If life were a book and you were the author, how would you like the story to go? That is the question that 1 my life forever.

    One day I went home from the training of snowboarding with what I thought was the flu, and less than 24 hours later, I was in a 2 on life support with less than two percent 3 of living. It wasn't until days later that the doctors diagnosed me with a 4 blood infection.

Over the 5 of 2.5 months, I lost the hearing in my left ear and both my legs below the knee. When my parents 6 me out of the hospital, I 7 that I had been put together like a patchwork(拼缝物) doll and I had to live with 8 legs. I was absolutely physically and emotionally broken, 9 streaming down.

    But I knew in order to move forward, I had to let go of the Old Amy and 10 the New Amy. It was at this moment that I asked myself that significant 11. And that is when it 12 me that I didn't have to be five-foot-five anymore,13 I could be as tall as I wanted. And 14 of all, I can make my feet the size of all the shoes. So there were 15 here.

    Four months later, I was back upon a 16. And this February, I won two Board World Cup gold medals, 17 me the highest ranked snowboarder in the world.

    So, instead of looking at our 18 and our limitations as something 19 or bad, we can begin looking at them as a wonderful 20 that can be used to help us go further than we ever know we could go.

"My name's Jim Shelley and I'm an addict(有瘾的人)..."

    With these words I began to1the problem , the problem of my telephone addiction.I used to call people2, from the moment I woke up to the time I went to sleep.I3to be phoned ,I wanted to phone .Just one more call.

    It started socially-a few calls each day.It seemed4, just a quick chat.Gradually though, the5got worse. Soon it was6use, until, finally, addiction.

    And it began to affect my7. During the day I would disappear for8call .If I couldn't make a call , I spent the whole time waiting for the phone to ring .Getting more and more9,in the end , I would ring someone , then someone else,10myself just one more call.

I was phoning people and11messages to make sure 12calls would see me through the day . I used to arrive at friend's homes and before the door was closed , go straight for the phone with the13"Is it OK if I just use the phone...?" At work ,I became14when my fellow workers tried to15me from using the phone.And one day I hit my boss (with the phone ).Finally , the police caught me16a phone box that had taken my last one pound coin, and I was17to see a psychiatrist (心理医生).

    I haven 't18a phone in the house for three weeks now , and it 's several days19 I used a phone box .I try not to watch TV because there are20 people on it making phone calls.My name is Jim  Shelley and I am an addict.

    Don't Be Afraid to Make a Fool of Yourself and Reach out to Strangers

    Growing up, I was glued to my mother's hip, ready to follow her wherever the world took us. I used to sleep at her 1 on the floor of her law school lecture halls while hundreds of 2 poured over scores of legal terms and historical court 3. When my mother and I would travel to different countries together, she always talked to 4 . She would tell our life story and I was often 5. I figured that people thought she shared too much and it was 6.

    I now recognize the importance of the 7 my mother made. After she died, I received hundreds of phone calls from people all over the world. They 8 to offer their condolences (吊唁), but 9 to share how much my mother had meant to them.10 she offered legal advice or simply shared a story, they11their heart to me about how she 12 their lives.

    When she first decided to buy an apartment and settled down in Paris, she 13 the writers of her favourite blogs and instantly began to form their own French14. They spent hours eating carefully selected cheeses and sipping (啜饮) coffee while 15 favorite Parisian restaurants. These are the people I now call my 16 aunts and uncles.

    What I judged as my mom making a 17 of herself was her way of sharing her 18 and charm. This taught me to 19 into fear and not to let self-criticism govern anything I do. Now, I speak up. I talk to strangers. I 20 myself and because of it, I receive.

    There was once a bridge which crossed a large river. During most of the1the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to2through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.

    A switchman sat in a small house on one side of the river where he3the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening4the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance and5sight of the trainlights. He stepped to the control and6until the train was within a prescribed(规定的) distance to turn the bridge into7,but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not8. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble(摇晃) back and forth at the ends, causing the train to jump the9and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He10across the bridge to the other side of the river where he would have to hold the lever(控制杆) back11as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble(隆隆声) of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and12backward to apply his13to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

    Then, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to14him. The man almost left his lever to run and seize his son and carry him to15. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a16to make his decision.

    The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even17of the tiny broken body, thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor did they notice the18figure of the sobbing man, still holding tightly the locking lever19after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife20their son had brutally died.

Five years ago, I left my job to work on a ship. After working as a junior doctor, I was willing to take the risk.1 for adventure, I boarded a ship in Singapore with 2, 000 passengers and crew. To my2 , the hospital was well equipped, with an X﹣ray machine and a blood analyzer.

As a doctor, I was3 for the 600 crew. Far from4 seasickness and sunburn, I had to deal with other diseases. The ship's medical centre was5 a floating emergency room, and we didn't have a team of specialists on hand for a second6 . With long and unpredictable hours, it required mental7 .

Many of the passengers were elderly. Heart attacks don't8 geography and emergency evacuations （疏散）were difficult to arrange. I recall one such patient, who was taken off the ship halfway through the Panama Canal. After a9 ride in an old ambulance, I was relieved that the patient10 long enough to arrive at the hospital in Panama City.11 , there were several unexpected benefits to the job. I regularly12 the passenger facilities. On rare days off, I13 as a tour guide on trips ashore.

Now, I understand being a ship doctor is not a job﹣it's a way of14 . One year at sea became two. I lost my career ambitions,15 I redefined happiness in my life.

Volunteering has been a way of life for me for the past five years since I was fifteen.

In 2020 I1 with a newly founded social enterprise, which conducted cooking lessons for visually impaired (视障) trainee2 . I absolutely loved it as it involved meaningful 3 with people and I was fully4 throughout the entire time I was there. This was unlike some other types of volunteering, which may involve mostly behind-the-scenes work that can get5 after a while.

We called ourselves "sighted assistants" and each of us was6 with a visually impaired trainee chef. As a volunteer, I would walk with the trainee to the Enabling Village7 , and then ensure their 8 as they learned to cook a new dish. This included helping them9 the position of the sink, ensuring proper use of electrical appliances,10 boiling and hot objects, as well as being careful with knives among other things.

Being there with them made me truly11 appreciate how difficult life can be when you are partially sighted or completely blind. Every tiny task12 requires massive effort. There are so many people with visual impairments, I realized13 . While medicine still does not have the power to cure all of these conditions, we are never short of ways to empower these individuals by making life14 easier and 15 more meaningful for them.