I serve as an educator and health care provider as well, therefore, I have worked with numerous children infected with the virus that causes AIDS. The relationships that I have had with these special kids have been gifts in my life. They have taught me so many things, but I have especially learned that great courage can be found in the smallest of packages. Let me tell you about Tyler.

Tyler was born infected with HIV: his mother was also infected. From the very beginning of his life, he was dependent on medications to enable him to survive. When he was five, he had a tube surgically inserted in a vein in his chest. This tube was connected to a pump, which he carried in a small backpack on his back. Medications were hooked up to this pump and were continuously supplied through this tube to his bloodstream. At times, he also needed supplemented oxygen to support his breathing.

Tyler wasn’t willing to give up one single moment of his childhood to this deadly disease. It was not unusual to find him playing and racing around his backyard, wearing his medicine-laden backpack and dragging his tank of oxygen behind him in his little wagon. All of us who knew Tyler marveled at his pure joy in being alive and the energy it gave him.Tyler’s mom often teased him by telling him that he moved so fast that she needed to dress him in red.That way, when she peered through the window to check on him playing in the yard, she could quickly spot him.

This dreaded disease eventually wore down even the likes of a little dynamo (精力充沛的人) like Tyler. He grew quite ill and, unfortunately, so did his HIV-infected mother. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to survive, Tyler’s mom talked to him about death. She comforted him by telling Tyler that she was dying too, and that she would be with him soon in heaven.

A few days before his death, Tyler beckoned me over to his hospital bed and whispered, “I might die soon. I’m not scared. When I die, please dress me in red. Mom promised she’s coming to heaven, too. I’ll be playing when she gets there, and I want to make sure she can find me.”

My mum is a hard-working and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard and all her students like her lessons. 【小题1】 Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.

My mum has been teaching English at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and returns home late in the evening. 【小题2】 She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent personality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.

【小题3】 Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she is very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mum never buys expensive dresses for herself, and she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. 【小题4】 She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook for herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.

She often says to us, “Work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society.” What a piece of good advice this is!【小题5】 This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behaviour. My mum is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.

Thank you for your listening.

Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup. Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity——the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.