I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me 1 a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him 2 less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed 3 way I think about people and about Christmas.

    I hate Black Friday sales. It's often a gathering of people 4 are there for many different reasons. Some are looking for one item for their loved one, or perhaps themselves. Their purpose are completely have 5 to do with the festive time of year, and can merely be summed up with one word, "Cheap!"

    It was several years ago when my wife asked me 6 her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike 7 she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle（口哨）. I told my wife 8 we got a bike, fine, but if we did not, I was OK with that too.

    As 9 bikes began to gradually（逐渐）decrease in size, I saw my "polite" opportunity to reach my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I 10 it and suddenly felt some mild resistance（阻力）. I looked up to see one of 11 gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Frightening was not the word to describe his appearance. He was wearing lots of straps of metal spiked leather（带有铆钉的皮带） around 12 arms and even his neck and he had tattoos（纹身）too.

    I started to return the box 13 he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping car. He looked at me, smiled, and said, "Merry Christmas." All the way home I 14 that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all prejudice（偏见） I may have had of certain types of people. The softness of a human heart can be seen in a simple act. I will never 15 it.

    London is such a wonderful city. It is very large. The Thames River runs 1the city from west to east. So the city has 2 parts: the South and the North. In the North, there are important buildings, shops, big parks and interesting places. The3in London is good. In winter it is not very cold and in summer it is not very hot 4 the city is near the sea. People say London is a foggy city and it often rains. It is true. Last year, when I 5 in London, I met one of the thickest fogs in years. You could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Cars and buses moved 6 with their lights on. When evening fell, the weather got even 7. The fog was as thick as milk.8 the buses and cars stopped. I happened 9 an important meeting on the other side of the town, but it was impossible to find a car. I had to get there 10.

    Once there was a clever man. One day he went shopping and he found a very beautiful vase. He loved it very much. It was 400 dollars. But it was too 1for him.

   "Could you sell it at 200 dollars?" He wanted to cut down the2.
    I'm sorry I can't," the shop assistant answered.

    Then he3the shop without saying any words. He went back home and4his friends about the vase. They worked out a5. The clever man hoped the plan could work.

    The next day, one of his friends went to6and wanted to buy the vase for 350 dollars. The shop assistant didn't7.

    Shortly after the first one, the second friend went there and wanted to buy it for 300 dollars.8shook his head.

    Later, the third offered 200. The fourth offered 150. The fifth offered 100. Oh! It was too9.

    At last, the clever man went to the shop and offered 100 dollars again. This time, the plan worked and the clever man10the beautiful vase at his price.

    The story goes that two friends were walking across the desert.

    During the journey they had a1, and one friend hit the other in the face. The one who got hit was hurt, but2saying anything, he wrote in the sand, "Today my3 friend hit me in the face." They kept on walking until they found green fields and a beautiful river where they decided to4.The one who had been hit fell into the river and started5, but the friend saved him. After he was out of 6, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life."

    The friend who7and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone. Why? "The other8, "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in the sand where wind of forgiveness(宽容)can blow it away.9when someone does something good for us, we must carve(雕刻)it in the stone where no wind can ever blow it away."

    Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in the stone. Send this phrase to people you will10forget. It's a short message to let them know that you will never forget them.

    Mary, a 22-year-old young woman, stands in the kitchen of Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Manila，preparing a cake. It would seem to be1for a cook, but Mary is not normal. She has no hands.

    Her disability(残疾), however, only slows her down while working. Using other parts of her body, Mary can cut grapes and strawberries into pieces. "When I first saw Mary, I was worried she might hurt herself when using a knife, but that has never been a2,"says the boss of the hotel. "She does not get special treatment and works just as hard as the rest of the cooks."

    Mary has come a long way since the day in September 2002 when she and her uncle were attacked by two men, who were trying to force her family off their land. The 11-year-old girl passed out(晕倒) as she tried to3herself from the attack. After she came to her sense, she found her uncle dead and saw her arms broken. Later, the doctors did an operation. They saved her life but could not save her hands.

    In 2006, with the help of the family, Mary went to live at House with No Steps, a Manila rehabilitation(康复) and training centre for disabled people. She learned how to write and do housework there. And more4, she became used to her disability. She believed she could live a normal life although she was disabled. She thought she had something important to do in life because she was5alive after the terrible attack. After she finished high school, she took a two-year Hotel and Restaurant Management course because she had enjoyed cooking since she was a little girl.

    Mary didn't shy away from the attention when she was reported on television. "I wanted others living with disabilities to believe it's6to live a normal life," Mary says. "It is difficult to make a living, but I don't lose hope. I believe nothing is impossible if you dream and work hard."