John was very shy. He hated being with others and always kept quiet, 1 what might happen if he opened his mouth.

    One day, when some people were visiting, John felt so ashamed that he 2 in a bedroom. Suddenly, a little elf (小精灵) came to him. The elf shouted 3. "Please! Stop screaming (尖叫) like that."

    The boy was 4. He forgot his shyness and asked, "Who screamed?"

    "Is there anyone else here?"

    The boy looked around. They were 5.

    "6 I never say anything," he replied, trying to 7 himself. "How can I shout without opening my mouth?"

    Then the elf's 8changed from anger to surprise. "Don't you know? Nobody told you that your eyes, your hands and your whole body 9 all the time?" The elf began to 10 that each part of the body speaks its own 11 and does so without stopping and how each 12 we make says something. The elf gave John a little bottle and dropped some magic water into his 13 and told him, "Now, you'll hear with your ears what people are saying without opening their mouth."

    It was 14. He could hear how everyone 15 two or three conversations, even when completely silent. But what surprised him most was on his birthday when he met a shy girl. His magic ears could hear her loud 16. "I don't want to be here! I don't want to play with anyone!"

    John wet the girl's ears with some magic drops from his bottle. Together, they set out to 17 which gestures to make to ensure their bodies were quieter and more pleasant. And they 18 that smiling, looking into people's eyes and 19 saying "Hello" meant their bodies stopped yelling, and so they became 20 children.

    I was wandering around to look for a cafe where I could sit and have something to drink on a cold day. When

    I saw one, I walked in, sat at a round table and asked for a coffee.

    While I was waiting for my 1 I realized that there were other people in the place2 I sensed loneliness. I saw their 3 but I couldn't feel their souls. That was because their souls 4 to the “Net”, instead of them.

    I stood up and walked 5 the tables. I asked a man a couple of times what his name was. “I'm Steve,” he 6 answered. “I can't talk with you I'm 7” he said.

    I was amazed to find he was 8online with somebody and, at the same time, he was 9 a computer game—Winner winner chicken dinner. I tried again to10 with him, but not a 11 came out of his mouth. I12 his shoulder, but there was no reaction. I was getting 13. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to 14“Leave me alone!”

    I was 15 I wanted to look and see if all those people in the cafe were looking at me, so I 16 head, but there was nobody interested in what was happening. 17 was using the computers.

    At the moment, I 18 all of the people there were more interested in having the relationship with the computer, 19 Steve. I wouldn't want to imagine the future of the human beings if they 20 sharing their lives with machines instead of with people.

    The other night, I had to go to a meeting, which lasted past my daughter's bedtime. I 1  home and was brushing my teeth when I 2, and there on the bathroom mirror was a note in the  3 of a heart. It said, “Hi, Mom! I Love You. Laurel. ” 4, I cut a heart out of a piece of paper, and pasted(贴) a(n) 5 next to hers, saying, “I Love You, too, Laurel. Love, Mom”, which she  6 the next morning.

    Our family has 7 that by integrating(互相) writing into our 8 activities, we become more thoughtful of each other. Meanwhile, our daughter is learning to enjoy writing and becoming a(n) 9 writer.

    While teaching in a primary school, I 10 how influential parents can be as children learn to write. 11 when our daughter first began to scribble（乱涂）, I became 12 by her work. I offered praise for her 13, for I found that scribbling is far more complex and important than I had 14. It was obvious that her scribbles, 15 being lovely art objects, showed a lot about her 16 of the world of writing.

    Gradually, our family began writing a great deal. I sensed that writing helped Laurel learn 17 to read. As a matter of fact, by 18 my own child and her friends and by reading professional books, I became more and more 19 about how writing develops and how 20 can help children become eager writers.

    Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I packed all the necessities(生活的必需品)—except the 1.

    While the convenience of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my 2not to take with me the few expensive kilograms of out-of-date information, this was not the only reason why I decided to fly alone.

    To be honest, my main 3with the guidebook is that I find it4 the pleasure of a journey—like bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do, 5 she doesn't always know what is the best.

    Experience has taught me that there is an obvious 6 between a tourist and traveler.

While waiting in a queue, I met a man who had a checklist. He showed me his list of “Top 20 Things To Do in Italy” and 7 off in a loud American accent that he'd seen everything Italy has to offer in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's 8 to travelling was that he was too 9 information provided by his guidebook. He was lost in the 10 attractiveness of the “must-sees” and 11 to all the wonders and adventures that might happen during the 12 trip.

    So, 13any guidebook, I traveled to Estonia, the tiny Baltic country bordering Russia. In the 14 of advance plans as guidebooks would suggest, I had no choice but to turn to some friendly faces for advice. I 15myself first and then asked them what was happening around the town. When this 16 an invitation to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I 17 a 110-degree wood-stove sauna（桑拿浴）, 18 picked forest-mushrooms and the good 19 of our five newfound Estonian friends, I was most glad that I had left my “bossy 20” at home.

    Last year at the weekly classes of Eastside Academic Studies, I met some people with the whole responsibility for teaching and working. They cared deeply for the 1 of their students. One of them was the English teacher, Mrs. Roos, who taught me AP Language and Composition.

    I was first 2 with the fact her teaching would not be cookie-cutter (俗套的) style and 3 day after day. She was smart. She did not expect to teach 4 as if we were mass-produced products required to pass a certain 5. She thought we were the individuals that were in the 6 of being built for the future we would face. She spent time in knowing us 7.

    At the same time, every 8, I could see, was thoroughly investigated and analyze, so that she could give us high-quality comments and 9 proposals. In her opinion, her 10 didn't stop at the end of the school year; it stopped at the end of her students' 11. Thus, she did her work seriously.

    Mrs. Roos was not the one to give an easy A. Yet that was the work she 12 us to do. She was looking for right 13 inside of us. Additionally, she was more than willing to present a Plan B when a student needed her help, and willing to spend time outside of the 14 class when we couldn't finish the once-a-week 15.

    Because she was absolutely 16 with her students, I thought it made her 17. However, by 18 what she liked through stories and opinions in our class conversation, she 19 us. She cared for us. I summed it up like this: She gave her best to her students and I 20 the teacher like her!