“Daily Star, sir” called Jason, carrying some newspapers under his arm. The little boy had been running up and down the street, but there were still twenty1 left. His voice was almost gone and his heart was 2. The shops would soon close, and all the people would go home. He would have to go home too, carrying the papers3money. He had hoped to sell more papers tonight to make more money to buy a 4for his mother and some seeds for his bird. That was why he had bought the papers with all his money. He 5as he thought of his failure to sell all his papers.

    “You don't know the 6 of selling papers. You must shout, “Hot news! Bomb bursting!” another newsboy Chad told Jason. “7 it's not in the paper at all,” replied Jason. “Just run away quickly 8 they have time to see, and you'll 9 out and get your money,”Chad said.

    It was a new 10 to Jason. He thought of his bird with no11 and the cake he wanted to buy for his mother, but was12 that he would not tell a lie. Though he was13a poor newsboy, he had been 14 some good things.

    The next afternoon Jason went to the office for his papers15 .Several boys were crowding around Chad, who declared with a 16 smile that he sold six dozen the day before. He added that Jason 17 money because he would not tell a lie. The boy 18 at Jason. “You wouldn't tell a lie yesterday, my boy?” A gentleman at the office came up and patted Jason's shoulder 19 .”You're just the boy I am looking for.” A week later Jason started his new20. He lost sale of twenty papers because he would not tell a lie, but got a well-paid job because he told the truth.

    Last Friday night I was leaving Joe's art class and heading to Roscoe for dinner with friends. Instead of taking the highway, I1to drive down Roscoe's little main street. Roscoe s is a fairly 2town, though it does have a traditional main street. I3 that people there had already put up their holiday 4There were few cars in the street so I look ray time driving5and enjoying each light. Yes, it was the first week of November and6 not close to Thanksgiving Day, but they were still pretty.

    The next day, I walked into a kid's store to 7chiffon (雪纺绸) flowers for a hat I was knitting (编织). An employee came out of the back room8some beautiful holiday decorations. She saw me and9explained that she wasn't really decorating for Thanksgiving for fear that I would10her. There was just a weekend event that 11some holiday cheer, but afterward all the decorations would be taken down. Her12confirmed the fact that holiday decorations were clearly important13her. I knew she was just following the decorating14Put it up—take it down-put it up again.

    After a deep 15about the two events, 1 have decided that this year I'm just going to16what I see. It doesn't matter what holiday it is or if it's up or down at the “correct” time.17ifs pretty, ifs going to make me delighted. Sometimes, I think we make ourselves a little 18 trying to follow rules that are not really important, or trying to be 19 or not to stand out in the neighborhood. This year I'm going to see the holiday decorations wherever they are and whenever they are and just be20.

    For a long time, I thought a present and a gift were no different. I grew up in a household where presents 1 special occasions, say there were always presents for Christmas and our birthdays.

    So when I married Gary who did not give presents on a 2 basis, I had to make an adjustment. Gary did not wholly avoid gift­giving, though. 3 noticing how many hours I spend on the 4, he brought home a shoulder pad (垫肩) for the telephone receiver. But mostly, he 5 holidays, let alone shop for earrings to 6to me showing his affection.

    I tried to change him 7. I bought books for his birthdays and knitted him hats and sweaters for Christmas. 8 I began to tell him what I wanted, giving9instructions, but got nowhere.

    Last year when the snowstorm 10our town and he was on business, I used his present road scraper(铲土机)to11both our drive and our neighbors, thinking how12earnings would have been. Gary had wisely chosen not the thing I 13, but the thing that he knew I would need.

    I 14began to understand the difference between a present and a gift. A present is just a thing. But a gift is broader and often cannot be 15, It is a small act of kindness, the 16 to bend to another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort. 17 is a gift. Any expression of it, freely given, is a (n)18 from the heart that is immeasurably better than a present.

    My insistence on presents must have seemed to Gary a lack of 19 for the gifts he had be giving all along, but he never stopped giving them.

    Gary will be home this Christmas, but I don't 20 a present. I already have the greatest gift.

    Geoff Hoffman, discovered that his dog, Bridget, was missing after his home was broken into on Dec 20th. That night, Hoffman penned an enthusiastic1to his Facebook followers to help him find the dog. "She is my source of2and she is my whole life."

    The next day, Hoffman, who served in Afghanistan for eight years went into3mode(模式). "Sergeant（中士）Hoffman was back," he says. "I was on4and told myself I would5searching for Bridget under two conditions: She returned home or I knew with certainty that she was6."

    During the four days Bridget went7, Hoffman reached out to his local police and fire departments, along with City Hall, asking officials to8his story with the public. He printed more than 100 cards featuring Bridget's9and advertising a "large reward"10 her return and registered with missing dog websites. Hoffman also created a Facebook group with hundreds of followers, called Bring Bridget Back, in the hopes of 11awareness for his search.

    On the morning of Christmas Eve, his efforts 12. "My girlfriend was driving down a rural road, a few miles from my house, when she saw Bridget," says Hoffman. "She was lying by the side of the road but when she saw my girlfriend, she started13her tail."

    While the dog was generally14, she hadn't eaten for days, along with a few slight cuts on her left leg. "It made me wonder whether someone15her for dog fighting and either cut or tried to16her to make her aggressive," says Hoffman. "Maybe the thief got17 by all the media attention and18her on a random road."

    Hoffman called the19a Christmas miracle and a holiday blessing and said "I am speechless with20."

    Four weeks after you were born, I still served in the navy(海军). Had I1in the navy, I would always be leaving you. So I left the navy and applied to Bowdoin College and was2- though, at 27, I was considered a very3student. Your mother was having a 4time. She reached a5point, so I took you to school with me.

    It was very6at the beginning. I feared Bowdoin knew it, so I didn't7you to anyone. For the first8, I lived off campus and worked at night. I had to take you in sometimes and9you in the closet(壁橱). Working, studying and taking care of you filled all my life. I1027 pounds just from stress.

    I11that I could do it myself, but it was getting very difficult. A woman helped me move to12housing during the second semester. I was the first single13raising a child on campus.

    14, you were a healthy child. You were quiet and didn't15anyone. And you16school right away. I would take you to17and give you things to do, and you would just sit at a desk and do them.

    My graduation day was18. I carried you in my arms to get my diploma. All my classmates stood up and19. They gave me the only standing ovation(欢迎) of the day. It20what I had endured(忍耐) for the past four years.