学生姓名：解丰羽

所在学校：石家庄第二外国语学校

所在年级：初一

指导老师：孙艳

案例说明：该生自初一学习《典范英语》，以下是他在读完《典范英语》（7）Arctic Hero: The Story of Matthew Henson 后写的一篇读后感。该文文笔流畅，条理分明，论点清晰，作者从故事主人公联系生活，反思人生，处处闪现着思维和智慧的光芒。

Persistence Brings Success

On April 6th, 1909, six men reached the North Pole. Matthew Henson was one of them. Though it was an extremely difficult and demanding task, Matthew and his team finally made it, with all due cooperation and persistence.

Matthew was born for adventure. He started as a cabin boy when he was only twelve. Then, owing to his enthusiasm and his strong will to challenge, he won himself a good place in Robert’s team. During their journey to the North Pole, he faced a number of challenges, but he never backed down. He stood up to the challenges and persisted in pursuing his dream. In the end, he succeeded as desired.

Life is full of challenges. We not only have to do what is needed, but we should also do what we want. In so doing, we can have a better picture of what we are doing and seize every possible chance to overcome the challenges. In our journey through life, we should be like Matthew and keep fighting.

Also, the book teaches me the attitude we should stick to in the face of danger. In the story, whenever a severe problem, like blizzards, frostbites or broken sledges, came up, they always thought of something to solve it. Or rather, they just persisted in doing what they liked and were bound to do. I cherish this very attitude towards life, because only by persisting can we ever achieve something big.

Some may argue that they are enjoying an easy life, needless to push themselves and follow a dream. Others may say that they have tried very hard but all the hard work lead them nowhere.

Well, these things happen sometimes. But remember, glory only shows itself when a person tries his best to realise a dream. At your wits’ end, one more step forward will likely get you somewhere. After all, staying active and positive is always better than doing nothing but complaining.

Still, we are lucky to live in a world where we are encouraged to dream big. Why not make full use of it and try something different? If we persist, push past our limits and keep going, we will realise our goals. At least, we will get closer and closer to them.

Compared with us, life was much harsher for Matthew. He lived in a time when black people were paid little respect. Racial discrimination was one of the major issues Matthew had to face in his life. Matthew wasn’t even rewarded until the age of 81. Despite all this, he was never defeated by any hardships. His perseverance makes him worth a chapter in the history book.

However, Matthew didn’t pursue his dream because he wanted to be honored or rewarded. He took it as his destiny. The deepest desire inside him was all that matters. His inspiring story proves that a person like him deserves to be honored and respected. He made an excellent role model for us all to follow.