Bobby was getting   cold  in the snow. His shoes had a few holes and did a poor job of keeping out the  1  . He had been out for about an hour already,  2  he could not hit an idea for his mother' s Christmas gift.

Ever since his father died three years ago, the family had 3 . His mother's small wage could 4 make ends meet. What the family lacked in 5 they made up for in love. Bobby' s sisters, clever with hands, had already 6 beautiful gifts for their mother. But Bobby had nothing.

      Standing up, Bobby walked to the street. It wasn't  7  without a father, especially when he needed a man to talk to. He walked from shop to shop. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of 8   .

     It was getting dark and Bobby turned to walk home when  9  his eyes caught something shining on the ground. He reached down and10   a shiny dime(a coin of ten cents).Never before has anyone felt so  11  as Bobby felt at that moment.

 12 spread throughout his body. 13   his new found treasure, he walked into a nearby store. His 14  quickly turned cold when knowing he could buy nothing with only a dime.

      Then he went into a flower shop. Bobby handed the dime and asked 15  he could buy one flower for his mother. Looking at Bobby and his dime, the shopkeeper  16  for a second and asked Bobby to wait there. Then he went in. Few minutes later, the shopkeeper came out with a bunch of beautiful red roses. Bobby' s heart 17   as the shopkeeper placed the roses gently into a beautiful box. He had only a dime !

         "That will be ten cents, young man,” the shop owner said. 18  Bobby gave the man his coin in disbelief. Could this be true?   19  the boy' s mind, the shopkeeper added, "I just happened to have some roses on sale. Would you like them?"

       This time Bobby didn't 20  . Walking out of the door, Bobby heard the shopkeeper say, "Merry Christmas, son. "

    My first lesson is at a meeting. As we settle around the table I hear Meg, who is 1 a recent operation, talking to Judith, the manager of our project. “Thank you so much for 2 my daughters to their dance lessons last week.” “Don't mention it,” Judith says, “It was nothing.”

    Knowing how 3 Judith's schedule is, with her work, kids and aging parents, I find her driving Meg's children to lessons unbelievably 4. I am about to say more about this when Donna, another colleague, enters the room 5. She apologizes for being late, saying she just hosted a lunch for her friends who are over seventy. “That is so nice of you,” I say, 6 how busy she is, how she doesn't like to cook and clean. “Oh,” she says, waving her hand, “It was nothing.” 7, I can still tell the 8 in her voice. She did gain a sense of satisfaction from the entertainment offered to her friends.

    Seeing their 9 to help others selflessly, I start thinking about the concept of “nothing”, this peaceful and generous way of living — had it really been nothing or are they simply saying that? It 10 to me that once I spent a whole afternoon after work helping a friend 11 a speech she was going to deliver. I 12 her to rearrange the sequence of the stories in the lecture to make it sound more 13. After the fifth try, she finally 14 it . She hugged me with 15, saying thanks to me. I smiled and said it was nothing.

    Suddenly, I realized that helping someone was really something to me. I learned that giving from the heart doesn't 16 mean sacrifice and hard work. The 17 is finding something we love to do and finding someone who 18 that something. Our generosity can benefit others 19 ourselves. Once you have a good 20 of it, it's nothing. And it's really something.

    A Race Against Death

    It was a cold January in 1925 in Nome, Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world due to heavy snow.

    On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch 1 a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious(传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be 2 if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick3 the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.

    How could the medicine get to Nome? The town's 4 was already full of ice, so it couldn't come by ship. Cars and horses couldn't travel on the 5 roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn't exist yet.

    6 January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were 7 Nome's town officials came up with a(n)8. They would have the medicine sent by9 from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled(狗拉雪橇) drivers—known as “mushers”—would 10 it to Nome in a relay(接力).

    The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night.11 he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon's face was black from the extreme cold.

On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to12 a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most13 part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would14 and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.

    A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his15 He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹)to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to 16 the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen's lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground,17 to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to 18 He had found the trail.

    At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog 19 in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.

Nome had been20

    On a recent sunny, dry fall morning, I found the last outdoor table at my favorite café. Reading 1 I nibbled my breakfast, I was enjoying the feeling of the cool breeze and the warm sun when a table next to me 2. A woman who had been standing nearby, 3 waiting for a seat, stepped toward the table. But from the other 4, straight from the parking lot, came a man who got to the table first.

    The woman, with a 5 on her face, explained that she'd been 6 that table for several minutes and had been on her way over. The man, also smiling but 7, told her she was out of 8; he had happened upon the table first. "You snooze, you lose!" he said cheerfully.

    She stood off to the side, clearly disappointed, and 9 her friend with the frustrating news. I sat at my table, 10 the scene, when suddenly it occurred to me—I had a(n) 11 here to be kind.

    I stood up and 12 her over to my table. Quietly, I told her I had seen what had happened, and I was happy to give her my table. I was only going to be there a few more minutes 13, so I was happy for her and her friend to have the 14.

    "But where will you sit?" she asked. I was almost done eating, I said, and I would find a seat at the counter 15. She thanked me and beamed as she 16 for her friend to sit down.

    Thinking about it as I finished up, I realized that whether or not the woman had fair 17 to the table was unimportant. The emotion of the situation—the look of hurt on her face—had 18 me, and I had the ability to do something about it.

    That isn't always the case with every feeling, situation, or injustice we 19 unexpectedly in our days. But as the early 20th century writer Orison Swett Marden once said, "Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. 20 common occasions and make them great."

    I just hope that woman's morning at the café was great. I know mine was.

A Love Note to My Mom

    When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling 1 in your life. Little did I know you were 2every penny you earned to go to 3 school.

    I cannot thank you enough for 4 you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried 5 piles of law books. I was 6. Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for 7? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn't know Moms 8 be lawyers too. You smiled and said, "In life, you can do anything you want to do."

    As young as I was, that statement kept 9 in my ears. I watched as you faced the 10 of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a 11 and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you 12. With your words of wisdom in my 13 mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world 14. I set out to live my life filled with 15 seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.

    Your words became my motto. I 16 found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) 17 one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, "Yes, I'll try that."

    Encouraged by your 18 , I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life's journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and 19 meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I'm 20 it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

    My least favorite part was participating in sport meets, for I loved running by myself. When faced with running against fellow athletes, I was 1. I had butterflies in my stomach and the sudden urge to go to the nearest 2. This year, 3, I was encouraged to join in a long distance running competition by my coach.

    The 800-meter event was approaching, meaning that I would 4 soon. I breathed deeply and tried to 5 my worries. I walked over to some of the 6 who would run with me and started to 7 with them. We were all loosening up and getting ready to run as 8as possible.

    I stepped up to the line for the event. The starter raised his cap gun and 9. About twenty-five runners 10. With these runners around me, I 11 my coach's words, “You may be small, but you have 12 power.” So, I kept up with athletes twice my 13. I picked up the runner in seventh place and based my steps on him, making it a little bit faster. One by one, I 14 to make it to the top four, bursting around the lap.

It was the last lap before the final straightaway. I 15 I had the possibility to win. So I widened my steps, speeding up my 16. I caught up with the runner in first place and we ran side-by-side down the last 100 meters — I 17 him by a hair at the finishing line.

    My coach gave me a 18 hug as I headed back to see him. He was 19 because I had shortened my original 20 by twelve seconds at least.