The Water City of Venice

    In 1980s, I went to Italy for business. One day, I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice(威尼斯), Italy, the city of lights and 1.

    As we enjoyed our coffee, a young man2 glasses entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there 3 the wall.”

    We heard this order with interest and found that he 4 with one cup of coffee but he paid for two.

    When he left, the waiter 5 a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee”.

    While we were still there, 6 middle-aged men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but 7 three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same. He put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee”.

    It was 8 and perplexing(困惑)for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.

    After a few days, we had a chance  9 this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man 10 dressed entered. As he seated himself, he 11 the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.”

    The waiter served coffee to this man with the customary(惯常的)respect. The man had his coffee and left  12 paying.

    We were amazed to watch all this, as the waiter 13 a piece of paper from the wall and threw it into the rubbish bin.

    Now it was no 14 for us-the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants(居民)of this town 15 our eyes well up in tears.

    Many years later, when I went to Venice for business again, I did the same thing as my appreciation to this beautiful world.

    Joe Brown had a shop where he 1 meat. One day a woman 2 into the shop at five to one. “I' m sorry. I' m late,” she said. “I 3 some more meat for my dinner tonight.” Joe had only one 4 of meat in his shop. He took it 5 the fridge and said, “This is $6.50.”

    “That piece is too 6, ”the woman said. “Haven't you got anything bigger?” Joe 7 into the room behind his shop, put the meat into the fridge, took it out again and closed the door 8 a lot of noise. Then he brought the piece of meat to the woman and said, “This piece of meat is bigger and 9 expensive. It' s $8.75.”

    “Good,” the woman said with a smile.

    “Give me 10 of them, please.”

    I was living in a house with a long history in Halifax, Nova Scotia five years ago. One day one of my friends from the West Coast came out to visit me. He was1for 3 weeks so he brought a lot of bags and suitcases, and other things like a2. I told him he could sleep on the bed in the front living room.

      One morning after a late night of drinking, my friend ran into my room shouting" Fire, Fire". Without3, I jumped out of bed. The floor was4against my feet as I ran into the hallway, right behind my friend. I couldn't see the fire anywhere, 5as we ran towards the front door, I could hear the6making a loud noise all around me. It was inside the7. We ran out into the front yard and looked8at the house, seeing black smoke coming out of the9house.

      We were standing there watching the house when I looked down and10all of my friend's bags and suitcases11lined up on the front grassland, including his basketball. 12he noticed the house was on fire, he took all of them out to the grassland before coming back to13me about it. That fire had started in the basement（地下室）, and it spread up into the walls and was burning the14we were standing on. The floor and much of the house fell down not long after we came out. The firemen said we were very15.

Of course，we are not friends anymore.

    Once upon a time, there was a little girl 1Nuwa. Her father was Emperor Yan and he2his daughter very much. They often played3together. One day Nuwa rowed(划)a 4 in a river. The boat over turned and Nuwa5. So her father was6over her death. Later, Nuwa changed7a bird. The bird often came8Emperor Yan. Emperor Yan cried when he watched the river, 9he missed(想念)his daughter. The bird decided to fill the river10stones. Finally the river was full of stones and it disappeared(消失).

    A lady wanted a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had liked a beautiful ring, and knowing her husband could1it, she told him that was all she wanted. On the morning of the birthday, her husband told her how2he was to have such a good wife, and how much he loved her. He gave her a beautiful gift package. She opened it and 3 a Bible(《圣经》).Angrily, she raised her voice and said to her husband, "With all your money, you give me a Bible？”She was so 4 that she left him.

    Many years passed and the lady was very5in business. She owned two large companies. She 6her husband was very old, and thought perhaps she could go to 7him. But before she could, she received a letter telling her that he had died, and gave all of his possessions(财产)to her. She needed to come back and take care of things.

    When she arrived at his house, sadness filled her heart. She saw the 8 new Bible, just as she had left it years before. With tears in her eyes, she opened it and began to turn the pages. A ring9from the Biole to the floor and a card could be seen. She picked it up and found it was the ring she wanted in those days. And on the card was the date of her birth, and the words" LOVE YOU ALWAYS".

    10your gift is not packed in the way you want it, it's because it is better packaged in the way it is！Always appreciate little things; they usually lead you to bigger things! The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched for they must be felt with the heart.