Marie had always dreamed of becoming a professional dancer and was preparing for a high-level dance competition which was aimed to draw excellent dancers from all over the country. It was a prestigious (负有盛名的) event, and Marie knew that if she wanted to make a name for herself in the world of ballet, this was her chance. She spent every waking moment practicing, determined to give it her all on the big day.

When the day of the competition arrived, Marie was nervous but excited. She had trained hard for this moment for years and felt confident in her well-prepared dancing. As she walked onto the stage, the bright lights blinded her momentarily, but she quickly regained her composure and began to dance.

The music swirled around her as she moved gracefully across the stage. Her movements were fluid and precise, each step perfectly executed. The audience watched in awe as Marie danced, completely lost in the moment.

But then, it happened. During a particularly difficult jump, Marie landed awkwardly on her ankle and felt a sharp pain shoot up her leg. She tried to ignore it and continue dancing, but the pain was too much. She fell to the floor, clutching her leg in agony.

Paramedics rushed onto the stage to tend to her, and Marie was taken to the hospital. The diagnosis was devastating: she had torn several ligaments (韧带) in her ankle and would need extensive surgery to repair the damage. Marie was held by desperate shock. She had worked so hard to get where she was, and now it seemed like all of her dreams were slipping away. For weeks, Marie was confined to a wheelchair, unable to move without assistance. She felt helpless and alone, wondering if she would ever be able to dance again.

One day, she heard a knock on her hospital room door and in came Jenny, her toughest opponent in the dance competition.

Slowly, she felt more open to accepting Jenny’s help and support.

My friend Jack had a birthday party recently and I wanted to make him something special to show how much our friendship meant to me. I pulled out the craft box and spread everything out on the table: markers, paints, seasheils, and construction paper. I stared and stared but couldn’t think of what to make.

Just then, my cat Charlie leaped on a pile of paper. The paper, and Charlie, slid across the table. I thought, “It looks like Charlie’s skateboarding (滑滑板) Skateboard! That’s it.”

I ran to my room and found an old photo of Jack and me with our first skateboards.

I worked all afternoon on the coolest picture frame ever. It was shaped and colored just like the skateboard Jack had in the photo.

I spoke to myself as I applied the final coat of paint. “I bet this will be Jack’s favorite present!”

When I arrived at the party, I set my gift behind all the others so Jack would open it last. The whole time we were playing games, I kept glancing over at it. Then Jack’s grandmother brought out the cake. Jack blew out the candles. Finally, it was time to open presents. Jack opened a book, a paint set, and a baseball cap. The next-to-last thing was a long heavy box.

“I got two of the same things for my birthday,” Justin told Jack. “So I’m giving one of them to you.”

Jack opened the box and pulled out a super-nice skateboard. “No way!” he shouted. “This is exactly the one I’ve been wanting. Let’s go outside and try it!”

“Um, Jack,” I said, “aren’t you going to open my gift?”

“Oh, of course!” He ripped (撕开) open the present, not even noticing the funny cartoons I’d drawn on the wrapping paper. “Hey, I remember this photo. Thanks, Arizona!” He put down the picture frame, grabbed the new skateboard, and called, “Come on, everyone! We can all take turns!”

Everyone ran outside—everyone except me.

“I can’t find the present you gave me, and do you remember where I put it?” Jack said.