I'm exhausted after a day's housework. “Sometimes I just want to do something1 than all of this…”, I tell my husband Tony, who sits beside me in2, weighing his words. Finally, he says, “What you're doing feels really small, but it doesn't mean that it is.” His words reminds me of the 3 that had happened on the driveway earlier that morning.

    The kids lined up their scooters (滑板车) for a friendly4. I launched the action with a wave of my hand and stepped back to watch the race. Wheels rolled. Kids cheered 5. But then, a sharp cry ended the 6.

    My 10-year-old daughter fell down on the ground,7 by a group of broken scooter parts. Blood leaked from an obvious cut in her knee, and tears 8 in her blue eyes.

    “What happened?” I asked as I ran to her side.

    “I don't know…” Hannah said as she 9 the scooter. “My scooter was just missing one little piece…”

    She dropped her head in 10. “Something fell off my scooter right before the race began, but it was a small thing, so I didn't think it was 11.”

    As I lifted Hannah to her feet, her little brother began 12 the scattered parts in a bucket.

With a smile, he presented the pieces to his sister and 13, “I guess a small thing was really a big deal after all.”

    “Who dares to 14 the day of small things…” When we prepared to 15 an old house, one small brick matters. Like the children of Judah, we, too, have a choice. We can 16 the significance of our lives by the size of our 17, or we can trust God to use our 18 offerings for his great glory.

    As for me, I think I'll ask God to renew my love for this 19 life that 1 live, because there's a 20scooter in my garage that reminds me of my son's declaration.

    As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1,but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school 2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

    It's one of my biggest 3to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would4. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study. 6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9-- times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so11 that I could hardly say anything. But her12 helped me ease my shame. These memories, 13, good or bad, never caused my 14 for playing the piano again.

    This thought then led me to think that15is like music, and that we all try to play different 16in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高) is 17when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't20 that I've stopped making music.

    Ann, a mother of 3 children, is a warm-hearted social worker and she has done a lot to help people1 . The family's dinner conversation often turns to local poor families, and she 2 tries her best to seek help for them. This year, Ann 3 that the pretended Santa Claus would pay a special 4 to a young unemployed mother named Ashley, who was 5 two sons by herself.

    One Sunday morning, the family were joyfully having breakfast 6 the phone rang, saying that the help she had requested for Ashley had 7. No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing. On hearing the news, Ann noticed the 8 disappear from her children's faces. Kinzie, the youngest one, 9 down from her chair and ran out of the kitchen room. In only a few 10, she returned carrying her piggy bank and began to 11 the coins over and over again, $3.30 in total. “Mom,” she shook her head 12, “I know it's not much. But maybe this will buy a 13 for the children.” Then suddenly everyone was reaching into their pockets and 14 their purses. Immediately, the money-coins and bills 15 on the table. The next day, Ann as well as Kinzie drove to Ashley's house. After Ann wished the 16 the woman a Merry Christmas, she began to unload the gifts from the car, 17 them to Ashley one by one and told her the whole story.

    Ashley was moved to tears 18the words: Kinzie opened not only her piggy bank but also her 19, and my children as well as I myself would be able to do something 20 for someone else in need.

    Valerie was very worried about her dad. For some time now she had noticed he was1his hair. One day, she asked him, "Daddy, every day you have less hair, 2 is that?" Her father smiled and said, “It's the hair thief. He visits my 3during the night when I' m asleep. One by one he pulls out my hair, and there's no way to 4 him.”

    This worried Valerie, but she was 5to help her dad. That night she stayed6as long as she could. When she was 7 her dad and mom had fallen asleep, she took a hammer and went to their bedroom slowly and8.She didn't want the hair thief to 9 her. When she arrived at her father's side, she carefully inspected her father's head in order to catch the hair thief as soon as he 10 . Before long, she saw a shadow on her father's head and she11 it with the hammer

    Her father 12 a loud cry and got out of bed at once. He turned the 13on, and trembling with14, he saw Valerie waving her hammer in the air. Daddy. I 15got him. But it looks like he 16! "said Valerie. Meanwhile the mother17She burst into 18when she knew what had happened

    So Valerie's father had to explain that the hair thief didn't exist, and that losing hair is something that just happens naturally to most fathers. Valerie still 19 about her daddy, but she no longer waited for the hair thief. 20, she bought her father a very nice sleeping hat.

    Bill Gates doesn't pretend he lives in an equal household. When it 1parenting his three children, the billionaire admits his wife Melinda has done more than her2of the work raising the kids.

    Gates spent two years taking math and computer science courses, but never 3his degree.“ My eldest daughter graduates from Stanford in June, so I'm4she won't fall into my footsteps.” Gates joked.

    Gates said he and his wife have been quite cautious about the5they've used to' raise their three children. He says the couple 6 a 1970s “Love and Logic” parenting model. The core idea of the philosophy is centered on the idea that taking emotional control, essentially reducing emotional7 like shouting or blaming kids, is8for parents.

    “One of the greatest benefits of9“Love and Logic” is that it helps us learn how to keep a tighter control on our emotions and on our10.”Gates said.

    Gates admits he and his wife haven' at 11the approach. “Can you get rid of the emotion? You can't12 do it.” he said.

    Besides, the “Love and Logic” model also13the importance of not relying on rewards for kids, but instead showing unconditional love and praising kids for who they are, not what they do (or don't)14 ， like a poor test score or a(n)15grade.

    “Many highly successful people16Lwith grades as children.” Gates said，“What's most important is that our17develop good character, curiosity and problem-solving skills.”

    The model is a bit like the Socratic method，18it pushes parents to focus on asking questions of their kids and getting them to think about how to 19their own problems,20 feeding them answers.

    It was the last day of school. The teacher walked around the class and 1 each student a piece of paper except me. It was everybody's2 for the year. I knew that I3 the class because I couldn't read. I was 4 of being asked to come up in front of the class and read.

    Suddenly the5 bell rang. My seat was next to the door so I just ran out of class across the playground until the fence (栅栏) of our school. I sat on the grass with my head in my knees and burst out6. A couple of minutes later I heard the crinkle (沙沙声) of a lunch bag and then 7. I saw a girl in my class 8 out my lunch. She set it down next to me then and didn't say a word. She9 sat with me till the bell rang. On the way back she put her arm around me. “You might not 10 so well but I think you are a(n) 11 painter in the class," she said 12. "My mom always tells me if I do the best I can, I will be better," she added.

    The rest of the day I was lost in thought13 I had drawn a picture of a black horse 14 to reach some grass on the other side of a fence. When the last bell rang, I went to her15 where she was talking with her 16 and put the picture down. I could hear the girls talking about the 17 as I walked away. That18 a lot to me because it reminded (提醒) me that I was 19 something. At the same time, I also 20 that I wasn't doing the best I could.