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.

    I think that sleeping is perhaps the most comfortable thing in the world. While 1, I will do nothing but close my eyes, leaving all the trouble behind. However, I2 get up early almost every morning.

    My class begins at 8:00 am, but the teacher asks us to arrive at the school before 7:15 am, so we will have3time to prepare for the classes. If you are 4, then you will lose one point. And when you lose 105, your parents' visit to school will be a must. Though I think it's 6 to arrive so early, I still don't want to lose any points.

    One morning, my alarm clock7to work. I8with a start(吃惊) and found that it was already 7:00. I had lost two points that week, that is to say, I would lose three points in a9. My teacher said that he 10me to be late that morning. And my friends joked that my 11was coming soon. I finally  12to do something to change this. I bought a new alarm clock. It sings songs on time every morning 13 I turn it off.

    The new alarm clock is perfect for a lazy cat like me. The first time I 14it, I was able to get up at 6:00 the next morning. Proud of 15 I took a deep breath and found that the air in the early morning is surprisingly 16 I read some English books, 17that morning is really fit for reading English. I hadn't realized 18 that morning is so wonderful.

    “Life is 19a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get,” just as Forrest Gump said. Sometimes if you make a 20, you may find that things will end up with the better.

    These days my work is mostly on the Internet. However, there is one 1 that I use nearly every day. And I learned it from my dad almost 40 years ago in a very different 2.

My father ran a plumbing(水管) shop. I had to 3 him with his work. One day, I was asked to work 4 a concrete floor. It wasn't the kind of work I5 The work was physical work which involved6 a chisel(凿子) and swinging a five- pound hammer at it really 7 Often, my aim was bad 8 the hammer missed the chisel and 9 my wrist. After ten minutes, my dad came, expecting to find the job completed. Actually, it wasn't. He asked, "Son, have you been doing it all the time?""Well dad," I told him 10"I figure out a good way to do this more11 I just tap the chisel and move it. I'm generating a circle of shock wave down into the concrete. That way, it'll break along the lines and I won't hurt my wrist again." Dad gave me a12 look. He said, "Son, just hit the thing." Then Dad13 me his hand. I saw many scars on it .He told me, "If you stick to the work, you'll 14 it sooner. " Well, I did hit it then. And the job only took five more minutes to finish15 enough, even though I hammered my 16 two or three times, I was proud that I'd just done it.

Today, nearly 40 years later, when I 17 any difficulty in work I still hear my father's voice, "Son just hit the thing."I feel18 because I know he's still urging me to take action, go ahead, get the job done, and never 19the scars. And that's not a bad 20 to carry through life.

    Lord Nithsdale was put into prison in 1716 because he was against King George I. As a (n) 1 , he was sentenced to death. His wife Winifred couldn't imagine life 2 her husband, so she was 3 to do anything to save him .

    She was determined to 4 the King and beg him for her husband's life, but the King didn't agree. Winifred refused to 5. In desperation, she came up with a more 6 plan. She visited her husband alongside her maid, her friends Mrs. Mills and Mrs. Morgan. Only two visitors at a time were allowed to enter the room. They took advantage of this 7, going into and out of the room many times to 8 the guards. She also gave the guards money and drink.

    9 inside the prison Winifred pulled out some 10 clothes and dressed her husband up as one of the 11 Mrs. Mills. Mrs. Mills was then brought in, emotional and with her 12 buried in her handkerchief. Lord Nithsdale then was led out by his wife, also holding the handkerchief to his eyes. This was very 13 , or the guards would notice that one of the women had a long 14 ! Fortunately everyone managed to get outside at last.

    Winifred then returned to the room and 15 to be in an emotional conversation with her husband. After a suitable period of time had passed for her husband to leave ,she left the room and got some 16 for herself by telling the guards that her husband was praying (祈祷) and should not be 17. This was a clever action as it allowed the 18 to go unnoticed for longer.

    To complete the clever escape and appear 19, they gave a tearful goodbye. Lord Nithsdale and his wife 20 and managed to leave the country together.

    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 in 13, 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.

Another person's enthusiasm was what set me moving toward the success I have achieved. That person was my stepmother.

I was nine years old when she entered our home in rural Virginia. My father1me to her with these words: "I would like you to meet the fellow who is2for being the worst boy in this county and will probably start throwing rocks at you no3 than tomorrow morning."

My stepmother walked over to me, 4my head slightly upward, and looked me right in the eye. Then she looked at my father and replied," You are5This is not the worst boy at all, 6the smartest one who hasn't yet found an outlet(释放的途径) for his enthusiasm."

That statement began a(n)7between us. No one had ever called me smart. My family and neighbors had built me up in my8as a bad boy. My stepmother changed all that.

She changed many things. She9my father to go to a dental school, from which he graduated with honors. She moved our family into the county seat, where my father's career could be more10and my brother and I could be better11.

When I turned fourteen, she bought me a secondhand12and told me that she believed that I could become a writer. I knew her enthusiasm, I13 it, and I saw how it had already improved our lives. I accepted her14 and began to write for local newspapers. I was doing the same kind of15that great day I went to interview Andrew Camegie and received the task which became my life's work later. I wasn't the16beneficiary(受益者). My father became the17 man in town. My brother and stepbrothers became a physician, a dentist, a lawyer, and a college president.

What power18has! When that power is released to support the certainty of one's purpose and is19 strengthened by faith, it becomes an irresistible(不可抗拒的) force which poverty and temporary defeat can never20.

You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm.