Tom began to learn to cook when he was six years old. At that time,he was ill in hospital．During the first three days there,Tom1a lot of TV cartoons and felt bored with them．Then he visited the Internet for fun．He 2an interesting website(网站)．It taught people how to cook．Tom was very3the pictures on the website and fell in love with(爱上)cooking．4he got better,Tom went back home and tried to learn to cook by himself．Tom spent most of his free time learning5to cook．He tried a lot of recipes(食谱)．

    Now after five years of6 ． Tom is a famous cook in his town．He also uses his cooking to make money7poor children in his town．He's already given them more than 10,000 dollars．He8has his own book to teach people to cook food．The book is quite popular．"When you9to do something，try your best to do it．Then you will be10one day!"said Tom．

    I was recently invited to dinner by a friend. During the meal, the manager came over and said that our meal was free. He stood there 1 at me, he seemed to know me. 2 I asked if he knew me. He laughed and said I had probably 3 him, but I had changed his life. He said that twelve years ago he was in 4 stress management class. I asked the group what their number one stress was and 5 of them, including him, said it was their 6.

    He said I listened carefully and then took a chair and placed it in the center of the room. I 7 on the chair for a few minutes and then I invited everyone to do the same. I wanted them to look at the room from 8 there. After everyone had done it, I asked the group to think about how 9 the room looked when they changed their perspective(角度).

    Then I asked them to 10 their bosses. Was this the same person who had seen their good 11 and hired（雇佣） them? Do they remember how happy they were to be 12 for the job? How did these wonderful people become terrible bosses?

    He said I looked at him and asked if he had 13 said thank you to his boss for the opportunity to make a living. He answered no.

    He told me his 14 changed that night. He went back to work with a 15 card to his boss. He had been the manager for 8 years. He said he owed（把……归功于） it all to me: I had taught him to look at life from different perspectives and I had taught him to express gratitude（感激之情）.

A Meaningful Gift

    Emily was an eight grader. To pass her Civics course（公民课程）,she had to do some volunteer service in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would1an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs. Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily2awkwardly（别扭地） in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said,“Good afternoon. I'm Emily.”

    “Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat,please,”Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then,3filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    “Tell me about yourself,Emily,”Mrs. Blair said suddenly.

    “Well,” Emily started, “I don't have any grandparents, so I can't relate to elderly people much. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to 4here to get a good grade for my Civics class.”Mrs. Blair didn't seem to5.Many people, especially teens, don't seem to care about old people like me. Now you're here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything.”

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, “What was your job?”

    “I was a Broadway star in the 1950s,”Mrs. Blair answered.

    “Cool! Can you tell me about it?” Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs. Blair smiled. “Back then, only the lead actress had the honor to wear a 6bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it.”

    Emily smiled along with Mrs. Blair and listened to the other stories, attentively. She had become so interested in Mrs. Blair's7that she decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really8to say goodbye.

    “Don't be sad. You can still visit me,” Mrs. Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily, “It's my gift to you.”

    Emily9opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. “It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!” Emily said, with tears in her eyes. “I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm free.”

    On her way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and made a10that she would keep her word to Mrs. Blair.

    Thirty engineers were working as a team in a company. They were young and eager to learn. The management decided to teach them about finding real solutions to problems

    One day, the team was called for a 1in a hall. They were quite surprised and all reached the hall holding various2. As they entered, they found a box placed in the center, full of flat balloons

    The manager asked everyone to pick a balloon and blow it up. Then they were asked to write their names on their respective(各自的)balloons 3so that the balloons wouldn't blow out. All tried, but not everyone was 4. Five balloons blew out due to pressure（压力）.

    Those who failed to mark their names on the balloons were 5 out of the game. As a result, 25 engineers came to the next level. All the balloons carrying their names were 6 and then put into a room, here and there.

    The engineers were told to pick the balloon with his or her name on. All the 25 engineers began to search for the respective balloons in a rush. It was almost 15 minutes but no one was able to 7 the right one. The second level of the game was over.

    Then came the final level, the engineers were asked to pick any balloon and give it to person named on the balloon. Within a couple of minutes, all balloons 8 the hands of the respective engineers.

    The manager announced this was the real solution to the problem. Many times in our life, sharing and helping others give us real solutions to problems.