Maureen stood by the lake. Suddenly the children came running through the trees with sharp cries of 1 They rushed up to the 2leaning over the clear water, watching the crowds of tiny fish. Some children demanded loudly to go to the boats, but 3those who had been left behind at the ice-cream stall(小摊) came running up to make some announcement or other, and they all4the water and dashed back the 5 they had come. With growing excitement, Maureen6them.

    When she7what had been running for, she stopped running. They were 8things again. The toy stall was9and they were crowded around it. Behind the 10 a calm middle-aged woman was selling a great variety of small rubbish. She took 11from the forest of small hands in exchanging for little boats, plastic dolls, yellow pencils, anything. Maureen leaned against a 12 looking on. The idea of13 washed against her face like a strong current(流), trying to draw her in.

    Nona Parker pushed out to the edge of the group and14what she had bought on the ground so that she could see what money she had left in her white purse. Under Maureen's 15 lay a boat, a mouth organ(口琴) and a brown load of bread. Maureen was so full of the16for the things like that she couldn't bear to look at it. She turned her17sharply. Her face was against the tree. She shut her eyes and 18 eagerly for some money, for the price of a set of toy plates. In a moment, she opened her eyes,19she didn't turn back to the stall. It was too 20to see the others buying whatever they wanted. She rubbed almost round the tree, her eyes on the ground.

    Yesterday, I posted a story and afterwards donated a little money after I read others' sad stories. Later, as I got into bed and completed my1 and self-examination on the day, I came to the realization that I was 2money. Wow! It was just a  3  to see this in myself.

    It is 4 enough that in the real world I have money in the bank but don't give away  5 . I don't have a lot of money,6 enough to pay my bills and help my daughters. Also I save some money for a 7 day. I know I could give more but 8  and fed some comfort in a little pile of money. I'm quite 9 to see in myself that it is hard to practice the beautiful 10 in the real world. The belief is that the needs of people 11 are more important than having a little pile of money to feel 12 with.

    So here I was doing the same 13  thing-saving but not giving away much money! With so many people waiting to be helped, it was pretty terrible for me to 14 how much I 15  seeing that little pile of money in my hands. I have already16 today that even if it is hard to give it all away in the real world, I am going to guarantee more17will come my way.

    There will always be enough money for me. I am not going to let 18 pile up anymore. I am going to give it away when I19 it because love is  20  what makes the world go round.

    “And this is me kissing the Blarney Stone”, says Carrie, my seventeen-year-old daughter. She turns the pages of her new photo album, recounting her recent ten-day1 abroad, and my mind wanders back…way back to when she was only five.

    “Someday I'm going to Ireland”, she said, holding her Childcraft book in her lap. Her blue eyes 2 as she looked at the beautiful pictures. “Well, maybe you can!” I said. However, it was3 for our family to pay for the luxury of traveling. I was working as a secretary. My husband Charlie had to close his 4 last year due to his poor health…

    Ten years later, Carrie came home from school one day, hardly able to contain her5“Mama, you'll never 6where the class is going. To Ireland!” she smiled 7“You're kidding!” I said. “Ireland! Where you've always wanted to go!”

    “The trip is 8 for year after next, and the $2,100 can be paid in installments (分期付款).” Then she added, “But that's too much… isn't it?” Her voice was9 yet doubting. “Well,” I said slowly, “Daddy and I can't help much10 you have two years to earn the money.” “You think so?” Carrie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Well,” I11 “maybe you could use your father's bakery and sell baked goods.” Sell baked goods? We12 at each other. Carrie was an excellent 13! This would work!

    So the plan was14 Carrie began working, making a variety of baked goods. She used dried apples, cooked, seasoned and spiced to perfection. Soon, however, fried apple-pies became the customer favorite. All ingredients were 15—real shortening (起酥油), real butter—and the crust (皮) was handmade and hand-rolled. Finally the pies were fried to a beautiful, golden brown! The finished product was an extremely pleasant treat, winning16from even the little old ladies in these hills who have been making dried-apple pies for decades17 began rolling in, and the Ireland fund grew, and well 18 the given time the trip abroad was paid in full…

    Now I'm looking at her album as she proudly points out the19 she visited: castles of Ireland, historic bridges and churches, cobblestone (鹅卵石) streets of Dublin… so much like those in her Childcraft book. My daughter will forever remember this dream come true, a dream that began in the heart of a five-year-old girl and was completely made 20 by the delicious apple pie!

Before I came to college, I was sure I knew all about it, since I had met some college students and had seen more than my share of old "college" movies where the 1 belonged to "playboys" and the heroines to sophisticates(圆滑世故的人）. But, now, after one semester as a college student, many of my old ideas have2 completely.

    I used to imagine bossy upper-classmen, for example. I thought they would be know-it-all rulers of the campus who 3 freshmen for fun. I pictured being 4 to the wrong classrooms, being ignored. But, in fact, the upper-classmen turned out to be quite 5. They offered to help me and inspired me to6 my tough courses.

    The upper-classmen weren't the only ones I worried about. I was also 7 about the other freshmen. I was afraid they might think I was too fat, too shy, too 8, or even too dumb to bother with. 9, I was wrong. When I finally got to college, I discovered that most students felt exactly as I did. They were as uneasy with me as I was with them, and as we started to open up, we began to10 one another. We began to become curious about each other's backgrounds and interests; the differences among us actually became11.

    I changed my mind about other things too. I had 12 homework to be a book-filled nightmare, which would keep me from meeting 13 dates. I did have some 14 tests; I did break out in a clammy sweat, and 15 a stomach upset and a gigantic headache, but contrary to expectations, I passed all of my exams with good grades.

    I've always been 16. Then if the worst happens, I'm just ready for it. I have planned to live 17 this principle before. But after this, I know not all schools would be the same. This one 18 to be much better than I thought it would be — a good 19 in not jumping to conclusions. No doubt my 20 toward college will shift still more as I go on, but I know I'll never be as negative as I was before I got to college.

    Last year, I received an e-mail from my dad, under a subject line: "Mystery creature?" There was no body text, but1was a ten-second video, shot in the dead of night. It2a furry creature charging away from the camera and down a driveway. Midway through the video, the animal3abruptly, turns slightly and stares back. Then it runs into the4. Watching it again, I noticed that the driveway looked5. It was my childhood home. There soon came more e-mails with more videos. And the mystery creature6to be a raccoon(浣熊) without its tail.

    For many years, my parents had been7about setting up some camera traps, just to see what sorts of animals were quietly moving around the8. But my dad had always thought the camera were a little too9and complicated. About a year ago, my dad finally10two cameras at reasonable prices that were easy to use. He first11them toward a place where he had noticed a particular pile of scat (动物粪便), which always appeared in the same12. After leaving the cameras on for only one night, he13. To his amazement, right in front of a bench where he'd 14 one camera, a fox arrived. It 15 to the center of the sight line and squatted (蹲下), briefly, in the exact spot. "Can you 16 it?" he said, playing the video for me again.

    I could not, 17 there it was, clear to see. For me, the pleasure in watching these videos was that they would never be 18 believable and that the 19 would always be beyond my imagination. Rather than making the world more knowable, they seem to make it more 20. They've turned a backyard into a place full of mystery.

    As the saying goes, roses given, fragrance in hand. I am always in the 1 of giving money to every beggar or homeless person I pass by. My friends say it is not good to 2. We may come across beggars or homeless people begging every day and all beggars have their ability to survive. It 3 them that I never listen.

On a 4day, my friend and I were walking to the bus stop 5 I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few 6. That day, I gave her 2 Euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I 7 to see that lady standing in front of me. She 8 me a piece of paper covered in a plastic bag to prevent it from getting9. She stood there, looking at me 10. Putting away my book, I took the paper, which 11 she and her family had to 12 their country because of floods, and she was 13 to support them. She had got a bit of money, but she needed five 14 Euros to get home. I 15 into my pockets and found 20 cents. My friend 16 a 5 Euro note. I asked her to give it to the lady, and said that I would 17 the next day. When she got the money, the lady hugged us and said thanks again and again, and went on her way. Later on the bus, I wondered where her home was and 18 she had gotten to this country. In her story, I felt that my friend and I would always remain part of it as the 19, who helped her get home on a rainy day. But for me, helping a stranger did bring me happiness, giving me a pleasant 20 .