One afternoon，as I was driving back home, I stopped at a busy intersection as the traffic light turned red. I waited 1 for the light to turn green，so that I could 2 my journey.

    Suddenly, out of nowhere, an old woman 3 and started asking for 4. That day, I had unknowingly 5 off the air conditioner in the car and my window was down. The old woman was standing very close to my car. As she begged for alms(施舍物), I closely 6 her weather-beaten face, which had lots of wrinkles on it. Her eyes 7 lots of sadness and her whole body was8. I sensed that this elderly lady had 9 some incredibly hard times in her life and at this time there was no one to look after her, 10 forced her to beg on the streets.

    Seeing her condition, I immediately felt from 11 my being a huge surge (汹涌)of 12 for her. It was coming deep from within my heart. I normally gave loose 13 to beggars, however, that day my inner self strongly 14 me that I give her something substantial(大量的)so that she 15 have a decent meal.

    Without any 16 I took out a substantial amount from my wallet and 17 it in her hand. Her weather-beaten face lit up with a toothless smile and she 18 me and went on her way. In the 19 the traffic light had turned green, and it was time to move on.

    As I drove back home I felt within myself a sense of joy and 20 surging through me because I was able to do something for at least one person on this planet.

I'd gone from a tiny village school with a total of 60 students to a huge-school with thousands of pupils. I was a little fish in a very big1. I lived too much of my first year 2 doing anything wrong. I just decided to be the wallflower when it 3 class discussion and answering questions. I was always the one that 4didn't look the teachers in the eye 5 they asked me to answer. I listened well, and6 everything in, but I always liked to be a spectator（旁观者）. It is hard not to 7 what others may think of you when you are speaking in front of many 8. It did take long for me to feel 9 with teachers and make friends with classmates.

Some people 10 straight into a new learning environment.11 most are nervous and feel they don't fit in. It's completely 12so it should not be a worry to you. Be 13and you will adapt to the new school. School life is 14 you make of it. Some 15 it; some love it. But it's only when you leave that you can really appreciate how school16you into the person you become.

It's so important to 17 yourself out of your comfort zone. If you are shy, tell yourself you will raise your 18at least once every lesson; if you are quick-minded, try to give other people a(n)19In time, you will20 how much you loved it or hated it.

    Having been walking in the snow for 2 hours, Little Buddy was really tired and frustrated. The way home seemed1each step a struggle. For fall every little distance that Buddy gained, he seemed to fall back even further, pushed by the rising wind and his own2 When Buddy had to go uphill, he looked with3at the long distance remaining and thought he wasn't going to make it. His legs had been pushing through almost-waist-high4for hours, and all he wanted to do was to 5down, to end this terrible journey and close his eyes.

    Suddenly, there was someone6him. A large man was looking down at Buddy, smiling at him7 Buddy, should have heard the sound of the man's boots crunching(使……发出嘎吱嘎吱声)the snow8he'd walked up from behind. But, there hadn't been a9.

    Buddy stared at the10.Who was he? There was a scarf hiding most of his face, but11Buddy felt no fear of him. The man said nothing. He simply picked Buddy up, lifted him over his12set Buddy on his shoulders and began to13.

    Buddy told the man where he14.As they approached the house, the stranger 15and looked Buddy in the eye. Buddy16and the man silently lowered his head and helped Buddy17off his shoulders. Buddy was so happy that he immediately knocked at the door. When Buddy18the man and wanted to thank him, he had already19Buddy could only see20in the snow and a dim(模糊的)view of his back.

    Until a few years ago, I had what most people would call a good life. I had a 1job that paid the bills; I had a good family that I was close to, and I had a place to live and money in the bank for trips and 2, and there was nothing much wrong in my life.3, I was bored.

    I wanted 4. I wanted to live brightly and loudly and make sharp memories instead of the 5 ones of everyday life. But I was 6. I've never had any7in myself. As a child, even buying something in a shop caused me a great deal of 8, and even though I did get better as I got older, I never really9 that childhood shyness.

    And I tried everything, like reading books about confidence. I took tiny steps leading to my goals. But none of them really10.

    So I 11 that the small steps weren't enough. I signed up for an internship（实习期）teaching English in Vietnam, an12 huge step, one that13 me as much as it excited me. And then the day came and I left my home and my loved one. I was alone in a country where the food was14 and the streets were dirty. I had no idea whether I would be able to 15everything this very strange environment would16 at me.

    I spent five months in Vietnam, teaching and exploring and laughing. I'd learned to 17 myself, my skills, my abilities and my decisions. I returned home 18, even to myself, let alone to others. The19 that had controlled my life and the self-doubt completely20.

    That one big chance changed everything for me, and in me.

    For my grandpa, Tatay's 90th birthday, our family threw him a big party.

    We 1 the backyard with colorful flags so it would look like the neighborhood parties with which Tatay 2 in his home country of the Philippines. We 3 a big lechon, a roasted pig. And the guests were 4 to wear traditional Filipino clothes.

    5 I was excited to wear an orange patadyong — a Philippine skirt and wrap — my white husband Darren, from Nashville, Tenn., felt 6 in his barong, a shirt woven from pineapple leaf fibers. My aunt had told all the guests to dress in 7 clothes.

    "I feel like this is cultural appropriation," he said，pulling the collar and looking around 8. "I honestly feel uncomfortable."

    I could understand Darren's 9. But wearing a barong to Tatay's birthday party this, I felt, was not appropriation but 10. It filled me with great 11 to see my white husband in the clothing of my family's tradition. I knew my family was 12, too. My uncle lent his clean shirt to Darren. My cousins wanted to 13 photos with him.

    I 14 him by saying he was expressing 15 and a sense of unity with my Filipino family. And we were wearing these clothes as an act of 16 to Tatay. He is losing his 17 —but barong and patadyong and lechon, these are some of the things that 18 in his mind.

    In that barong, Darren's standing next to Tatay 19 that he was making an 20 to understand and connect with my family. And that, to me, was a beautiful thing.

    After all, appreciating different cultures helps understand the world.

    It was an extraordinarily busy time of year. I felt some 1 to head straight home after a long meeting. So I headed to the 2 nearby for some therapeutic (治疗性的)hiking. As I reached the top and admired the view, my unclear mind 3. Re-energized, I knew that I could deal with the     4 that waited for me upon my 5. When I arrived back in the office the next day, I was full of energy, and finished my work 6.

    It was almost 20 years ago that I learned how 7 it is for me to carve out time to escape to the wild. I had finished my Ph.D.8 soil and water conservation in Honduras, but I wasn't sure what 9 I wanted to have. So, I decided to act on a dream I had been nursing for a few years,10 my mom showed me a magazine article about a man who had 11 around America. I figured that I could 12 cycling with research for a book on American agriculture while I worked out my next career step.

    So I did it. During the cycling 13, I found the clearness I needed to 14 my next career move. Talking with farmers I met along the way, I learned that their biggest 15 was selling their produce. I decided to broaden my 16 from land management to improving farmers' access to markets. My 17 interest led to working for a nongovernmental organization and I did eventually 18 a book on. American agriculture.

    The 19 is to find your source of inspiration and make good use of it. For me, I always get nourishment(营养)from being 20 in the outdoors.