I was feeling really down because my long-time friend had died. Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day even Saturday. My duty was to serve the meal and clean up. One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all right. I found a boy of eight sitting in bis bed watching a movie. I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old. He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him. I grabbed his medical chart and found out :he had a terminal（绝症的) illness.

    We started to talk, and I found out that his family rarely visited, and all he did every day was watching TV I wanted to cry for him, and for my lost friend. As we talked, he had a smile on his face, and I asked him why and how he still managed to stay happy.

    He thought for a moment, and then said that too many people were dead even before they died. They walked around feeling that God had cursed(诅咒) them and they had nothing to live for.

    The boy said that he would not be like that. He woke 'every morning thankful to see another sunrise. He kept his window open so that he could smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun. He also said that he had hope.

    "Too many people haven't seen much of that around here." He said, "Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone."

    I don't know what happened to him. I guess he passed away, but his lesson lives on. I now wake up and live each day to the fullest. The key to life is not money or fame, but the lesson we learned from it.

DISCUSSION

    As the first report of the accident came in, Burton was sitting in his office on tile top floor of the building, Immediately, realizing the seriousness of the whole incident, he moved to a ground floor room with a small waiting-room to look into the matter himself, leaving his second in-command to take over all other cases.

    He interviewed the first witness almost at once, making sure that every thing was done that could be done to put him at his ease. However, the witness was obviously nervous and Burton took great pains to go over what he said thoroughly, choosing and checking each word carefully and taking the man's statement down himself. The witness had called the police, and he'd waited until the ambulances began to arrive then. When the first police car arrived on the scene, he'd been asked to report to the station which was what he had done.

    Burton explained that regrettably it would be necessary for him to go to court because of the serious nature of the disaster. More he could not say at present. He'd be grateful if the man could keep in touch with the police.

    When he had gone, Burton put his head in his hands and considered before asking for the next witness. The man couldn't be regarded as a hundred percent witness because he had been behind a wall when the explosion occurred. But in spite of his nerves, Burton had the impression that he was reliable, not afraid of incriminating himself to it and a fairly accurate observer.

    Well, there would be other accounts and no doubt all these would be slotted into place like a jigsaw and the whole picture would become clear. He raised his bead and pressed the buzzer on his desk.

    "Next witness, please." he said.

    I was in line waiting to pay. A little boy in the front was buying some clothes.

    I noticed that the little boy was paying mostly with change (零钱). It seemed that he had broken his pig bank to do this shopping. However, the cashier(收银员) told him he was $ 8.00 short after counting his money.

    It was clear that the boy had already used all the money. The lady in front of me said, "Well, I could pay half of that." I told the boy that I could pay the other half. We dug into our handbags. However, both of us only had ten-dollar bills (纸币). Other shoppers began digging into their pockets to find some change. It was amazing and touching as all these strangers seemed to react (反应) with the same mind. All wanted to be of help. Within minutes the cashier said, "I have too much money." The cashier didn't need our ten-dollar bills. Then the lady in front of me said, "Wait! I didn't even get a chance (机会) to give anything!"

    I smiled at her and said, "You did your share, because it was your idea and you started all this." The little boy smiled and thanked us. I left with a good feeling. I saw the love and goodness of others all around me. The woman in front of me smiled and said, "It feels good to give, doesn't it?" I smiled back and said, "Yes!"

    A woman bought a parrot from a pet store. However, the woman decided to return the parrot to the shop the next day.

    "This bird doesn't talk," she told the pet shop owner.

    "Does he have a mirror in his cage(笼子)?" the owner asked. "Parrots love mirrors."

    The woman bought a mirror and left. The next day she came back, saying that the bird still wasn't talking.

    "How about a ladder? Parrots love ladders," the owner said. The woman bought a ladder and left. But the next day, she was back.

    "Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, once he starts swinging, he'll talk," the owner said.

    The woman then bought a swing and left.

    When she walked into the store the next day, she began to cry. "The parrot died," she said.

    The pet store owner was shocked. "I'm sorry. Tell me, did he ever say anything?" he asked.

    "Yes, right before he died," the woman answered, "in a low voice, he asked me, 'Don't they sell any food at that pet store?'"

    Sometimes we forget what's really necessary in life. We sometimes have lots of things to do at once, but we forget to deal with the most important things first. We have to remember to "feed the parrots" in our lives.