The Person Who Influenced Me the Most

    I opened the box and took out the shining gold bracelet. “For me?' I could barely talk. Yes, of course, said my Aunt Estelle, I really shouldn't have been 1 because she was like that, unexpected and golden.

    When I was younger, I knew that I could always go to my Aunt Estelle for comfort, advice and 2  She was my best friend and my guardian angel. I could always be 3with her and tell her anything that was on my mind. She also knew when I was trying to 4something. Aunt Estelle gave me advice when it was sought and guided me5many difficulties.

    Last December, I was faced with one of the most difficult 6I ever had to make in my life. She was dying of cancer and I was 7to go to Israel for two weeks for a research project. 8  I sought Aunt Estelle's advice but for the  9time I didn't like her response. When I went to the hospital to visit her for what turned out to be the last time, she was waiting for me with a book about Israel on her bed and made it very clear that she10me to go—that it was her greatest wish for me to go—haw could I 11her. Aunt Estelle was the most unselfish person I ever knew and would not even consider my 12about going. She called me 13I left for Israel to tell me that she loved me and that she would always be with me.

    I went to Israel and had the time of my life. When I returned, my parents 14me up, I told them I couldn't wait to tell Aunt Estelle about my journey. They became15and I knew before they said the words that she had died. Aunt Estelle's unselfishness was her greatest16.

    The gold bracelet she gave me for my sixteenth birthday was the one that I had always admired on her. Each time I look at it I am17of an even greater gift from my aunt, the gift of her 18.

    Whenever I find myself becoming too self-centered and19the needs of those around me, I recall her selflessness and20to follow her example to make the needs of others a priority.

Before I came to college, I was sure I knew all about it, since I had met some college students and had seen more than my share of old "college" movies where the 1 belonged to "playboys" and the heroines to sophisticates(圆滑世故的人）. But, now, after one semester as a college student, many of my old ideas have2 completely.

    I used to imagine bossy upper-classmen, for example. I thought they would be know-it-all rulers of the campus who 3 freshmen for fun. I pictured being 4 to the wrong classrooms, being ignored. But, in fact, the upper-classmen turned out to be quite 5. They offered to help me and inspired me to6 my tough courses.

    The upper-classmen weren't the only ones I worried about. I was also 7 about the other freshmen. I was afraid they might think I was too fat, too shy, too 8, or even too dumb to bother with. 9, I was wrong. When I finally got to college, I discovered that most students felt exactly as I did. They were as uneasy with me as I was with them, and as we started to open up, we began to10 one another. We began to become curious about each other's backgrounds and interests; the differences among us actually became11.

    I changed my mind about other things too. I had 12 homework to be a book-filled nightmare, which would keep me from meeting 13 dates. I did have some 14 tests; I did break out in a clammy sweat, and 15 a stomach upset and a gigantic headache, but contrary to expectations, I passed all of my exams with good grades.

    I've always been 16. Then if the worst happens, I'm just ready for it. I have planned to live 17 this principle before. But after this, I know not all schools would be the same. This one 18 to be much better than I thought it would be — a good 19 in not jumping to conclusions. No doubt my 20 toward college will shift still more as I go on, but I know I'll never be as negative as I was before I got to college.

    Once a man came to a wise man's house and said, “I have many bad habits. Which of them should I 1 first?” The wise man said, “Never tell lies 2 always speak the truth.” The man 3 to do so and went home.

    At night the man was about to go out to steal. Before setting out, he 4 for a moment about the promise he made to the wise man. “If he asks me where I have been, what shall I say? Shall I say that I went out 5?” No, I cannot say that, but nor can I 6. If I tell the truth, everyone will start 7 me and call me a thief. I would be 8 for stealing.” So the man 9 not to steal that night, and gave up this 10 habit.

    Next day, he 11 to drink wine. When he was about to do so, he said to himself, “What shall I say to the wise man 12 he asks me what I did during the day? I cannot tell a lie.” And so he gave up the 13 of drinking wine.

    In this 14, whenever the man thought of doing something bad, he 15 his promise to tell the truth at all times. 16, he gave up all his bad habits and became a very 17 person.

    Telling the truth is a very good 18. If you always speak the truth, you can save yourself from a lot of 19 and become a person whom everyone 20 and favors.

    Make a promise: I shall always speak the truth.

    There are lots of ways to raise awareness for a cause. Usually, the 1 the idea is, the more it gets noticed. And that's precisely why one 2 Frenchman has caught our attention.

    Baptiste Dubanchet is biking across Europe, surviving 3 on discarded（丢弃）food. The three-month, 1 900-mile journey from Paris to Warsaw is Dubanchet's 4 of raising awareness of food waste in Europe and throughout the world.

    As you can 5 , the trip is no piece of cake. While restaurants 6 tons of food each year, much of it remains inaccessible because of 7 garbage containers, health regulations, or business policies. Only about one in ten places 8 him food that would otherwise be discarded.

    For legal 9 , most restaurants have a policy against 10 food waste. "Some people have even 11 their jobs by giving me food," Dubanchet said.

    What's 12 interesting is the attitude various cities have toward Dubanchet's cause. Berlin has been the 13 while the most difficult was the Czech town of Pilsen. There, he had to 14 at some 50 different stores or restaurants before finding food. The 15 is all the more serious when you consider the 16 exercise required to bike from France to Poland.

    "I have to get food 17 because after all the biking I am tired and I need the 18 ,"

    Dubanchet explained. "Is my 19 full or empty? That is the most important thing, not what I am eating."

    He aims to 20 his journey by mid-July. With any luck, he'll turn a few more heads in the process.

    It was an extraordinarily busy time of year. I felt some 1 to head straight home after a long meeting. So I headed to the 2 nearby for some therapeutic (治疗性的)hiking. As I reached the top and admired the view, my unclear mind 3. Re-energized, I knew that I could deal with the     4 that waited for me upon my 5. When I arrived back in the office the next day, I was full of energy, and finished my work 6.

    It was almost 20 years ago that I learned how 7 it is for me to carve out time to escape to the wild. I had finished my Ph.D.8 soil and water conservation in Honduras, but I wasn't sure what 9 I wanted to have. So, I decided to act on a dream I had been nursing for a few years,10 my mom showed me a magazine article about a man who had 11 around America. I figured that I could 12 cycling with research for a book on American agriculture while I worked out my next career step.

    So I did it. During the cycling 13, I found the clearness I needed to 14 my next career move. Talking with farmers I met along the way, I learned that their biggest 15 was selling their produce. I decided to broaden my 16 from land management to improving farmers' access to markets. My 17 interest led to working for a nongovernmental organization and I did eventually 18 a book on. American agriculture.

    The 19 is to find your source of inspiration and make good use of it. For me, I always get nourishment(营养)from being 20 in the outdoors.

Are there any moments with your family that are carved in your heart forever? A few1ago, my father arranged to send me a mail-order2for my birthday, on December 26th. Although I had a good job in Manhattan, he3I would forget it. I had recently moved from California where my parents still lived in the house I4in.

He wanted me to have a particular5of fruitcake. Made in Texas, it was famous among fruitcake lovers.6the fruitcake was his way of trying to bless me.7my middle-aged status, I was still his son.

"It should arrive the first week of 8 ," he said. "As soon as you get it, let me know what you think."

The first week of December passed with no9of his fruitcake. I was looking forward to10the flavors that transported me to my childhood.

Then an11call from my mother drove me to fly back to California12. My father was in hospital due to a13surgery. During a three-month stay in hospital, he would always ask about the fruitcake.

14, the day before my flight back to Manhattan, the fruitcake still had not15. January, February, and March came and went with no fruitcake. He was deeply annoyed about that 16fruitcake.

Early last December, nearly a year after my father17from a failing heart, I got a18from a staffer at the front desk of my apartment building. “You have a package,” he said. I went19to pick it up. The brown box had a UpsEx (联合快递) label with a return20in Texas.