One day, a lady bought some bath soaps from a shop. When she opened one of the packets, she found that it had no soap; it was just an empty wrapper! She made a 1 against the factory and got her money back with a successful claim. That being 2, there was a task before the management of the soap factory. How had this happened? How could they3 that the incident would not occur again?

    After a detailed 4, it was discovered that during the 5 of wrapping, it so6 that one or two wrappers did get through without any soap in them! There was no way to 7 the difference between a full wrapper and an empty one. The process of handling each one separately for this purpose seemed to be very difficult. So, the technical 8 was given the job of finding a method to 9 the problem. The man prepared a detailed report and suggested setting up a computer-based system that would weigh and scan each bar, for the empty packs could not be 10 by a normal x-ray machine.

    The management heard him out and passed the 11 to release some money to buy the new machinery that he had asked for . An 12 worker said, “Excuse me, Sir, 13 my rudeness, but I have a 14 that will cost a tiny amount of what you are planning to spend.”

    The management 15 in the beginning. But 16, they heard him out and agreed to try out his suggestion. The next day, the worker brought a strong industrial fan. He put it at an angle near the 17 belt, on which the packed soap bars were coming through, and 18it on. The few empty wrappers that came through got 19 by the fan! A simple solution for a 20 problem!

    This proves that the educated do not have a patent on good ideas.

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: "This," he said, "isn't any1package." He unwrapped the box and2both the silk paper and the box .

"She got it 3 we went to New York 8 or 9 years ago. She has 4put it on. And she was5 it for a special occasion(场合)", he told me.

    He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other6 he was taking to the funeral home(殡仪馆); his wife had just died. Then he turned to me and 7:

"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a8occasion".

    I still think those words 9my life.

Now I spend more time with my10, and less at work. I"ll wear 11clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like my new clothes. I don't save my special perfume(香水)for special occasions; I use it 12I want to. The words "Some day ..." and "One day ..."13 gradually from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing , I want to see, listen or do it now.

    I don't know what my friend's wife would have14if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, and this 15can tell. I think she might16her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past17. She might go out for a Chinese, maybe her18food. It's these small things that I would regret(后悔) not doing, if I knew my19had come. I would regret it because I would no longer see the relatives and the friends, even the delicious food.

    Now, I try not to20anything that could bring laughter and joy into my life. And on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day. Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

    Looking at the checkout lines at the grocery, I quickly turned my handcart to line number three. There were only two women there, and neither had kids or coupons(赠券) ! The store was my first 1that morning, and I had a half dozen others on my2before meeting my husband for lunch.

    Two minutes turned into ten, and I watched as the other lines moved 3. I moved my 4in the shopping handcart and dug for my wallet, trying to5the cashier that it was time to get a move on. Finally, after fifteen minutes, I took a breath and6. Then I heard the cashier tell the women in front of me: “And just like that, he told me what she looked like and 7one hundred dollars here to8her groceries. He said not to worry about the9, just give it to charity.”

    The story she was10had taken place in the sales department. An older man had witnessed a(n) 11mama in need.12for foods with kids around, she was sticking to her list and 13the items on her calculator as she went. The gentleman said he had a little 14on him that day, so he left one hundred dollars to 15her groceries and, just maybe, add a little wiggle room(回旋的余地) to her 16.

    After hearing about the man who had17served a fellow traveler in life, I realized that my hurry, 18and general worries were19. What's five extra minutes in a line to hear a story of a man sharing his  20? Suddenly, I know I could wait.

    In the 1950s, I was an only child of a single mother, living in a modest cottage in New Zealand. There was no TV and very little1to spend on entertainment.2we had our books and enjoyed3better than reading aloud to each other. My mother read me The Faraway Tree Stories, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Treasure Island and poetry as well.4I turned seven, I was able to take my 5at the reading role, and we spent many pleasant evenings laughing over6characters.

    In 1964, I was 18 and moved to Auckland, but we still phoned each other and talked about books. Years later, Mum's eyesight began to7. She found it8difficult to read the small print of her beloved books. She enjoyed looking at magazines but missed9up with the latest books by her favourite10.

    Later, I became a Special Needs library assistant and my11was to select books for12impaired（损伤的）people. In time, I introduced my mother to large-print novels and audio-books, which gave her a great deal of13as her eyesight grew more dim(模糊的).

    In her 70s, Mum's choice of reading seemed to14to mainly murder mystery stories. I was15to see that, so I bought her a more “worthy” audio-book. The next day, I asked, “How are you getting on with that latest book?” “Oh, not so well,” she replied16. I didn't try to “improve” my mother's literary17after that.

    A few years ago Mum18away. There are still so many thing I'd like to tell her. I'd like to19her for her early guidance in the20world of books. And I'm happy to say that I'm also into audio-books now.

    Hunter Shamatt lost his wallet while he was on a flight from Omaha to Denver earlier this month. Upon realizing that his wallet was lost, he 1 the airline to see if anyone had turned it in — but fruitlessly. 2the wallet contained his ID, a signed paycheck, $60 in cash, etc, he feared the worst.

    Two days after the flight, however, Hunter was 3 to receive a package in the mail from an anonymous (匿名的) sender. Inside was his wallet — 4 an additional $40 in cash. "I rounded your cash up to an even $100 so you could celebrate the 5 of your wallet.", read a letter that was enclosed with the package.

    Hunter's mother, Jeannie, posted a photo of the 6 to social media in hopes that they would be able to track down the sender. All they had to go on was that the letter was 7 from Applied Underwriters in Omaha and the sender's initials were signed "T.B". The sender was later 8 as Todd Brown, who was delighted to "have a little fun" with helping out a hard­working stranger.

    "I saw he was just a kid, 20 years old. He had a paycheck in there, so I 9, 'Well, he's doing his best to make ends meet.' " said Brown. "Hunter was very 10. He told me he has some student loans to pay within two days so the 11 was right," Brown added, "He 12 it was gone forever. So when he opened it, he just started screaming, 'No way! No way!'"

    Brown says that he often tries to do good things without any recognition; that's why he didn't sign his 13on the letter, but Jeannie later insisted on 14 him on social media. Jeannie wrote on Facebook, "This story is more about rebuilding 15 in people than anything."

    Returning from a trip overseas, I sensed that something was wrong between Keith, one of my two sons, and me. So I asked him, "Keith, have I done anything that really1your feelings?" Immediately, he said, "Yes. Last Christmas you promised us a special2 that we really wanted but you3gave it to us. The4was that I'd completely forgotten about it. I5, "Is there anything else I've done wrong, but I haven't apologized for?" Again, his6was immediate, "Remember last Christmas when Mom said you had to go to the7 because Kate, my little sister, was going to be born? You left us at home and8in a hurry. Remember?" "Well, you left and 9the suitcase." I couldn't believe he10all the details! "After you came back from the hospital, you were11to see the suitcase had been opened and12 had been thrown all over the place, and then you13 me."

    "And you didn't do it?" I asked. "No, I didn't. I was just searching for my gift." My heart sank. I felt14. I hugged Keith and asked him to15 me. His honesty made me think of my other son, Kevin. Maybe I'd hurt his feelings, too. I went to ask him the16question. Kevin answered as immediately as his17, "Last Christmas you18us a special toy, but you forgot about it."19 Christmas had passed, I took my two sons to the store that day and bought them what I had promised. The20thing wasn't the toy. The problem was I'd made a promise too lightly and didn't keep it as their father.