When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn't 1. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could 2 a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister 3talent.

    I was better at my 4. My teacher had told my parents that I had great potential. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to 5me. But the only time he was 6was Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m. Back then, I was 7about the British TV shows "The Avengers", which was aired every Saturday at 3 p.m. I let nothing take up my "Avengers" hour. So I 8 this amazing opportunity. Today, I don't even have a 9 in my house.

    My sister became an engineer, but she 10 stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she switched careers. She went back to college, got a(n)11in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never12.

    Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family13for her. As she played, I looked around at the audience. Everyone was 14enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7 -year-old kid making those perfectly15sounds and knew how far she had come, despite everything.

    Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.

    When I was shopping a few months ago , I saw a man trying to get people to donate(捐赠)to a very well-known charity(慈善团体)for children. I 1 to him that I can't donate money any more 2 my bank account(账户)having some problems last year. It was a 3 time and took months to get back our money. 4, I noticed the man was hungry and cold, so I offered him a(n) 5 in the nearby restaurant.

    Last week I 6 home on a really hot day. My husband Stewart was at the table with a person from a Charity having a 7. We talked for a while and then I said, "I 8 you!" and he looked at me in surprise and said, "Oh, you're the lovely lady that 9 me a big lunch and drinks when I was at 10 trying to get people to donate." We both laughed and we had a little 11.

    He told me that he had let the organizers know about this lovely woman 12 him out on a cold day. He said 13was so unexpected. I was so 14 to see him again, sitting in my home. My act had really 15 him for the kindness of it and I loved the fact that Steward had 16 him in out of the heat for a cold drink.

    In our daily life, maybe we 17 know how we 18people when we do good things. But in fact, 19we do does affect others, for it is a lovely 20. Kindness is so catching (感染力的).

    My husband Bill's Grandma was in a nursing home when we moved back to Michigan. Grandma had been unable to walk for quite some time; now her eyesight was almost gone.

    Over the years Grandma and I had 1 many cards and letters. I knew how she enjoyed 2 in touch with people. Grandma would have me write letters to go in the cards she would send. And she would always have me 3 what I had written back to her. Grandma didn't have a problem with hearing then 4 she was always telling me, "That is not 5 how I said that!"  I would then rewrite whatever I wrote in her exact words.

    Since I had some 6 time before Christmas, I asked Grandma if she would like to send 7 some Christmas cards. Grandma readily 8. I rounded up several different kinds of cards. I knew she had friends and family who all had different 9. I would take each card and 10 in detail the front of the card, then I would read the words inside. After 11 it over Grandma would tell me who she thought would like 12 card.

    After a while I 13 and I noticed that we had several nursing home 14 standing in the doorway. I started to notice as I read each card, the 15 on their faces and Grandma's face, too. Each one had a 16 smile and a far­away look in their eyes, as they were seeing the scenes in their minds' eye.

    I thought when I went over to do the Christmas 17 I would be doing Grandma a favor, but it 18 that she did me a big favor. I'll always 19this special memory of bringing some Christmas joy and pleasant 20 to Grandma and her fellow residents（居民）.

    I ran into a stranger as he passed by. "Oh, excuse me please" was my 1. He said, "Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you." We were very 2, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye. But at home a 3 story is told.

    Later that day, when I was cooking the evening meal, my daughter stood beside me very 4. When I 5, I nearly knocked her down. "Move out of the 6," I said with a frown. She walked away, her little heart broken. I didn't 7 how harshly (严厉地) I'd spoken.

    While I lay awake in bed that evening, my husband said to me, "While 8 a stranger, you are polite, but with the girl you love, you are 9. Go look on the kitchen floor and you'll find some flowers by the door. Those are the flowers she brought for 10. She picked them herself: pink, yellow and blue. She stood quietly not to 11 the surprise, and you 12 saw the tears in her eyes."

    13, my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt down by her bed. "Wake up, little girl," I said. "Are these flowers you picked for me?" She smiled, "I found them out by the tree. I picked them 14 they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like them, especially the blue."

    I said, "Daughter, I'm sorry for the way I 15 today. I 16 have yelled at you that way.

    She said, "Oh Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway."

    1 said, "Daughter, I love you too. And I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

    I had got the world 17 again. I'd 18 to be polite to people in the street—good 19 make society work. But a stranger is someone we meet once and then never see again—and 20 is for life.

    When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant 1 Miller King, who was the best 2 at our school.

    Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for 3.

    Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from 4. He looked very 5, but he didn't cry.

    That season, I 6 all of Miller's records while he 7 the home games from the bench. We went 10-1 and I was named most valuable player,8 I often had crazy dreams in which I was to blame for Miller's 9.

    One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller 10 going over a fence—which wasn't 11 to climb if you had both arms. I'm sure I was the last person in the world he wanted to accept 12 from. But even that challenge he accepted. I 13 him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally 14 on the other side, he said to me, "You know, I didn't tell you this during the season, but you did 15 .Thank you for filling in for 16."

    His words freed me from my bad 17. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. Damaged but not defeated, he was 18 ahead of me. I was right to have 19 him. From that day on, I grew 20 and a little more real.

    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.