When meeting strangers, we usually notice their hair, skin colour and clothes. We like to group those things we don’t know by comparing them with the things we know.

So what’s wrong with this? For example, we think that short boys can’t possibly be good basketball players. The girls who love to be dressed up can’t be excellent students. Or we think shy students can’t be good at giving speeches. These are typical(典型的) examples of stereotypes.

Stereotypes make people form a wrong opinion about others at first sight. In fact, it takes a lot more than just looking at a person to know and understand him or her. The following is my story.

One day, it was snowing, but not very heavily. Before class, I collected all the exercise books and sent them to the teachers’ office. The exercise books looked piles in my arms, so I could hardly see the ground. Suddenly, I slipped over(滑倒) and dropped all the exercise books I was carrying.

I tried to stand up but failed, I was about to pick them up when I saw a boy coming towards me. It was Mike.

Mike and I had been classmates for over 2 years, but we had never shared more than 5 sentences together. He was a boy with few words, but I liked talking. We were totally different. I didn’t like him and didn’t want to be seen at that moment.

“Anything serious?” His words brought me out of my thoughts. “I saw you sitting on the ground from the back window, so I rushed here. Let me help you!” He helped me up and picked all the exercise books up.

Seeing this, I was so moved that I couldn’t say a single word.

We walked towards the teachers’ office and this time, he talked a lot to me. I found quite a different Mike.

I took a deep breath and said to myself, “I nearly made a big mistake — judging(判断) Mike only by his appearance.”

Children’s Day is coming and Mrs. Black is reading a newspaper story to her class. The story says: The doctors in Children’s Hospital are asking for money for children’s toys. Some children are ill and have to stay in hospital for many days. They feel sad and always cry, but toys can make sick children feel happy and quiet.

After Mrs. Black reads the story, she says, “This story gives me an idea.”

“You want us to bring some money for the toys.” “We could bring some of our own toys for the children in hospital,” say the boys and girls one after another.

“Well, your ideas would be nice,” Mrs. Black says, “but mine is different.”

“We could make some toys,” shouts one of them.

Mrs. Black smiles, “Do you think you could make toys?”

“Yes, yes,” the whole class answer.

“Great! Let’s begin to make toys tomorrow,” says Mrs. Black.

It is Children’s Day. Mrs. Black takes her students to the hospital with the toys made by themselves. The children in hospital feel happy and excited. The colorful toys make the white hospital more lively.

A few days later, Mrs. Black reads another newspaper story to the class: The students of Class Three in Green Street School made toys and brought them to Children’s Hospital on June 1st. The doctor says, “Our children enjoy themselves playing with the toys. It’s really their happiest day. Thank you, Class Three. You bring the best presents for Children’s Day.”

“We are happy too, for we make the best presents,” the whole class smile happily.

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog (慢跑) around a park near my home. There’s a lake in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting by the water with a small metal cage sitting beside her.

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap (捕捉器). There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully cleaning with a brush.

“Hello,” I said. “I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my noisiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.” She smiled. “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae (海藻), reduces (减少) the turtle’s ability to absorb (吸收) heat and weakens its ability to swim. It can also corrode (侵蚀) and weaken the shell over time.”

“Wow! That’s really nice of you!” I said.

She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.”

“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae hanging from their shells?” I asked.

“Yes, sadly, they do,” she replied.

“Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts (努力) are kind, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. Then how exactly are your efforts here truly making a difference?”

The woman smiled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, cleaning off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”