I have had the pleasure of meeting a few neighbors . They seem to be quite kind people . For Christmas , I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors that I knew . I sat down and counted . There were nine neighbors , and I also knew which houses they lived 1 .

    However , I decided to add one more person to my list , the lady I met every morning walking to work when I drove down the street . She always gave me a sweet smile and a friendly wave（挥手）, 2 I had no idea about her address .

    My gift idea was to make small 3 baskets and leave them on each of my neighbor's front porches（门廊）the night of Christmas Eve . I kept the last one for the friendly lady because I was still not sure about where she lived . It was 4 the house down about where I met her each morning . Finally I decided to put it there . My neighbors really enjoyed the baskets and a couple even came by to thank me .

    This morning I got a Thank you card.

    The card said , “ Thank you for those lovely apples and strawberries you left on the porch of Thomas . He 5 on January 19 , but he never stopped 6 about how nice it was that he was remembered in his time of illness . He really enjoyed it . ”

    I was very 7 . Why he sent a card to me ? I had no idea 8 Thomas was or that he had been seriously ill . I had left that nice lady's basket on Thomas' porch by accident . I believe Thomas never expected to have that basket . I feel sorry that the nice lady didn't get a basket from me , but I believe if she knew what had happened , she would 9 me .

    I feel lucky to have helped Thomas be more cheerful in his last days . This just makes me further believe that sometimes 10 in life are beautiful .

    Robert De Vincenzo, the great golfer, once won a competition. After receiving the check(支票), he went to the club and prepared to leave. He walked alone to his car and met a young woman.

    The young woman stopped him and said congratulations on his1, then she told him that her child was badly ill and she was dying. But her family was poor. She did not know how she could pay the hospital bill.

    De Vincenzo was2by her story, and gave his winning check to the woman. "Make some good days for the baby." He said as he put the check into her hand.

    The next week, he was3in the country club when a policeman came to his able. "Last week, some of the boys told me that you met a young woman after you won that competition."

    De Vincenzo said, "Yes."

    "Well," said the policeman, "I have news for you. She does not have a sick baby. She's not even married. She cheated you, my friend. "

    "You4there is no baby who is dying?" said De Vincenzo.

    "Yes, that's right," said the policeman.

    "That's the best news I've heard all the week." De Vincenzo said happily, "Life is more important."

    Good news or bad news? It depends on how you5it. You can be sad after being cheated.6you can choose to go on with your life bravely.

    It was a cold winter day in 1900. A little boy was walking along the street in London. His name was Jack. That day he couldn't have breakfast or lunch. He wanted to buy some bread, 1he didn't have any money.

    Jack's father died when he was very 2. His mother was often very sick, so she couldn't 3 Jack or his brother. Both of them had to work to help their mother. They worked hard.

    Jack was short but his 4was very big. His wish was to be a great man in the world of film. So he worked very hard to sing and dance. Then one day he had a chance. And he did his best in the film. Many people said excitedly, "We have never seen such a (an) 5film."

    Thirty years later, this boy was one of the most famous people in the world. He made many interesting films. A lot of people 6them.

Leaping(跳跃) on a narrow balance beam (平衡木) is not easy. But Lola Walter, a 13-year-old gymnastics (体操) player, is good at it. To perfect her skills, Lola 1 for four hours a day, five days a week. At the state championships in March, she finished the seventh out of 16 girls, though she often 2 double(重影) and can't tell how far away things are.

When she was little, her mom 3 that even though she couldn't see well, she was fearless. So her mom took her to learn gymnastics when she was three. She loved the 4 right away and gymnastics became her favorite.

Learning gymnastics has been more 5 for her than for some of her teammates, but she has never given up. She doesn't let her 6 stop her from doing what she wants to do. To her, the biggest 7 is the balance beam. Because she has double vision, she often sees two beams. She must use her sense of touch to help her. Sometimes she even closes her eyes."You have to 8 your mind that it'll take you where you want to go,"says Lola.

To be a top-level gymnastics player, one must be 9 . Everyone is afraid of the beam because it's four inches wide. At the state competition, Lola didn't fall 10 the beam. In fact, she got an 

8.1 out of 10 — her highest score yet. At the competitions, the judges don't know about her 11 problem because she doesn't think they need to know.

Lola 12 thinks about giving up. She is presently at level 7 while the highest is level 10 in gymnastics. Her 13 is to reach level 

9. She says she wants to be a gymnastics coach to pass down what she's learnt to other kids 14 she grows up. Lola is proud of all her hard work and success. Her advice for others is"just believe in 15 ". What a great girl!

I'm living in a small village in the countryside. My wife and I run(经营) a cake shop. We live a very peaceful life. Someone might say our simple life is boring. But we love it. We know all the people in the village. I have much time for my hobbies-- gardening, fishing and walking in the countryside. I love the outdoor activities.

 Three years ago, in 2020, I had a really terrible job in a company. I used to work very late in the office from Monday to Thursday. Usually I went home the latest on Thursdays. Luckily I could go home early on Fridays, but I had to bring work home on weekends. Because of the job, I used to smoke and drink too much.

 One day, my wife, a P. E. teacher, decided to leave me. She complained(抱怨) that she seldom saw me. She also said that I had become not humorous but serious since having the job. This made me realize what was really important to me. We talked and decided to start a new and happy life together. Last year,I gave up the job. Of course, I also gave up smoking and drinking and took up new hobbies.

 Suffering(受苦) from ALS (渐冻症) for 30 years, Jiang has never lost his love for life. Besides, he taught {#blank#}1{#/blank#}( many) than 200 children for free for over twenty years. 

 At the age of 16, Jiang Bing {#blank#}2{#/blank#}( fall) to the ground on the way to school and was unable to stand up again. One doctor told him that he had an illness that was hard to cure(治愈) and suggested {#blank#}3{#/blank#}( he) give up searching for treatment. He was {#blank#}4{#/blank#} great pain, but Jiang didn't lose hope and still kept studying every morning, spending one day like it was a month. 

 Though Jiang couldn't enter {#blank#}5{#/blank#} university himself because of the disease, he offered {#blank#}6{#/blank#}( teach) his younger sister and help her go to university in 1994. Not until then did the people living in the community realize that the special man could teach their children. 

{#blank#}7{#/blank#} they asked him for help. The next year, Jiang started helping children with their studies {#blank#}8{#/blank#}( careful). Apart from the school subjects, he also taught them art and clay sculpture(泥塑). He once taught 24 children in one single class, all for free. 

 Today many of the children that he taught graduated from university. They all think him one of {#blank#}9{#/blank#}( excellent) teachers. Zhao Feiyu, a student who once received Jiang's help, runs an art {#blank#}10{#/blank#}( train) school now. "He taught us wisely and took no money, " he said, "He is my best teacher and friend. "