Sometimes you meet an ordinary person doing something extraordinary. On a recent trip I met Normand Gallant. Normand is someone you could pass on the street and 1 notice but he is a very special person who2 recognition.

    Norm lives in a remote area far from the 3 big hospital, so when his wife4 cancer several years ago, Norm was faced with a four hour5to where she could be treated. That meant lots of6 for meals, fuel, hotels and so on. But in the end the cancer took his wife 7.

    Norm was obviously8 by his wife's passing, but he was also very angry, 9 he realized that other people were10 the same sorts of hardships. He wanted to do something but he didn't want to give money to the 11 that support cancer research because he didn't know how much would actually get to the researchers. What he did was to 12 parties.

    About every three weeks on Saturday evenings, there is a party in Norm's garage. There is music and dancing, and 13 during the evening Norm tells about a family who are having difficulties 14the cost of supporting a cancer patient undertaking 15 far from home. Then a honey-pail is passed around and the money 16, every cent of it goes 17 to that family.

    Norm's personal loss has 18 an act of kindness that honors the 19 of the wife he has lost. Wouldn't it be 20if we had more people in the world like Normand Gallant?  He makes the world a better place.

    I never forget the single act of kindness that changed my life over 25 years ago. During a vacation trip, I needed to find my 1 to the Greyhound bus station, some 30 miles away. Being a 2student, I had little money to get there.

    I3to call various taxis and shuttle（往返汽车） services but they were all to4or too far away to pick me up. Then, I got one person on the5who managed to make out that I needed a ride to the Greyhound station but only had limited financial 6 and he agreed to transport me! He came to pick me up about 45 minutes 7. The driver was older and I remember8why the shuttle didn't have a meter (计时器) but his ID was there and I could see this was his9. The driver was so kind. He knew I was10so he distracted me with stories and good11. He said I looked like his granddaughter.

    At one point, I asked him why he12so little to the others. Then, he patiently explained that he was13retired and hadn't removed his number from the phone book but when I called, clearly upset, he felt 14to help. This man drove an hour out of his way to help a person he didn't know for a fee that only15his gas, if that! Because of his 16, I knew things were going to be okay. This man's kindness warms my heart every time I think of him. 17 , I didn't get his name and his face has18gradually from my memory but he is on my mind often and I wish I could thank him19 "Thank you Mr. Angel Shuttle-Man! I hope your granddaughter knows what a(n)20grandfather she has!"

    It was a freezing, windy winter night in Manhattan. I was walking to catch a train home, totally1in the next day's to-do list, not paying any attention to my surroundings. "Hey man, I love your nice hat!", said a voice to me from the sidewalk. When I2to see where it came from, I saw a man 3dressed, carrying a garbage bag, standing outside a 4—with a warm smile on his face. As I was about to say thank you, a woman walked by. "Hey lady, you have the most beautiful eyes. Can you5some change?"

    This homeless man had no 6of talking to anyone and he was excellent at 7up others. I felt pulled to help him use that8 .I introduced myself, and 9him to dinner inside. "Ralph's the name. Thank you so much, sir!" he said.

    As we sat down and ate, I told Ralph that I felt he had an amazing talent for10withpeople.11 at first, he eventually began to open up. He spoke much about how he used to love to12. He was like a fisherman's encyclopedia ( 百科全书). I asked him what he could see himself doing, and he said that he thought he could be a good 13. So I asked him if he ever14going to the store right down the street and telling them he would help them sell their fishing equipment. There was a pause. Ralph put his hands over his face 15 he spoke through tears. I'll never 16what he said next. "I had a job and a family.17 , I didn't know how to handle these things. I18my problems. For 11 years, no one has ever done anything like this for me. It's time for me to make things19again. "

    By the end, I was in 20as well. Ralph thanked me for my help, and we went our separate ways.

More Than I Had Dreamed Of

    From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the Students' Union. I always 1 my school leaders for taking responsibility for all of us. So I dreamed of being a leader. Years flew by, and soon I was able to participate in the elections, 2 I would win. But the reality struck that I hadn't had a chance. I wasn't pretty. Girls across the school hardly knew me. I just did not have what it 3 to win a school election. I was 4. As I cried in my room that evening, I 5 took a deep breath and decided I wouldn't stop dreaming. I decided that I would 6 elections again in my final year at school — and I would win.

    I recognized that my 7 had a lot of things in their favor. What were the 8 that would work in my favor? I had good grades, and I was friendly and helpful. And my biggest 9 was the faith I had. I would not allow my 10 appearance to hold me back from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I 11 my election plans a whole year in advance.

    I realized that girls would have to get to know me and recognize that I had the ability to 12 them. I loved making friends and I liked being helpful, 13 I decided that perhaps I could use these qualities to work to my advantage. In order to learn how to present a great election 14, I also attended a course on effective public speaking.

    The day after the election, when the principal announced I won the second highest number of votes, the students 15. That joy on the faces of all my friends showed me that my victory was 16 theirs.

    Suddenly, I realized that I had 17 much more than I had dreamed of. I had made many new friends and had helped people 18 the way. I had won the 19 and love of my school-mates and they knew me as somebody who would stand by them. I was able to put a smile on their faces and 20 their day.

    Mott hoped to find a lady on an Iowa community Facebook page, but she didn't even know her name. All she knew is that the 1 woman looked to be in her 30s, had purple hair and was 2 gentle and compassionate.

    At 10:25 am on Black Friday Mott was busy shopping 3she received a(n) 4 phone call, which came in from the nursing home where her mom lived. The nurse on the phone 5 her that her mom passed away. Mott just kind of 6, kneeling down and starting to cry uncontrollably.

    The lady came across Mott and, instead of passing by, she 7 and asked what was wrong. Then she kept Mott in a tight 8 until Mott was able to regain enough senses to get back on her feet. She even 9 Mott to the checkout line and asked if any shoppers had enough Christmas spirit to let the sad woman 10 in line. The lines immediately parted to let her 11. Mott, still 12, didn't think to ask the lady her name after paying her bill.

    In recent days, Mott's 13 to the woman had been a comfort so much that she longed to thank her 14. So she reached out and hoped people would help her find the lady.

    Stephanie, 42, realized that Mott had been looking for her. The most 15 thing she could think to do was to attend Mott's mother's 16. Once Mott 17 her, the two strangers-turned-friends wrapped each other in another big hug, tears running down. The family and other mourners 18 , probably feeling what I felt: It was reassuring to see such a warm, visible sign that the 19 meetings and random acts of kindness we often take for granted sometimes 20 a big difference.

Spanish class scared me in the freshman year.I knew little Spanish before starting the class，and I thought it would be1 for me.However，Mary，our honored Spanish teacher，who was full of creativity，made her class fun from the beginning.I knew what to expect with a schedule for each week，but there was always some slight 2 . 

Before the exam，Mary often asked us to 3 our lessons by ourselves.But I could remember one day she said， "This time，let's play a game before going over what you've learned." The game was so interesting that we all 4 ourselves.After the exam，Mary gave us opportunities to make up for our 5 .After each error correction，she would check again.She took things so 6 that she wouldn't overlook any detail.No wonder she was 7 by us. 

Mary was 8 and willing to help，within reason，on everything.We could ask her questions at any time.She encouraged everyone to speak Spanish in class.Because of that，I was 9 enough，and then I could communicate with Spanish speakers outside of class.When she knew our problems，she would give advice.When someone was struggling，she would 10 . 

Mary's 11 teaching eventually transformed my 12 into fascination.She infused （灌输） foreign culture into lessons，using music and dance to 13 our language skills.Her personalized attention to each student's needs fostered a（n）14 environment.At the end of the term，my Spanish improved，and my confidence soared.Mary left a lasting impact on my 15 for new challenges.