I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to1grade six. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

    One day after class, she2that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came3to me and began to talk to me. It was just a normal conversation. After that day, she gave me particular 4and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling that someone5 me , and my 6started to improve in her subject.

    Months later, she moved into a house near my7. We would walk home together after school. Her constant (不断的) support helped me, 8in my studies, as I knew she would check my grades both in her subject 9the other subjects. I finally10second in my class.

    Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away (疏远)11still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we12spoke, but by then I had become the13in my class. When I left my school, I was14with her, as she never answered the 15when I called her.

    Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths 16 again. I met her at a wedding. I could not17asking her, "Why did you stop talking to me?"

"You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree 18on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel19of you. You are your inspiration(灵感，鼓舞) and do not need to20a shoulder," she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I'll always thank her.

    My father lived a long life and was deeply loved by his wife, three children, eleven grandchildren and a large number of friends. He was smart and quick- headed. When I asked if he'd like to join me on Virgin Airlines, I remember him 1replying: "Why not? It's as close to heaven as I'll ever get"

    While he could always make us 2 he was also quiet, considerate and full of wonderful 3for us so that we could do better.

When I was a child, I4 myself to the change in Dad's loose drawer — I didn't see it as stealing, but rather as just borrowing without a 5 to give back - and bought chocolate from our local corner shop.

One day, while6the shop with my father, the shopkeeper questioned my 7spending habits: "'Now I don't want to get him into any8, Mr Branson, but I don' t know where young Richard is getting all his 9 from. He's becoming my best customer— I 10 he isn't stealing it.”

    Dad 11 by looking her straight in the eyes and saying loudly, “Madam, how dare you12my son of stealing?”

    After we left the shop, my father never spoke a word about the 13 However, his deliberate14 for the rest of the day expressed everything. The way he 15 the situation taught me a hugely effective lesson. I learned that the power of the16 words can be frighteningly influential.

    His17 my honesty was more 18than if he had scolded me. I also learned the power of 19 and second chances. And these lessons have 20 me a lot in both life and work.

    As I sat motionless on the steps of the pool, watching everyone else swim back and forth, I realized that I had spent most of my life watching others enjoy themselves. It was then that I 1a little girl staring at me with a look of confusion. I smiled at her, hoping to 2 the ice by talking to her. Unfortunately, my 3 failed and she just kept on staring. My 4 increased as a little boy swam up to me and said, "I feel sorry for you."

    After the 5 by chance, a thought struck me. I had to change 6 the world viewed me. Because it was children who stared at me the most, I decided to write a children's book that taught them about 7 in a fun way. This is when KatGirl, a super hero in a 8 who helps children that are being bullied, came into my mind.

    I quickly 9 inside my apartment and began creating the story. As I wrote each word, I could 10 my future as a world-famous author and public speaker. My excitement 11 like wildfire. Over the next two years, the story 12 many changes before it saw the world in the spring of 2011. My insistence 13 paid off.

    One day I was invited to speak to the students at a neighboring school. I confidently wheeled into a classroom filled with students who 14 at me just like the little girl in the pool. "How do you feel when you see me?" I asked them. The kids bravely 15, "I feel sorry for you."

    I opened my book and started reading. Immediately I noticed the children's stares turned to 16. "How do you feel when you see me?" I asked again. Without 17 they replied, "You are so cool! Does your 18 fly too?" I just smiled, "No, not yet, but maybe some day." I knew in my heart that this was 19. The past two years had proven to me that with 20 anything is possible.

    I grew up with a fat dad ­ 450 pounds at his heaviest. Every week he would try a new diet, and my family 1 eating whatever strange food he was trying at that moment. By the time I was nine, I was a(n) 2 on losing weight. I spent four weeks 3 only small bowls of white rice at home. What I remember most about those years is that I 4 felt hungry ­ hungry for food, hungry for someone to care for me and I 5 to be cared for.

    But on Friday nights, I was 6 hungry. My grandfather would take me to his home for the 7. There was always a pot of something cooking on the 8. It was at my grandmother's house that I learned what true 9 was.

    After my third-grade year, my family had to move away from hometown, and leave my grandmother and her delicious food 10. There would be no more special weekends at my grandmother's house. It was total 11 for survival. In this new city, I felt extremely lonely and lost, and I missed my grandmother 12.

    My grandmother knew just how I felt and she knew the 13. Every week, she would send me a card with a $20 bill, a recipe and a list of what to buy at the market. It kept us 14, and her recipes filled my body and soul.

    Over the years, I have 15 to better understand my father's 16 with weight and 17 growing up in such an unhealthy eating environment, I found a 18 for a career as a nutrition (营养) consultant.

    Today, food is no longer a 19 that keeps my father and me apart, but a bridge that keeps us connected. And now I am the one 20 sending recipe cards to my father's house, just as my grandmother did for me.

    A minister(牧师)was on a long flight. The first 1 of approaching problem came when the sign on the airplane 2 on: Fasten Your Seat Belts.

    As the minister looked 3 the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers became 4. Later, a voice over the intercom(内部通话系统) said "We are so sorry that we are unable to 5 the meal at this time. The currents are ahead of us." And then the storm broke. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and 6 moments the great plane was tossed(使动来动去) around.

    The minister recalled, "As I looked around the plane, I could see the nearly all the 7 were scared. Then I suddenly saw a little girl. Obviously, the storm 8 nothing to her. She was reading a book on her seat and everything within her small world was 9. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again. Sometimes she straightened her legs, but worry and 10 were not in her world."

    The minister could 11 believe his eyes. It was not surprising, 12, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to13the plane, the minister came up to the girl whom he had 14 for such a long time. Having talked about the storm, he asked why she had not been afraid.

    The child replied, "That was because my 15 was the pilot, and he would take me home."

    There are many kinds of 16 that frightened us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly 17 our sky and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and accept, it is much 18 to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than 19 we are being tossed about a darkened shy.

    Let us remember: Our father is the 20. He is in control and taking us home. Don't worry.

Despite extreme cold, cruel ice and being brushed off as mad, Slovenian Davo kamicar became the first person to ski non-stop down Mount Everest. After a dramatic fall over almost sheer cliffs of snow, stones and ice, 38-year-old Kamicar returned to his base camp after five hours of skiing. "I feel only absolute happiness and absolute tiredness," he said. 

Due to the severe weather conditions, Kamicar flung himself back down the mountain as soon as he reached the top rather than have a rest as planned At one point, he had to speed overstretches of ice that collapsed and broke underneath him and could have sent him falling into the deep crevasses(裂缝) that dot the mountain.

The descent (下落) had been widely regarded as extremely dangerous. The Darwin Awards website, known for documenting foolhardy deaths, urged people to log on to their website and "keep your eyes peeled for a live Darwin Award". However, the only body to make the news was the corpse (尸体)of an unknown mountaineer which Kamicar zipped past as he descended one of an estimated 120 corpses, thought to litter the slopes." This mountain is always full of surprises. Seeing a dead man out there was still a shocking experience," he said. 

Thanks to strategically placed cameras on the mountain and one attached to his safety helmet hundreds of thousands of people witnessed the process online, which was one of the record highs ever of more than 650,000 hits. The website was once jammed as people tried to access the site.

A previous failed attempt had already cost Kamicar two fingers when he got frostbite as a fierce storm hit the peak. Coming from a skiing family and had his first Himalayan skiing expedition in 1989, he has been ever since tireless in raising funds and sponsorship for more expeditions, with Everest as the permanent goal.