The famous composer（作曲家）, Albert Roussel, didn't have a good start in this career. However, he achieved a great deal of success as a result of a 1 .

    Roussel's parents died when he was eight and he went to live with his  2  . As a little boy, he fell in love with music and  3  himself about it by reading through the family collection that his mother kept,  4  which there were a lot of related books.

    Three years later, Roussel's grandfather died, and his mother's sister decided to  5  him. Her husband was a kind man and  6  for young Roussel's music lessons. One summer vacation at a Belgian seaside added a second  7  to his life—the sea. Then he studied to be a naval cadet（海军学员），but still made time to study  8  .

    In the French Navy, he and two friends found the time to  9  a band, playing the works of Beethoven and other  10  . Roussel also began composing. On Christmas day 1892, he had his first chance to  11  as a composer, which turned out to be a success.

    That success  12  Roussel to write a wedding march（婚礼进行曲），and one of his navy friends  13  to show it to a famous conductor, Edouard Colonne. When Roussel's friend  14  with the manuscript（手稿）, he reported that Colonne had advised Roussel to  15  his naval career and devote his life to music.

    Not long  16  , at the age of 25, Roussel decided to  17  Edouard Colonne's advice. He gave his heart and soul to his composing and  18  a major force in twentieth century French music. Because of Eduoard Colonne's inspiring  19  , Roussel devoted his life to music—but Rousssel's  20  friend later admitted that he had made it up. He said he had never even shown Roussel's manuscript to the famous conductor.

    I was tired and hungry after a long day of work.

    When I walked into the living room, my 12 -year-old son 1 up at me and said, “I love you.” I didn't know what to say. For several 2 , all I could do was to 3  there and looked down at him. My first thought was that he must need 4  with his homework or he was trying to 5  me for some news. Finally I asked. “What was that all about?”

    “Nothing.” He said, “My teacher said we should 6  our parents that we love them and see what they say. It's 7 .”

    The next day I called his teacher to find out more about this “experiment” and how the other parents had 8 .

    “Basically, most of the fathers had the 9  reaction as you did.” The teacher said, “When I first 10  we try this”, I asked the children what they thought their parents would say. Some of them thought their parents would have heart trouble. “The 11  is,” the teacher explained. “feeling loved is an important part of 12 . It's something all human beings 13 . What I am trying to tell the children is that it's too 14  we all don't express those feelings. A boy should be 15  to tell his dad that he loves him.”

    The teacher, a middle-aged man, understands how 16  it is for some of us to say the things that would be good for us.

    When my son came to me that evening, I held on to him for 17  second. And just before he 18  away, I said in my deepest, most manly voice, “Hey, I love you, too.”

    I don't know if saying that made either of us healthier, but it did feel pretty good. Maybe next time one of my children says, “I love you.”, it would not take me a whole 19  to think of the right 20 .

                                                                                                            Bonnie's Miracle

    My sister Bonnie and her husband Bob owned their own flower shop.But flowers were becoming1at more and more local stores and through the Internet2their business was not as good as it had been three years earlier when they3it.For about a year,Bonnie and Bob discussed4they should do.They debated selling.They talked about5it into a gift shop or maybe a bookstore.But there just wasn't enough6or people around the area to7the business.

    Feeling helpless,Bonnie began8praying and asking God for answers.She9"God,give me a sign telling us what You want us to do.Call me on the10she said,"and show me what to do."

    Soon the phone rang.A young woman was asking how much they wanted for the11.My husband and I never take the road beside12shop,"she said,"but we were driving by yesterday and saw the 'For Sale' sign in the13.

    Puzzled,Bonnie replied,"There isn't a sign in the window.My husband and I have been discussing whether or not we should sell,but haven't reached a14"But I saw the sign!"the young lady15insisted."My husband saw it too.It was blue and white in the16picture window17the road.

    It18that the sign was the reflection（反射）of a house's poster put up19to the window on the other side of the road.Anyhow,within two weeks,the young lady and her husband20the flower shop at a handsome price.

    Many years ago, I was working in an office in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We had a large1that looked out over a busy street. I was standing by it one day when a woman in a2 car looked up and made eye contact. Naturally I 3. As she turned and tried to identify me, a quiet laugh 4my lips. My co-workers began taking an interest, and stood back watching the5I received, and laughing happily. Then the stress of work was6away.

    Christmas approached, and job 7 were announced. Several of my co-workers were losing their jobs, and everyone was8. While I was working a night shift, a red jacket, a box of foam (泡沫橡胶) packing and strips of tape in the corner attracted my 9 They could be Santa's jacket and beard! Then I folded a red file into a 10 and tied the beard to it.

    The next day I walked 11 down into the office in the costume. My co-workers 12 around me and laughed for the first time in weeks. Suddenly, my boss came up to me13 shook his head and then left. I feared 14. Then the phone rang.

    With a bead of sweat 15 my forehead, I entered the boss' office.16he laughed: “Thanks, Mike! It's been hard to enjoy the Christmas season. Thanks for the laugh. I 17 it.”

    That evening, I stood 18by the window and waved at my fans, with my heart 19with joy. For a few minutes of that day, we'd been able to forget our 20

    He really did look like a tourist, with a camera around his neck and a bottle of sunscreen sticking out of his bag. The fat man sat on the terrace (草坪), drinking lemonade, a little bit each time, and 1 to look at a smooth and shiny cruise brochure. His sunglasses2 his eyes, but I knew he wasn't looking at the brochure: he hadn't turned a 3 for the last ten minutes.

    As I brought him what he had ordered, he coughed up a “thank you” and looked at me 4. I tried not to stare at the tiny scar across his left eyebrow.

I walked back inside with my 5 tray (托盘), shaking my head. He looked 6 but I couldn't quite place him.

    Then it 7 me. The car accident. The 8 stranger who helped me out of my smashed car, 9 before it exploded. I 10 back to his table.

    He was gone.

    I moved his saucer and found his tip, along with a 11.

    I am deeply 12 to you. The night of your car accident, I was on my way to 13 a jewelry store. Saving your 14 brought things back in perspective (看法).I now live an honest life, thanks to you. God bless you! Mr. D.

    I trembled. The night of my car accident, I was 15 for an interview in a shady dance club. Seeing human kindness through his 16 gesture turned my life around and brought17 back into my life.

    I 18 the tip he left. Among the one-dollar notes was a 100-dollar note with a pen mark 19 “In God We Trust”, which first appeared on paper money in 1957.

    I said a silent 20 for him and got back to work, smiling.

    We first met Tom and Gee in the early days of our marriage. Jim and I worked full-time, and in the 1our garbage cans went out to the curb(路边), 2to wait the long, lonely 10 hours there until we returned to fetch them because we were busy. 3, we'd come home every garbage day to find them neatly4 in their spot next to our garage. We5who had done it for us, and then one day we6 him: an elderly man who lived across the street from us.

    I baked cookies and we left them on the bench outside the garage with a thank-you 7. When we got home from work that day, a typed letter had 8the gift. The letter was from Tom and 9how he had come to walk the10on garbage day, returning cans for people he 11knew. Back when he was 12in the army, his young wife Gee had to live by herself. In those 13days, neighbors had taken the time to 14her garbage cans so she didn't have to. He never15 it, and now he paid it forward by doing it for all of us.

    Over the next few years, we would 16Tom in their first-floor extra bedroom, where he spent his last days, still sharp and smiling.

    We told Gee how17Tom had been to us, how we grieved(感到悲伤的) for his death and how18 we were to have known him. She wrote us back and told us she still talked to Tom every day. Sharing that 19our bond with her.

    Tom and Gee, who opened up their hearts to us, made us realize that home doesn't20at a property line. It extends to all the people in the neighbourhood.