Suddenly my mobile phone rang. “Where are you?” the urgent voice demanded on my phone.

    The woman on the other end of the phone had1news—news that would  change  my  life forever.  Apparently  my 2was on his way home at lunchtime3he suffered an unexpected heart attack.4a neighbor's sharp eyes had spotted him. By now it was after 1pm and Ueli was on his way to the nearest hospital. It turned out that,5a huge effort by a large team of medical staff, nine hours after the6, Ueli, the father of two of my sons, died.

    But Ueli's story didn't7there. Ever since I met him, he had8that, should he die before me, I must ensure that if it were possible his9would be donated. So on that awful night I10the medical staff  to  help  make  his  wishes 11.   Once the 12were made, I thought that I had honored Ueli's final act of selflessness and would hear no more of it.

    Some time later,13, I received a letter telling me that the corneas(角膜) had been successfully transplanted into the eyes of two young women who would benefit greatly from improved vision. What a14it was to know that this generous man's15 would have such a positive impact on these women. But the best news was16to come. More than a year after Ueli died, a lovely card arrived in the mail from the organ donor organization,17me that a young man who may not have lived much longer had successfully18Ueli's heart valve(心瓣膜).

    What happiness I have! I know Ueli would have been extremely19to have had a part in20this young man's life and ensuring that he would now pursue his own dreams with much improved health. Now I can forever say, “Rest in peace, Ueli; you'll be remembered—even by strangers.”

    Dr. Lee was one of my favorite professors in college. He was1because of a trick he employed at the beginning of his first class. "I will put a2into each of my lectures. Your job is to try and3me in the Lie of the Day."

That was a 4way to focus our attention at the dry and 5subject—Capital Markets. On those days we actively 6Dr. Lee's statements. Every once in a while, a lecture would end with 7seeing through the lie. Dr. Lee would say, "Ah ha! Each of you has a lie in your notes. 8among yourselves what it might be, and I will tell you next Monday."

What made Dr. Lee's teaching 9smart was that there was no lie during the most technically10lecture. He offered the same challenge to11 our lecture notes. On the following Monday, he would hear our12for almost ten minutes before he finally said, "Do you13the first lecture—how I said that every lecture has a lie?"

    Tired from having our best theories shot down, we14.

    "Well, that was a lie. My previous lecture was completely true and15. But I am glad you reviewed your notes16this weekend. Moving on …"

While my knowledge of the Capital Markets has17over time, the lessons have stayed with me. "Experts" can be18and say things that sound right—so build a habit of 19new information and check it against things you already accept as20.

A Welcome Gift

    Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them 1 side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud 2 filled the room and made them feel very happy.

    The next morning, 3, their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a 4 under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano. Dario's mother asked the building superintendent (管理员) if he knew anything about it. But he said that they were all 5 people and he couldn't imagine any of them had done that. Later that morning, Dario suggested that they write a letter to their 6 and apologize for their playing.

    “Maybe we could go and 7 everyone in person.” his mother said.

    “What if we invited them to come here for a 8 instead?” Dario asked.

They both loved the 9. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts 10 their guests. They decorated the apartment with streamers (彩带) and party lights.

    Finally, the day of the party 11. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers. Some even brought desserts to 12. One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, 13 Dario's mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

    “I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I 14 hat you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don't think I disliked the playing.”

    Dario's mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we 15 you an apology.” she said. “I didn't 16 how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.

    “You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such 17 music.”

    “These songs are beautiful music.” Dario's mother said. “We will be 18 to play them in the evening.”

    “And we won't play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to 19 the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother's face. It gave him a feeling of 20 and made him feel that they were home at last.

    I was a single parent of four small children, working at a low-paid job. Money was always tight, but I 1 to make ends meet (收支平衡), and if not a lot, 2 we had enough. Not knowing we were poor, my kids just thought I was 3. I've always been glad about that.

    It was Christmas time, and although there wasn't 4 for a lot of gifts, we planned to celebrate with a family party. But the big 5 for the kids was the fun of Christmas 6. They planned weeks ahead of time, asking 7 what they wanted for Christmas. 8, I had saved $ 120 for gifts to be shared by all five of us.

    The big day 9. I gave each kid a twenty-dollar bill and 10 them to look for 11 of about four dollars each. Then everyone went away excitedly. We had two hours to shop and 12 back at the “Santa's Workshop”.

    Driving home, everyone was in high Christmas spirits, 13 my youngest daughter, Ginger, who was unusually 14. She had only one small, flat bag with a few candies—fifty-cent candies! I was very doubtful but I didn't say anything 15 we got home. I called her into my bedroom and closed the door. This is what she told me:

    “I was looking 16 thinking of what to buy when I 17 to read the little cards on the “Giving Trees”. One was for a little girl, four years old, and all she 18 for Christmas was a doll. So I took the card off the tree and 19 the doll for her. We have so much and she doesn't have anything.”

    I never felt so 20 as I did that day.

    One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor 1the question papers, with the text facing down as usual.2he handed them all out, he asked his students to 3 the page and begin. To everyone's surprise, there were no 4, just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone's face, told them the following:

    “I want you to write what you 5 there.”

    The students,6,got started on the inexplicable(费解的) task.

    At the end of the class, the professor 7 all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no 8, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been 9, the classroom silent, the professor began to explain:

    “I'm not going to grade (打分)this. I 10 wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the 11 part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our 12.We have a white paper to observe and 13,but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a 14 given to us with love and care, and we always have 15 to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that16our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.17, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the18 relationship with colleagues, the 19 with a friend, and etc.

    The dark spots are very 20compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.”

    I was once a dropout. I know how powerfully a 1 can influence the life of a person who does not 2 herself. I quit school at sixteen to work. Years later, I had a(n) 3 and couldn't work for months. I felt depressed. With an unemployable father and a mentally ill mother to support, I couldn't 4 to give up.

    Searching the ads, I found a notice that our local community college offered free work 5. One requirement was a high-school diploma or GED certificate. Years ago, I got my GED certificate, but with 6 scores. I felt certain that I had little to 7 other than a willingness to 8. After my physical injury healed, I went to meet Ruby Martin, the advisor who would 9 me.

    I sat 10 waiting while Mrs. Martin looked over my score sheet. I was 11 to hear her blame me for wasting her valuable time. She looked at me for a long moment 12 she spoke.

    "Why did you apply for this 13?" she asked. "Why aren't you applying to college?"

    With my face burning with 14, I could only whispered, "Because I am 15."

    "Didn't anyone ever explain these 16 to you?" she asked. I just shook my head. For the next hour, she explained how the GED scores are based on, and that my 17 were very high indeed. She convinced me that I was not only not stupid, but that I would 18 an excellent candidate for the training program.

    I regained my 19. Later, I got a bachelor's degree and became a teacher just like her. To teach is to touch a life. It was Ruby Martin who touched my life 20.