Cheating happens a lot in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in 1 and who is trying to take advantage of other people's   2.

    Recently, I was finishing my work at home3 the dog barked letting me know that 4 was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a 5 weak woman in her late fifties.

    I said to her, “May I ask what you6?”

    She 7, “Hello, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live nearby. We earn our living8working at construction sites. A few days ago my9 fell off the stairs while 10 a heavy load. He is 11hurt and hasn't been able to 12for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is at home in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!”

    “Oh!” I said. “Please13here.” I went into the room. I felt really bad about her 14but ...Was she telling me the15or trying to cheat me out of my money?

    Finally, I 16 to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, “Dear Lord, you know17 I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard earned money helps those who 18 need it.”

I went out with a fifty note and19 it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, “Thank you so much!”

    I was so 20, and turned back to my work smiling.

    Robby was 11 when he took his first piano lesson. I1students begin at an earlier age,2I explained to Robby. Robby said it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

Much3Robby tried, he4the sense of tone and basic rhythm. But be dutifully reviewed his lessons.

    Over the months he tried and tried, and he'd always say, “My mom's going to hear me play someday. ”But it seemed5 He just did not have any inborn ability.

    Then one day Robby stopped coming. I was glad, as he was a bad6for my teaching!I7he had decided to pursue something else.

    Several weeks later, my students were to have a recital（演奏会）. To my surprise, Robby came, asking to play in the recital.

     “It is for8pupils, but you dropped.

     “My mom was sick. But I have been practicing. I've just got to play!” he insisted and I agreed.

    The night for the recital came. I put Robby up last in the program9I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought I could save his poor performance through my "curtain closer".

    The recital10well. Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked dirty. “How could his Mom?”I thought.

    Robby began and it was Mozart's work. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers even11on the keys. After six and a half minutes he ended and people were all on their feet in wild12

    13and in tears I ran up and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that, Robby! How did you do it?"

    Through the microphone Robby explained :"Well , Miss Hondorf, remember I told you my mom was sick? Well.14she had cancer and15this morning. And well. . . She was born deaf, so tonight was the16time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it17"

    There wasn't a18eye that evening. I thought to myself how much19my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. However, he was the teacher, for it is he that showed me the meaning of20and love and believing in oneself.

    It's a sad and familiar voice that we often hear in big cities: “Can you spare some change?”

    Usually, when faced with that particular 1 I have feelings of guilt if I pass by 2giving a coin or two.

    I had that feeling 3in Venice while on a tour of Italy's famous sites in 2006. I had taken refuge from the 4 in a quiet café. Outside, there was an old woman kneeling on the hard, ancient paving stones,5.

    Steady 6of tourists were walking past her. A young backpacker stood away from the crowd,7 drinking in the scenery, but I noticed the young traveler was also 8the old woman.

    A tourist group walked along the street,9 the woman and walked on.10 group of tourists arrived and walked past the old lady. The backpacker watched 11 everybody else went on their way and focused on the 12 around them. Then, I was preparing to leave when I caught sight of the backpacker stepping forward and 13 some money in the woman's cup. He did this somewhat 14 just before the arrival of another tourist group. As I 15 the leader of the group stopped and put some money in the cup. Having been shown the way, other tourists followed suit and 16 some more coins to the cup.

    His work done, the young man walked over to the old beggar-woman, patted her on the shoulder and said, “I hope that 17 a little.”

    I don't know if the woman understood his English or 18what had just happened, but I did. I placed some money in the woman's cup and continued my travels,19 after witnessing such an 20act of kindness.

    One day a man was asked to paint a boat by the owner of the boat. He brought with him paint and 1and began to paint the boat bright red, as the owner asked him. While painting, he 2 there was a hole in the boat and decided to 3it. When he finished painting, he received his 4 and left.

    The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and 5him with a nice check, much 6than the payment for painting, the painter was 7" You've already paid me for painting the boat!" he said.

    "But this is not for the paint 8. It's for having repaired the hole in the boat."

    "But it was such a(n)9service. Certainly it's not worth 10 me such a high amount for something so unimportant!"

    "My dear friend, you do not 11 . Now let me tell you what 12. When I asked you to paint the boat, I 13 to mention about the hole. When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and 14 a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a 15 in the boat. I was not at home at that time. When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was 16because I remembered that the boat had a hole. Imagine my 17and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

    "Then, I 18the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You 19 my children! I do not have enough money to pay your 'small' good deed."

    So, no matter who, when or how, just 20 repair all the ""leak" you find.

    In storm-ravaged (风暴肆虐的) Santa Clarita, California, last March, Martinez approached Runner Road carefully. A 1 creek(小溪) had flooded it. Martinez, driving a Toyota SUV, 2 he'd be OK. Big 3. Halfway across, the rushing waters grabbed hold of his vehicle, sweeping it off the road. It finally 4 a good 80 feet away, when the 5 somehow lifted the SUV and put it into the ground at a 45-degree angle. Shaken, and trapped inside with the water rising quickly, Martinez was certain he was going to 6.

    On the road right behind Martinez were a delivery 7 and his niece. They 8 the horror unfold, and when Martinez's SUV came to 9 in the middle of the pouring creek, the man leaped to 10. First, he grabbed heavy-duty (结实的) 11 from the back of his van and tied the unsteady SUV to 12 posts. Then he climbed on the top of Martinez's 13 and hit a rear window with his fists. Frustrated, he 14 to his niece and yelled, “Give me a 15!”

    Over and over he hit the rock into the 16 very hard, but in vain. “We were scared that something else was going to come down and take the SUV, take him, take my uncle,” Krystina Reyes, 27, said. But her uncle's name was not publicly known.

    Reyes's uncle shouted to Martinez to 17 away from the window. He 18 and threw the rock. 19, the glass broke. Soon, a soaked Martinez went out of the window, and the men escaped to dry land.

    Martinez was saved by a(n) 20 delivery driver.

    I always preferred to take on more than I should when I was a young man. At times, it was to prove to myself that I could1it. At other times, it was to please someone and gain2for my efforts. This sometimes led to3or frustration.

    When I was an IT manager after college graduation I was4to work with a wealth customer and be a go-between(中间人) for my company. I took on the assignment(任务)5, thinking that this might be my time to shine.6, the customer's demands proved to be more than I could do with. And the company chose to7the customer and try to meet his unreasonable requirements rather than stick to what we had8offered in the agreement. As you can imagine, this led to a lot of unexpected9and arguing with some of the staff who10to do anything outside their own work. I remember walking into my office one morning, opening my laptop and11the blank screen for long, thinking to myself: What should I do? That was a (n)12time in my life and then I finally had to give up my first job and13that company sadly.

    Perhaps, I thought then, I could find the14 that didn't involve dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. But later I realized: Is this15in our modem world? No, of course not. Now, I know, I shouldn't run away from the16I faced in life: I had to learn how to deal with them. I17not persevering(坚持) in my job. We should train ourselves to look at things from a18point of view, because that is far better than being19in the bad circle depression. I've come to20 that when faced with difficulties, I should not give up, but persevere.