My fiancé and I were excited about shopping for our first home. But our funds were1and none of the houses in our price range seemed satisfactory.

    One agent2a house in particular. Although her description sounded wonderful, the price was3our range, so we declined. But she kept urging us to have a look4.

    We finally did and it was5at first sight. It was Our Home, small and charming, overlooking a quiet lake. Walking through the rooms and talking with the owners, a nice elderly couple, we felt the warmth and6of the marriage within that home. As perfect as it was, the price remained too high for us. But every day, we would sit by the lake, looking at the house and dreaming of7it would be like to live there.

    Days later, we made a(n)8—far below the asking price. Surprisingly, they didn't9us. They renewed their offer10. It was also much more than we could afford, but far11than the original asking price.

    The next day, we got a12message that another buyer had offered a much higher price. Even so, we decided to talk with the13directly. We made our final offer, which14was thousands of dollars less than the other buyer's bid. We knew it,15we had to try.

     “Sold!” said the owner. Then he16: He'd seen us sitting by the lake all those times; he knew how much we loved the place and that we'd17the years of work they had put into their home; he realized he would take a18by selling it to us, but it was worthwhile; we were the people they wanted to live there. He told us to consider the19in the price “an early wedding present。“

    That's how we found our home and how I learned that when people are20they are not strangers, only friends we haven't yet met.

    I was a person who always felt desperate（绝望）before. Months ago my mom 1 from a serious disease and had an operation on her brain. I felt the whole world falling down and I had no 2 what I could do to help her to reduce her 3. Whenever I was alone, tears welled up in my eyes.

    Last month I 4 a valuable watch, which was an 18-year-old birthday gift from my dad. I couldn't sleep for several nights for the reason that I felt5about the loss.

    There have been many 6 like these in my life. I could never know what to do with such tough matters 7 I read If You Have A Lemon, Make A Lemonade by American author Dale Carnegie.

    "When the wise man is handed a lemon, he says, 'What 8 can I get from this? How can I 9 my situation? How can I turn this lemon into a lemonade?' " he wrote.

    I suddenly 10 that life is full of ups and downs, so I need to stay 11 all the time. Now when I think of my past, I wish I could have handled things 12. When my mom was fighting for 13, I should have held her hands in mine, telling her things would get better instead of 14 and crying.

    Several weeks ago, I participated in a campus singing competition. I didn't 15a prize. If I had not 16 this article, I would definitely have felt 17 again. But instead, I smiled after the competition. I was pleased that in the end I had got some stage 18Life is not just a bed of roses. There are thorns（刺）as well, but these thorns help us become19 and strong. When life 20 us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.

Two years ago I was a typical girl with a rather plain life. When1to a local voluntary organization called "Peer-to-Peer" by a poster, I had no idea what this group was about.2, to learn more about it, I decided to attend a3, which changed my life.

    Just like the4 suggests, everyone is considered a peer, including regular members and our leaders. This means we can5our leaders by their first names. We can also ask our leaders for help in6life situations, which we know they will never7 ! When it comes to conversations about awkward topics like love, we are8not to be ashamed of ourselves.

This organization's meetings9in our local library. We usually gather and communicate about10topics concerning our society: education, equality and safety... This kind of communication helps us to make the right choice and110ur mind. Sometimes we've gone outside in order to participate in12events. One event we had,13, was "Give a cigarette -Take a candy" intending to14smoking.

    At this organization we are friends with each other and are a15community. I've also gained a lot of16experience by communicating with people and working in the team.

    With time going by, I have found an abundance of other17organizations such as "Give Good" and "Youth Initiative Center". All of them have18me a great chance to develop my own personality and make my life19. I'm sure I'll have a lot of wonderful20about my youth with me getting older

    The room in the workhouse where the boys were fed was a large stone hall. At one end the master, in his cook's uniform, and two women served the food. This 1 a bowl of thin soup three times a day, with a piece of bread on Sundays. The boys ate 2 and were always hungry. The bowls never needed 3. The boys polished them with their spoons until they 4. After three months of this slow starvation, one of the boys told the others that so hungry was he 5 one night he might eat the 6 sleeping next to him. He had a wild 7 eye, and the other boys 8 him. After a long 9, they decided that one of them should ask for more food after supper that evening, and Oliver was 10.

    The evening arrived: the soup was served, and the bowls were 11 again in a few seconds. Oliver went up to the master, with his bowl in his hand. He felt very 12, but also 13 with hunger.

    "Please, sir, I want some more."

    The master was a fat, healthy man, but he turned very pale. He looked at the little boy in front of him with 14. Nobody else spoke.

    "What?" he asked at last, in a 15 voice.

    "Please, sir," replied Oliver, "I want some more."

    The master 16 him with the serving spoon, then seized Oliver's arms and 17 for the beadle (执事). The beadle came quickly, heard the terrible news, and immediately ran to tell the board.

    "He asked for me?" Mr. Limbkins, the fattest board member, asked in 18. "Is this really true?"

    19, Oliver was led away to be locked up, and a(n) 20 of five pounds was offered to anybody who would take him away and use him for work.

(Adapted from Oliver Twist《雾都孤儿》)

    I was once a dropout. I know how powerfully a 1 can influence the life of a person who does not 2 herself. I quit school at sixteen to work. Years later, I had a(n) 3 and couldn't work for months. I felt depressed. With an unemployable father and a mentally ill mother to support, I couldn't 4 to give up.

    Searching the ads, I found a notice that our local community college offered free work 5. One requirement was a high-school diploma or GED certificate. Years ago, I got my GED certificate, but with 6 scores. I felt certain that I had little to 7 other than a willingness to 8. After my physical injury healed, I went to meet Ruby Martin, the advisor who would 9 me.

    I sat 10 waiting while Mrs. Martin looked over my score sheet. I was 11 to hear her blame me for wasting her valuable time. She looked at me for a long moment 12 she spoke.

    "Why did you apply for this 13?" she asked. "Why aren't you applying to college?"

    With my face burning with 14, I could only whispered, "Because I am 15."

    "Didn't anyone ever explain these 16 to you?" she asked. I just shook my head. For the next hour, she explained how the GED scores are based on, and that my 17 were very high indeed. She convinced me that I was not only not stupid, but that I would 18 an excellent candidate for the training program.

    I regained my 19. Later, I got a bachelor's degree and became a teacher just like her. To teach is to touch a life. It was Ruby Martin who touched my life 20.

    My mother spent her childhood with her father on their farm in the US. She learned how to mend fences, plow fields, and make cheese. And she learned farm life doesn't offer1rewards, but if you stick with it, the effort and the long days2.

    My grandpa spent his later years living on a comer of the3, named Cherry Ridge, where they4riding horses together every Saturday before he died in 2012.

    Since that time, the farm has5into Cherry Ridge Therapeutic Learning Programs, a center for learning, horseback riding and companionship.

    "I am a 'road scholar', learning in an experiential way," Mom told me. "I feel I was6with eyes to see the needs of a(n)7spirit," she added. She has partnered with a8called Working to Empower Students Together (WEST), which helps young people with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral challenges, or unstable home environments.

    Mom's latest project, the Farm Day Grief Camp, was9out of her grieving after the10 of my grandpa.

    "I'm an adult woman who lost my11only six years ago," Mom said. "There is nothing12than nature and animals to help with the13process." The camp's first visitors were five kids mourning the loss of a 7-year-old who died of cancer.14included painting and recalling the child's favorite things; and a balloon launch they called Sentiments to Heaven.

    "Each camper wrote one thing they wished they could15with their departed(去世的)loved one on their16," Mom-said. Children living with physical disabilities are also17at Cherry Ridge. Recently, a student in a wheelchair smiled ear-to-ear as he led the farm's mini horses around.

    Mom's vision18children, ensuring the lessons she learned on the farm will be19for years to come. I know my grandpa would be20.