I got aboard and sat down in my seat．It was going to be a long flight． Around me were some  1  "Where are you headed?" I asked．

       "Lakes Air Base．We'll be there for special training, and then to the front．"

After about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were  2  for five dollars． The journey would be several hours, and I decided to buy one．

        As I 3  for my wallet, I heard a soldier ask his fellows if he would buy lunch．"No, that seems a lot of money for just a box lunch．" I looked around at the other soldiers. 4  were buying lunch．I walked to the back of the plane and  5 the flight attendant a fifty-dollar bill．

        "Take a lunch to all those soldiers．" I said．She seized my arms tightly．Her eyes wet with tears, she  6  me, " My son is a soldier in the front．．．it's almost like you are doing it for him．"

       Picking up ten boxes, she headed to the soldiers．

       After eating, on my way to the rest room I was  7  by a man．"I saw 8 you did and I want to be part of it．" With this, he handed me twenty-five dollars．

       Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming, looking at the seat numbers  9  he walked．When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his10  , and said, "I want to  11  your hand．" I stood and took his hand．With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier．12 , someone bought me a lunch．It was such an act of  13  that I never forgot．" I was a little bit  14   when applause rang out from all of the passengers．These soldiers were giving their all for our country．I could only give them a couple of meals．

       Later, when I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs, a man  15  another twenty-five dollars in my hand．

When we 16  , I gathered my belongings and started to leave．A man stopped me, put something in my pocket, and walked away 17 a word．Another twenty-five dollars! Seeing the soldiers  18  at the terminal, I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars．As I walked  19  to my car, I prayed for their safe  20  .

    While my father was an officer of the British army in South Africa, we lived in a two-storeyed house. One evening my father and sister and I were sitting together. He was 1 the window. I suddenly 2 that he was turning very pale. I sat 3 for I didn't want to 4 my sick sister. Soon father said in a 5voice, “Kate and Joan, a friend of mine 6 here to see me this evening, and I wish to be 7 him. Will you go up to your own room?” We obeyed, went to our room and closed the door.

    Soon I heard a8 like that of a door burst in, and then a climb of feet. They were hurrying 9 the narrow stairs. Fearing that there was10 near, I seized the pistol (手枪) on the table. Then I heard my father cry out, “For God's sake, child,11 the door.” I did so. To my scare, I saw,12 my father's shoulder; a gorilla (大猩猩), the worst enemy of the soldier in Europe, he was 13 my father. I raised the pistol and fired. The animal fell backwards with an/a 14 loud cry. Father took the still 15 pistol from my hand, and fired another shot, which killed the gorilla.

    It happened when father 16 us upstairs because he thought he would be able to 17the door-which was twenty feet away 18 the animal reached it. However, the gorilla was too 19and this was the cause of the 20 flight (escape) up the stairs.

    My journal book is new and in style and there are inspirational words on its cover. Hers is old and leather-bound. As different as the 1 are, the two journals contain many of the same thoughts, quotes, and personal stories about our very different 2.

    We found our connection 3. One summer holiday, I visited my grandmother. 4 I would stay only for a few days, I couldn't part with my journal. I 5 my habit of putting it under my pillow. My grandmother 6 it as she made my bed. I felt 7 that she had found my collection of literary treasures at first. Instead of 8 me, my grandmother brought me to her bedroom and brought out her own 9.

    That night, we 10 a few articles, mine from the past few years and 11 from the past few decades. We laughed at funny stories, 12 at heartbreaks with tears on our faces, and were surprised to find we are so 13.

    I was excited to find a friend who also 14 writing and quote collecting. We were astonished when we saw that we both had 15 the same quote about the truth of experience.

    The connection my grandmother and I share goes 16 literature. Although my grandmother is a Ph.D. who has written some books on education, she has never 17 her study journey. She always reminds me that she will continue to be a 18 for the rest of her life. I 19 her for so many things, but perhaps it is her way on 20 that I find most inspiring.

Overcome the Fear for Your Dream

    I stood nervously behind the red curtain and glanced out across the stage. A girl about my age sat at a piano; I could see her fingertips moving over the black and white keys in front of her. The beautiful melody (旋律) was so relaxing, 1 my body tensed with anxiety.

    My body 2 when the girl stood up from the bench. It was finally my turn. A part of me wanted to run home and 3 under my bed, but I knew I had chosen to 4. When the girl onstage walked toward me, I could hear my heart beating 5. The girl had a proud smile on her face and when she passed me, I heard her say “Good 6”!

    “Well, here goes nothing.” I said to myself.

    I stepped onto the 7 and walked slowly toward the piano. The bright lights nearly 8 me, making it difficult to see the audience. When I reached the 9, I automatically slid onto the bench into position. The sounds of whispering and people walking around gave way to complete silence. I stared at my 10 fingers and for a moment my mind went 11. Closing my eyes, I imagined the music sitting in front of me and tried to recall every tiny detail.

    Finally, I took a deep breath and began to play Beethoven's Moonlight sonata（协奏曲）. The rich tones of the piano rang out. One by one, each muscle in my body loosened and relaxed. I sat on the bench and my 12 danced over the row of black and white keys as if they had a mind of their own.

    All the practice and 13 I put in for six months showed this was what my teacher was pushing for. I tried to 14 all the things she reminded me to do. “Keep your wrists up, relax your arms, don't raise your shoulders… ” I remembered feeling slightly annoyed hearing these things continuously, but I never realized until now how it really 15.

    When I reached the end of the piece, the audience started 16. I rose from the bench and gave a deep bow. A proud smile 17 up my face. Inside I felt 18 that it was over and that I had done so well. As the applause died down, I turned and walked to the other side of the stage. I saw a young boy standing nervously behind the red curtains staring 19out at the stage. When I walked by, I passed to him the two words that were given to me for20: Good luck!

    April 1st is a day on which, in some countries, people try to play tricks on others. If one 1 in tricking someone, one laughs and says: "April Fool!" and then the person who was tricked 2 laughs, too.

    One April 1st, a country bus was going along a 3 road when it 4 down and stopped. The driver5 turned switches and pressed buttons, but nothing happened. 6 he turned to the passengers with a 7 look on his face and said: "This poor bus is getting 8 . It isn't going as well as it used to. There is only one thing to do if we want to get home today. I'll 9three. I want you all to lean(倾斜) 10 suddenly as hard as you can . This should 11 the bus started again, but if it doesn't, I'm afraid there's nothing else I can do. Now, all of you lean back as 12 as you can in your seats and get ready."

    The passengers all obeyed and waited 13.

    Then the driver turned to his 14and asked:" Are you ready?" The passengers 15 had enough 16 to answer: "yes."

"One! Two! Three!" counted the driver. The passengers all leant forward suddenly— and the bus started 17 at a great speed.

    The passengers breathed more 18 and began to smile with relief. But their smile turned to 19 and laughter when the driver 20 cried: "April Fool!"

I'd say I quarrel with my parents a lot.Throughout high school,I was always jealous(羡慕的) of some of my friends who didn't seem to have those problems at home,but I've come to see over the years that no one's situation is perfect.

Part of the reason I work all week during my break,in addition to the money,of course,is to be out of the house to avoid continuing quarrels.At work,I eat lunch with my friend Krysta every day,but the best days are when our favourite workmate,Lucy,is on her lunch break at the same time as us.Her funny way of storytelling always has us laughing happily,and although she is almost old enough to be our mom,she feels more like a best friend.

A few weeks ago,however,there was a change in our lunch conversation,and the story she told had us in real tears instead of our usual tears of laughter.A more serious topic had come up,and she sat us down to explain the importance of forgiveness(宽恕),especially when it came to our parents.Telling stories of her troubled relationship with her mother,she changed my whole outlook on life and my feelings towards my parents.She reminded(提醒) us that no matter how much resentment(怨恨) we're feeling in a moment of anger,we have to be thankful for the support they provide and learn to forgive everything else.

This week I've spent my break at home,having very small quarrels and lots of quality time together with my parents.Sometimes you need a reminder to make you realize how important it is to let go of past resentment and work to repair broken relationships.My workmate's moving stories not only brought me to tears in the break room at work that day but served as that wake-up call as well.