I gain a lot of rewarding experiences from some social activities. Our local Community Youth Club is a very popular organization with young people in my town. I have been a member for four years now and I've taken part in a lot of interesting projects, {#blank#}1{#/blank#} include fun activities such as holiday camps and discos. We have organized sports competitions and we have even made a video.

    But it isn't all just enjoyment, we have also started doing social work to help people in our neighborhood. We {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(organize) activities for small children during the holidays. We have also formed a special support group to help young people stop{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(smoke).

    We are particularly proud of the most recent group we have created. It organizes regular visits{#blank#}4{#/blank#}the local old people's home. My class spent an afternoon at a home and everyone found the visit very rewarding. The old people there were{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(talk) and they told us their personal stories {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(cheer). During our visit, the home was filled with {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(laugh). But we realized that life wasn't always easy. Some of them were in poor health and were very{#blank#}8{#/blank#}(happy).

    Many young people like me do not live with our grandparents and we have little contact with elderly people. As a result, many young people don't know{#blank#}9{#/blank#} they are like. After this visit, my friends and I decided that we should do {#blank#}10{#/blank#} to help improve the quality of their lives.

    I got laid off at 53 from a senior management position in a restaurant. And I knew it was going to be hard to find another job in the {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (competition) working market. My age put me at {#blank#}2{#/blank#} disadvantage. But I also knew it was time for me{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(realize) my lifelong dream of owning a restaurant.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} was most difficult was that in order to make this happen, I needed to find an{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (exist) café that wasn't doing well. It couldn't be better if its owner was ready to quit his business. With great{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (lucky) I found just what I wanted eight blocks from home. Since I had never financially planned for this day, I had to borrow money from friends as well as {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (relative). I, together with my wife,{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (be) ready to start off. We changed the name to Black Dog Coffee, the menu, the recipes and the look of the cafe, and my wife did great job of designing. Eighteen years later, we're still here and doing{#blank#}9{#/blank#} (well) than ever. I'm grateful{#blank#}10{#/blank#}the layoff and the opportunity to pursue my dream.

    John Snow was an expert doctor who attended Queen Victoria {#blank#}1{#/blank#} her personal physician. However, he was well-known for his defeat of “King Cholera”. During the mid-19th century, London suffered a series of cholera outbreaks. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(expose) to the deadly disease, many thousands of {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(terrify) people died every time there was an outbreak. John was determined to help them. He believed the disease {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(absorb) into people's bodies through meals and he needed evidence to prove his idea. In 1854, when there was {#blank#}5{#/blank#} outbreak in London, he was ready to began his enquiry. He gathered the information and marked on a map the exact places {#blank#}6{#/blank#} all the dead people had lived. With the help of the map, he found that in two particular streets, the outbreak was {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(extreme) severe. He did further research and found the polluted water from pump was {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(blame). He immediately told the astonished people not to drink the water. Later, John found supporting evidence from two other deaths linked to the Broad Street outbreak. So, he was able to announce with {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(certain) that cholera was spread by germs. To prevent this from happening again, John Snow suggested that the source of all the water sources {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(examine). Finally, King Cholera was defeated.

Happiness Is an Attitude

    The 92-year-old confident and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably combed and makeup perfectly applied, moved to a{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(nurse) home today.

    Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (make) the move necessary.

    After many hours of waiting patiently in the hall of the nursing home, she {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (smile) sweetly when told her room was ready. As she got into the elevator {#blank#}4{#/blank#} her wheelchair, I provided a description of her tiny room.

    "I love it," she started with the enthusiasm of {#blank#}5{#/blank#} eight-year-old child having just been presented with a new dog.

    "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room….just wait."

    "That has {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged…it's {#blank#}8{#/blank#} I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (recount) the difficulty I have with the parts of my body{#blank#}10{#/blank#} no longer work or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones working. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away… just for this time in my life.”