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.”

    I was once on the swim team. I swam the fastest on my team. The only thing that stopped me from achieving a higher goal was my 1 of diving. I'm afraid to dive into the swimming pool from the diving 2. I hated going to swim practice because of those few minutes at the end when we would have to dive. I was 3 because I was allowed to 4 the swim team.

    When we moved to America, I was told to 5 a sport from basketball, volleyball, and track. I had been known as a fast 6 when I was younger, so I 7 track. I was fast enough to be encouraged to join the 100-metre race. 8, because I had piano lessons every Monday and had to miss practice once a week, I was unable to 9 practice and a girl has taken my place. Track has gone away from me 10 I continued to miss practice to attend my 11 lessons.

    Gradually, I lost all 12 in sport. I began to dislike gym class, even though it had been one of my 13 classes. I also hated 14 sports, such as basketball, volleyball. When I stopped playing sports, I began to get 15. And I had stopped growing taller as well. I was very upset that my body became so 16 and fat. So I 17 to start running again. That summer, I felt very happy that I lost about twenty pounds.

    Keep on doing something is just a lesson of endurance(耐力) 18 you don't think you're very good at it. I did a bad job, I let small things, like diving boards, get in my 19 of achieving high goals.

    Play a sport and keep on doing it. Persevere(坚持) and you'll 20 in your life.

    Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had large 1 that look out over a busy street. I was standing by one of those windows one day when a woman in a 2 car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I 3. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh4my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the 5 I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was 6 away.

    Christmas approached, and job 7 were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was 8. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket , a box of foam packing and strips of tape in the corner caught my 9. They could be Santa's jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a hat and tied the 10 to it. With the red jacket , a Santa's Costume appeared.

    The next day I walked 11down into the office in the costume. My co-workers 12around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came to me, 13, shook his head and then left. I feared14. Then the phone rang.

    With a bead of sweat 15 my forehead, I entered the boss' office . 16, he laughed: "Thanks, Mike! It's been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I 17it."

    That evening, I stood 18 by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart 19 with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we'd been able to forget our 20.

    Before I came to China, I had been somewhat unlucky in love. Days before my 1for Shanghai in 2016, my cousin made a 2without the slightest bit of irony（讽刺）,“You'll fall in love in China.”

    I met my husband at a Chinese 3. It was an embarrassing place to meet him approaching me 4I attempted to lift free weights. He spoke English poorly, trying to correct my form. I more or less 5him, figuring such a relationship was 6as we had little means to communicate. But I was very much 7. He ran after me for the next couple weeks and his persistence（坚持不懈）8won me over, and I was head over heels in love with him.

    The challenges we faced were 9—deciding where to live, 10over visas, dealing with my parents' doubts. In time, these problems got settled without too much work on our part. When others would 11on how tough it must be to marry someone from a foreign country, I quickly made my 12, trying to convince my questioner that marrying cross-culturally is really no different from 13within one's own circle.

    Our son was born in the spring of 2018. He was a very easy baby to care for—he cried little and slept well at night. My struggles in caring for a newborn were unimportant 14the other pressures I faced. By Chinese tradition, I was 15from taking the baby outside until he was 100 days old, for reasons I still don't fully understand.

    Since giving birth, I've learned that compromise（妥协）is more 16than it seems. If you give up too much of yourself, you may 17resentful（怨恨的）. If you compromise too little, you may be 18in a frequent battle. In a relationship, our values or beliefs often 19with our partner's, but with patience, most difficulties can be overcome. For that reason, I keep on working to better understand his background and beliefs while 20forgetting my own.

    Almost everything was fantastic in the nature camp except for a girl, Elizabeth. When I saw her sitting alone in the hot sun at lunch, I asked her to eat with us under a(n) 1 tree. However, Elizabeth refused my kind 2. When we invited her to play volleyball with us, Elizabeth 3 our invitation, too. After a few more 4 refusals like that, I decided to stay away from Elizabeth.

    It 5 that we were going on a nature 6 and that our instructor paired everyone up with a partner. Guess who my partner turned out to be. It was Elizabeth!

    “What do you like to do 7?” I asked, trying to make small 8 as we started out. “I like to 9 in peace and quiet,” Elizabeth 10. So we had the quietest and most peaceful hike in the world 11 we saw a bird. “I think his wing is hurt. Poor little bird,” Elizabeth said 12. “He might be taking a rest over there.” I said. Elizabeth nodded. Then she whispered, “But what if he's in13, like my granddad?” “Your granddad?” I said. “He 14 and broke his leg the day the camp started. He's 15 in hospital and is in so much pain,” Elizabeth explained. I noticed she was 16. “I'm sorry for what I have done. For some reason, whenever I get really sad, I act 17 and want to be alone,” she added.

    “I get it,” I said. “I don't always know how to 18 it when I'm feeling down, either.” “Thanks,” she said, wiping off her tears.

    After that, Elizabeth seemed to get along well with us, and I think she actually 19 the last few days of the camp.

    Next time, if someone is unfriendly, give him a second 20. Maybe he's going through a tough time.

    When I was young, my mother could not even 1 a 50-cent chocolate bar for me. However, instead of focusing on poorness, my mother selflessly 2 me to fight for success so that I could lead a 3 life. She worked long hours every night to support the family. 4, she would find time to 5 with my sister, Emily, and me. Although I did not have two parents, I was loved and 6 just as much.

    Not all of life's milestones were easy. Some even left a 7 taste when my mother married a man in Maryland. The first few months were 8: baseball games dinners together and movies. It felt like we were the 9 All-American family. Then things 10. Screaming matches between my stepfather and my mother ruined dinners, and he 11 movie tickets for wine.

    We spent five years living in a family setting that had turned into a 12 zone. To our great relief, they finally 13 and we settled in Texas, where Mom is still working hard for a better life. Now, as I write this article with some dark 14 at hand, I realize my family and I are at the 15 point of our lives. I have succeeded both in my 16 and personality. I have been 17 my hunger for knowledge and I am to 18 from high school, not making a bitter product of my 19, for I know that hard times in life are also learning experiences. 20, like candy, can be the sweetest treat of all.