One day, during the long summer holiday, Mrs. Martins took Brendon and his younger brother and sister to the beach. As soon as they got there, the three children raced down to the sea to try out their new surfboards. They were soon swimming out to the waves and riding back on their boards.

“Brendon, help!” called Kim."I' m caught in a rip(离岸流)." Brendon quickly paddled over to his brother.

“Hold on to the back of my board and I’ll pull you in,” Brendon told the frightened boy. But the rip was too strong and soon both Brendon and Kim were moving further from the beach.

“Kylie, come and help,” Brendon yelled to his sister. Soon all three children were floating away from the beach.

" It's no use fighting, "said Kylie, "We’ll just tire ourselves out. We have to stick together and hope the current takes us onto the beach again. "For the next 20 minutes, the frightened children held onto each other’s boards and let the current pull them along.

“I can’t even see the beach any more,” cried Kim. …

“Thank goodness!” cried their mother running up to hug them.…

In my first years of college, I was still an angry adolescent. I hated my father for his controlling ways and I wanted to break free from his grasp. One day, I had a serious fight with him, and I stormed out of the house, missing my bus to school. As I walked towards the classroom, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to bring the assignment that was due: a thought card.

Professor Simon had explained that every Tuesday we must bring along a thought card, on which we wrote a thought, a concern, a question or anything that was on our mind and that he would return the card every Wednesday with his comment or answer on it. He stressed that the card was our admission to class on Tuesdays. Now, I raced down the hallway, ten minutes late to class. Just outside the door, I took out a thought card and wrote on it “I am the son of an IDIOT!”, as I could only think about the conflict I’d just had with my dad. Then I dashed into the room, handed the card to Professor Simon and took my seat. The moment I reached my seat, I regretted telling him that about my dad. I didn’t want to expose myself to him.

On the Wednesday morning I got to the class early and hid in the back. Professor Simon began returning our thought cards. On my card was written, “What does ‘the son of an idiot’ do with the rest of his life?” His question got right to the heart of the issuer: Whose problem was it? Whose responsibility was it?

Professor Simon’s comment kept coming up in my mind over the next few weeks. “What does ‘the son of an idiot’ do with the rest of his life?” The question gnawed at (困扰) me, like a mouse gnawing at a rotten piece of wood until it finally falls apart. It was a simple question, but it opened up a Pandora’s box of emotions and thoughts.

I found myself thinking about what he had said more and more often.

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I began to make changes in my life.

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George was a driver and he spent so much time at his work that he could hardly have a meal together with his wife and three children. In the evenings he attended classes, seeking to get knowledge that one day would help him to find a better paying job.

George’s family often complained that he was not spending enough time with them, but his only answer was, “I am doing all this for you and I work hard to provide my family with the best that I can.”

Soon after George had passed his exams, he received a good job offer with a salary, which was significantly higher than he had before. So now George could provide his family with more expensive clothes, some luxury items or vacations in foreign countries. It was like a dream come true, but family still did not get enough attention from George, as he continued to work very hard and often, he did not get to see his family for most of the week.

Time passed and George’s hard work paid off-he was promoted. He decided to relieve his wife from domestic works, so he hired a maid. He also decided that their flat was not big enough for their family and they needed a more spacious one. Thus he needed to work even harder and, moreover, he continued his studies, so that he would be promoted again. George worked so hard that sometimes he even had to spend his Sundays with his clients instead of his wife and children. And again, whenever family asked for his time and complained that they did not spend enough time together, he answered he was doing all this only for them.

A bit later George was promoted, and he could buy a spacious house with a beautiful view. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, George told his wife and kids now he decided not to take any studies or work not so hard so that he could spend more time with his beloved family.

The next morning, George suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach.

The day finally came when George recovered from his illness.