Grace and her family thought they had lost Thor forever when they moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia from British Columbia last August.

“We probably spent seven or eight months looking for Thor,” Grace said. “What made it worse was that there were rumors(谣言) going around that there was dogfighting in our area. We still always hoped that somebody had taken him to be a pet, but you just never knew.”

“It was terrible. My daughter Bronwyn would try to find Thor everywhere, which had been a Christmas present for her. Even while watching TV programmes, she would say, ‘Oh, look! That dog looks like Thor!’” Grace said. Then the family moved, and the hope became impossible.

But one day, the phone rang. It was their former vet in British Columbia, saying Thor was in a rescue shelter(收容所) in High River, Alberta. He had been found at a work camp in the northern part of the place and taken to south by a man planning to keep him. But the man was forced to turn him over to the shelter when he couldn’t keep Thor in his rented home. Luckily, the ring on Thor’s neck gave people some information.

Thor was flown to Nova Scotia last week. The family picked him up at the airport. “Thor was just lying in his box and looking down, and my daughter walked over and said, ‘Hey Thor.’ He immediately stood up, trying to greet my daughter. We let him out and he jumped on her as if he was giving her a big hug and he kissed her face. Then he sat down suddenly at her feet and rolled over for attention. He was cute.” Grace said.

The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem on one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whisper, “Hello?”

Feeling it was inconvenient to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, “Is your daddy home?” “Yes,” whispered the small voice. “May I talk with him?” the man asked. To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, “No.”

Wanting to talk with an adult. the boss asked. “Is your mommy there?” “Yes,” came the answer, “May I talk with her?” Again the small voice whispered, “No.”

Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. “Is there any one there besides you?” the boss asked the child. “Yes,” whispered the child, “a policeman.”

Wondering what a policeman would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?” “No, he is busy,” whispered the child. “Busy doing what?” asked the boss. “Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the fireman,” came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, “What is that noise?” “A hello-copper,” answered the whispering voice. “What is going on there?” asked the boss, now alarmed. In a low whispering voice the child answered, “The search team just landed the hello-copper!”

Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated the boss asked, “The search team?Why are they there?” Still murmuring, the young voice replied, “They are looking for me!”

Everybody, at some point in their lives, has experienced failure. It could be something as simple as not getting the job you wanted, or getting fewer marks even after hard work. But what makes you is not your failure, but how you get back up after being hit.

Once, a young school boy was caught in a fire accident in his school and was assumed that he would not live. His mother was told that he was sure to die, for the terrible fire had destroyed the lower half of his body. Even if he were to survive, he would be lame throughout his life.

But the brave boy did not want to die nor did he want to be lame.  Much to the amazement of the doctor, he did survive. But unfortunately from his waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just hung there, lifeless. Eventually he left the hospital. But his determination to walk was unshakable. At home, when he was not in bed, he had to stay in a wheelchair. One day, he threw himself from the chair and pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He reached the fence, raised himself up and then began dragging himself along the fence, firmly determined. He did this every day, with faith in himself that he would be able to walk unaided. With his iron determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk on and off, then to walk by himself and then to run.

He began to walk to school, and then run to school, to run for the joy of running. Later in college he was on the track team.

In February 1934, in New York City's Madison Square Garden, this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run-this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile.

A good example of the power of positive thinking and faith in one's self, Glenn Cunningham continues to be an inspiration for many, and his story, a brilliant evidence to how one can bounce back even when all difficulties are piled against one, to the degree that death seemed the preferable option.

A．Strengthen determination	B．Stand up after failure
C．Go after dreams	D．Face difficulty bravely