Peter and Paul had got permission(允许) from their parents to camp in a field close to their farm. But, being adventurous boys, they know it would be more 1to camp in the forest that lay beyond the river. Excitedly, the boys 2 with their tent and food.

    Carrying their heavy 3, the two brothers walked along the riverbank, hardly noticing the distance or the sun beating down. They were eager to reach their 4 before lunchtime. As they entered the cool, shadowy forest, they began to search for a suitable camping place. Peter wanted to 5 close to the river at the edge of the forest, 6 Paul, who was older, insisted that they camp further away. 7, Peter followed his brother deeper into the 8. “This really is a wonderful setting!” said Paul in excitement. They 9their tent, and settled down to eat the sandwiches they had made, then decided to find their way 10 to the river to catch some fish.

    “Are you sure that this is the right 11?” whispered Peter shakily. “I'm sure we passed that hollow tree just a while ago.” Paul walked12 silently. “Look, there it is again. We're lost, aren't we?” complained Peter. Paul had to admit that he didn't know where they were. 13, they were a long distance from where they were 14 to be. They were not even 15 of where they had set up their camp. They sat in 16for a few minutes until Peter had a bright idea. “Why don't we look for clues（线索） the way trackers 17 in the movies? We weren't careful about how we walked, so I'm sure we would have left18 some broken tree branches and leaves. ”

    Carefully, the boys 19the marks that they had left, until finally they found their campsite. Hurriedly, they packed their belongings and set off 20 the direction of the river.

What would their parents think of their adventure（冒险）?

    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.

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...I2.

    The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via Facebook 3.She had inspired me to live a(n)  4 life—for example，by 5 more.

    Her volunteer efforts weren't 6—she wasn't building wells in Uganda，but  7 she was doing small，local good deeds，such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do，too. She made me8 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 so 13 to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn't like she was my best friend，I just knew her，“People don't 14do this，” I thought to myself. However，15 thinking it over，I still felt a(n)16to 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)19on others. Not only did this letter make her happy，but her response to it increased my 20 of happiness，I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating gratitude is a great skill to practice. Life is too short not to do it.

    “Just sign here, sir.” the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

    The package consisted of a long, narrow box1wrapped in brown paper. 2 the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside — a very old one with a beautifully carved handle._3 he had not seen it for more than 20 years, he recognized it 4

    Oscar was 16 when he first saw the5umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its6 Oscar felt a strong desire to find its7.

    Oscar 8the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat 9Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O'Brien.

    Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O'Rrien's 10 on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I 11 you? ” she asked. “I'd like to return it if it's yours.” Oscar said, 12 the umbrella as if presenting a13 that had long been wished for. “Why, yes! It's mine.” replied Mrs. O'Brien with a14 smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your 15?” “No, ma'am,” he said, “my grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.” “Well, that's 16 what my father used to say. What is your name? Young man?”

    Years later, Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O'Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how17 it was. Why had it arrived here today? As if 18 a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O'Brien wanted you to 19 this umbrella as a present for a kind, 20gesture long ago.

    Once a boy really had everything he wanted, so he was 1 interested in the rarest (最稀有的) objects. One day he 2 a mysterious（神秘的） mirror and took it home. When he looked into the mirror, he found that his 3 looked very sad. He tried 4 ， but it remained the same.

    Surprised, the boy went off to buy some sweets. He went home and looked into the mirror as happily as possible, 5 he still looked sad. He bought all kinds of toys, but he looked forever6 in that mirror. So the boy put the mirror away in a 7.

    “What a(n) 8 mirror! I've never seen a mirror that didn't 9 properly！”

    That same afternoon he went out to play, but on his10 to the park he saw a little girl crying loudly. So he went over to see what was happening. The little girl told him that she had 11her parents.

    Together, they 12 in search of them. As the little girl continued crying, the boy 13 his money in buying sweets to cheer her up. 14 ， after walking for a long time, they found her parents, who looked very worried.

    The boy said goodbye, and walked off towards the park. However,15the time, he decided to turn around and head16 home, as he had no time to 17.At home, he went to his room and noticed a shining 18 in the corner where he had left the mirror. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror and 19 that the light was coming from his own body, because he was so happy about having helped that little girl.

    So he understood the mystery of that mirror, the only mirror reflecting（反映） faithfully（诚心诚意地） the 20 joy of its owner.

    It impressed me a lot. I never thought that little help would 1 out to be the most satisfying thing I have ever done. He was tired, and 2 to climb further. With a broad 3, he asked if I could help him with some money. He was paralyzed in both legs and was 4 funds for some operation. He said that if operated successfully, he could 5 training guaranteeing him a job. I was full of 6 and even asked him to show his legs. I gave him the 7 money. After a few days, he again came at my doorstep asking for more money for accommodation. This time I was more or less 8 he is not cheating me. I gave him some and said this is all I had.

    A year went by and I had moved to a(n) 9 place. One fine day I got a call from an unknown number. The caller called out his name but I didn't 10 him. Then he said he is the very paralyzed person I helped a year ago.

    I asked him how he is doing. He said, "What sir? You recognize me not by my name but by my 11 state."

    "With your kind help I am now able to 12 on my legs without support. I was operated 13. I am married to a beautiful lady and have a stable 14."

    I don't 15 remember if I gave him my phone number. 16, what he said next was touching. He said he wanted to return my money so that I didn't feel cheated and continued to help people 17 in the future. I don't know whether he read my facial expression the day I helped him but tears were 18 down my face. That day I promised him I will continue to help people as I see a(n) 19—small or big. 20 that changed my life.