I grew up in a small town and the main entertainment was football on Friday night. It was just a sleepy little town where parents wanted to raise their children away from crime and 1 of a big city, and where teenagers like me 2 leaving to find something bigger and better.

    All that changed one summer night. My friend Lisa, Martin and Tyler held a party for my eighteenth birthday at Lisa's house. 3 they kept handing alcohol to me, I was pretty 4. I asked Tyler to take me home. With some 5, we made it out to his car and drove home. News came next morning. My friend Martin was 6 in a car accident. That night after Tyler and I left, Martin, who was   7 more drunk than me, got into his car and 8 towards the highway to go home. Driving on the wrong side of the road, he never saw the truck coming. The driver didn't see him 9 to avoid the car. They hit head on. Martin died immediately, and the driver was thrown 10 the truck windshield（挡风玻璃）and died a week later.

    Whenever I 11 back on that day, I can't help thinking that it was my 12 to drink so much that night. 13 things would be different. I know Martin 14 the choice to drink and drive that night, but I will always feel 15 for what happened. I may not change the world with my story, but I do hope that by 16 my story I can make you 17 that you not only have a responsibility for yourself but also for others. Don't ever think that your choices are yours 18. Every choice is like a stone dropped into 19water—each ripple (涟漪) represents someone who your choice 20. That's quite an influence, isn't it?

    When I began teaching in a university, I was invited to a workshop for new professors. I had 1a long time learning what to teach, but not learning how to 2 it. Somehow, my university seemed to hope a weekend spent with experienced professors would 3 for that. My colleagues presented well-crafted lectures about the tools they used. I enjoyed their 4, but do not remember a thing they said.

    At a coffee break during the lectures, finding myself 5, I turned to a mathematics professor standing nearby. I asked him what his favorite teaching 6 was. "A cup of coffee." he said, "I talk too much and too fast in the classroom. Students sometimes have trouble 7 me. So when I've said 8 that I want my students to think about, I would 9 and take a sip of coffee. It lets what I've just said sink in."

    When we were called to the next talk, he put down his cup and I 10 there was not a trace of coffee in it. "My doctor11 me to stop drinking coffee," he explained. "So I have always used a(n) 12 cup." I decided to try his 13 in my class.

    I took a cup of coffee with me to my next class. It helped. My pauses, as I 14 the coffee, not only gave my students 15 to think about what I had said, but gave me time to think about what I was going to say next. I began to use my 16 to look around the room to see how my students were reacting to what I had just said. When I saw their 17 wander, I tried to bring them back. When I saw them puzzled over some concept that I thought I had 18, I gave another example. My 19 became less organized and less brilliant, but my students seemed to 20 me better.

    On the night of the play, Jack was at the theatre early and he was already dressed in a suit of policeman's clothes long1the end of the first scene. He certainly looked the part all right, he thought as he2himself in the mirror.

    Then he suddenly felt nervous. After all, it was his first time to3a part in a play. 4could he face all those people watching the play? He put his head in his hands and tried to5his lines（台词）, but nothing6to his mind.

    A knock on the door made him look7. He was to go on stage（舞台） in the second scene. "Have I 8my part and ruined（破坏）the play for everybody？" he thought to himself. But9was only the manager.  She10how nervous he was and11he should stand near the stage12he could watch and follow the play. It was a good13of getting rid of his nervousness, she said. She was right; it seemed to 14. In fact the more he watched the play, the15he felt himself part of it.

    At last the16came for him to appear on the stage.  But suddenly the manager came to him again, 17worried as she placed a hand on his arm to18him back. "Has anything gone19？" Jack asked. "I'm afraid you're going to be20, " she said. "They've jumped three pages of the play and have missed your part out completely. "

    I always come across random acts of kindness in my life. Many years ago, I was 1Costa Rica when I found myself in an 2situation: my credit cards and bank cards went out of 3 abroad, and I only had $5 to my 4.

    I had no way to get money. I didn't know anybody in this country. I only knew basic Spanish, and besides the cash the only 5I had was a return ticket to my country in almost two 6. Back then, there was no such thing as mobile phones, and7email was very limited. To find help, I decided to go to the countryside. With the only coins I had, I 8the bus terminal(终点站)and found a village, which 9almost the exact amount. About 4 hours later, I arrived at Santa Rosa Abajo at midnight.

    I knocked door to door,10in my very poor Spanish that I was a foreigner travelling in Costa Rica with no money but I 11to stay here for over ten days. I begged them for a 12－such as cooking , cleaning and looking after their kids, anything like that. Everybody 13, “oh my, but so poor are we that we have no 14 food or space. Maybe you can try the next 15.” And they'd point me to another house.

    16, I arrived at a Chinese restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was very 17. She gave me food and called the Red Cross to come to 18me. With the help of the Red Cross, I spent my19days in Costa Rica.

    This is one of the best trips I've ever had, because I realized that when you're in a position to be able to 20, it actually makes you feel happy.

    Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia, wants the world to know where she's been during her great worldwide vacation in a(n) 1way.

    The traveler, who was 2 with a bone disease, had her right leg 3 at the age of four. 4 the amputation (截肢) caused hardships for Gallagher early on, she, at the age of 22 now,5 it as an inspiration for making the 6 of her life.

    To spread that7, Gallagher has 8 to social media, 9 she shares photos of her travels across the world, but instead of 10 using a geotag (地理标签), she draws her location across her artificial leg before taking a picture.

    Now she has been taking pictures 11 Europe. "I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden 12 that my new leg could be used as a blackboard," Gallagher said. "My mum and grandmother weren't too 13 the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did."

    Gallagher said people often stare when she's 14 on her leg, but once she shares the photos, she 15 only praise and encouragement. "My leg hasn't 16 me from doing anything I've wanted to do," she said. "I don't know 17 it is my determination to prove to myself that I can do it, but anyhow, I've been able to 18 up with my peers and lead a pretty great life."

    Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the 19 of your dream. And if you meet with an obstacle (障碍), get 20 with it— if life gives you an artificial leg, make art.