Twenty years ago, Linda was a young mother with two little children depending on her.She worked for eight hours a day as a house cleaner.Washing clothes and doing the cleaning caused her fingers to split （裂开） in the cold and dry air.Before going to work, she needed to bandage her fingers.The heavy burden （负担） made her stressed out and tired.
Linda still remembered that unforgettable day.When she was working for her host, she broke an expensive glass by accident.To her surprise, the host didn't blame （责备） her.Instead, seeing her tired face and the fingers with bandages, the host let her go home to have a rest.Though the weather was cold, Linda could feel the warmth from her host's kindness.
Linda went back home tiredly but thankfully.When she opened the door, her son ran up to her and shouted, "Mom!" He put his little arms around her neck.Linda lifted him up and her heart was filled with love.When she was checking her painful fingers, her daughter came to her and passed her the medicine.Linda could see care in her daughter's eyes.
Linda realized her life is full of love and care.Love and care from the people around her is the thing that keeps her going.And she believes things will get better.
A king once offered a prize. Anyone could get it if he painted the best picture of peace. Many famous artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures and among them there were only two he really liked. But he had to choose between them.
The first picture was of a quiet lake. Around the lake were peaceful mountains. Above them was a blue sky with white clouds. Everyone seeing this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The second picture had mountains too. But few trees could be seen. Above them was a dark, angry sky. A heavy rainstorm was happening. Down the side of the mountain ran a powerful waterfall. It did not look peaceful at all. However, the king felt it was special. At midnight, the king looked carefully at the second picture again. Suddenly, he found behind the waterfall a small tree growing between two rocks. A mother bird built her home in the tree. There, in the middle of all the noise of rushing water and frightening skies, that mother bird sat in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think the king chose? The king chose the second picture because he thought it better expressed peace. "Peace does not mean you must be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or pain. The real meaning of peace is to be right in the middle of all those difficult experiences, and still be calm and sure of yourself in your heart," said the king.
I'm Lin Yue. In March, 2022, COVID-19 started suddenly in my city. It was so serious that the whole city was locked down. At the very beginning of the lockdown (行动限制), some old people, especially those living alone, had difficulty getting vegetables.
One day, in the community WeChat group, an old man said that he was short of vegetables so I had an idea of setting up a food bank in the community, and my neighbors were also ready to offer help.
To keep social distancing (社交距离), I used a large box as the food bank, and put it in the public area. Neighbors could give away and get some food there. The large box was quickly filled with vegetables, rice and snacks.
One evening, I saw a bag of vegetables with a note saying "These are fresh vegetables. Please take them home if you need."
In the WeChat group, an old lady who got the vegetables said, "I was so moved by the good-will (善意), but I only took three tomatoes, because I wanted to leave the rest for those people really in need."
There were many similar stories in my city during the lockdown. Although COVID-19 keeps us apart, we can get through the hard times as long as we pull together.
Once upon a time, there was a boy who was out playing on the beach with his friends. While they were playing, the boy found a stone which looked strange. It wasn't the same as other stones. It was a little bit shining. But it was quite dirty. The boy took the stone home because he wanted to polish it.
His friends felt surprised and they asked, "Why are you polishing that ugly stone?", but the boy didn't reply. From then on, when they went out to play, the boy would take the stone with him. He would polish it whenever he had a rest.
This went on for some time. Then one day, the boy played with his friends as usual. He had a surprise for them. When he showed the stone to them, they were amazed. It was, in fact, not a common stone at all-it was a beautiful diamond（钻石）. The boy had been polishing it until it was completely clean and bright.
In our lives, there will be times when people try to discourage us. The best thing we can do is to continue to work towards our goals. We can turn a rough stone into a diamond. This story tells us that anything is possible if we go for it.
