A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet．He held up a 1which said：“I am blind, please help．”

    There were only a few 2 in the hat．A man was walking by．He took some change from his pocket and 3 it into the hat．He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some 4 ．He put it back so that everyone

    who passed 5 would see the new words．

    Soon the hat began to 6 ．There were a lot more people 7 money to the blind boy．That afternoon the man who had 8 the sign came to see how things were．The boy 9 his footsteps and asked, “Are you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said, “I just wrote the 10 ．I said what you said but in a different way.”

    What he had written was: “Today is a beautiful day but I 11 see it．”

    Do you think the previous sign and the new one were 12 the same thing? Of course both signs 13 people that the boy was blind． 14 , the first sign simply told people to help by putting some money in the hat because of his blindness．The second sign told people that they were15 enough and able to enjoy the 16of the day , which the boy couldn't.

    There are at least two 17 we can learn from this simple story.

    The first is : Be 18for what you have．Someone else has19 Help where you can.

    The second is : Be creative. Think 20 .There is always a better way.

    I arrived at my mother's home for our Monday family dinner. Mother was 1 quilt after quilt from the boxes, 2 showing me their beauties. She was preparing for a quilt show at the Elmhurst Church. When we began to 3and put them back into the boxes, I noticed something at the4of one box.

    “What is this?” I asked.

    “Oh?” Mom said, “That's Mama's quilt.”

    I 5 the quilt. It looked as if a group of school children had pieced it together; 6designs, 7 pictures, a winding line on the right.

    “Grandmother made this?” I said, 8 My grandmother was a master at making quilts. This 9 didn't look like any of the quilts she had made.

    “Yes, right before she died. I 10 it home with me last year and made some 11” she said. “I'm still 12 on it. See, this is what I've done so far.”

    I looked at it more 13 At the center of the quilt, she had sewn a piece

of14 with these words:  “My mother made many quilts. She didn't get all lines15. But I think this is beautiful. I want to see it 16. Her last quilt.”

    “Oh, this is so nice, Mom,” I said. It17to me that by completing my grandmother's quilt, my mother was honoring her own 18. I realized, too, that I held in my hands a family

    19. It started with the loving hands of one woman, and 20 with the loving hands of another.

    I believe in miracles(奇迹) because I've seen so many of them. One day, a patient was referred to me who was one hundred and two years old. 'there's a1in my upper jaw, " she said. "I told my own dentist it's nothing, but he 2I come to see you."

    Her eighty-year-old son accompanied her. He would3to add something, but she stopped him. She wanted to tell everything herself. I found a large cancer that spread over much of the4of her mouth. A careful examination later5that it was a particularly bad sort of cancer. During her next appointment, I explained to her the6of the problem. She clasped my hand in hers and said, "I know you're worried about me, but I'm just7."

    I thought otherwise(不同). After considerable8on my part, and kindness on her part because she wanted to9me, she agreed to have me refer her to a cancer surgeon. She saw him, but as I expected,10  treatment. About six months later she returned to my office, still energetic and11.

    “How are you?” I asked.

    “I'm just fine, honey, ” she responded12 high spirits. “When can I get started on fixing my dentures(假牙)?”

    Surprised to see her at all, I answered13, “Let me take a look in your mouth and we'll see about it.”

    I couldn't believe my eyes. The cancer that had14nearly the entire roof of her mouth was gone-only one small area of redness 15.

    I had read of such things happening, but had16seen them with my own eyes. That was my first miracle. Since then I've seen many others, because they keep getting17to see. In fact, miracles are daily events for me now. And people are a miracle,18through them we have a chance to know ourselves and to19the miracles of one another.

    Since my first miracle, I've come to understand that the place for a miracle is20we choose to find it.

    On a hot summer day in America, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He dived into the cool water, Not 1that as he swam towards the middle of the lake, a crocodile (鳄鱼) was swimming toward him.

    His mother2was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In great3she ran toward the water,4 to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became 5 and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.6 it was too late. Just as he reached her, the 7reached him. From the shore, the mother 8 her little boy by the arms just as the crocodile snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war (拔河) between the 9The crocodile was much 10 than the mother, but the mother wouldn't11A farmer 12to drive by, heard their screams, raced from his truck, took aim and13 the crocodile.

    14 after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His 15were extremely scarred (留下疤痕) by the attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches (抓痕) where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

    The newspaper reporter, who 16the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his legs. And then, with obvious 17 he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them 18my Mom wouldn't let go.”

    Never judge another person's19, because you don't know 20 they were made.

    As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their game. I cheered as hard for 1 as they did. A dramatic 2 however, following a game in which I was a referee(裁判), changed my 3 on victories and defeats.

    It was a league championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. New Rochelle was 4 by Dan O'Brien, Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was5, and the noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and 6 competed. Yonkers was 7 by one point as I 8 at the clock and discovered there were but 10 seconds left to play. New Rochelle, the home team, took 9 of the ball, passed off and shot. The ball 10 around the rim(篮筐边沿) and off. The fans11. New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The noise was 12.

    I looked at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn't heard the final buzzer(终场哨) because of the noise. I 13 with the other official, but he could not help me. So, I 14 the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Sir, the buzzer 15 before the final tap-in was made. ” Yonkers won!

    I had to tell O'Brien the sad news. His face 16. The young timekeeper came up and said, “I'm sorry, Dad. The 17 ran out before the final basket. ”18, like the sun coming out from a cloud, O'Brien's face lit up. He said, “that's okay, Joe. You did what you had to. I'm 19 of you.” The two of them then walked off the 20 together, the coach's arm around his son's shoulder.

    I was doing a year of voluntary service abroad for people with learning disabilities. It was set in an English 1 ， quite different from my home in Sweden.

    One of my fellow 2 ， a girl from Tanzania, seemed a bit 3 ， so I asked what the problem was. She told me she had a 4 back home who was really 5 with her university studies. It seemed that 6 difficulties would make it impossible for her to complete her course. So this friend of 7 had done something unbelievable: she had sent all her pocket money for the month to Tanzania to 8 her friend! This meant that she didn't have much food to eat and had no money to go anywhere outside the village.

    I was so 9 that she did this for her friend and I felt I had to do something. 10 ， during my next trip to one of the ear by towns I walked into a shop to buy some food for her. I started 11 to the woman working in the shop and 12told her about my friend. The woman looked at me, 13."Does she eat pasta (意大利面)？" she asked."Yes，" I replied. She immediately 14 loading a bag with pasta, cookies, sweets and other things until the bag was full."Give this to her for me. It's my15！" I couldn't believe it but cried with 16.

    Imagine my friend's face when I 17 the gifts on my kitchen table and 18 her from her room to see! I have 19 seen her so happy! She told me that due to the generous help, she could definitely 20 the month.