I grew up in a small town. My father1chickens and ran a construction company. I was210 years old when my dad gave me the3of feeding the chickens and4up the stable（笼子）. He believed it was5for me to have those jobs to6responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club7the Natchbill Palace, I washed8and cooked from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm and then9to sing until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn't long before I became known10a singing cook.

    I had been rejected so many times by record11that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a12executive(主管) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was13, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to14it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call—Waner Brothers15to sign me to a record deal.16after, I release(发行) my first record in June 1986. It17over 2 million copies.

    My best efforts had gone into every job I've ever held. It was the18of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my19filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known20.

Double Trouble

    When I was eight, I wanted a toy and needed $10 to buy it. But, as usual, I was broken. I decided to ask my 11-year-old sister, Kathleen, for a loan. I went to her room1her for the cash. Laughing, she agreed to2me the money, but added, “I will charge you 10 percent compound interest every 3until you pay me back.”

    “Compound interest what's that?” I asked.

    “Well, interest is what you call the4money borrowers have to pay back on a loan,” she explained. “Compound interest means that the interest payments get bigger and bigger the5you take to pay back the loan. To repay the loan, you will need to give me $11 after one month. If you wait two months to pay me back, your6will grow from $10 to $11. So I'll be charging you interest on $11. Then I will add that interest to the $11 you already owe me, for a 7of $12.10. That's what you'll owe after two months.”

    “Sure. I get it,” I said. Though truthfully, I was getting 8

Kathleen lent me the money, and I bought the toy. My birthday came a month later, and my mom gave me $10.9that was just the amount I needed to buy another toy I wanted10I put off paying my sister for a month. After another month, I11about the loan.

    Several months later, on Christmas morning, my sister and I each found a $02 bill in our stockings. I was just putting it into my pocket 12Kathleen tapped me on the shoulder.

    “Sorry, kiddo. That's mine. I'm13on your debt.”

    “Huh?” Then I remembered the loan. “Hey! How can it be that much? I 14borrowed $10.”

    “True,” she said, “but interest has been compounding for eight months. Now you 15me $21.43.” She paused, then added. “You can pay me the $1.43.”

    I 16to believe that a $10 loan could more than double so quickly. Much to my17my sister got her pencil and tablet and showed me exactly how it all added up.

    My head18as I tried to keep track of Kathleen's 19 but this time, I got the basic idea of compound interest. I 20the hard way that borrowing money can be “double trouble” in no time.

    Raynor Winn and her husband Moth became homeless due to their wrong investment. Their savings had been 1 to pay lawyers' fees. To make matters worse, Moth was diagnosed（诊断）with a 2 disease. There was no 3, only pain relief.

    Failing to find any other way out, they decided to make a 4 journey, as they caught sight of an old hikers'（徒步旅行者）guide.

    This was a long journey of unaccustomed hardship and 5 recovery. When leaving home, Raynor and Moth had just ￡320 in the bank. They planned to keep the 6 low by living on boiled noodles, with the7hamburger shop treat.

    Wild camping is 8 in England. To avoid being caught, the Winns had to get their tent up 9and packed it away early in the morning. The Winns soon discovered that daily hiking in their 50s is a lot 10 than they remember it was in their 20s. Raynor 11 all over and desired a bath. Moth, meanwhile, after an initial 12, found his symptoms were strangely 13 by their daily tiring journey.

    14, the couple found that their bodies turned for the better, with re-found strong muscles that they thought had 15 forever. "Our hair was fried and falling out, nails broken, clothes 16 to a thread, but we were alive."

    During the journey, Raynor began a career as a nature writer. She writes, "17 had taken every material thing from me and left me torn bare, an empty page at the end of a(n) 18 written book. It had also given me a 19, either to leave that page 20 or to keep writing the story with hope. I chose hope."

    A beggar, carrying a shabby(破旧的) old wallet, was begging alone from house to house. As he complained about his 1 , he kept wondering that people who lived in 2 houses should always be unsatisfied, 3 rich they might be, and they should go so far as to 4 all they have.

    "Here, for example," he said, the former master of this house succeeded in trading, and made himself very rich. By then, instead of stopping, and handing over his 5 to another, and spending the rest of his years 6 peace, he took to(从事) equipping ships. He expected to get mountains of gold; but the ships were 7 , and his treasures were lost. Now they all lie at the bottom of the sea, and he has found his 8 disappeared like those in dreams. In short, examples of this are 9.

    At this moment Fortune suddenly appeared to the beggar and said, "Listen! I have long wished to 10 you. Here are a lot of gold coins I have found. Hold out your wallet, and I will fill it with them; but only on this condition: All shall be gold that falls into the wallet, but if 11 of them falls out of the wallet to the ground, it 12 become dust. Consider this well. I have warned you I shall 13 keep my word. Your wallet is old, don't fill it 14 its power." The beggar was almost too overjoyed to breathe. He 15 felt the ground below his feet. A stream of coins were poured 16 it. The wallet soon became rather heavy.

    "Is that 17 ?" "Not yet," "Isn't it 18 ?" "Never fear." "Consider, you are a millionaire." "Just a little more, just 19 a handful," But at that moment the wallet broke, the gold coins 20 dust and Fortune disappeared. The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet and remained as poor as before.

    My dad came to America from Greece at the very young age of fourteen. He 1 an average of fourteen hours per day, six to seven days a week, for over thirty-five years.

    Because of his 2 work, he owned many restaurants in New Jersey. He was 3 his achievements and what he could 4 for his family.

    When I was graduating from college, Dad told me he decided to 5 the restaurants and retire (退休). "If you are graduating, my 6 is over. I have 7 my children and provided for all of you. I am going to 8."

    "Great, but what will you do? I 9 know you cooking in the kitchen and serving customers. I can't imagine you doing anything else," I said.

    "I am going to play golf!" he 10.

    "Golf? You have never played golf. I never heard you mention golf," I was 11.

    And then Dad 12 to play golf. He taught my brother and me the 13 and shared his interest with us. Dad would look at us and say, "If you live your life as you play the game of golf, you will be 14."

    He repeated often, "When you get to the green, stay focused (集中精力的) and hit straight down the fairway (平坦球道). Don't 15 anything else, and just know where you want to put the ball. Do this and you will 16 your goals."

    Dad wanted us to have 17 and to stay focused on them to achieve 18. He also wanted us to 19 ourselves and take time to have fun with friends and family.

    Dad retired at the age of fifty-six and played golf every day until his death at the age of eighty-six. What a 20 role model!

    My family were on a vacation in Dubai and having a good time. One day, we were visiting Abu-Dhabi, 1 with a few passengers in a bus. At our first 2, we got out to take some pictures. At our second stop, we noticed that we had 3 our shoulder bag at the first stop. The 4 part was that our passports, visast hotel booking papers-everything was inside that bag and we 5 at the thought of having to return to India in two days.

    During this process of 6 our bag, we came into contact with so many strangers whom we found to be really concerned and helpful with our 7: A tour guide and a bus driver helped us to 8 the position of a taxi and then called it for us, so that we could travel back to the first 9 to find our bag. Finally, we got there and we saw a tourist who was standing there 10 his friend's car. Obviously, he had to go somewhere, but instead, he decided to 11 us and showed us a way to call a free police station number for a(n) 12.

    An officer on the phone said a local woman actually found our bag. He 13 the bag and found a number to a travel agency. He 14 the travel agency and asked his driver to send the bag there. The driver placed it at a 15 place to us, from where we could get our bag back easily.

    On that day, at first there was real 16 inside me and I was 17 thinking of what would happen next. In such a state of mind, I was not able to say 18 to all those persons who helped us in such a (n) 19 situation. And I don't even know their names. But I'll never be able to forget their 20 and their kindness.