America is a fast-paced society, which may seem very troubling to foreign visitors. One's first 1is likely to be that everyone is in a rush. City people always seem to be 2 and are very impatient if they are delayed even for a brief moment.

    3 this may seem unfriendly to you4 drivers will rush you; storekeepers will be in a hurry as they 5you; people will push you 6 walking along the street. You will7 brief conversations with people when you shop or dine there as people seem to be on the go.

    Do not8 that because Americans are in such a hurry they are 9. To them, that is just part of their 10 of life. Americans who live in cities often think that everyone is11in a hurry to get things done so they naturally 12 others to behave similarly13 when they discover that you are a stranger, most Americans become quite kind and will take great 14 to help you. Many of them first came to the city 15 strangers and they remember how frightening a new city can be. If you need help,16a friendly-looking person and say, “I am a stranger here. Can you help me?”

    Most people will stop17 you, and help you find your way. But you must let them know that you need help. Otherwise they are18 to pass you by, not noticing that you are new the city and 19 help. If, occasionally, you find someone too rushed to give you help, don't be20just ask someone else. Most Americans enjoy helping a stranger.

    No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own 1.

    I learned this lesson from a(n)2many years ago. I took the head 3 job at school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

    It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the 4 team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn't even practise to 5the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment, we were defeated. I couldn't 6 I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to 7that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were 8me. I had to change my 9 about their ability and potential.

    I started doing anything I could to help them build a little10. Most important, I began to treat them like11. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their 12, we met every day and 13 passing and kicking the football.

    Six months after suffering our 14 on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to 15. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a16for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest 17 of my life!

    From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can 18 the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and 19them. I helped them to see themselves 20, and they built themselves into winners.

    Winners are made, not born.

    Heroes come in different shapes and sites. Some are born to give others a1. Then there are the people who2 happen to be in the right place at the right time. That was the 3for John Underwood.

    On a cold evening, a storm 4near his home. Underwood was heading over to help his sister when the roads were5. He saw some other drivers get stuck, so he got out of his truck to help. “My6 is that if I have the ability to do good, then I should do it. There should be no7.” he said.

    Underwood wasn't out of his8long before he heard a cry, “Someone was  9, 'My parents, my parents!'” Moments later, a 12-year-old boy ran up to Underwood, saying his parents were 10and asked for help.

    The Hammonds went to get things from the basement when the walls11to bear the weight of rain and fell down, and they couldn't12. Worse still, the water was rising fast. 13 was of extreme significance, so Underwood took action at once. Any inappropriate action could add more dangers. Luckily, Underwood had 14 as a contractor (承包商). “Digging a hole in the living room floor, I knew it's a 15way.” he said.

    With physical strength, patience, and a lot of 16, Underwood saved their lives. He said he did what anyone would do, but that's not necessarily true. It's 17to put yourself in a dangerous way to rescue another. That's why the American Red Cross 18him. Ann Otto, who was in charge of the 23rd Annual Acts of Courage Awards, said the Awards should19heroes like Underwood who have acted 20and selflessly in a time of emergency.

The Sweetest Thing

    When I was ten, I was crazy about candy. Whenever in our small-town store with my mom, I would 1 my fingers through my favorite candy on the shelf.

    Once there, thinking about all things sweet, I noticed a man a few feet away pressing buttons on the ATM machine. Dressed in a suit, he seemed to be late for something, 2 waiting for his cash to appear. The machine made a noise, and he immediately 3 a pile of bills and headed out. Curiously, I walked over to the ATM, where I started pressing the buttons as if knowing the 4. Then I looked into the bottom of the machine. There I saw it: a beautiful, crisp $ 20 bill! 5 I wanted to believe my magic made the cash appear, I knew the man in the suit must have left it behind.

    I held the money in my hand, staring at the number "20" and feeling 6 than I ever had. I thought about slipping the money into my pocket. No one would know, but I just didn't feel it was 7. I knew it didn't belong to me. I had to find its owner and give it back! So I told my mom what had happened. "We'll look for him." she said kindly. We rushed out and found him stepping into his car in the parking lot! We 8 him and asked whether he had left money at the cash machine.

    "Let me 9" he said, pulling out his wallet and bills. "Twenty, forty, eighty...Oh! You're right," he said with surprise, "I'm 10 a $20 bill."

    "Here you go," I said, smiling with pride, as if I was a(n) 11 who had solved a mystery. "Thank you so much," he said, bending down and shaking my hand. My heart swelled. Before saying goodbye, he asked my mom for my name and 12. "I want to send your daughter a thank-you card," he said.

    On my way home, my 13 was racing. Twenty dollars. What could I have done with it? I bet I could have bought a puppy or every single candy bar in town! But now 14 of that would happen. Yet I knew I had done the right thing.

    A few weeks later, I got a box with a note. I ripped it open to find packages of candy. "Dear Felice, thank you very much for 15 my $20. You are a great girl, and I appreciate your 16. I hope you enjoy this candy. Best wishes, Tom." Tom included his business card. It 17 that he was vice-president for the candy company. The candy tasted sweet, each 18 reminding me that what I had done mattered. Although my honesty wouldn't always be 19 with candy, it would make a difference to someone. And that was the 20 part of all.

    Pamela Malhotra and her husband Anil K. Malhotra have spent the last 25 years buying abandoned agricultural land and reforesting it. They want to 1 the land to a bio-diverse rainforest for elephants, birds and other 2

    Now the couple 3 300 acres of land in Brahmagiri, India. They've spotted more than 300 kinds of birds as well as many 4 and threatened(受到威胁的)animal species. But, this was not the 5 in 1991 when Anil and Pamela came to this part of the country. "When I came here, it was a 6. The owner wanted to sell because he couldn't grow coffee 7 anything else here," says Anil who worked in the real estate(房地产)and restaurant business in the US before moving to India. "For me and Pamela, this was what we were 8 all our life."

    The couple had a love for 9 from their childhood. When the Malhotras came to India, the pollution 10 them. "That was when we decided to 11 something to reclaim (开垦) the forests in India," says Anil. "We were not looking for money. Early on, we 12 that shortage of fresh water will be a 13 for India and the rest of the world. Acquisition, protection and reclamation of forested lands and wildlife habitat, where vital water sources have their origin, is the only way to 14 ourselves," explains Anil.

    They sold property (财产) they owned in America, bought the first 55 acres and began to grow a 15. Soon, they bought the land nearby as well. "Many of the 16 considered their holdings 'wasteland' as very little grew on it and were 17 to get money," says Anil.

    Stopping poaching (偷猎) was a 18 and often the locals did not understand what this couple was doing, so it required a lot of talking to create 19. They worked with the forest department to set up camera traps and keep poachers away. "There are times I have 20 with poachers. I was even in great danger once, "says Pamela. "I hope what we are doing now will make a difference to animals."

    I met my art teacher Ms. J in the seventh grade and she changed me.

In her first class, she encouraged us to1what art meant. During discussion on facial structure and paintings, she2the “golden ratio (黄金比例)”, a beauty standard and explained how Davinci applied it to his works to ensure they were visually3.

    I couldn't help but think if my4had been measured against the "golden ratio," my score would have been5

    I was born with a facial disfigurement( 缺陷)and my face looked6. After regular appointments with7, my face was changed many times with little improvement. I8seeing myself in the mirror.

    People's strange tones, curious expressions kept telling me that I was9. Worse still, my photo appeared in a magazine with big letter "Face similar to work of Picasso" right below. I felt10

    I told Ms. J about my11and how my face was compared to Picasso's painting.

    "Art isn't about what you see but about what you12." She comforted me and told me that our13appearances were our signatures that we left in the world, which set us14and made us beautiful. And then she showed me a picture of an old man with long white hair. "You see, Davinci doesn't look too pretty, but his works15beauty on us." she added.

    I was struck by her words, and I wondered16I had never thought this way.

     "Being compared to Picasso may seem like a shame, but it's a(n)17.You are unique and you are a masterpiece."

    Today, when I look18the mirror, I will remember the words of my teacher, "beauty is subjective" and I get to know my appearance is my19.

    It takes me years to20that beauty is more than a cold calculation.