It is not often that a person has sympathy for someone who stole from him / her. But when Chrissy Marie read the note written by the brother of the “1” who took her butterfly wind chime(风铃), her heart 2.

    The young boy 3 the note and left it on her doorstep. Chrissy 4 a photo on Facebook of the note and the US＄5 the little boy 5 .

    The note read: “I am6that we stole your wind chime. Our mum died and she liked butterflies. My sister7 it to put by our window. I am sorry this is the only8 I have. Please do not be mad at us. Jake .”

    Chrissy Marie wants Jake and his sister to know she is not9 Now Chrissy wants to find Jake and his sister and 10 their money.

    Chrissy11to Jake via her Facebook message: “Well Jake, I hope you can come to get your money12 . I had three of those wind chimes. And I am not mad at all.”

    Chrissy is13 to the area, so she doesn't know many people. She tried to14who Jake is or where he lives, but 15 .

     “I have knocked on a few doors nearby. But I can't16 far because of my injured leg.” she wrote. “I asked my neighbour,17 she didn't know anyone named Jake.”

    Chrissy understands how 18 it can be to lose a mother. She said, “Obviously, the boy felt 19 for what his sister did.”

    Chrissy has been surprised by all the 20 her post got, and she hopes it won't scare Jake off.

    I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. That day, I took a 1 to Grand Central Station. We were driving in the 2 lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right 3 us. My taxi driver slammed (猛踩) on his brakes and almost 4 the car's back end by just ten 5!

    The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident,6 his car and started yelling bad 7 at us. The taxi driver just smiled and 8 at the guy. And I mean he was 9. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost 10 your car and sent us to 11!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the law of the garbage truck.”

    Many people are like garbage trucks. They 12 around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of 13, and full of disappointment. As their garbage 14 up, they need a place to dump it, and if you agree, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump their 15 on you, don't take it 16. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and 17. You'll be happy at what you do.

    I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and 18 it to other people? That day I said, “I'm not going to do that anymore.”

    What about you? What will happen in your life if you let more garbage 19 pass you by? Life is too short to wake up in the morning with 20.

    A minister(牧师)was on a long flight. The first 1 of approaching problem came when the sign on the airplane 2 on: Fasten Your Seat Belts.

    As the minister looked 3 the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers became 4. Later, a voice over the intercom(内部通话系统) said "We are so sorry that we are unable to 5 the meal at this time. The currents are ahead of us." And then the storm broke. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and 6 moments the great plane was tossed(使动来动去) around.

    The minister recalled, "As I looked around the plane, I could see the nearly all the 7 were scared. Then I suddenly saw a little girl. Obviously, the storm 8 nothing to her. She was reading a book on her seat and everything within her small world was 9. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again. Sometimes she straightened her legs, but worry and 10 were not in her world."

    The minister could 11 believe his eyes. It was not surprising, 12, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to13the plane, the minister came up to the girl whom he had 14 for such a long time. Having talked about the storm, he asked why she had not been afraid.

    The child replied, "That was because my 15 was the pilot, and he would take me home."

    There are many kinds of 16 that frightened us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly 17 our sky and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and accept, it is much 18 to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than 19 we are being tossed about a darkened shy.

    Let us remember: Our father is the 20. He is in control and taking us home. Don't worry.

You can't imagine how crazy I was about football when I was young. For years my life followed a(n) 1: I slipped out of the house, played football until dark and instantly I was infected with malaria. Football was so appealing that I was willing to 2 anything —injuries, punishment, and even sickness—to play it. Soon enough, my mother would rush me to the Sijuwade Hospital. There, the doctor said I needed to be 3 .

My dad often spent the night with me in the hospital while my mother 4 my sister at home. Then came the happiest 5 when my father told me wonderful stories.

My father was a(n) 6 storyteller. In the hospital, he would tell me a story or two, or, sometimes, if he was not too tired, many in response to my request. He 7 bicycle sounds and the howl of the wind so vividly that the pictures would never 8 from my mind. So happy were these moments that I sometimes wished to   9 my hospital stay.

Because of my mom's strict supervision, it became 10 difficult to steal out. No longer sick, no more stories. 11, I broke into my father's room one evening.

"Dad, you tell me stories only when I'm sick."

My father laughed, "You are already eight and can read by yourself!"

He 12 me a book and said, "Go and read that. It'll tell you stories."

I remember that night clearly. I opened the book and read what turned out to be the most 13 story that I had ever read.

What I discovered that night 14 my life. I became thirsty for books and became a voracious（求知欲强的）15 . I read in the mornings, at nights and in between. Through reading, I felt as though I were on the magical journey to the endless.

It never occurred to me to think about my future job till I entered high school. In the years before high school, I 1 much on football and music. That was 2 I spent most of my spare time. After I entered high school, my 3 for civil engineering （土木工程） inspired me to make greater efforts.

I found my way to civil engineering 4 when I read an article about the Los Angeles earthquake in 

1994. Its result was so awful that I was totally shocked. During the earthquake, many buildings fell down. The disaster led to many deaths. The 5 sent me into thinking about how the building projects could be safer, and how I could get them that way. From then on, I 6 to learn civil engineering. 7 different kinds of buildings is a form of recreation for me. Sitting on my bicycle for hours watching the houses around me has made me feel the 8 to shape our buildings into solid ones.

To achieve my ambition, I must 9 that I can get high grades in all my subjects. In school, I am truly fond of science and good at math. 10 , my high school years had been challenged. My poor writing skills used to 11 me a lot. Fortunately, I had a strong wish to achieve my dream. It was the desire, which 12 me to keep practicing, that helped me overcome my shortcomings.

Over the years, I have learned to stick with things that I find right 13 . This character will stay with me till my efforts 14 . That, combined with my longstanding curiosity about 15 our world, is what will make me a great civil engineer someday soon.

It was my last class before summer break, and I was finishing up the first year of a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in poetry. Unsure if I deserved a 1 in the program, I worried I wasn't as2 as my peers. When the professor asked about our summer 3 , I panicked. I didn't want to appear idle (闲散的)，so without much 4 , I burst out "gardening". Surprisingly, my professor nodded and mentioned Emily Dickinson loved gardening. Emily Dickinson, a great American poet, studied plants as a 5 . But I was in my twenties and had no gardening 6 .

A few days later, I 7 some seedlings in a store. I thought I should get some. At least I could say I had 8 gardening. Wait, was that a jalapeno (墨西哥辣椒)? I 9 it up.

Over the summer, the plant grew, not big but 10 . I was proud. Maybe I didn't have 11 . But then I had to move out of my apartment for some reason. I 12 with my friends. It was December when I found my new apartment, and my jalapeno was suffering: its 13 had fallen off. I set it next to a window by the kitchen sink, and 14 for the best.

I 15 to work hard in school. Then spring came. My plant grew with new leaves. And it flowered when I 16 my graduate paper, a book of 17 , in May.

I was washing dishes one day when my professor called. "Your poems are strong..." he said. I'd done it! I went back to the dishes, but suddenly I found the flowers 18 my jalapeno were gone. Had I done something 19 ?  I looked closer. Where a flower had been, a tiny green fruit 20 through.