Shoes can tell you a lot about a person. Winston was a firm believer in this. 【小题1】

Winston sat on a chair in the train station as usual, watching the people passing by. Suddenly he noticed something different. Two bare (赤裸的) feet walked past. Winston wondered what kind of a man couldn’t afford to buy himself shoes. 【小题2】 A man who was of questionable intelligence? A man with bad temper?

“Sorry, it has been a hard day,” the shoe-less person said sadly, sitting beside Winston. “I had to sell my shoes, had to sell them away, can you believe that? 【小题3】” He shook his head. “Said all she wanted this year was a birthday cake. A real one.”

He pointed to the cake beside him. 【小题4】 “I just had to get it for her. But I had to sell my shoes for it … it was worth it, of course.”

While staring at the man, a sense of shame washed over Winston. He had guessed this stranger was a bad person simply for his lack of shoes. In fact this man was a more generous (慷慨的) person than Winston had ever seen. 【小题5】 He picked them up and handed them to the stranger.

“Mom! I found one! I found a rock!”

I heard those words again and again last summer as I sat on the porch (门廊) of my home, which faces a park in the small town where I live.

The Kindness Rocks Project has spread (扩散) around the world. It was started a few years ago by a mom in Massachusette. Kids, families, and adults of all ages are taking part – painting rocks, hiding rocks and finding painted rocks all over the place. Some post photos of the rocks on social media (社交媒体) , and others just move the rocks for someone else to find. Some take the rocks home and then replace them with new ones that they create and hide.

Nine-year-old twins Harry and Hannah De Vrieze have painted hundreds of rocks with their parents. Most evenings, the family and their small dog walk around with a wagon (运货车) full of rocks that they hide as they walk.

“It’s a fun family activity,” Hannah says.

“We will do it in the winter too,” Harry adds.

Ben Burinsky, age nine, and his brother, Luke, age seven, were visiting relatives when they found their first painted rock in a park. They were very ▲ , so they went home happily, and painted their own rocks, then hid them for others to find.

“My boys loved finding the rock in the park, especially since it was a superhero,” their mother, Judy Burinsky, says. “I love how something so small can bring a smile to my children’s faces. In return, they learn the value (价值) of giving back to others.”

Kadyn Kinney, age nine, and his seven-year-old brother, Jayce, have also painted many rocks. They love to hide rocks and hunt for rocks with their mom and dad. When their grandmother visited, they gave her painted rocks to take home and hide in the Florida town where she lives.

When asked how many rocks he has painted so far, Jayce says, “Trust me! I’ve painted more than 30.”

There was once an old man who went to the seaside every morning, walking along the beach drawing pictures and enjoying the beautiful sea. One morning, he came across a beach accidentally where thousands of starfish had washed up.

The old man noticed a little girl was coming in the distance. As she walked, she would stop to bend down (弯下腰) and pick up an object and throw it into the sea.

The man walked closer asking what she was doing by the seaside. She stopped, looked up, and replied, “Throwing starfish into the sea.”

The man asked her why, to which she replied, “The sea has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t go back to the sea by themselves. When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The man noted, “But there are miles and miles of beach and there are thousands of starfish all along every mile, how will you make much of a difference?”

The girl bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it as far as she could into the sea. Then she turned towards the old man, gave a smile and said, “I made a difference to that one!”

After hearing the girl’s explanation, the old man was shocked. People often think they can’t do enough to make a big difference so they put off their actions or wait for someone else to take the lead.

However, the little girl taught the old man a very important lesson. Everyone has the opportunities to create positive changes. One small step towards changing the world can make a big difference. Be the change for someone and inspire others to do the same. While you may not be able to change the whole world, you can make a big difference for a small part of it.