A few years ago, I worked a 12-hour night shift(夜班) and got home from work.

    I was on my way back home and was very tired. I 1 at a restaurant to have breakfast. Right after I placed my order, I saw a man come in. He was carrying a small backpack and looked like he had seen better times. He reached in his pocket and pulled out some2 . He asked the waitress if 38 cents was 3 to buy a cup of coffee. She looked at his backpack and said, “ 4. Have a seat.” (Coffee was 50 cents a cup at the time.) It really touched me how she had tried to protect his pride and how he hadn't asked for any charity.

    Shortly before my 5 came, I asked the waitress to come over. I said, “You know, I am not feeling well. I don't think I am going to be able to eat my breakfast. Do you think there is6 here who might eat it?” She first asked if I was OK and then she 7. She said, “I think so. Are you sure?” I told her that I was sure.

    She then walked over to the gentleman and told him that I had ordered food and it was too8 to stop the order but I didn't feel like eating. Would he be so kind as to take it 9they wouldn't have to throw it away? I had walked to the cash register(收银台) and was paying for the meal. At the cash register, I asked if they had gift cards. They did. I bought one 10 $25.00 and asked them to give it to the gentleman after I left.

    As a young man, Al was a famous artist with his wife and two fine sons. One night, his elder son had a bad stomachache. Thinking it was only some1trouble, neither Al and his wife took the condition very seriously. But the boy died suddenly that night.

    Knowing the child could have been2if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, he always felt he was guilty (负罪感). To make matters worse, his wife 3him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and 4of the two situations were more than Al could stand, and he was used to drinking alcohol (酒精) for 5. In time Al became an alcoholic.

Drinking too much alcohol, Al began to lose 6he owned—his land, house, money, etc. Finally Al died alone in a small bar. Hearing of Al's7, I thought, “What a wasted life! What a complete failure!”

    As time went by, I knew Al's now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the8, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I saw the9between Ernie and his children, thinking that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.

    I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his father. One day, I tried to ask him what his father had done so that he became such a special person. Ernie said quietly, “ As a 10until I left home at eighteen, my father came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ‘Love you, son.'”

    It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any 1 in the house. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper and wrote on it, "Please 2  my dog half a pound (磅) of meat." Then she gave the paper to 3 dog and said, "Take this to the butcher (肉贩), and he'll give you what you want."

    The dog ran to the butcher's with the piece of paper. The butcher read the paper 4 and recognized (辨别出) that it was really the woman's handwriting (笔迹). So he did as he was asked to. The dog was very 5 and ate the meat up at once.

    At noon, the dog came to the butcher's again with a piece of paper. 6 reading the paper, the butcher gave it half a pound of meat once more.

    The next day, the dog came again at noon. And as usual, it 7 a piece of paper. This time, the butcher gave it its meat without looking at the paper.

    The dog came again at four o' clock. And the same thing 8 once again. It came for the third time at six o' clock. The butcher felt a little surprised. He said, "This is a small dog. 9 does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?"

Looking at the piece of paper, he 10 that there were not any words on it!

    Simon has a big shop in the center of the city. He tells all 1 salegirls to be friendly to the buyers and he gets 2 money.

    One day an old woman 3into the shop to buy a handbag. When she went out of the shop with the handbag, she left her wallet in it. A girl who worked 4 a shop assistant picked it up and found there 5 nearly five hundred dollars in it. She looked around and 6saw it. She put it into her pocket quickly. Soon the old woman came back to look for it7 she failed. She was sad and left. That evening Simon was told about it. He was so angry that he sent the girl away. Then he decided to get an honest man to take her place. Several young men came, but none of them could8  him.

    One morning 9 young man came to his office. He asked, "Do you smoke, sir?"

    "No, sir," answered the young man.

    "Do you drink?"

    "No, sir."

    Simon asked him the other questions, and the young man's answers made him happy. Before he made his decision, he asked him the last question, "You have no shortcoming, do you?"

    "No, I don't, sir. " said the young man. "I only like 10  lies."

Saving Jesse's Arm

    At about 8 p.m. on July 6^th, eight-year-old Jesse was playing in the sea in a National Park near Pensacola. It was the end of a perfect day at the beach with his uncle and aunt.

    Suddenly, a two-meter-long shark(鲨鱼) appeared 1 and it bit off Jesse's right arm from the shoulder. By the time his uncle and aunt pulled Jesse out of the water, he was unconscious (失去知觉的) and had already lost a lot of 2.

    While Jesse's aunt was giving the boy the kiss of life, his uncle ran back into the sea and 3the shark. Amazingly, he managed to catch the shark and pull it out of the water onto the beach, although this might sound impossible. At that moment two park workers arrived to help the family and one of them shot the shark four times in the head. Then he held open the shark's 4while the other worker reached down its stomach and pulled out Jesse's arm.

    A few minutes later, a helicopter (直升机) took the boy and his arm to the nearest hospital, where Dr. Ian Rogers and his team managed to5the arm to Jesse's body again. The operation lasted eleven hours. When the doctors saw Jesse's fingers go pink, they knew the operation had been a6.

    After such a terrible accident nobody believes that good things will happen, but the medical team are hopeful that Jesse will be able to 7 his arm again in the future.

    “Although Jesse's story is terrifying, it would be not correct to think that sharks are always so dangerous. Sharks are usually harmless to human.” Dr. Ian Rogers said. “However, we should be 8for safety and should only swim on beaches where there are lifeguards.”

    One day I ran into a stranger as he passed by me. I said to sorry to 1immediately. He replied with a smile and said, "I'm sorry, 2. I wasn't watching out for you."

    Later that day. When I was cooking, my 3 was too close to me. When I turned to get 4 milk, I nearly knocked her over.

    "Move out of the way." I shouted.

    She walked away 5. But I didn't feel like I had to say sorry to her.

    While I was in bed that night. My husband said to me. While dealing with a stranger, you were6, but with the daughter you love, you were unkind. Your daughter 7 you some flowers she picked herself. You'll find them in the kitchen by the door. Have you seen the tears 8 her eyes?

    I felt quite sorry for my lovely daughter. Then I went to her bedroom to tell her that I shouldn't have 9 her. She kissed me on my cheek and said, "It's ok, mom. I love you anyway."

    If we can be polite to strangers, 10 can't we do the same for the ones we love?