Traveling in Vietnam was like visiting a mysterious neighbor. You have lived next door to each other for years but know very 1 about what happened on 2 side of the fence.

    I travelled there last August. A(n) 3 180-kilometre trip from a Chinese border town to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, 4 an adventurous eight hours. That's 5 the country still doesn't have a modern expressway system. The major passage going through the country is only a two-way road. 6, many areas are mountainous.

    Vietnamese drivers are 7 and fearless. They compete with each other at full speeds no matter how scared the8feel. When the bus shook us violently for the hundredth time, the driver made a 9 to make us feel better. "See, this is just a(n)10Vietnamese people give you, a free massage(按摩) service."

    It was midnight11I reached that hotel. Switching on the television, I was12by something: All the13in the TV plays spoke in the same voice. 14, modern Korean plays and historical Chinese plays are 15 with the Vietnamese. But it seemed they didn't have enough16to dub(为……配音)all these programs. So, the same boring woman appears17 every TV play to speak for the roles. The next morning when I opened the window, I found myself in a huge "18". The buildings in the streets were 19 in all kinds of colors you can imagine. Vietnamese are allowed to20their houses as they like. Each one was different. The large number of colors brought the city alive.

    One of the most famous Americans in the 19th century was Conwell. One day, a penniless young man went to him saying he wanted to1 a college. Then Conwell decided to build a university for 2 but deserving students. He would 3 a few million dollars. For Dr. Conwell, and anyone with real 4 in life, nothing could stand 5 of his goal.

    Several years earlier, Dr. Conwell was deeply 6 by a true story. It was about a(n)7 in Africa who sold his only land and was 8 about looking for diamonds everywhere but in vain.9he broke down completely and threw himself into a river and 10 Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm in his yard picked up a(n)11looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his cap as a sort of curiosity. An jewellery expert passing by spotted the true value of the 12 The farm 13 to be the Kimberly (金伯利) Diamond Mine, the richest the world has 14 known. So we can know that the15farmer was actually standing on it until he sold his farm.

    Everyone is in the middle of our own “Acre of Diamonds”16 we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before going off! Dr. Conwell told this story many times and attracted enormous audiences. With talents in speeches he 17 the money to start the college Temple University in Philadelphia.

    When Conwell talked about we being on our own “Acre of Diamonds”, he 18 it. This story does not get 19 -- it will be true forever.20 does not just come along - it is there all the time - we just have to see it.

    Vandna loved sports and did well in her lessons at her high school in California. When a headache disturbed the 15-year-old girl's walk to class, she 1 it.

    “It was 2.” she thought, “Just a headache—harmless”

But when walking to her next class, she was 3 and collapsed to the floor. 4 she could hear other talking, she couldn't speak. She was 5 to the hospital in an ambulance. Tests indicated Vandna had a stroke affecting the right side of her brain, thus affecting the 6 side of her body.

    What was worse, the stroke caused her brain to began to swell, and she needed operation to 7 the pressure the swelling was putting 8 her brain. The doctors 9part of her skull（头骨）to make room for the swelling. 10 the swelling went down（消退）, her skull was placed back again.

    While the doctors predicted that she would never live a normal life, Vandna 11 improved. She was in a rehab center（康复中心）for about 3 months and began to realize how 12 her daily life might be. She had to wear a brace（支架）on her left leg to support her 13. Her left arm 14 lightly, and she often became tired. Though 15 on a campus wasn't easy, she finished high school and 16 a degree in speech therapy at University of Redlands.

    After the stroke, Vandna became 17 with the American Heart Association. She shared her 18 at public events and urged others to stay 19. She said if you 20 a tough time, remember tough times don't last, but tough people do.

One afternoon, I was walking with Evan on the second floor. I talked on and on and Evan walked 1in front of me. As we turned a corner, Evan 2me and said the ten words. "Why are you talking to me? I'm not your friend." Those were the exact words he said to me that day. I stood there 3. He kept walking and never looked back. I4 to my next class with tears coming up in my eyes.

    We 5 spoke to each other after that. I 6 into a shell, like a turtle, to hide from the world. For the rest of my time in middle school, I didn't 7 myself to get close to anyone. I push away most of my friends8 being hurt again. I avoided unnecessary9.

    It wasn't until high school that I was able to 10my head out of my shell and begin 11people again. But even today, I am still 12 in choosing who I open up to. It takes me a very long time to warm up to 13.

    I was twelve then. I was too trusting and I took what Evan said 14. Maybe he was having a bad day15 maybe I was talking too much. In my view, what he said to me that day 16 the course of my life, but if weren't for that 17, I wouldn't have met my best friends in high school.

    I understand that, in middle school, we were all young. I've been able to 18 all the people who bullied me, but for some 19 I can't seem to forgive Evan. Those words that day hurt me more than anything. I believe that one day I'll be 20enough to forgive Evan too. But right now I'm still that twelve-year-old running down the hall with tears filled with his eyes.

    I work as the reception manager at my hotel. A(n) 1 came in a few weeks ago with a note attached that the guest would be travelling with her 2 father. Just so that we would be aware when 3 with them when they arrived as his daughter wanted to make his trip to Ireland as 4 as possible. Upon seeing this note and noting I would be the one to 5 them in, I decided to learn some basic 6 language.

    I greeted the guest in my usual way, 7 for the surname on the booking. Once I heard the name I 8 immediately who was standing in front of me.

I had been learning for over two 9 how to say” welcome to Ireland. My sign language is 10 , but if you need anything during your 11 just let me know and we will help you”.

    I smiled at the father and daughter in front of me, turning to the father who I greeted in sign language and began the bit I had 12 for him. The father smiled and was so 13 .Seeing his reaction was 14 for me. It was so worth the last few weeks of learning basic sign language.

    On check-out I sadly wasn't 15 .but they had left a gift for me with a note saying” thank you very much for what you did on check-in. My father has been in 16 form since you checked us in and insisted we get you a 17 before we left. You have no idea how much this 18 to my father and me and we can't thank you enough. You've made his trip very special with one simple 19”.

    They wrote a letter to the general manager also asking to give me a raise, which I really 20 . I cried for a solid 5 minutes when I came to work today to find this gift in my locker.

    When Pat Jones finished college, she decided to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could1she was young. Pat wanted to visit Latin America2, so she got a job3 an English teacher in a school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish,4 she was able to communicate with her students even when they didn't5much English.

    A sentence she had read somewhere stuck in her mind if you dream6 a foreign language, you have really mastered(掌握)it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and7that some day she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in8.

    One day, one of her9students came up and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He had10early, and had slept11.

    "What does this have to do with your12?" Pat asked.

    "I dreamed all night, Miss Jones, and my dream was in English."

    "In English?" Pat was very13, since he was such a bad student. She was14secretly jeal-ous (嫉妒的).Her15was still not in Spanish. But she encouraged(鼓励)her young student," Well,16 me about your dream."

    "All the people in my dream17 English," the student said. "And all the signs were, in English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English. "

    "But that's18,"said Pat, "what did all the people say to you?"

    "I'm sorry, Miss Jones. That's19 I slept so badly. I didn't 20a word they said. It was a nightmare(噩梦)!"