There was a small boy living on a farm which seemed so far away from everywhere. He was1 to get up before sunrise every morning to start his work and to go out again later to work in the evening.

    During sunrise he would take a 2and climb up on a fence, so in the distance he could see a house with golden3. He thought how4it would be to live there and began to5the modern equipment that might be6in the house. He thought, “If that is a house with golden windows, then there7be other nice things in the house.”8, he promised himself, “Some day I will go there and see this wonderful place9.”

    Then one morning his father told him to stay at home as his father would do the work. Knowing that was his10, he packed a sandwich and11across the field towards the house with golden windows.

    12 the afternoon going on, he began to realize how he had misjudged the distance.13, something else was wrong. As he came14to the house, he saw15golden windows but a place16by a broken fence which badly needed17. He went to the door and knocked. A small girl opened the door.

    He asked the girl if she had seen a house with golden windows. “18,” said the girl and invited him to sit on the porch (门廊). As he sat there, he looked19. There the20turned the windows of his home golden.

    In 2012, I had just recovered from a serious illness when I received an invitation to a writer's conference in Orlando, Florida. My family persuaded me that a(n)1might be just what the doctor ordered, so off I2.

    Arriving in the Sunshine State was rather tiring, but I3to catch a taxi to my4and settle in. The next morning, I took another5to the shopping centre to buy a few souvenirs.6I went to a cafe to have lunch, but all the tables were7. Then I heard a friendly voice saying, "You can8my table."

    I gratefully sat down with the9lady and we had a happy lunch together. As the10drew to a close she asked how long I would be in Orlando. I had already told her that I hadn't11a car, and  hadn't  realized  how12taking taxis would he. After a while she said, "My dear, don't use any more taxis. I'm retired and it would be my pleasure to13you wherever you wish." I told her that I couldn't put her to that14,but she brushed aside my protests(反对). She asked me where I was15and the next morning she was waiting at my apartment at the16time to take me to Disney World. She spent some time with me before leaving me to17alone. At the end of the day, she18to take me back to my accommodation. I19her money but she refused to take any.

    I'll never forget that wonderful lady who, through her20, filled my brief holiday in Florida with wonderful memories.

    My husband, Tom, has always been good with animals, but I was still amazed when he befriended a female grouse (松鸡). It's1for a grouse to have any contact (接触) with people. In fact, they're hard to spot,2they usually fly off when they hear humans approaching.

    This grouse came into our lives in3Tom was working out in the field when he4her walking around at the edge of the field. She was5unafraid and seemed to be6about what he was doing.

    Tom saw the7bird several times, and she got more comfortable around him. We quickly grew8of the bird and decided to call her Mildred.

    One day, as Tom was working, Mildred came within a few feet of him to watch. Tom9he didn't see her and kept working to see what she would do next.

    Apparently, she didn't like to be10. She'd run up and peck (啄) at Tom's hands, then11off to see what he would do. This went on for about 20 minutes, until Mildred became tired of the12and left.

    As spring went and summer came, Mildred started to13more and more often.14Mildred felt comfortable enough to jump up on Tom's leg and stay long enough for me to get a15of the two of them together. This friendly grouse soon felt16not just with our family, but with anybody who walked or drove by.

    When hunting season opened, we put a17at the end of our driveway asking18not to shoot our pet grouse. My father, who lived down the road,19warned people not to shoot her.20. hunters would stop and take pictures, because they had never seen anything like her.

    One year my children came home from school asking where we were going on your summer vacation. It seemed that all the other kids were1 where they were spending the summer. I couldn't 2to take them anywhere but I didn't want to tell them that so I just said, “It's a surprise!” They were 3. That bought me a little more 4.

    I called several amusement 5to see if there was a half-price event during the summer but no such 6. I tried everything, with no success, so I called some of the other moms to find that most were in the same7that I was. We decided to8 something fun for our kids to do. We had a meeting, all five of us, and9 what is now called a “playcation”.

    One mother was a  10, so on Mondays the kids would all go to her house. They would play games using plants and11. They also planted vegetables and12 them grow over the summer.

    Another mother had Bible 13 on Tuesdays. She asked some questions about Bible. The kid who answered  14got a penny, which they all turned in at the end to buy their goodie bags(礼品袋).

    At our house on Wednesdays, I made an outdoor 15training with my spare tires. The kids also walked a balance beam and raced through large cardboard boxes taped together.

    On 16they had arts and crafts across the street. Fridays were17by a wonderful single dad with a metal detector(金属探测器)who took everyone out treasure18 .

    The summer was a big19 . Okay, it wasn't Disney World,20 the kids didn't miss anything. My son actually asked me, “Can we do this again next year?”

Honest Thanks

    I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the notecard into the 1, sealed it and stuck the stamps on it, but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox I 2.

    The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via（通过）Facebook 3. She had inspired me to live a(n)4 life—for example, by5 more.

    Her volunteer efforts weren't 6—she wasn't building well in Uganda, but7she was doing small, local good deeds, such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do, too. She made me 8 I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her 9 positively influenced my life. I could have easily sent her an e-mail,10 that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank-you. That's why I ended up 11 the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox, unable to place the envelope inside. What was 12 me? Why was this so13 to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn't like she was my best friend, I just knew her. “people don't 14 do this,” I thought to myself. However,15 thinking it over, I still felt a(n)16 to let her know how grateful I was. Finally, I put the envelope in the mailbox.

    Weeks later I received her reply, she was 17 a tough time and my letter meant the 18 to her. She didn't know she had such a(n)19 on others. Not only did this letter make her happy, but her response to it increased my20 of happiness. I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating（培养） gratitude is a great skill to practise. Life is too short not to do it.

Jake and Max Klein are twin brothers who have a passion for volunteering. Their family have always done community 1 .At a young age, they chose to 2 family's gifts at their birthday parties, but asked them to donate money to a charity. When they were seven, Jake and Max were interested in 3 with a family friend at the local homeless shelter to help cook. 4 ， he turned them down because they were too 5 and they had to be fourteen to cook. This led them on an endless 6 to come up with a way to help other kids who were also facing a 7 challenging: wanting to help but 8 because of their age.

So, Kids That Do Good was 9 to "show ways to kids or adults, at any age, they could join the community and make a 10 .The small 11 has grown into a large website that brings thousands of 12 visitors each year. Jake and Max say that their website brings 35,000 unique viewers, of those viewers, Kids That Do Good has 13 kids to 16,000 organizations.

Jake and Max are 14 with school and after-class activities and other community service promises. Kids That Do Good also has blog posts that advise kids on 15 their own charitable event.