==CHINA==

Have you ever encountered any kind of natural disasters? Have you ever come across any difficulty which was beyond your ability and bothered you so much? Can you or can you not pluck up enough courage to pull through it? Under most circumstances, guts and cooperation are particularly important. The article "Face to Face with Hurricane Camile" is a showpiece of this kind of spirit.
When John Koshak, the hero, and his family learned that hurricane Camile was coming, they did not panic. Nor did they flee like other neighbors and folks did. Instead, they made comprehensive preparations. The reason may partly be that they didn't want to go away and leave their property smashed; or, they had tremendous feelings of their sweet home; or maybe they simply did not believe how on earth a hurricane can hurt so much. Whatever you think the reason may be, after all, they had the guts to challenge the eerie hurricane.
The hurricane grew more and more ferocious and finally it became totally out of the family's control. But they never went desperate, nor did the ever give up. On the contrary, they used mops, towels, pots and buckets to cope with the spreading water; they brought the mattress and made it a lean to against the wind; the adults bent over all the time in order to let the children go through from their backs. All through the hard time, they used their united power, exerted their talents to fight with the hurricane. At last, their efforts paid off----they survived the hurricane.
Things sometimes go like this: The more you fear, the more you fail. However, if you remain calm and try to rethink about it, you will come up with a solution. The point is, whether you have the guts to face the problem or not. Here's a true story: Laura's fiance Winson became a vegetable after a car accident. Miraculously, Winson came to after a long coma. But ever since, he lost his past memory. Everything was vague. Even Laura became a little stranger to him. Laura got a bit upset at first. She could have stopped her relationship with Winson. She could have left Winson and started a new life even without sharing any responsibility. But she did not do so. She loved Winson so much and resolved to stay with him once and forever. She married Winson and they had a beautiful girl a year later. Every now and then Laura kept recalling the past. But Winson could only regain a little. And besides, he lost his ability to work----which meant that Laura was the only bread winner of the family. In this case, Laura showed her guts and mettle in supporting the family and keeping it a happy one.
Cooperation is also a key element in solving problems. Recently, an earthquake took place in Osaka, Japan, which caused a great number of casualties and paralyzed the city's economy. But the reconstruction work was very quick and effective. This owed to the whole notion's cooperation. Every day there were public concerts running for collecting money for the victims; Citizens from all over the country contribute their money to the disaster area; The government focused their resources in reconstructing the city. Everything was going on quickly and smoothly. So the city soon regained its vigor and prosperity.
We may fail. The point is we can pick up our guts and fight again; we may be in trouble, the point is we can cooperate with others and get out of it.
A western philosopher once pointed out: Behind every success, there is perspiration, and there is at least one failure. As a fledgling young fellow, I think it is of significant importance to bear this in mind. We might lose in one case or another, but we can not lose ourselves. That is, we must always keep confidence in the depth of our heart. Only this steadfast confidence could yield guts and power, which might otherwise fade away, for your future success.