My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.

Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

   When I was 17 , I met a famous doctor named Paul Bragg . He gave me one of the most valuable ______ of my life : a statement that was filled with words of ______ . To this very day , I still ______ it : I am a genius（天才） , and I apply my wisdom .

______ , I was a high school dropout（辍学学生） and was living in a tent in Hawaii . I had a very limited vocabulary and had never ______ reading a single book . When Dr. Bragg taught me this statement , he told me to say it with feelings ______ it were true. To do so seemed so far away from ______ that it was funny . After saying it many times , ______ , I began to feel what those powerful words meant . ______ every day I continued to say it , and it became ______ to believe : I am a genius , and I apply my wisdom .

It was two and a half years later when I really saw the ______ of the statement . I was sitting in a college library ______ by fellow students whom I was helping with higher mathematics . I heard one of the students speak ______ to another . “John is really a ______ !” At the moment , I ______ what Dr. Bragg had taught me , and I ______ to say this statement for the rest of my life .

I can’t quite put into words what a(n) ______ this statement has made in my life . ______  it , I was able to change from a dropout to the top of my college class . I think that the key to ______ is putting your true feelings into a statement you ______ and saying it over and over every day .

   At home, ordering food from a menu is a normal routine, I don’t even give it a second thought. In China, it’s a whole other story! Here, ordering is a fun game of test and error, and the adventure begins before the food is even served!

Many restaurants in central Beijing advertise “English language menus”, but the translations can just add to the confusion. Although accompanying pictures can be a helpful relief, the translations often make the whole experience even more amusing. During my first few weeks in China I tried some delicious dishes with strange names. As an experiment, my friends and I would order things like “students addicted to chicken gristle（软骨）” and “red burned lion head”. Eventually we learned that “lion head” was actually pork, and “students” were “addicted” to diced（切成丁的）chicken with green pepper. Recently, I came across a busy restaurant down a narrow side street in a Beijing hutong. It was lunchtime and the small room was packed with people sitting on small stools eating noodles. I was hungry and cold, and the steaming bowls looked irresistible! I sat myself down and called out for a “caidan!” In response, the waitress pointed to a wall at the back of the restaurant. The wall was full of Chinese characters describing numerous dishes. There was only one sentence in English: “crossing over the bridge noodles”.

I had never heard of the dish and had no idea what it would taste like. I took a gamble and ordered one bowl of “crossing over the bridge noodles”. A few minutes later the waitress carried a heavy bowl full of broth（肉汤）and I quickly dug in. It was the best bowl of noodles I had ever tasted! I have been back again and again and each time I point at the one English sentence—“crossing over the bridge noodles”. I always enter a restaurant in China feeling excited and a little nervous. Who knows what the next ordering adventure will show?

   Marvin, a friend of mine, was the kind of guy who was always happy and had something positive to say. Being a natural motivator, Marvin was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation whenever he or she was having a bad day.

Several months ago in his restaurant, Marvin was held at gunpoint by four armed robbers. They panicked and shot him. Luckily, Marvin was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local hospital. After 18 hours of the operation and weeks of medical care, Marvin recovered with pieces of the bullets（子弹）still in his body.

It is really a miracle（奇迹）for Marvin's surviving the robbery. When I met Marvin after the terrifying accident, I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. Marvin replied,“As I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices:I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I refused to choose to die. ”Marvin continued,“The nurses kept telling me that I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and from the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses,I read,‘He's a dead man. 'I knew I needed to take action. ”“What did you do?”I asked. “Well,there was a big nurse shouting questions at me ,”said Marvin. “She asked if I was allergic（过敏的）to anything. ‘Yes,’I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,‘Bullets. ’Over their laughter I told them,‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as  if I am alive,not dead. ?’”

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining,I can choose to accept their complaining or to point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life,”Marvin concluded.