Is smile just a facial expression? Of course not! It is not only used to express pleasure, affection, and friendliness, but also the commonest way to show our good will perfectly without saying anything. A Chinese saying runs：“Never hit a person who is smiling at you.” It is a time-proven fact that smile is a language all its own—a universal language—understood by the people of every nation in the world. We may not speak the same tongue as our foreign neighbors, but we smile in the same tongue. We need no interpreter for thus expressing love, happiness, or good will.

One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality conflicted with mine. He seemed quite unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store. On the outside stood a young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, brilliant smile covered his face. The magic power of that smile made all bitterness within me melt, and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” I remarked, in passing. Then, obeying an impulse(冲动), I turned back. “I really owe you a debt of gratitude,” I said softly. His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer. A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby. The woman stepped forward and eyed me inquiringly. “Carlos, he no speak English,” she volunteered. “You want I should tell him something?” At that moment I felt changed. Carlos’ smile had made a big person of me. My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall. “Yes,” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, “tell him I said, ‘Thank you!’’’   “Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly confused.

I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave. “Just tell him that.” I insisted. “He’ll understand, I am sure!”

Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning. From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art diligently, anywhere and everywhere, with everybody.

Jayce Crowder began noticing in kindergarten that he looked different from his classmates. They had two hands. He had one. “It started when one boy teased him,” says his mother, Cortney Lewis. He'd return home with questions: Why am I different? Why me? Why? He actually said he was mad at God for making him that way,” his mother says. “That was a huge dagger to the heart.”

Lewis admits she didn't know what to do at that point. A few weeks later, Lewis came across a news story about Trashaun Willis, then 14, who had become an Internet sensation after posting videos of his slam dunks, and he was missing most of his left arm. Lewis called Jayce in. At the time, it seemed that watching Trashaun would merely be an inspiring moment for Jayce.

Had it stayed just that, Lewis would have been happy. But little did she know that her sister had already asked the newspaper to help set up a meeting with Trashaun to build Jayce's confidence.

The boys met at Washington Middle School and instantly bonded. They rode bikes around the school's hallways and shot baskets. At one point, Trashaun did get serious with Jayce. He talked about their left arms. He told Jayce he was perfect the way God made him. He said not to let anyone drag him down and that words don't need to shake his confidence.

“It made me relieved,” says Lewis. Since that meeting, Lewis has seen a pronounced difference in her son. He recently started wrestling and loves it. “Meeting him”, she said, “made Jayce understand that there are others like him.” As for Trashaun, his relationship with Jayce made him look forward to helping more kids. “It means a lot to know that I changed Jayce's life,” Trashaun said.

He certainly did.

Just a few hours ago, the Italian ship Andrea Doria was sailing through thick fog toward the city of New York. Captain Piero Calamai kept watch. He knew that many other ships were nearby. He should have slowed down because of the fog but he decided not to. He wanted to arrive on time the next morning.

At about 11:00 P.M., another ship, the Stockholm, suddenly hit the Andrea Doria. It made a huge hole in the Italian ship. Some people were badly hurt. Others fell into the sea. But one girl was saved by the Stockholm.

Linda Morgan was fourteen. She lived in Spain with her mother and her little sister. She was going to visit her father in New York. She was excited about seeing her father.

Linda had loved the trip. She wanted to have dinner with the captain on the last night at sea.The captain did not sit at his table that night, though. He was busy guiding the ship through the fog. Linda did not get to talk to him.

When Linda went to bed, everything seemed fine. Her mother turned off the lights. Linda talked to her little sister. She thought about seeing her father the next morning.

What happened next was a terrible surprise. Linda woke up not knowing where she was. She was not in her bed. When she called to her family, no one answered. Both her knees were broken.

Linda had been saved by an amazing accident. When the Stockholm made a hole in the side of the Andrea Doria, it lifted Linda out of her bed. She landed on the deck (甲板) of the Stockholm instead of falling into the ocean. A sailor heard her cries and found her.

Right now, the girl is in the hospital. She is expected to get better. Her father is at her side, glad that his little girl was saved. The Andrea Doria lies under the waves at the bottom of the sea.