As I was taking a walk with my mom, I asked her, “Have you taken the senior bus yet?” I held my breath as I waited for her1. “Oh, yes. I have,” she said. “How was it?” I said the words as2 as I could to show my excitement, even though I sensed the answer was not going to be 3. She sighed heavily, “No one ever4 on that bus. They all sit there quietly and look sad. I only see about thirteen 5 old ladies and men.” My6 for her situation grasped my stomach.

    My dad had recently passed away, and his sudden leave made my mother7 and frightened. For fifty-seven years, my dad had walked by her side. Mom never learned to 8, so Dad drove her everywhere. Now, her wheels were gone, as one grandchild so properly9 her situation. I knew she needed great 10 to make the decision to take the senior bus. However, I firmly believed the11 wouldn't last too long, for Mom was so outgoing and active that she could chat with almost everybody whom she met in the street.

    Several days later, when I came to visit her, I asked, “Do they talk to you now?” She12 and there was a sparkle (火花) in her eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the 13 had changed. “It was silly that all of us just sat there14 saying a word. So one morning when I 15, I greeted them and then remarked that what a nice day it was. Soon, they began to 16 and we chatted happily. Now we are friends and always have some good 17 on the bus, ” she replied.

    My mother held the key to the 18 of the other lonely people on that bus. A smile and some 19 words were all it took. She sowed tiny seeds of 20 for herself and her friends on the bus.

    I was eighteen years old and I was the golden girl. I was president of the college drama society, a member of the student senate and so on. I was the 1of all my friends and I was in a state of 2.

    The old Greek tragedies 3us that when pride rises, punishment falls. My universe 4with great suddenness. The scenery（舞台布景道具） fell on my head and I was left almost 5for the next four months.

    My memory was in a mess and within a few months all my 6were taken away. I was even told that I would have to leave the college at the end of the spring term 7, clearly, I couldn't do academic work."

    Sad, I took one last 8by Dr. Jacob Taubes. He was the most brilliant teacher I had ever 9and in his class, I began to raise a tentative 10and ask an occasional question. He would answer with great intensity, and soon I found myself asking 11questions constantly.

    One day I was walking to the bus when I heard Dr. Taubes 12me, "Miss Houston, let me walk with you. You know, you have a most 13mind."

    "Me? I have a mind?"

    "Yes, of course." Then he asked my understanding of some problems discussed in the classes.

    From that day on, Dr. Taubes continued to14me to the bus, always 15me with intellectually vigorous questions. Within several weeks my eyesight came back and my spirit 16.

    What I acquired from this experience was a 17sense of life. I remain deeply 18for the attention Dr. Taubes had shown. He 19me when I most needed it. I swore then that I would try to20and acknowledge the unlucky person as I had been acknowledged.

    While he was driving his Ford, he saw an old lady on the side of the road, who needed help. So he 1in front of her Mercedes and got out. He looked 2 and hungry. Even with the smile on his face, she was 3. Was he going to hurt her? He could see that she was frightened. He said, "I am here to 4 you, ma'am. By the way, my name is Bryan."

    Well, all she had was a flat tyre. Bryan crawled under the 5. Soon he changed the tyre. But he got dirty and his 6hurt.

    She couldn't thank him enough. She asked him how much she should 7him. He told her that if she 8 wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could 9 that person the help that he or she needed.

    The lady10 off. A few miles down the road she saw a small and shabby 11. She went in to eat. The waitress came over and smiled, 12 her a clean towel to wipe her wet hair.

    She noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant(怀孕). When she finished her13and the waitress went to get 14 for her hundred-dollar bill, she slipped right out of the restaurant. When the waitress 15, she saw four $100 bills on the table.

    When she climbed into bed that night, she was still thinking about the16the lady had left to her. How could she have 17 how much they needed it?

    With the birth of the baby next month, it was going to be18. And she knew how worried her19was. As he lay sleeping next to her, she said in a low20, "Everything's going to be all right, Bryan."

    I was at a crowded grocery store not long ago. It was a weekday evening, cold and tense. People were carelessly 1 aisles(过道) and at one point, two women 2 for several minutes after running into each other.

    Things got 3 at the checkout line. The cashier scanned a man's discount card, but he misread the savings on her screen as an additional 4. He decided she was acting 5 and began to argue. The cashier tried in vain to reason with him. She 6 a manager, who accompanied him to customer service and moved to the next 7 in line.

    We've all witnessed 8 scenes like this in public places. My reaction when I see them is both personal and 9. I am a sociologist who studies how and why people communicate with one another — or why they 10 not to. To me, the grocery scene was another example of how our 11 in others has declined. But it was also a teachable 12 on how we can rebuild our faith — 13 with just one person.

    I 14 the nervous cashier. I got a bottle of water from a nearby cooler and handed it to her. "I felt 15 about how that man treated you and wanted to buy this for you," I said. Her face lit up, and we 16 as she scanned our items. She told me she had been 17 that evening through severe foot pain and would be having an operation later that week. I wished her well in her 18, and she thanked me as I left.

    Those are the balancing 19 that will add up to restore (重建)trust between people. You can start that pattern in someone else's life, even in a 20 as ordinary as the neighbourhood grocery store.

    I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13. My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to E1 Capitan, a 1 rock of 3,300 feet straight up. I touched that giant rock and knew 2 I wanted to climb it. That has been my life's passion (钟爱) ever since--3 the rocks and mountains of Yosemite. I've long made Yosemite my 4.

    About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of 5, like toilet paper, beer cans, and empty boxes, around the area. It's 6 me why visitors started respecting the place less and treated such a 7 home-like place this way.

    I tried 8 trash(垃圾)myself, but the job was too big. I would 9an hour or two on the job, only to find the area trashed all over again weeks later. Finally, I got so 10 it that I decided something had to 11.

    As a rock-climbing guide, I knew 12about organizing any big event. But in 2004, together with some climbers, I set a date for a 13. On that day, more than 300 people 14. Over three days we collected about 6,000 pounds of trash. It was 15how much we were able to accomplish. I couldn't believe the 16 we made --the park looked clean!

    Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and 17 132 miles of roadway.

    I often hear people 18about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I would say the only way to change things is by 19 rather than complaining. We need to teach by 20. You can't blame others unless you start with yourself.