One day, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day and I was feeling1. As I paid for the gas, the attendant said, “How do you feel?” that seemed like a2question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don't look 3.” he replied and continued to tell me my skin appeared 4.

    By the time I left, I was a little 5. About a block away, I 6 to the side of the road to look at my face 7the mirror. Was everything all right? Had I picked up 8rare disease? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a slight 9somewhere in my body.

    The next time I went into that gas station, I 10 what had happened: The place had recently been painted a bright, bilious yellow, and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside 11as though they were sick! That was the truth. 12, I let that short conversation change my attitude for an entire day. His 13 observation affected the way I felt and acted.

    This experience made me think a lot. It is the same with life, in which attitude 14. The way we look at life determines how we feel and how we 15. If we expect something to turn out16, it probably will. But 17 also works in reverse. If we expect good things to happen, they 18do. An optimistic attitude, I believe, is not a luxury but a(an)19. So after that, I chose to highlight the 20throughout the rest of my life.

    Dale Carnegie rose from the unknown of a Missouri farm to international fame because he found away to fill a universal human need.

    It was a need that he first 1 back in 1906 when young Dale was a junior at State Teachers College in Warrensburg. To get an 2, he was struggling against many difficulties. His family was poor. His Dad couldn't afford the3 at college, so Dale had to ride horseback 12 miles to attend classes. Study had to be done 4 his farm-work routines. He withdrew from many school activities5he didn't have the time or the 6. He had only one good suit. He tried 7 the football team, but the coach turned him down for being too8 . During this period Dale was slowly 9 an inferiority complex (自卑感), which his mother knew could 10 him from achieving his real potential. She 11that Dale join the debating team, believing that12 in speaking could give him the confidence and recognition that he needed.

    Dale took his mother's advice, tried desperately and after several attempts 13 made it. This proved to be a14 point in his life. Speaking before groups did help him gain the15 he needed. By the time Dale was a senior, he had won every top honor in 16. Now other students were coming to him for coaching and they, 17, were winning contests.

    Out of this early struggle to 18 his feelings of inferiority, Dale came to understand that the ability to 19 an idea to an audience builds a person's confidence. And, 20 it, Dale knew he could do anything he wanted to do—and so could others.

    Justin, my brother, has been missing for two weeks. Now I 1 him very much. I'm worried that something2 has happened to him. I'm sure he3 that night at about 11 o'clock, because I heard him playing his favorite CD in his bedroom. But where has he gone?

    Yesterday a girl named Marvies told me that 4was once taken away by aliens (外星人) from outer space. They did some research on her. Marvies said that the whole experience was really terrible5luckily they returned her home. If Justin has been taken away by aliens too, I hope they will 6him soon.

    My parents have been worrying about Justin. Soon after he was found missing, they called7. However, the police are not making 8 in the case (案子). They are very puzzled, saying Justin might have been murdered. Dad is very9 with them. He doesn't think they are doing their job well. Mum is so worried that she 10 sleep well. I hope Justin will come home soon and tell us what happened to him. I want all of us to be together again.

    Alia Baker is a librarian in Iraq. Her library used to be a 1 place for all who loved books and liked to share knowledge. They 2 various matters all over the world. When the war was near, Alia was3that the fires of war would destroy the books, which are more 4 to her than mountain of gold. The books are in every language — new books, ancient books, 5 a book on the history of Iraq that is seven hundred years old.

    She had asked the government for to 6move the books to a 7place, but they refused. So Alia took matters into her own hands. 8, she brought books home every night,9her car late after work. Her friends came to 10her when the war broke out. Anis who owned a restaurant 11 to hide some books. All through the12, Alia, Anis, his brothers and neighbours took the books from the library, 13them over the seven-foot wall and 14them in the restaurant. The books stayed hidden as the war15. Then nine days laters, a fire burned the16to the ground.

    One day, the bombing stopped and the17 left. But the war was not over yet. Alia knew that if the books were to be safe, they must be 18 again while the city was 19. So she hired a truck to bring all the books to the houses of friends in the suburbs(郊区). Now Alia waited for the war to end and 20 peace and a new library.

For the past 18 years, my daughter has been around me all the time. Now that she is in college, the 1 of our relationship has totally changed and our relationship is completely 2 . I'm not going to be there every morning to have breakfast with her. I won't know when she's mad or when she's happy. Here's a little story of our new 3 .

A week ago, my daughter wanted to 4 so she called me during the day as I was in meetings. I 5 her later on, but she was in class. At midnight, she reached out 6 to ask if we could talk. Well, guess what? I was 7 . I thought we would talk the next day, but she was not 8 ... 

Research shows that parents are 9 when their children are grown up, but for me that is when I start to get concerned. I am always left to 10 , how can I, as a parent, remain 11 to my daughter to guide, support and love through life's changes?

We may have to 12 the way we communicate. My daughter encouraged me to go digital. That's how I ventured into the world of social media, following her updates and occasionally sharing my own experiences. Through this 13 presence, the physical gap is 14 and I feel I still have an active role in her life.  This experience serves as a reminder that 15 , however scary, holds the promise of growth in our shared journey.