As a child, I started learning to play the piano, my favorite musical 1,but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school 2 I could concentrate more on my studies.

    It's one of my biggest 3 to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would 4. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was 5 with my study. 6 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 7 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 8 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many 9—times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 10 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so 11 that I could hardly say anything. But her 12 helped ease my shame. These memories, 13, good or bad, never caused my 14 for playing the piano again.

      This thought then led me to think that 15 is like music, and that we all try to play different 16 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高) is 17 when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own 18 style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is 19 that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't 20 that I've stopped making music.

    Mr. West wanted to buy his wife a Christmas present, but he was always very1, so he was never able to find time to go to the shop. At last, when it was the week2 Christmas, and the shops were very crowded, he decided that he could not 3any longer. He worked in an office, and 4had lunch in a restaurant, but one day he bought some sandwiches, ate them 5 and went out to a big shop near his 6 during his lunch hour.

    The shop was full of women, who were also buying 7during their lunch hour. Mr. West stood 8at the edge of the crowd of9 who were pushing forward to try to get to the people who were10 necklaces and earrings. He tried to move forwards slowly, taking his turn with the others, but more and more women were11into the shop the whole time and pushing selfishly(自私地) 12 him. After half an hour, he was just as13from the people who were selling the necklaces as he had been when he came in, and his lunch hour was coming to 14 , so he decided to change his 15 of doing things: he put his head down, gave a sudden loud shout and started to 16his way towards the 17of the crowd as hard as he could.

    The women around him became very 18when they saw what he was doing, and began to scold(责备) him. “Why can't you behave(做事) like a 19 ?” they shouted.

    “Ladies,” he answered them, “I have been behaving like a gentleman for the past half an hour, and it has got me20, so now I am starting to behave like a lady.

    I, a postman, married Kathy twenty-eight years ago. Our marriage life was filled with quarrels, swearing, throwing pots…—it was too much like 1. So I had an idea that our time as husband and 2 was about up but I didn't expect it would 3 with a fight.

    We were 4 at home one evening after tea, one at each end of the table. I was 5a book, and Kathy just sat there. 6 she said, "I do love you, Harry." I was still in the book and said 7.

    Then, "Harry, look at me." My 8 came up, smiled and went down again to my reading. Maybe I was in the wrong, and should have said something, 9 the book was too good.

    "I'm sure all that reading's bad 10 your eyes," she commented. I went on reading, not looking up. She added, "My dad used to say that only fools read books."

    The words 11 me and I couldn't resist replying, "He only said that because he didn't know how to read. He was 12."

    Kathy never read books. She hated 13 like poison. She sneered(冷笑), "No need to be jealous of you. We've got more sense, and too much to do."

    Then I was upset, but in a 14 way, "Let me read, anyway, won't you? It's an interesting book, and I'm tired."

    She 15 out loud, "Tired? You ought to do some real work for a change instead of 16the streets with that stupid post-bag." She snatched the book out of my 17 and screamed, "Nothing but books, books, books," throwing the book into the fire.

    This really 18 me, so I slapped(掌掴) her across the face, not very hard but I did.

    One day, a month after 19 the book, I came back from work and found a note waiting for me, "I am going away and not coming back."

    We 20 six years after we married.

    At two, most children are happy to play with stuffed toys. 1, for Freddie Bawden, life on the farm is not child's play but a labour of 2.

    Feddie likes nothing more than 3 his working suit to join his father James and mother Kayleigh as they 4 their animals. He helps feed the pigs, sheep and other animals. 5 his young age, Freddie takes his duties very 6. He also helps make up their feed and gives the animals water before sweeping up and laying down 7 hay.

    Freddie even has two battery-powered 8 of his own for carrying hay. Mr Bawden said, "He's really 9 actually. It's good for him to 10 up around animals. It gets him outside a lot and he absolutely loves it really."

    Like most children, of course Freddie goes to 11 one-and-a-half days a week, but he spends the rest of his time helping his parents, who also 12 a dog training centre on the farm. The youngster helps to 13 the dogs, as well as feed them and sweep the kennels (狗舍). He also likes to join in the special training sessions, 14 toys for the dogs to 15 after. Mr Bawden said some even 16 better to Freddie than they did to their adult owners who may "overthink" things.

    Mr Bawden 17 most two-year-old are more likely to be found watching TV or playing with 18. But he said, "If he wants to come with me, he can. If he doesn't, he doesn't have to. He's really healthy, fit and strong. He eats well and 19 well because he's doing so much. He loves 20 off, and he loves showing other people his pigs and sheep."

    I thought I would never have a child－then a miracle happened.

    When I was only 29, doctors said I had too many 1challenges to have a child. Meanwhile, my best friend Colleen was pregnant and she asked me to buy a changing table with her. Focusing on Colleen's good fortune helped distract (使分心) me from my2. In the shop, a babysuit with a crab (螃蟹) caught my eyes. The crab 3 childhood memories of my pretending to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid. If things were 4, that crab would have made me laugh. Instead I said, "If I5had a son, I'd want him to have that. "Sarah, you have to get it," She said.

    I shook my head no. I didn't want a(n) 6of what I couldn't have. My husband, John, and I had talked about 7. But I worried we would get8.

    The next Sunday, we went to 9 There, I noticed a tiny baby in the arms of a woman. On his backside was the same 10 I had seen. My breath caught.

    I11 to John and whispered, "That's the babysuit I was telling you about." He cocked his eyebrows. Throughout the service, I was totally 12 by the baby. I 13 to hold him. In the end, the priest (牧师) made an announcement. "The baby needs a 14. If anyone is thinking about adoption, please see us afterwards."

    We 15 our phone numbers.

    That evening, the young mother, carrying the baby, came to our home. Before we sat down, I held her baby. He fit 16 in my arms.

    Twelve families had volunteered to adopt him. If she picked us, all she asked was that we let her be 17 in his life in some way. We agreed wholeheartedly.

    I never mentioned the crab babysuit. I wanted her to make her decision without being influenced by that 18 .

    The next morning my phone rang. "We picked you" was all I heard.

    Now our six-year-old son continues to be the best 19 thing that will ever happen to me. And that crab baby suit remains 20 folded in one of my dresser drawers, where I plan to hold on to it－forever.

A Toronto man is offering a free round-the-world air to the right woman. But 1 apply. You must be named Elizabeth Gallagher and have a Canadian 2 .

Jordan Axani, 28, said he and his then girlfriend, Elizabeth Gallagher, booked heavily discounted round-the-world air tickets in May, but their 3  ended and he did not want her ticket to  4 . The ticket had a strict no-transfer(不可转让) 5  , but since passport information was not required when 6 , any Canadian Elizabeth Gallagher can 7 it.

"I just want to see the ticket go to good use and for someone to 8  a lot of joy," said Axani. He posted his 9 on a social networking website, and received thousands of e-mails, including thirty from actual Elizabeth Gallaghers with the 10 passports, "More  11 , there are hundreds of Canadians who are interested in  12  their name to Elizabeth Gallagher," Axani said. "It was absolutely out of  13 , thousands of e-mails, people around the world 14 their stories of travel."

Axani wrote in his post that he is not 15 anything in return and that the woman who uses the  16ticket can choose to either travel with him or  17 the ticket and travel on her own.

The 18 is scheduled to start on December 21 in New York City and continue on to Milan, Prague, Paris, Bangkok and New Delhi before 19 in Toronto on January 8. He said the 20 woman will be announced on the website and the trip will be shared online.