A young painter had just completed a beautiful painting. To get people's opinions about his painting skills, he put his 1at a crossing on a busy street. And below it a board read, "Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. 2 I'm new, I might have made some mistakes in my work. Please put a cross  3you see a mistake."

    When he came back in the evening to 4his painting, he was completely shocked to see that the whole painting was filled 5 crosses. And some people had even written their opinions on the painting. 6 , he ran to his master and said to him, "I'm 7and if this is what I have learned to paint, I'm not worth teaching. "

    The master 8and suggested, "I'll let you know that you are a great 9. Now go to paint the same painting once again and give it to 10."

Then they went to the same street the next morning and put the same painting exactly at the same place. Now the master  11another board which read, "Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. I might have made some mistakes in my painting. I have put a box with colors and 12 just below. Please give me a hand. If you see a 13, pick up the brush and correct it." The master and the young painter went back home. Two days later, they came back to the place. The young painter was  14to see that actually there was not a single correction done!

    It's easier to criticize(批评) but difficult to improve. If you want to help people  15 their behavior, you'd better learn how to help people change their attitudes or skills. Also, always remember not to judge yourself by someone else's criticism and feel upset.

    My uncle lives in a village. He has eighty 1 ninety apple trees on his farm. But my uncle's2 can't pick all the apples in autumn. They usually 3 my parents and me to go to4them every year. It's going to be the weekend tomorrow. My 5 aren't going to work and I'm not going to 6. So we're going to see my uncle by bus tomorrow. We're going to get up 7 in the morning. Mother is going to wear her 8 clothes to work on the farm. Father is going to buy some mooncakes for my uncle's 9 in a shop. The boy likes them very much. I know my uncle and aunt are going to10 us a lot of apples before we come back. I like working in the village.

    At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds. I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to1bad feelings, to make myself feel better, and to celebrate. Worried about my health, I tried many different kinds of diets but nothing worked. I came to believe that I could do nothing about my weight.

    When I was 50, my weight problem began to affect me2. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with this extra weight any more.

    That year, I3a seminar(研讨课) where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world. A seminar leader shared her4story —she had not only lost 125 pounds, but also raised ＄25,000 for homeless children.

    5by her story, I created the As We heal(痊愈), the World Heals project. My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,000. In this way, I could not only heal myself but heal the world by supporting a movement set up 30 years ago to end hunger.

    6I began my own personal weight program, I was filled with the fear that I would run into the same difficulties that beat me before. While the7hung over my head, there were also signs that I was headed down the right path. I sent letters to everyone I knew, telling them about my project. It worked perfectly. Donations began 8in from hundreds of people.

    Of course, I also took some practical steps to lose weight. I hired a fitness coach. I began to eat small and9meals and exercise often.

    A year later, I10my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000! I feel that I've been given a second life to devote to something that is meaningful and great.

My first day of school

    Fear started taking over. I was walking into my first school in America. I had a long journey from India to join my parents, who had been here for three years, hoping America would help my future.

    On the first day, I was already confused because back in India the teachers switch(转换) according to periods while most of the students have the same periods, but here it was totally1.

    With anxiety(焦虑) on one hand and fear on the other, I opened the door 2. Since I was a bit late, everyone's eyes were on me as I entered the room. Without paying attention to them, I went straight to the teacher and asked if this was the right class. With a soft voice he answered, "Yes." His voice 3 me a little. Then he asked me to choose a seat. I didn't actually want to 4a seat. In India we had assigned (分配的) seats, so I never needed to worry about that.

    I was confused about which buildings to go to, but I 5to get to my classes without asking anyone. I was very confused about when I would have lunch. It was already noon. The bell rang and I entered my next class. Again, I asked the teacher if I was in the right class. Then I chose a seat, sat down and waited for the6 to begin. The teacher looked at me with a puzzled face, "Why don't you go for lunch?" "But the bell just rang," I said. "That is the lunch bell," she said. Without another word I 7for the cafeteria( 餐厅) . I felt lucky because we didn't have this in India.

    Every confusion seemed like a difficulty I had to get through to reach my 8. At the end of the day, at the school gate I found my bus and sat down inside happily. I was thinking, today wasn't so bad. I couldn't wait for the next day to come.

    Two brothers worked together on a farm. One was married and had five children. He had a large 1. The other had no wife yet. Although they lived in different houses. They shared 2 they got from their farm.

    One day, the single(单身的)brother said to himself, "It's not 3 that we share all the rice. I'm 4 and I need less than my brother." So, every night he took a bag of rice from his store-room and 5 the field between their houses, putting it into his brother's store-room. At the same time, the married brother thought, "It's not fair to share all the rice. I'm married and I have my wife and children to look 6 me when I am old. However, my brother has no one to take care of his 7in the future." So, each night he also took a bag of rice and put it into his brother's store-room.

    Several months passed by. They found 8 strange that their rice never became less. Then, one dark night the two brothers ran into each other. Slowly they began to understand 9 was happening. Their 10 fell onto the ground and tears (眼泪) filled their eyes at once.