Recently, my family and I visited Kaikoura, a coastal town in New Zealand. The first evening it seemed a1 place, but the next day I remembered what I'd 2about it in a magazine. It was often 3 to see dolphins (海豚) and whales there!

    My family and I 4  on a grey, windy morning on a small boat. 5, the sky turned blue ten minutes later. Soon we  6 the place where we were supposed to go swimming. To my 7, this was more than 40 km from land. I was quite 8by this time, and wondered why we came all the way out there, when 9someone shouted “Dolphins!”

    All I could 10were fins (鱼鳍) everywhere — there were about one hundred dolphins, all 11towards our boat! Many of them were jumping around in the water12they were asking us to come and play. I 13my snorkel (潜水通气管) and jumped into the sea. Then I tried to make 14in the water to attract them. What made me 15was that they heard me and came to swim around me. Amazingly, a dolphin kept following me, but then changed his 16and swam in another direction. It really made me realize how 17these animals are.

    About an hour later, it was time for us to get back onto the 18. I really enjoyed myself, but I was a little cold and 19 to leave the water. I noticed that everyone on board was smiling and I realized what a very20moment we'd had.

    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 used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like attention drawn to myself.And1 otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher,I always2to sit at the back of the classroom.

    All this3after I joined a sports team.It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team.At first I thought it was a crazy4because I didn't have a good sense of balance,nor did I have the5to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me.But for the teacher who kept insisting on my 6for it", I wouldn't have decided to give a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts（选拔）was only the7of it!When I first started8the practice sessions,I didn't even know the rules of the game,much9what I was doing.Sometimes I'd get10and take a shot at the wrong direction which made me feel really stupid11I wasn't the only one "new" at the game,so I decided to12on learning the game,do my best at each practice session,and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't13"just yet".

    I practiced and practiced.Soon I knew the14and the "moves".Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive15in me was winning over my lack of confidence.With time,I learned how to play and made friends in the16—friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

    With my17self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates.I have gone from 18 in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself19raising my hand—even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent20I had the right answer.Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

    There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many 1, but because he was a good piano player, some people 2 came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn't want to hear him play but to sing a song.

    The man said, "I have never 3 that before in public. I think I'm 4at playing the piano."

    But the customer 5. He told the waiter, "I'm6 listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing."

    The waiter7 across the room, "Hey, buddy! If you want to get 8 , sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!"

    9 in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 10had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before 11 that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the12 himself!

        He had talent he was 13 on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he 14 to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

    You, too, have skills and 15. You may not feel as if your "talent" is particularly 16, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be 17. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you 18! The19 is not "What ability do I have that is useful?" It is 20 "How will I use whatever ability I have?".

    It was the last day of the final examination in a large eastern university. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering seniors gathered, discussing the exam due to begin in a few1. On their faces was confidence（自信）. This was their last exam—then on to 2and jobs.

    Some talked of jobs they already had; others talked of jobs they 3get. With the certainty of four years of college, they felt ready and able to take 4 of the world.

    The coming exam, they knew, would be a(n)5task. The professor had said they could bring 6 books or notes they wanted, requesting only that they did not 7 each other during the test.

    8 they entered the classroom. The professor passed out the papers. And smiles  9 on the students' faces as they noted there were only five essay-type questions.

    Three hours had passed 10 the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. On their faces was a frightened expression. Papers in hand, no one spoke as the professor faced the class.

    He looked at the 11faces before him, and then asked, “How many completed all five questions?” 12 a hand was raised.

    “How many answered four?” Still no hands.

    “Three? Two?” The students moved restlessly in their seats.

    “One, then? Certainly somebody finished 13 .” But the class remained silent.

    The professor put down the papers. “That is exactly what I 14 ,” He said. “I just want to impress upon you that 15 you have completed four years of engineering, there are still many things about the 16 you don't know. These questions you couldn't answer are relatively 17 in everyday practice.” Then smiling, he added, “You will all 18 this course, but remember—even though you are now college graduates, your education has just 19 .”

    Over years they have 20the name of his professor, but not the lesson he taught.

    In 1993, Greg Mortenson travelled to northern Pakistan to climb K2, the world's second highest mountain. Instead of reaching the top, he became so1that he had to come down. Some porters took him home to Korphe, their village, and 2him.

    While he was recovering, Greg3the village children writing their lessons outside in the dirt. The village had no4 and couldn't pay $l a day for a teacher. Greg decided to pay the village back by raising money to build a school and5a teacher.

    Back home in Montana, Greg wrote many6to celebrities（名人）and business people.7, he received just one reply and one check for $100. Then he wrote 16 grant proposals（补助金申请）— all were8. Finally he started9his things, but only raised $2,000.

    Then an elementary school class in Wisconsin10a project called Pennies for Pakistan. They11$623 in pennies to CAI — Central Asia Institute, founded by Greg. After that, adults began to take a(n)12in his project.13, Greg raised $12,000 and in 1996, CAI14its first project — the school in Korphe.

    Over two decades, CAI's15have expanded into other areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, many of them too dangerous or remote for other organizations to reach. CAI has16the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Hundreds of new requests for17still cross the organization's desks every day. It looks forward to18these future projects, because Greg and CAI truly19the surest path to peace is through20. With education they can change the world, one child at a time.