart sank and I began to7.

    I glanced around the car only to find directly across from me was an elderly lady, and sitting on her lap was my 8. I tried to get it back from her lap. But as I began to 9 it up, she quickly grabbed it back and held onto it. I looked around at the people standing beside me, and those sitting beside her, but no one took any 10 of the situation. Trying not to cause a(n)11, I tried to communicate through gestures. I used my hands as best as I could, but she 12 my requests for my bag and pointed to my back. She picked up my bag, showing how 13 it was. I finally began to understand. She was holding my bag to 14 me.

    As the subway 15 the main downtown station and I was getting ready to get off, the woman 16 handed me back my bag. But 17 I had a chance to thank her, she had disappeared into the crowd.

    Sadly, this 18 custom was more surprising to me than pleasing. Everyone back home had heard of being robbed—that was 19 city behavior—but having a stranger hold onto someone's bag out of 20, in a city of twelve million people—that was truly unusual.

    By the end of last year, my husband and I had settled in a house with an ocean view in New Zealand. We love it here and feel like we have 1 our life goals-well, one of them.

    The ocher goal is to 2 what we have now.

    Life isn't always like this. I 3 when I was growing up I always felt as though I was going through life for the only purpose of 4 my parents. The only 5 with this was that I was the only person who knew about that 6.

    Things did it really 7 when I went to boarding school. I was 8 sorry I would let my parents down. I was 12 years old then and 9 80 kg—not good for a 12-year-old girl. I hated myself. I did not 10 sports activities because I didn't know what to do. My self-esteem (自尊) was below the horizon and I felt a total 11, as if I was not good enough for 12.

    In my second year I thought I had turned things 13 when I came top of the class. It was only later that I learned 14 is not about people-pleasing and seeking 15 from others is not the way to long-term happiness—this is something that needs to come from within, from feeling complete, feeling 16, loved, successful and worthy. This is how I am today.

    I had been a victim (受害者) in life, feeling like everyone was 17 me, like I was never going to be 18 enough and so on. Then one day I discovered life coaching. Coaching was the life blood of my very being. I discovered I had a 19 in life. I will always have a choice, 20 that every decision I make is my decision. How powerful it is!

    Since finishing my studies at Harvard and Oxford, I've watched one friend after another land high-ranking, high-paying Wall Street jobs. As executives (高级管理人员) with banks, consulting firms, established law firms, and major corporations, many are now 1 on their way to impressive careers. By society's 2, they seem to have it made.

    On the surface, these people seem to be very lucky in life. As they left student life behind, many had a 3 drink at their cheap but friendly local bar, shook hands with longtime roommates, and 4 out of small apartments into high buildings. They made reservations at restaurants where the cost of a bottle of wine 5 a college year's monthly rent. They replaced their beloved old cars with expensive new sports cars.

    The thing is, a number of them have 6 that despite their success, they aren't happy. Some 7 of unfriendly coworkers and feel sad for eight-hour workweeks devoted to tasks they 8. Some do not respect the companies they work for and talk of feeling tired and 9. However, instead of devoting themselves to their work, they find themselves working to support the 10 to which they have so quickly become 11.

    People often speak of trying a more satisfying path, and 12 in the end the idea of leaving their jobs to work for something they 13 or finding a position that would give them more time with their families almost always leads them to the same conclusion: it's 14. They have loans, bills, a mortgage (抵押贷款) to 15, retirement to save for. They recognize there's something 16 in their lives, but it's 17 to step off the track.

    In a society that tends to 18 everything in terms of dollars and cents, we learn from a young age to consider the costs of our 19 in financial terms. But what about the personal and social costs 20 in pursuing money over meaning? These are exactly the kinds of costs many of us tend to ignore — and the very ones we need to consider most.