Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to 1 how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I 2 that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and 3 friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was 4, nothing about my term in France was what I 5.

    The moment I arrived in Paris, I was 6 by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting 7 I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）: there had been a death in my host parents' extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to 8 out of one family's house into another. The exchange coordinator told me I'd have a 9this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation(诱惑) to 10my native language, I asked not to be 11 with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I 12 myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian(巴西人), the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDS! In just a few hours, we knew we'd be good friends for the rest of the 13.

    I left France with many 14, so when people asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always 15 to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends16 France we enjoyed together. I love how people 17 seem so different, but end up being so18. The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn't just to respect the French people 19to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful 20.

    Recently I was invited to a friend's house for supper — and had a meal I have never had before.

    All the friends invited were a little1It's not that Ben is unsociable, or a bad cook, but it's just that he never 2more than he has to. So how come he was inviting us round for a meal? Had he bought something 3for his friends? He greeted us at the door and showed us into his dinning room where a 4table was waiting for us. “Nothing but the 5for my friends!” said Ben. We all sat down and looked 6at each other — what did he7to?

    Ben returned with four bowls of hot soup. “It's a 8of carrots, potatoes and tomatoes,” said Ben. The next 9was also a little strange in that we didn't quite know what it was again. It's just 10mixture of vegetables.

    As we ate we chatted and finally the11turned back to what we were eating. “Was there a recipe(食谱)for this,” asked Marina , “or did you 12it up?” Ben put his fork down. “What I cooked 13what I could find.” Marina was surprised. “But you can find anything in supermarkets these days.” “But there's 14choice in what you can find 15supermarkets,” he replied.

    16that we had all finished the food, Ben decided to tell the truth. He had read recently that supermarkets usually 17away 5 percent of their food every day. So Ben decided to look inside his local supermarket bins. There he found food that was slightly out of 18 boxes of throw-away vegetables and fruit.

 So Ben had19provided a decent (不错的) meal for his friends, and made us aware of the fact that there are many poor people who need the food, but the amount of food thrown away is enough to 20millions of people.

    As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1,but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school 2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

    It's one of my biggest 3to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would4. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study.6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many9-- times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so11 that I could hardly say anything. But her12 helped me ease my shame. These memories, 13, good or bad, never caused my 14 for playing the piano again.

    This thought then led me to think that15is like music, and that we all try to play different 16 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高) is 17when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't20 that I've stopped making music.

    It seemed like any other day when fitness instructor Chantelle Lister set off to work at 7 am. It was the school holidays, so her daughters Loren and Mollie, 17 and 6, and 11-year-old son Charlie were still 1 in bed.

    But within an hour, the family home in Kettering, England, went up in flames (火焰). The 2started downstairs, and deadly smoke started 3 the second floor, where the children were sleeping.

    4, the family's beloved dog, Bailey, rushed to their 5 . Although the thick smoke 6 to climb the staircase, the 4-year-old dog made his way 7 and kept barking outside Loren's door until she 8 .

    Loren opened the 9 to thick black smoke covering the stairs and the sound of smashing (粉碎) glass. Struggling to 10 , the teenager ran into the other 11 and managed to get the 12 children out through a window and onto the roof.

    After successfully raising the 13, Bailey ran back downstairs to try to get out. 14, he was trapped in the 15 house.

    “The firemen pulled Bailey out and tried to 16 him, but he was dead,” Chantelle said. “They put a blanket over him and I kept 17, 'That could have been one of my children.' Bailey was such a character and so 18. The children wouldn't be here 19 him. He's my hero and I'll be 20 to him forever.”

    In the past year I have lost two of the people I loved most. One was my little sister, and the other a best friend. I 1 them. They are still in my heart, and there they'll 2.

    3, when I moved to another city eight years ago, I didn't get to see them as much as I wanted to. Something always seemed to get in my 4­work, my dogs and, yes, the money to fly up for 5 visits.

    I was too 6 to whisper in their ear what they meant to me and to thank them for the 7 they gave me. And this is something I 8. But instead of beating myself up, I'd rather9 from this hardest of lessons.

    I've decided to put those I love 10 everything from now on­to make keeping in 11 the very first to do and to enjoy time with them while they are here. In fact, I have 12 I am going to take something 13 from their loss and enjoy everything more. Not to 14 doing things I can do straight away. To enjoy everything I own. Why? It's as John Lennon said, "life is what happens while you're busy making other plans".

    After the funerals (葬礼) of my darlings, I watched as their 15 dealt with their possessions. It 16 me of sorting out my mother's things following her 17, and the sadness that brought me. I've given up trying to "get ahead" in life; now my very 18 thing is myself and the people and things that make me happy. And I am going to remind those I love that this is the case, not just in writing 19 face to face and as often as I can. Because leaving anything for later is taking the risk that later may never 20.

I was on a family holiday in Palma, Mallorca, in July 2001. One weekend we rented a motorboat and we were going 1, crashing over big waves. It was an exciting, but also a(n) 2 feeling. I began to realize something was wrong only when we got back on 3. We went for a 4, and I sat in the restaurant wondering why the table was swaying. 5 I got back to Britain, such feeling increased, making simple tasks at home 6.

After several more 7 with doctors, I remember feeling 8 when they didn't find a brain tumor: at least that would have explained things. I started to do my own 9, reading related articles and consult experts. Finally I got a(n) 10 diagnosis of MdDS from the National Hospital in London. But they told me there is no 11, and all they could do was help me manage my mental health.

Nearly 20 years on, I'm still living 12 MdDS. People have suggested different ways of treatment and I've 13 all sorts of strange theories, but nothing has 14 for me. I'll never lose heart and I hope something will be 15 within my lifetime.

For me, one way of coping has been to 16 people about the condition. I've found fellow 17 all over the world, and have set up a website in the hope that 18 else has to go through what I did, struggling to get a diagnosis.

One of the most peculiar things about MdDS is that it's 19 triggered, and yet motion—by car, train, plane or boat—can bring temporary 20. Some long time sufferers become almost like travel addicts, desiring that release.