I was in a shopping mall, so I decided to go and get a cup of coffee. As I was making my way to the coffee shop, I noticed an old gentleman poorly dressed sitting near the shop. I knew from the first sight that he needed help. He had a little lunch in front of him and was enjoying it. It was clear that he had a problem with his right eye. I then joined the line and waited to be served.

    Then it happened. One of the most beautiful gestures(姿态) I had ever seen in my life. There was a young man in front of me in the line who was also waiting to be served. The next thing I knew was that the young man handed the waitress(女服务员) 20 dollars and requested a glass of juice as a favor(善行). The waitress looked at the young man a little perplexed, not fully understanding the request. That was when the young man asked her to give the juice to the old gentleman eating his lunch outside, as well as the change(零钱) from the 20 dollars. The young man also told her that he would be watching every second so that she would be completely safe. Then there was a wonderful exchange between the waitress and the old man. I only wished I could take a photo of the smiles on both of their faces.

As I was considering this event later, I wondered why the young man didn't perform this act of kindness himself. Maybe he was hoping that this act of kindness might inspire(激励) others to do something for this old man as well.

    Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a girl asked him to sing a song.

    “I don't sing,” said the man.

    But the girl told the waiter, “I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing! ”

    The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get money, sing a song!”

    So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song!

    He had skills(技能) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he caught the chance, and found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

    You, too, have skills. You may not feel that your skills are great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved(提高).

    Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.

    During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.

    He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.

    Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband's name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.

    My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.

    That family not only gave back the important documents to us that day but also gave back our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send them a warm wish.

    Mr. Liu is an English teacher in Nanjing. This year, he visits France(法国) for his summer holiday.

    He watches many beautiful buildings and enjoys wonderful song and dance shows there. He also loves French(法国的；法语的) bread, cakes and soup. He has a good time there. But he doesn't feel happy all the time. He wants to visit an art museum. He doesn't know the way.

    So he uses English to ask some French people how to get there. He feels very sad after he finds no one can tell him. At last, a kind lady tells him the way, and says to him, "you are here in France, and people usually speak French only. They can't speak English, so a lot of people don't understand what you say. But even if they understand English, they only talk with you in French, no English."

    When he goes into the museum, he sees so many beautiful pictures and other works(作品) of art. He feels excited and wants to take pictures of what he sees in the museum. At that time, a worker stops him, and asks him not to take any photos. He asks the worker why he can't take any photos in English. The worker doesn't answer, but he points at (指向) a sign on the wall with French words " II est interdit de photographier dans la sallle."

    Most people who work in the office have a boss (老板). So do I. But my boss is a little unusual. What's unusual about him? It's a big dog. Many men have dogs, but few men bring their dogs to the office every day. My boss's dog, Robinson, is big and brown. My boss brings him to work every day. He takes the dog to meetings and he takes the dog to lunch. When there is telephone call for my boss, I always know if he is in the office. I only look under his desk. If I see something brown and hairy (毛绒绒的) under it, I know my boss is somewhere in the office. If there is no dog, I know my boss is out.