Mrs. Brown was tired after her day's shopping in London, so she went into a restaurant for a cup of tea 1 catching the train home. When she had ordered her tea, she suddenly remembered that she had to buy some 2 for her husband, who had a cough.

    “Is there a chemist's near here?” she asked the waiter. “Yes, madam.” the waiter said. “It's only about three minutes' walk away. Turn right when you go out of the restaurant, then take the second turning to the left. You'll find a big chemist's about a hundred yards up the road on the right-hand side. It closes at five, but if you 3, you'll just get there in time.”

    Mrs. Brown followed the waiter's directions 4 and found the chemist's shop without any difficulty. She bought the cough mixture and started to 5 her way back to the restaurant. But after she had walked for about ten minutes and there was still no 6 of the restaurant, she realized that she must have made a mistake.

    “Oh! I am 7!” said Mrs. Brown. “I've left all my shopping in the restaurant and now I'm lost.”

    She was still wondering what to do when a policeman came 8 and asked if he could help. Mrs. Brown 9 what had happened.

    “Well, first of all,” said the policeman, “we had better go back as far as the chemist's”. “Now,” suggested the policeman, when they got to the chemist's, “let's go in this direction. It leads to the main road, where we shall probably find your restaurant.” When they reached the main road, the policeman said, “I think you'll find the restaurant you are looking for along there, on the opposite side of the road.” Mrs. Brown thanked the policeman for his help. “I can't 10 how I went wrong,” she said. The policeman smiled. “It's quite easy,” he said, “to get lost in a big city like London.”

    Frank was walking down the 6th Street on a hot sunny day when he saw smoke coming out of the street. He could 1 the smoke, and it was getting2. Seeing the smoke coming out of a storm drain(雨水沟), Frank called the fire department 3. “The storm drain is 4 fire!” he said. The fire department asked for his whereabouts and he said he was near the 6th street. They said they would be right there to investigate the situation. Frank needn't to go anywhere, so he waited for the 5 to arrive. He was curious what could be burning beneath the street. As far as he knew, there wasn't anything beneath the street 6 concrete(混凝土). And everyone knows that concrete doesn't 7.

    A fire truck arrived a few 8 later. “Are you the man who 9?” asked the driver. “Yes.” Frank answered. By now Frank could not only smell the 10 but also hear crackling sounds, just like wood burning. The firemen didn't seem to11it an emergency. “What do you think it could be?” Frank asked the driver. “Oh, we know what it is. We have to 12 a problem like this every few months. It's the homeless people in their 13.”

    Homeless people have been living under the streets for years.14 their knowledge of the storm drain system, they 15 their own “houses” beneath the streets. These living areas have tables, mattresses, chairs, and sofas. The settlers often “borrow” electricity by connecting to a live wire above ground to 16 their own lights and even TVs underground. Either this 17 electricity or a cigarette can cause an occasional fire.

    Frank watched 18  some firemen lifted a manhole cover (井盖) and went beneath the street with a fire hose (消防软管). Then a few minutes later, the 19 smoke turned white. Shortly afterward, the firemen reappeared with a 20 person who seemed to have just been woken up.

    When I was young, I read only comic books. My mother, who was a keen reader, tried to get me to read regular books, but they seemed 1 to me. Why would anyone want to read a book without pictures, I wondered? It would be 2 watching a movie with your eyes closed. And novels seemed to be too 3! In my mind, a comic book was a roller coaster ride 4 a novel was five hours in rush hour traffic.

    Whenever she saw me with a comic book, my mother would complain, which totally 5 my comic book reading experience. One summer, she even 6 me. "If you don't read at least one book this summer, we're not going to go on our camping trip," she said. What could I do? I had been looking forward to that 7 for months!

    "Fine," I 8, "I'll read one book. "9, my mother took me down to her evil dungeon (地牢), the local 10, where the librarian 11 The lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book of The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. I unwillingly 12 the book while my mother and the librarian exchanged a(n) 13 glance.

    When we got home, I cracked the book open and started reading. I 14 I'd read the first few pages then skip to the end because I knew my mother would 15 me about it. Imagine my 16 when my mother called me to dinner and I was halfway through the book! 17 a comic book was a roller coaster ride, the novel was all the rides at Disney world rolled into one!

    I 18 reading the entire The Chronicles of Narnia series that summer, which I consider the 19 of my great friendship with books. Now I read an average of one book a week, and sometimes my wife 20 that I read too much!

    It's common for homeless people to pick up recyclables to sell and make a living. However, it's not so common to see them 1 in a restaurant where the average meal costs $ 150. But that's 2 what happened when a man walked into Benvindo, a 3 restaurant in Belo Hori- zonte.

    According to the staff, a homeless man 4 the waiters at the front door and wanted a 5. He also insisted on paying for it with the money he made by 6the cans: a single $ 50 note.

    "I thought this was somewhat 7," said Fontes, a 21 - year - old waiter. But he continued providing 8 for the man as he serves other guests. The man 9 a costly lunch, including a main dish and dessert, which 10$ 121.80. However, when the man asked for the 11, the restaurant's owner told Fontes to ignore the charge. Instead of accepting the 12 meal, the man politely turned it down and insisted on paying.

    When it became 13 that the man wasn't ready to change his 14, the waiter agreed to charge him $ 10.

    Fontes said, "I then had to 15, saying customers could get a discount on the lunch for there was an ongoing 16, because the man had $ 50 and refused to get the $ 40 17."

    A customer there took a picture of them and shared it online, saying, " I just 18 a great example of consideration. The photo gained hundreds of 19 praising Fontes and the man. Fontes said he simply wanted to 20an act of kindness for an honest hardworking man.

When going through a serious illness, you learn to know what love and beauty really are. I know this 1 too well, because I've experienced a terrible illness myself.

I was diagnosed with both breast and colon (结肠) cancer at the same time, and my entire 2 on life completely changed. I thought I had it rough after having to 3 my daughter alone, but going 4 cancer made my previous years seem like times of delight. When you 5 from a serious illness like cancer, it makes you wonder what you did to 6 such a thing.

The love of my family helped me to forget my 7, however. Their love was the greatest reason why I had to fight the cancer and live. At times, I didn't think I would 8 it, but because of the unconditional love of my family, I found out who's there at this most critical time of my life. Through it all, not only did I find what love truly means, but I found what true 9 really is. Through all the 10 I endured, I still felt beautiful.

Whether we're dealing with an illness or any other 11 feeling about ourselves, we still need to feel beautiful-on both the outside and the inside.

Each passing day I'm allowed to open my eyes, the days are 12, because I'm able to see and appreciate it much more. True beauty is 13 and when you feel beautiful on the inside, it shows so clearly on the outside.

14, I could not have done or felt the way I did and still do without my family. I feel within my heart that I 15 cancer just so I could continue to share my life with them, while sharing my story with others.

I share my story with others as I hope to make a positive impact on those who are ill or just feeling 16. We as people should never allow anything to 17 our joy or self-esteem. We can turn something terrible like cancer into something positive 18 we focus on the great things that come out of it.

19 all, it's at the worst times of our lives that the best things can 20, and when we survive a tragedy, it is for a reason.

Discovering a hobby can lead to amazing results, as Maria Martinez, an 11-year-old with a heart of gold, has proven.

Just over a year ago, Maria came across the world of clothes-making, thanks to one of the Christmas gifts she received. Little did she know that this newfound ability would become a source of joy and purpose, not just for her, but also for countless furry friends.

"I got a gift permitChristmas to start clothes-making lessons," Maria said. "I really liked it."

After mastering the basics, an idea came to her mind during a visit to a local exhibition. Surrounded by pet owners and their pets, Maria had an idea that would change lives. Why not create lovely bandannas (头巾) for dogs and cats and use them to support animal shelters?

With great interest and the support of her grandmother, Maria turned a corner of their home into a busy working room. Together, they made many beautiful bandannas, each one filled with love and care.

But Maria's wish went far beyond creating decorations. She began donating her works to shelters like Claws Forever in Fall River, hoping to catch the eye of some people who can take these dogs and cats home.

Maria also began selling them through word-of-mouth and at various events. "At first she started just donating the bandannas because it took her much time to make them. Then she got more skilled and was able to buy cloth with some extra income that she was making from it," her mom, Crystal, said. "Maria is a really kind giving person and she doesn't want for much of anything. It makes her feel good to donate. We are proud of her." Ranging from $3 to $7, money from her sales is now donated to shelters, too. A few weeks ago, she donated more than $200 to the Kingston Animal Shelter.

"They were happy and really grateful, which made me feel really good inside," said Maria. "It makes me happy to see how it's impacted the people and dogs."