When Glen Kruger picked a small cat from an animal shelter, he did not expect much.  Yet right from the start, eight years ago, there was an uncommon connection between him and the small black cat.  He 1 her Inky.

     “ I grew up on a hundred-acre farm and had only cats 2  playmates ,” Kruger,

The seventy-year-old man , says. “My hearing was damaged by the 3of farm equipment , so I learned to connect with4.  They react to what they see and what you do.  ”

    Inky was a gentle cat, 5 the house with five other cats.  But on a January night in 2009,  Inky did6 that would set her apart from7 cats forever.

    Kruger had gone down to the basement to8 the wood stove for the night.  When he was finished, he 9 to the top of the stairs and reached to  turn off the lights. In doing so , he slipped and 10  his back against an old shelf.  The heavy shelf came crashing down and sent Kruger down the stairs.

    11 in a pool of blood on the basement floor, Kruger felt  12 going into shock（休克）.  He shouted for help , 13   his wife, Brenda , was asleep in their      

bedroom at   the opposite end of the house.  14  Kruger noticed Inky watching from the top of the stairs.

    “Go get Brenda, ” Kruger said to Inky.

    Inky 15  to the bedroom door and scratched 16  until Brenda opened it.  Then Inky led her to  the  17 Brenda found her husband 18  the stairs and called 911.  Kruger was rushed to the hospital. “I spent six months19  therd,”

    Says Kruger .  “Although I became lame , I was blessed. ” Since the accident, Inky has 20

    Left Kruger's side.

    It has always been my dream to attend college. When I was younger, I would watch TV shows with college students having lots of 1.It looked like a great experience－going to parties,2with

    friends and letting the good times 3 When I entered high school, however, I started learning the real4 of college－to get a good education and a well-paid job. Therefore, with a passion for success in life, I expressed my 5about attending university to my parents. They were6I'd chosen the path, but were disappointed because they couldn't 7the cost. Upset and stressed, I started looking for 8to pay myself.

    My search for money began online. I went to every free scholarship search engine and spent up to five hours each day looking for scholarships I 9for. It was hard, but I knew it would10When I'd found almost all the scholarships I could apply for, I11them by deadline, which  gave me a way to prioritize my schedule. After12 everything, it was time to fill out the applications. Despite the amounts, ranging from＄100 to ＄40,000, I took each scholarship13because together they would fund my goal. With this in my mind, the hardest part began: writing the essays. To 14my writing, I asked friends, relatives and teachers to15over my work. Now I've won16scholarships and can attend college for free.

    The scholarship search truly made me a17person. I learned the importance of setting a(n)18 and accomplishing it.19 I did have to read several rejection letters, those made me stronger. I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to learn more about my20to succeed no matter what difficulties got in my way.

A Good Man

    It's a late Saturday afternoon in early March, and I am sweating in search of the only gift my son wants from Los Angeles: a 1 to the homes of the stars such as Brad Pitt and Jet Li.

    A cheerful taxi driver says, “No problem. Map sellers are everywhere!” When the taxi stops, a fellow 2 with a thin folded sheet and says: “Ten dollars.”

    Ten dollars! With absolute 3I inform him, “That's too much.” The map man leaves. I begin walking, certain I'll find a (an)4 star map soon.

    I am 5. There's hardly anybody on the street. There don't seem to be many real stores, just cars and bars. No maps. No stars. Blocks pass. The sun begins to sink. At the edge of West Hollywood6fellow wanders ahead, selling star maps to some teenage girls.

    Ten dollars7. Forget it. My son will 8.

    That night, I call my wife. “Did you get one of those maps to the stars? He's been talking about 9else.”

    This10is hard to ignore. It's late. At all-night markets: no maps. I head back to the hotel. Morning is coming. There will be one last11. After I check out, I take a taxi. But at nine in the morning, map sellers are 12 to be found.

    “You know,” says the driver, “The guys with the maps just aren't up yet!” He's right.

    “Forget it. Let's go to the airport.”

    “Well,” says the driver, “I could 13 you one if you like.”

    Sure. Trust this guy? I might as well throw cash onto the freeway. But exiting the taxi, I14 my last chance. I hand him $13 and my business card. Three weeks pass. I've15 on the star map. My son has stopped mentioning it.

    Then one afternoon, sticking out from under piles of flyers, there it is: a big white envelope. There is a small note. I can hardly read it16 I make out a few phrases一“forgive17 “taxi's been down” and, finally, “here's map for your son.” There's no return address. It's signed, “kind regards, M.”

    I hold the note in my hand18 what my son said to me when I got back from Los Angeles.

    “Did you meet any 19 Dad?” he asked.

Now I know what to tell him.

    “Yes, I did. I met a guy named M.”

    If you never 20 anybody, you'll never find the good guys.

    When I was young, my father invited my grandmother to come from Ecuador and live with us. When I first saw her, I thought she wasn't the person I had 1 for. For the first few days we didn't speak much, beyond her 2 me that I played too many video games. I never 3attention. Then one day, she showed me a 2's multiplication table (乘法表) 4 I was playing my beloved games and told me that I couldn't play any more games until I memorized it. I was5 but had to try to understand the pattern that all these numbers followed. That was when she approached me and explained the 6 to me. Within an hour I had 7 multiplication by twos, and was about to make a break for my video games when she 8 me and told me to learn my 3's table next.9and sad, I sat back down at the kitchen table. Again, she came to the rescue, but this time we didn't stop after three; we kept going. She 10 was old and boring. I thought she was a genius （天才）who 11 everything.

    From then on she taught me a lot. Even when we walked around the streets, she would quiz me on 12 . All of our conversation included education, but in such a(n) 13 way. I began to14learning about math and the world. Over time, we developed a close relationship 15 our lesson. We shared stories with each other every day.

    16, after only a year, she moved back to Ecuador. We didn't spend as much time together as we had 17, but she often sent me letters.

    My grandmother recently passed away. She always wanted me to attend college, and I've made that 18 a reality. I owe my love of math to her 19, because she showed me that there was a 20 beyond video games, and that education was both fun and interesting. She changed my life.

    My husband kissed me goodbye, stroke (轻抚) the baby's cheek and then rushed out of the door, into his busy day. With the cold of the morning fading, I fed my baby and it fell fast asleep. Usually I would place it in bed and quickly have the house somewhat in 1.

    However, this morning, I stayed seated, just 2, with the baby in my arms. The thoughts ran into 3of the mornings with my husband, a father rushing out of the door to meet the obligations of life. It was only a small jump to thoughts of my own 4.

    My mother passed away when I was ten, and as I looked 5, I could see how much of a family man my dad was. He went to work every morning and 6 to his family every evening. He 7 food, clothing, warmth, and protection. He was a faithful father.

    Setting the baby down, I dialed the 8 number. I had just realized the 9 of the ordinary－the daily life going on around us that we often took for granted, and that it needed to be 10.

    "Hi, Dad." I said, 11 back tears.

    "Hey, Bud. How are you?" 12 was in his voice.

    "Fine, I'm just calling to say … thank you." I got it out before my throat 13 too much for me to speak.

    "What for?"

    "For getting up and going to work every morning of my life. Now that I have my own 14 and I see my husband doing the same, I just wanted to thank you for being 15."

    There was 16 for a moment as my dad composed himself, and with a small 17 in his voice he said, "You're welcome, Bud."

    I don't remember much of the rest of the call, 18 that moment of revelation (显露) about my father, I will never forget. There are those who are known for their heroic 19, and also those who are known for their fortunes and fame, but it is the 20 everyday fathers who are the true heroes. I'm thankful that my father was one of them.

    All of us can give others a hand as long as we are willing to do so. Actually, there are some people doing kind things all the time. Spreading kindness, one good deed at a time, is Karla Gibson's mission. "I wish everyone could join me, 1 there are so many bad things going on in the world; I mean every day," said Karla.

    Karla had the2 and sense of duty in December of 2013. The single mother of three said she tended to feel down around the holidays, so she 3 to do something to cheer others up. She started a Facebook page and 4 her good deeds each day, from feeding the homeless to giving Easter gifts to prisoners. She hoped to 5 others.

    "We have to do something. Our 6 can make a difference in someone's day. You 7 know when someone might be having their worst day, and then something like buying them a coffee can change their whole attitude," Karla 8.

    Karla's greatest 9 had to do with coffee. On September 27^th, Karla's birthday, she went to her local Starbucks and gave the 10 $127 to pay for other people's drinks. She sat at the end of the drive-thru(汽车餐厅)holding a 11 reading "Have a great day." She ended up 12 about 23 customers. "It was really fun. It was 13one of the best birthdays ever," she said. Her kindness that day didn't go 14. One couple was so grateful that they surprised her with flowers and balloons to show their 15.

    Karla's acts of kindness have become a 16affair. Her two sons are always 17 others. "Sometimes I'll ask Kyle, 'So, did you do anything extra nice today?' and he would say 'Somebody 18 something in the hallway and I picked it up' or 'I held the door for someone', that kind of thing," said Karla.

    It's because of Mom that the boys think it's 19 to give a hand to others. "I think it's a great idea of hers. It's always nice to help someone out especially when they are going through 20 things," said Karla's 15-year-old son Chad.