Heroes come in different shapes and sites. Some are born to give others a 1. Then there are the people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. That was the 2 for John Underwood.
On a cold evening, a storm 3 near his home. Underwood was heading over to help his sister when the roads were 4. He saw some other drivers get stuck, so he got out of his truck to help. "My belief is that if I have the ability to do good, then I should do it. There should be no 5. " he said.
Underwood wasn't out of his 6 long before he heard a cry, "Someone was screaming, 'My parents, my parents !'" Moments later, a 12yearold boy ran up to Underwood, saying his parents were 7 and asked for help.
The Hammonds went to get things from the basement when the walls 8 to bear the weight of rain and fell down, and they couldn't9_. Worse still, the water was rising fast. 10 was of extreme significance, so Underwood took action at once. Any inappropriate action could add more dangers. Luckily, Underwood had 11_ as a contractor (承包商). "Digging a hole in the living room floor, I knew it's a 12 way. "he said.
With physical strength, patience, and a lot of 13_, Underwood saved their lives. He said he did what anyone would do, but that's not necessarily true. It's hard to put yourself in a dangerous way to rescue another. That's why the American Red Cross 14 him. Ann Otto, who was in charge of the 23rd Annual Acts of Courage Awards, said the Awards should go to heroes like Underwood who have acted 15 and selflessly in a time of emergency.
If you go into the woods with your friends, stay with them. If you don't, you may get lost. If you do get lost, this is what you should do.
Sit down and stay where you are. Don't try to find your friends—let them find you. You can help them to find you by staying in one place.
There is another way to help your friends or other people nearby to find you. Give them a signal by shouting or whistling (吹口哨) three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times again. Any signal given three times is a call for help. You will be helped by others.
Keep up the shouting or whistling, always three times together. When people hear you, they will know that you are not just making noise for fun. They will let you know they have heard your signal. They will give two shouts, two whistles or two gunshots. When a signal is given twice, it is an answer to a call for help.
If you don't think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house and cover up the holes with branches with lots of leaves and grass. What should you do if you get hungry or need to drink some water? You should have to leave your little branch house to look for a brook. Don't just walk away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk so that you can find your way back.
The most important thing to do when you are lost is—stay in one place.
In December 2010, Lauren Robinson walked into science class. "My throat started closing, "she remembers. "They called an ambulance (救护车), and I had to go to the hospital." It wasn't the first time that Lauren had to be rushed to the hospital. That's because Lauren, 15, has a food allergy (过敏症).
Many people have food allergies. But Lauren's allergy is much worse than most. She can't eat food that contains milk. When she was younger, Lauren could stay safe by choosing food carefully. That changed in middle school. By eighth grade, Lauren couldn't be in the same room with dairy products (乳制品). That's what happened in Lauren's science classroom. Earlier that day, students had held a pizza party. Cheese particles (微粒) still hung in the air. Lauren never returned to school after that.
In 2011, Lauren got great news. She could go to school and stay safe by driving a robot to class. Lauren controls it from home over the Internet, using a computer. She uses the keyboard to drive the robot from class to class. A video camera on the robot lets Lauren see what is going on in school. A video screen on the robot lets students and teachers see her. It has microphones (话筒) so that everyone can talk to Lauren too.
At first, Lauren thought that using the robot was "a weird idea". No one went to school like that. "I kept knocking into walls at first," says Lauren, laughing. "I'd keep falling！"But she got used to it quickly. Using the robot feels natural now. Lauren even created a way to "raise her hand" using the robot's headlights. "I can turn them on and off until the teacher sees me," she explains.
Lauren looks forward to going to college. She'd like to work in a medical job.
