in our daily lives， we have many choices to make， such as what to eat for supper，what clothes to wear， or what to do on weekends. at certain times in our lives， we need to make even more critical choices， such as which school to attend， what job to take or who to choose as husband or wife. yes， life is a matter of choice. seemimgly， it means a choice of tangible things. but in essence， it means choosing a way of life. life is to be lived， savored， and enjoyed， not to be wasted or complained about.
hardly can we forget the time when our society faced the grave threat from the life-and-death disease--sars. yet， even during those dreadful times， some afflicted people remained optimistic. instead of wearing neutral white masks， some people turned to colouful ones， and thus display a happy mood. and some creative people dubbed sars to mean "smile and remain smiling." i was deeply touched by their optimisim， nearly forgetting that we're still in a battle. people who survive these kinds of circumstances， (at some point)decide in their minds to carry on in spite of the overwhelming odds.
laid-off workers， typically regarded as the victims of economic advancement， are subject to desperation that being unmeployed has brought on them. but， encouragingly， we have witnessed some of them striving hard to rebuild confidence toward life and discover new opportunities for demonstrating their values.
although we cannot choose our appearance， inborn gifts and even avoid unexpected disasters and adversities， we do have the privilege to choose to live optimistcally，to love our lives， to have dreams， and to cherish hopes.
every morning when we get up， we have a choice of how we want to approach life that day. as for me， i choose to be cheerful.
日常生活中，我們會面臨各種各樣的選擇，像是晚餐吃什麼，穿什麼或是如何度週末。而在人生中的特定階段，我們需要做出更多關鍵性的抉擇，例如教育，職業或者人生伴侶。生活就意味著一種選擇。這種選擇看似是對具體事物的判斷，但歸根究底，是一種生活方式的選擇。任何無味的抱怨和虛度光陰只會帶來乏味，生活的美需要細心品嚐，用心體會。
如今回想起那段籠罩在sars陰影下的日子依然心有餘悸。但即便在那樣令人沮喪的日子裡，備受折磨的人們也始終保持著樂觀。為傳遞一種歡快的情緒，大家換上了色彩繽紛的口罩。而那些富有創造力的人則把sars解釋為"笑口常開"。他們對待生活的樂觀態度深深打動了我，幾乎讓我忘記我們還身處在沒有硝煙的戰場。其實，正是堅持不懈，堅忍不拔的'精神引領人們走出了逆境。
被看做經濟發展犧牲品的廣大下崗職工在面對生存壓力時，特別容易陷入絕望當中。但別人欣慰的是，我們看到越來越多的這個群體中的成員重建了對生活的信心，並重新立足於社會以實現自己的價值。
