It was a hot afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida, in June 2019, and the pool was full of people. Colbi Heard, a handsome 9-year-old boy, was putting his swimming cap on when he noticed something floating nearby. He swam closer and realized it was a little boy. "I wanted to play with him," Colbi thought. Colbi swam around the boy, checking him out. But when the boy didn't move, "I knew he was hurt and needed help," said Colbi.
The boy was Omari Howard, a lovely three-year-old who had come to the pool with his mother, Keyonna, and his uncle Travis. At first, Omari was in the shallow end（浅水区）playing with others. Later, he began swimming across the pool to look for his mother and something unexpected happened. Nobody noticed him for seconds, except Colbi.
According to Colbi's mom, Severia, Colbi has autism（自闭症）, which makes him particularly sensitive to unfamiliar things. Just moments earlier, he had asked his mother when they could go home because he was troubled by all the noise. Severia believed it was his sensitivity that caused him to notice Omari that day. "He's very careful," Severia said. "He's a caring boy, and he's interested in little kids. If it wasn't for that love, I don't think that little boy would be alive today."
Colbi took Omari out and turned to his uncle, who rushed him to his mother, Keyonna. Omari's face was pale, and he wasn't breathing. "My baby, my baby!" Keyonna cried. Nobody knew what to do.
That's when Severia heard a friend cry her name. She turned and saw the sad mother. Severia, a nurse in Tallahassee, ran over. At this point, she didn't know that the boy was found by Colbi. "I just knew the boy didn't breathe," she said. Severia stayed calm and tried to save him. Severia says, "I just wanted to bring this baby back to life."
Luckily, Omari began coughing and the ambulance (救护车) arrived.
After knowing what had happened, Keyonna thanked the mother and son who felt proud of each other.
Looking over the top of the book, I glanced across at the new girl named Rochelle. She only joined our class at the beginning of the week. It must be hard starting a new school in the middle of the year.
At last, the bell went for the end of the day. I spotted Rochelle running towards a tall woman who must be her mum. Then I saw a surprising thing. Rochelle’s mum was waving her arms round and making shapes with her fingers, and Rochelle was doing the same with hers. It was like they were talking to each other with their hands. Oh, could her mother be deaf? My mind was filled with questions.
The next day, I was reading this week’s words when I felt a tap (轻拍) on my shoulder. I looked up and Rochelle was standing in front of me. “Shall we test each other?” she asked, pointing to my spelling book.
“Yes, of course,” I replied. But I was still wondering how to ask the questions that had been tumbling (翻腾) around in my head since yesterday.
“So, um, that hand thing you did with your mum…”
“Signing.”
“Yeah, signing. Is it because she’s, um, deaf?”
“Yes, both my parents are deaf, so I communicate with them through sign.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be really difficult.” I could tell by the frown on Rochelle’s face that I’d said something wrong, but I didn’t know what. “So, did your parents need someone to help them look after you when you were a baby?”
“Of course not,” Rochelle got annoyed. “Why would being deaf mean they can’t look after me? Being deaf doesn’t mean they’re stupid,” she was almost shouting. “In fact, they’re much cleverer than most people I know.” Hearing that, I got bet all over. I didn’t say her parents were stupid. But before I could explain, the bell went and she strode (阔步行走) out of the classroom. I hurried after her, but when I tried to speak to her, she kept her back to me as if I were her enemy.
After school, I saw Rochelle and her mother moving their hands quickly.
All of a sudden, Rochelle was coming over to me, with her eyes watery and red.
Few things feel as painful as rejection. Rejection means not being invited to a friend's party. Rejection means having your actions criticized. Rejection means failure when you're trying to sell your idea. Every "no" indicates a door closed to you.
Developing your self-confidence is key. Rejection is simply the reaction or opinion of another person.
Rejection will enhance （增加）whatever negative things you say to yourself. Even the most successful and confident people feel downhearted when rejected, but most of them never tell themselves how terrible they are.
| A．Rejection is a learning experience. |
| B．It's powerless without your cooperation. |
| C．So you should practice positive self-talk. |
| D．It's normal to feel upset about rejection. |
| E．Therefore, it is vital to develop effective responses. |
| F．Rejection is beneficial to those who make full use of it. |
| G．Those who transform rejection understand it is not about experiencing loss. |
It was a warm Sunday. 16-year-old Stella settled down with a book, enjoying her quiet moment when her friend Bog came over with his 6-year-old sister. “Stella, please! I need you to help to watch Hazel! I have a lecture to attend this afternoon,” Bog begged.
Stella frowned, not thrilled with the idea of babysitting a little girl. However, Bog didn’t offer her any other choice. He dropped Hazel off with Stella and quickly ran away before she could react.
With a heavy sigh, Stella unwillingly turned her attention to Hazel. “Fine, just stay there and don’t cause any trouble,” she grumbled (嘟囔). To her surprise, little Hazel smiled and obediently sat by the table, drawing quietly without making a single noise.
For the next hour, Stella was quietly engaged in reading without being disturbed by Hazel. Gradually, her annoyance disappeared and she got accustomed to the company of Hazel. After a while, Hazel cautiously approached Stella, holding a picture. “Look, it’s you and me,” she said in a low voice. It was a simple drawing of two girls, hand in hand, smiling.
Stella’s heart softened as she looked at the drawing. She felt guilty about treating Hazel impatiently. Setting her book aside, Stella smiled warmly and said, “I love it. Thank you!” Then Stella began to join Hazel to create it together.
Just as they were lost in a world of colors, a sudden phone ringing broke the warm atmosphere. It was a phone call from her friend, reminding her about the long-awaited plan to go skating on the ice rink (溜冰场). Stella’s heart sank because she had forgotten all about it. She was torn between the desire to go skating and her duty to look after Hazel. She was also worried that taking her to skate would prevent her from enjoying gliding (滑) freely on the ice.
As Stella hesitated, Hazel looked up at her with hopeful eyes.
Hazel admiringly watched Stella and her friends gliding on the ice.
| A．From Julie’s mother. | B．From Julie’s friends. | C．From a TV programme. |
| A．Her new novel. | B．A new club. | C．Her graduation. |
| A．Disappointed. | B．Worried. | C．Satisfied. |
| A．She won a competition. |
| B．She joined a writing club. |
| C．She gave some lectures. |
| A．To exchange them. | B．To return them. | C．To repair them. |
| A．On Wednesday. | B．On Friday. | C．On Saturday. |
“No matter how hard we try, some things are just not meant to be,” Andrew thought bitterly. He looked down at the hospital bills in his hands and tears filled his eyes. His poor mom had been so ill, and here he was complaining and feeling sorry for himself! He should be praying for her recovery, not crying over a lost, childish dream.
Andrew was nineteen, and as far back as he could remember, he’d wanted to become a software engineer. That dream had become harder to reach after his dad died when Andrew was twelve. His mom had been left to raise him on her own, and it was hard to make ends meet. So Andrew started doing part-time jobs.
Every cent he earned he put away for college. When he was sixteen, he got himself a summer job at a local IT company, where his insight and intelligence caught the owner’s eye. Mr. Lewis, the CEO, made Andrew the assistant of his best and most innovative developer, and the boy thrived (不断成长) on the challenge. He couldn’t wait to go to college!
Unfortunately, when Andrew was in his senior year in high school, his mother became very ill. The usually energetic woman was constantly tired and in pain. She went from doctor to doctor, but no one knew exactly what was wrong with her. They sent her off to do dozens of expensive tests, then shook their heads over the results. Andrew’s mom started getting weaker and weaker, and thinner and thinner until she could barely walk.
Andrew added up the medical bills and was shocked. They owed over $23,000! Andrew pulled out his bank book. He had close to $30,000 in his savings account. He’d painstakingly (艰苦地) saved up for YEARS, so he’d be able to go to college, but his mom’s health was more important.
Cynthia was a primary school student. She was curious about everything. She made efforts to get a good grade in every subject. She was a kind-hearted and outgoing girl. At school, she was always ready to help her classmates. At home, she helped her mum do some housework. She was never a concern to her mum, Mrs. Anderson.
However, Mrs. Anderson noticed a change in Cynthia these days. There were more quiet moments. Mrs. Anderson saw Cynthia looking out of the window, lost in thought. She also learned from her teacher that Cynthia wasn’t as focused on school as before. A sense of worry rose in Mrs. Anderson’s heart and she wondered about what was behind Cynthia’s unusual behavior.
Before going to bed, she started talking with Cynthia, asking about her day. However, Cynthia just said that nothing in particular happened. Mrs. Anderson’s concern grew. She decided to keep a closer eye, hoping to uncover the challenges her daughter might be facing.
One day, while cleaning up Cynthia’s bedroom, Mrs. Anderson discovered something unexpected — on her desk lay some books on how to treat injured birds. It was quite surprising. Cynthia had never told her about this. It also amazed Mrs. Anderson. She had a deep love for nature and birds and she could always find inspiration in their freedom and the beauty of their songs. She couldn’t help but wonder what had inspired her daughter’s newfound interest in birds.
The next morning, Mrs. Anderson saw Cynthia walking quietly into the backyard with a first aid kit in hand.
Mrs. Anderson couldn’t help but walk out.
In my high school years, I tried not to be anybody’s best friend and avoid going to birthday parties or weekend trips with my peers (同龄人). That was not because I was too shy but because I couldn’t afford the expenses. My parents did odd jobs to support the family and our income was low and unstable. As the oldest of the three kids in my family I had started to take part-time jobs on weekends and during vacations to help improve the family economic conditions. However, in my heart I did have a best friend, Joseph. I never said that to him and I guessed he didn’t know it.
Joseph came from a very different family from mine. His parents were both senior executives (管理人员) of high-tech companies, who provided him with the best of everything and he had many friends around him. We did school projects together, had discussions about interesting topics and enjoyed our time together. But I never joined him in anything outside the school. I liked him but I knew I didn’t have much to offer.
I had decided to go to college after graduation from high school, so I needed to have excellent academic performance in all subjects to be qualified for scholarships. I worked hard and was doing well in everything except math. I knew math was important to me but there seemed to be no way out. I was struggling when Joseph came to my help. He was considered one of the smart boys by the math teacher, who gave us monthly tests and awarded best performance with chocolates and best progress with Skittles (彩虹糖).
Joseph was a frequent holder of the best performance award. I appreciated his help because he had great ways to get me thinking and guide me to solve problems. I was making progress in math and Joseph knew it. He encouraged me to go for best progress award first and then best performance.
Those awards seemed really big goals for me, but I decided to go all out.
Three months later, my first goal was achieved.
Many would consider emotions to be a barrier to decision-making and, therefore, think that they would be better off without them. However, the latest research has proved that our emotions will drive the conclusions we make, and that our well-being may depend upon our ability to understand and interpret them.
Start by understanding your emotions.
Emotions can act as a compass (指南针), pointing you toward what matters most to you. However, strong emotions can affect our judgment and make it challenging to think objectively and critically.
It’s beneficial to expand your viewpoint. When you see the big picture and are focused on your highest purpose, you are not distracted by smaller issues. Figuring out your deepest long-term goals and pursuing them will channel your emotions toward peace and harmony.
To sum up, emotions play a significant role in decision-making and, when used properly, they can improve the effectiveness of the decision-making process.
| A．Emotions can provide valuable insights. |
| B．All this information can serve your goal in the long run. |
| C．You’ll recognize that a decision driven by your values is the best. |
| D．Actually, we can effectively use emotions for successful decision-making. |
| E．Take a moment to recognize how you are feeling and why you are feeling so. |
| F．Therefore, it is essential to balance emotional insights with logical reasoning. |
| G．You should try to understand how critical thinking contributes to great decisions. |
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