It was very late when I got out of the cinema. By the time the  1 ended, it was 1 a. m. I walked to my car which was    2 across the street. When I arrived, I noticed something 3the doors were unlocked. I took a quick  4 round the car and to my great 5,  everything was undamaged, except that my  6 was gone. After a further search, I had to 7 the fact that it was gone, but I considered myself incredibly  8 that nothing valuable was taken.

      The next day I got a  9 voice mail from a man. He said he had walked his dog in the morning and came across my 10 briefcase with my name on it. I called him back 11. He promised to 12 it. At first I asked him to send it, but then I 13. Though we were in the same city, I didn't want to trouble him. I finally decided to go to collect it though it probably wouldn't be 14enough to go to a 15 house to pick something up.

       I met the man and was greatly  16 to him. Words could not express my 17 of this stranger's kindness. I think that there's so much 18 in the world and there are so many people who 19 their inner goodness through acts of kindness. It feels good to give kindness and it also feels nice to 20  others want to give.

    Were you happy and a little worried at the time? I thought so. Soon it would be the holidays, but before that, there were year exams. All the 1 had been working hard for some time, reviewing their lessons for the exams. If they didn't 2, they would have to retake them in September. There were usually a few who 3, but Jane didn't want to be one of them. She had worked hard all year, 4 just before the exams she was working so hard that her sister Barbara was 5about her. She went to bed too 6. The night before the first exam, Barbara 7 that she have an early night and take a 8 pill. She promised to wake 9 up in the morning.

    She was not relaxed. As she was falling asleep, Jane was afraid that she might oversleep. Her 10 kept jumping from subject to subject. At last, with the help of 11, she went to sleep. In no time（不久）at all, she was sitting in the examination hall, looking at the examination 12 , but she couldn't answer any of the questions. 13 around her was writing pages and gages. 14she thought hard, she couldn't find anything to write 15. She kept looking at her 16. Time was running out. There was only an hour to go. She started one question, wrote two sentences, 17 and tried another one. With only half an hour left she wrote another two sentences. By this time she was so worried that she started 18. Her whole body shook. It shook so much that she 19 up. She was still in bed and it had all been a 20 dream. A minute later, Barbara called her name.

    I truly feel that my mother led me here, to Morzaine, and to my future as a happy wife and businesswoman. When Mum1  in October 2007, I was a cook. In December that year, a pearl (珍珠) necklace Mum had left me 2 . I was distraught (忧心如焚的). Some days later, I was 3  that a guy who was working with us that day，“could probably have made a fortune 4  the necklace he found”5 ， he returned it. When he heard how I'd6  Mum for six months before her death, he said, “Winter is coming, and I think this Christmas would be  7  for you. Why not go out to the Alps(阿尔卑斯山)for a couple of weeks？”

    I came to Morzaine, a small,8 village in the Alps and immediately fell in love with it. What was 9 to be a stopgap (权宜之计) trip turned into a new life. I kept travelling between London and here and felt 10  than I had in months. In December 2008, I was11as a hotel manager and moved here full time.

    A month later, I met Paul, who was traveling here. We fell in love. In the beginning, I didn't want to discuss 12 ， because the sadness of losing Mum 13 felt great. Paul understood that and never  14 me. But, by summer, we got married. A year later, we used his savings, and the money from the sale of Mum's house, to build our own 15. We want to give our guests a  16 feel, so each room is themed(以……为主题) around memories from our lives. There are also styles to remind me of Mum—a tiny chair which 17 be in her bedroom is set in one room.

    We are having a wonderful life and Mum18 naturally part of it,19  there's no way we would be here if it wasn't for the 20 she gave me. I know she's here in spirit, keeping an eye on us.

    Don't Be Afraid to Make a Fool of Yourself and Reach out to Strangers

    Growing up, I was glued to my mother's hip, ready to follow her wherever the world took us. I used to sleep at her 1 on the floor of her law school lecture halls while hundreds of 2 poured over scores of legal terms and historical court 3. When my mother and I would travel to different countries together, she always talked to 4 . She would tell our life story and I was often 5. I figured that people thought she shared too much and it was 6.

    I now recognize the importance of the 7 my mother made. After she died, I received hundreds of phone calls from people all over the world. They 8 to offer their condolences (吊唁), but 9 to share how much my mother had meant to them.10 she offered legal advice or simply shared a story, they11their heart to me about how she 12 their lives.

    When she first decided to buy an apartment and settled down in Paris, she 13 the writers of her favourite blogs and instantly began to form their own French14. They spent hours eating carefully selected cheeses and sipping (啜饮) coffee while 15 favorite Parisian restaurants. These are the people I now call my 16 aunts and uncles.

    What I judged as my mom making a 17 of herself was her way of sharing her 18 and charm. This taught me to 19 into fear and not to let self-criticism govern anything I do. Now, I speak up. I talk to strangers. I 20 myself and because of it, I receive.

    I used to hate running. It seemed too hard, and expanding my comfort zone was not something I like. In fact, I wouldn't have become a runner if it weren't for my husband Charles. He had been a serious competitive 1 for many years. After our marriage, he wouldn't stop talking about how much he 2 it. So he picked it up again, and after about a year, I started to 3 him at the track. Just a few weeks later, Charles signed us 4 up for a five-kilometer race. I 5 about doing it because it was too soon.

    The 6 sent a signal. Thousands of runners pushed forward. The first kilometer was 7. I was already breathing heavily and painfully aware of the group of runners 8 me. Charles was trying to 9 me, to get me focused on something 10my discomfort.

    After another minute I saw the three-kilometer 11. "Painful" couldn't 12describe how I felt. And there was pain, so much pain. I rounded a 13, and saw both sides of the street 14 with people watching the race, all 15 the runners up. I tried to keep my 16 going. I knew that if I actually 17 this race I would have achieved something. So, I 18 up and went on.

    Finally I passed through the finish line. A volunteer put a medal around my neck. I 19 held my medal, walking to the post-race celebrations with Charles. My lungs and my 20 zone both expanded.

    Once upon a time, there was a poor man. His 1 was also very poor—a small and empty house, which was 2 with spider webs (蜘蛛网). People tried to 3 coming into his house as they didn't want to come to such a 4 place. And the poor man thought that poverty (贫困) was the 5 for his unlucky life.

    Then, the poor man 6 a wise man and told him about his poverty. The man felt sorry for the poor man and gave him a vase. "This will save you from 7," the wise man 8. The poor man took the 9 from the wise man and wanted to 10 it at first and then spend the money on drinking, as usual. Besides, why would he 11 such a beautiful thing? But then he started 12 the vase carefully and decided not to take it to the market. He brought the vase back to his 13, put it on the table and started watching it again.

    "It's not 14 for such a beautiful thing to be 15," the poor man thought. So he 16 some flowers and put them into the vase. It became even 17. "Not good that such a beautiful thing stands next to a spider web," the poor man 18 again.

    So the poor man started 19 his house. He cleaned the dust, washed the floor and whitened the walls. And it became clear that his house wasn't poor, 20 rather warm and comfortable. And the poor man wasn't a poor man anymore, but a hard-working host, who had no time to think about poverty.