Learning experiences happen to us throughout our lives, and not too long ago, I had one that I would like to 1 . This story began with a 2 three years ago. It's a story of pizza and being3of buying ice cream with a US $20 bill.

    I was going to Marblehead, Massachusetts, with my racing team on the highway and we were all 4Luckily, we saw a rest area5. I had a brand-new US $ 20 bill, and I had 6had that kind of cash before. Spending it on food 7to me like throwing it away.

    We all rushed into the pizza line. 8 I got a cheese pizza and drink. Halfway through the 9, I realized I had not actually 10 any money to the cashier. I felt terrible. I just couldn't go back to the cashier and11my stolen pizza. I would feel embarrassed.

    I was so upset that I refused to give myself the12of an ice cream in fear that someone would say, "Hey, Jeff, why don't you 13 the change from the pizza instead of that nice, new US $20 bill?"

     was not so proud of my 14 now.

    For the next two years, whenever I was15of the "Pizza incident," I 16my eyes and said to myself, "Not gonna think about it, not gonna think about it…"

    I think this 17the saying, "A coward (懦夫) dies a thousand deaths, a hero dies 18." I was a coward and have felt19 about that incident at least a thousand times. If I had been a "hero" and gone 20up to pay for the pizza, then I would have felt a little embarrassed about it only once, or maybe twice.

    I have been in love with China since 2010.

    After one year in Zhejiang University,I got a great1—to work as an assistant manager in a big hotel.The best part of this job was that I was the only2,so I got a good chance to understand Chinese culture and practice my3.

    Actually,I have got 4I supposed to.I have got valuable experience,devoted friends and the feeling that I am not laowai anymore.

Guests were pleasantly surprised to see me there,because I was an interpreter,trip adviser,and5guide at the same time,which made their life much6.I met people from all over the world,who came to China for the first time, 7who knew China better than me.8my Chinese colleagues,who had answers to all the questions about9,I could explain why you should10before you buy,why Chinese don't let guests11dinner,why it is not common to book a taxi and why it is better to catch12on the street.I also had chances to13the development of China.

    The waiters and managers were not only my teachers,but14my friends.If I needed help,they were15to help me.I enjoyed our small conversations16they were kind and educated.I was very proud and happy of the fact that all of them17me and I don't feel18anymore.

    The best part of my job was to see people coming19the hotel.When they recognized me,they20share their adventures,burdens,even thoughts with me.It means the world to me.I spent there 8 months and it was a period when I was proud to be who I am.

    Dale Carnegie rose from the unknown of a Missouri farm to international fame because he found a way to fill a universal human need.

    It was a need that he first 1 back in 1906 when young Dale was a junior at State Teachers College in Warrensburg. To get an 2, he was struggling against many difficulties. His family was poor. His Dad couldn't afford the 3 at college, so Dale had to ride horseback 12 miles to attend classes. Study had to be done  4 his farm-work routines. He withdrew from many school activities 5 he didn't have the time or the  6. He had only one good suit. He tried 7 the football team, but the coach turned him down for being too 8. During this period Dale was slowly 9 an inferiority complex (自卑感), which his mother knew could 10 him from achieving his real potential. She 11 that Dale join the debating team, believing that 12in speaking could give him the confidence and recognition that he needed.

    Dale took his mother's advice, tried desperately and after several attempts 13 made it. This proved to be a 14 point in his life. Speaking before groups did help him gain the 15 he needed. By the time Dale was a senior, he had won every top honor in 16. Now other students were coming to him for coaching and they,  17, were winning contests.

    Out of this early struggle to 18 his feelings of inferiority, Dale came to understand that the ability to  19 an idea to an audience builds a person's confidence. And, 20 it, Dale knew he could do anything he wanted to do—and so could others.

    I lifted my wet woollen gloves to my face and wiped the snowflakes from my eyes. I could not feel my nose and my 1 formed a thick fog in the air. The biting wind was making me2. I was fed up! I didn't want to be here. I wanted to go home. But Mum and Dad had 3me to go for a Sunday afternoon walk in the park. I could see my 4 in the snowy path, like a trail of breadcrumbs (一串面包屑) in the forest showing me the way 5.

    I stopped and listened to my 6. I could 7 the wind crying like a homeless dog hungry for a delicious 8. The once-green tree 9, which used to wave gently in the breeze, had become bare, and the grass was covered with a 10 blanket of fresh snow. Then I saw a broken spider's web shining golden beneath a pale sun. My breath was like silky soft 11 floating up into the freezing cold air.

    Suddenly there was Mum, 12 handing me a big cup of hot chocolate. Her big smile immediately 13 my heart.

    "Here you are, Jo. This will keep you 14," she said as she placed a comforting arm around my shoulders and 15 her cheek against mine.

    I slowly took a mouthful of the hot 16 and felt it slowly dripping down my throat like lava (熔岩) 17 down a mountainside. My wet woollen gloves were now warm, not 18. My breath warmed, and I was 19 fed up or cold. I was happy and 20.

    I'm not a person who loves collecting, but the TV room of my house is full of things. In it are things that there's no other place to put, and things I can't decide1to throw away, such as a lot of old bottles and boxes, some books and out-of-date magazines and a wood stove (炉子) I2use. The TV itself could actually work, but I only turn it3every four years to watch the presidential election.

    The other night, scratching (抓) sounds from the TV room4me up. Quietly, I entered the room,5the stove and opened its front door. There it was, a trembling squirrel,6me desperately.

    I decided to give it a(n)7escape way. Therefore, I opened the outside door, stepped back and8. The squirrel jumped out of the9, but didn't head outside.10, it run through my magazine pile and then struggled among the bottles.

    "Why didn't it11?" I wondered for a while until I12 that I probably put13into that small squirrel's heart. So I quickly14myself in the kitchen and watched the uninvited guest through the window. In my15, the squirrel became16enough to look around and assess the situation. Suddenly, it17merrily.

    The animal actually did a great18: I couldn't stand my19TV room for so long, so after the unexpected guest's leaving I spent half a day cleaning and throwing. I eventually got a tidy TV room and some20space.

    Realizing that our family cat, Misty, had disappeared was a1experience for me. We had recently moved into a home in a new suburb and on a far2road with cars coming and going. I had kept Misty locked up in the house for recommended two weeks.3, with everyone busy and excited for a new life, she disappeared not long after. We4for her everywhere. We tried our neighbor,5the railway track running along the back of our property and returned to our old house. We6looked for her whenever we went out, hoping to find a(n)7little cat hiding behind a tree or something.

    It was several weeks8Misty turned up. She must have tried to find her way back to our9home after all and then, when she didn't find us, decided to return.10and untidy, she let us make a big fuss over her.11was slow but eventually she looked plump and healthy once more. Yet Misty still wasn't content. A nervous cat12, she was as unsettled as she had been. But with so many other problems13on my shoulders at the time, I wasn't sure what to do about it.

    One morning we woke up to find that Misty was14again. After a quick search, my son found her body near our house, wrapped in an expensive sports jacket and left15on the side of the road. There was a16pinned to the jacket, expressing how very sorry the driver was that he didn't see her, and how he didn't have a chance to stop as she dashed out in front of him. I cried17because of the unknown driver's kindness, and also because I felt that I had let Misty down.

    We18Misty in our backyard. It helped me a lot to know that she had been19, when so many animals killed on the road aren't. The consideration of the stranger who had20to stop, wrap her up in his own clothing and write that heartfelt note in the early hours of the morning will always be remembered.