Gratitude: Gifts from the heart

    According to legend（传说）,a young man while travelling through the desert came across a spring of delicious water.The water was so sweet that he1his leather container so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.After a four-day journey he2the water to the old man who took a(n) 3drink,smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water.The young man4to his village with a happy heart.

    5,the teacher let another student taste the water.He spat（吐）it out,6it was terrible.It7had become stale（不新鲜）8the old leather container.The student9his teacher, "Master,the water was stale.Why did you10to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You11tasted the water.I tasted the12.The water was simply the container for a(n) 13of loving-kindness and14could be sweeter.Heartfelt gifts deserve the15gift of gratitude.

    I think we16this lesson best when we receive innocent gift of love from young children.Whatever they are, the natural and proper17is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea18 the gift.

    Gratitude doesn't always come19.Unfortunately,most children and many adults value only the thing given 20the feeling hidden in it.We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.

    I used to live selfishly, I should admit. But one moment changed me.

    I was on my lunch break and had 1the office to get something to eat. On the way,  I 2a busker(街头艺人)，with a hat in front of him. I had some 3 in my pocket,  but I would not give them to him,  thinking to myself he would 4 use the money to feed his addiction to drugs or alcohol. He 5like that type—young and ragged.6what was I going to spend the money on?  Only to feed my addiction to Coca-Cola or chocolate!  I then 7I had no right to place myself above8just because he was busking

I 9 and dropped all the coins into his 10 and he smiled at me. I watched for a while. As selfish as it sounds, I 11 something more to come from that moment—a feeling of 12 or satisfaction, for example. But nothing happened.13 I walked off. "It proved to be a waste of 14 "I thought.

    On my way home at the end of the 15 I saw the busker again and he was 16 I watched him pick up the hat and walk17a cafe counter.  There he poured the18contents into a tin collecting19an earthquake fund-raising(募捐) event. He was busking for charity(慈善)！

    Now I donate any 20I have to charity tins and enjoy the feeling of giving.

    In the clinic, I asked if Michael could be retested, so the specialist tested him again. To my 1, it was the same score.

    Later that evening, I2 told Frank what I had learned that day. After talking it over, we agree that we knew our 3 much better than an IQ test. We 4 that Michael's score must have been a 5 and we should treat him 6as usual.

    We moved to Indiana in 1962, and Michael studied at Concordia High School in the same year. He got 7 grades in the school, especially 8 biology and chemistry, which was a great comfort.

    Michael 9 Indiana University in 1965 as a pre-medical student, soon afterwards, his teachers permitted him to take more courses than 10. In 1968, he was accepted by the School of Medicine, Yale University.

    On graduation day in 1972, Frank and I 11 the ceremony at Yale. After the ceremony, we told Michael about the 12 IQ score he got when he was six. Since that day, Michael sometimes would look at us and say 13, “My dear mom and dad never told me that I couldn't be a doctor, not until after I graduated from medical school!” It is his special way of thanking us for the 14 we had in him.

    Interestingly, Michael then 15 another IQ test. We went to the same clinic where he had 16 the test eighteen years before. This time Michael scored 126, an increase of 36 points. A result like that was supposed to be 17.

    Children often do as 18 as what adults, particularly parents and teachers, 19 of them. That is, tell a child he is “ 20”, and he may play the role of a foolish child.

    Jane's mother worked on the farm from dawn till dark and she just could make ends meet. To make Jane live a1life, she was very careful about spending money.2, Jane didn't understand her. Every day she was busy with her 433while Jane was studying at school, so they had little time to enjoy themselves.

    One day, she realized Jane was unhappy and even 44to her, so she decided to go 45with Jane to make Jane happy.

    On Sunday morning they went happily to the snowfield. Since they were 6in white clothes, the manager advised them to buy ski clothes. He said 47there was an accident, they might be easily 48in their ski clothes. They couldn't 49them, so she refused.

    Then they went skiing in their white clothes. They were skiing happily on the 10when suddenly the snowfield began to11. It was a snow slide(雪崩). They ran a long way and

    12the snow slide finally, but they couldn't find their way. Later, a helicopter was flying above,13people on it couldn't see or hear them. Jane was14because she had hurt her head seriously and15dropped on the snow. Just then an idea struck her mother. She pierced (刺破) her own wrist16and let bright red blood drop on the snow. A red SOS was written. At last Jane17, but her mother died.

    Every time I18the blood dropping on the snow, I feel19. I believe anyone who hears the tragedy will20Jane's mother for her selfless love to her daughter.

The Sweetest Thing

    When I was ten, I was crazy about candy. Whenever in our small-town store with my mom, I would 1 my fingers through my favorite candy on the shelf.

    Once there, thinking about all things sweet, I noticed a man a few feet away pressing buttons on the ATM machine. Dressed in a suit, he seemed to be late for something, 2 waiting for his cash to appear. The machine made a noise, and he immediately 3 a pile of bills and headed out. Curiously, I walked over to the ATM, where I started pressing the buttons as if knowing the 4. Then I looked into the bottom of the machine. There I saw it: a beautiful, crisp $ 20 bill! 5 I wanted to believe my magic made the cash appear, I knew the man in the suit must have left it behind.

    I held the money in my hand, staring at the number "20" and feeling 6 than I ever had. I thought about slipping the money into my pocket. No one would know, but I just didn't feel it was 7. I knew it didn't belong to me. I had to find its owner and give it back! So I told my mom what had happened. "We'll look for him." she said kindly. We rushed out and found him stepping into his car in the parking lot! We 8 him and asked whether he had left money at the cash machine.

    "Let me 9" he said, pulling out his wallet and bills. "Twenty, forty, eighty...Oh! You're right," he said with surprise, "I'm 10 a $20 bill."

    "Here you go," I said, smiling with pride, as if I was a(n) 11 who had solved a mystery. "Thank you so much," he said, bending down and shaking my hand. My heart swelled. Before saying goodbye, he asked my mom for my name and 12. "I want to send your daughter a thank-you card," he said.

    On my way home, my 13 was racing. Twenty dollars. What could I have done with it? I bet I could have bought a puppy or every single candy bar in town! But now 14 of that would happen. Yet I knew I had done the right thing.

    A few weeks later, I got a box with a note. I ripped it open to find packages of candy. "Dear Felice, thank you very much for 15 my $20. You are a great girl, and I appreciate your 16. I hope you enjoy this candy. Best wishes, Tom." Tom included his business card. It 17 that he was vice-president for the candy company. The candy tasted sweet, each 18 reminding me that what I had done mattered. Although my honesty wouldn't always be 19 with candy, it would make a difference to someone. And that was the 20 part of all.

    Nick was not the kind of boy I had expected to spend my summer with. I was hoping to have a1the summer before my busy senior year, but my mother asked me to do her a2. One of her colleagues needed a full-time3. "You planned to volunteer at the local hospital, why not volunteer to4Nick instead?" Then she told me that this six-year-old boy was not a5 child.

    Nick was a lovely little boy who suffered from many disorders. Normal day-care centers would not6him. As a baby, he had serious ear infections which left him with equilibrium(平衡) problems.

    He couldn't7or run properly. I was8if I was to take the job when my mother9.

    "Don't you want to be a nurse in the future? I doubt if you even have the10."

    Then I told her I was11for the job.

    The day started at 7:00 a.m. Nick was my wake-up call! With so much energy and very little 12, he was quite a mix.

    At the park, when he saw all the other children play on the jungle gym and swings(秋千), the boy's face 13up—How he wished he belonged to the group of his age! You would think it would be 14to get a child to go down a slide. Believe me, it wasn't! It took time, a lot of time. But with patience and support. Nick took one step up the slide each day. We worked together to face his 15and gradually he got closer to taking the slide of his life.

    Halfway through the summer, he16it to the top of the slide. With my arms holding him tightly, we flew down the slide! I waited for his17. After realizing that he was safe and sound, he gave me a big18and asked, "May I go down again, alone?"

    I had never been happier in my life when I saw this little child climb the ladder and enjoy what other children19for granted.

    This20child taught me that being a nurse means respect, kindness and patience.