As my husband, Doug, stood on the busy New York city street to stop a taxi, I tried to protect my daughter from the cold December wind and rain. I put my head down to kiss her tiny face.

    1 and wet, my husband gave up his attempt to nag down a taxi. I knew the 2.Just after her first birthday, we were told our daughter Katie has a 3brain illness. Since that moment, Doung and I felt like runners in a marathon race where the finish line kept4 . We knew Katie was runn.ng out of 5. It had taken months before we finally had a name for the 6 ， but we were told only a few specialists in the world knew how to7 it. Now, as we finally found a brilliant doctor to 8 our girl, we were in a strange9 in the cold rain.

    Just at the moment, a middle-aged woman pulled over and said, “Pardon me? May I offer you a(n)10?”

    Before we could say anything, she continued, “It's really no11for me. Just get in.”

    It was then that I noticed her thick Irish accent, which 12me up like hot soup. We simply said, “Thanks! Roosevelt Hospital, please,” as we got in her car for the ride.

    “Are you going13the baby?” she asked us.

    I nodded my head, holding back my 14.

    At the hospital, we 15her a dozen times for the ride. As the woman hugged me, I16her face was wet with tears. She promised to17for us before she left.

    After three more visits to New York and two more 18surgeries (手术)，Katie is cured. But the 19 of the Irish Angel still rang as a constant reminder of a tiny ray of light that appeared in our20 days.

    One of the most exciting archaeological discoveries(考古发现) in history was made in November 1922, when Howard Carter was1 in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. After many months of digging, he finally2 an unknown grave.

    3with his friend Lord Carnarvon, who was providing the money for his work, Carter entered the4 tomb. At first there was5, because the tomb was6, and it was clear that it had been robbed (盗窃) at some time in the past. 7, one of the workers eventually found a small stairway that led down to another door that had not been 8.

    Carter went down the dark staircase, walking 9 in case there were any traps (陷阱). As he opened the 10, Lord Carnarvon asked if he could see anything. He replied, “Yes, 11things.” It was clear at once that they had discovered what they had been 12. The tomb of King Tutankhamen was full of treasures of13value. There were over 5,000 objects of silver, gold and precious stones which had been there 14 for thousands of years.

    Lord Carnarvon's 15at discovering the treasures did not last long. Many of the local people were afraid of16 the kings' tombs, and believed that the kings would punish anyone who17 them. Lord Carnarvon had paid little attention to these18, but only a few weeks later, he19 fell ill and died; at the exact time of his death, all the lights in Cairo went out all of a sudden, and far away in England, his dog also20 .

    Sometimes, a mother just recognizes her child, even when the two have never met. That's how Devon Toomey felt in 2013 when she 1 a photograph on a website for an international adoption agency.

    Toomey had been on the site many times and seen 2 many kids, but she'd never determined to email the agency about anyone 3 she saw one baby born without arms and legs. "4 seeing him, I just knew he was our child. There was just something that spoke to me," she says.

    Today, four years later, that boy, named Bowen Toomey, is a 5-year-old 5 with two older brothers living in Eagle, Idaho. He is 6 on going to school, jumping on trampolines（蹦床）, reading books and 7 himself to difficult tasks.

    But his 8 disability means he can't live 9 like others: Where other children use their 10to handle things, Bowen sometimes uses his mouth or a special band he wears that lets him 11 things like a spoon.

    "He does everything any other kids do: he just finds his way to 12 various problems. He can ride his skate already," his mother says. "He 13 loves to swim, and can dive and swim independently. I think he loves it so much 14the water is the place where he really doesn't have limitations."

    A former special education teacher, Toomey and her husband, Jeremy, knew they wanted to adopt. Nine months after she 15 Bowen on the website of a Serbian orphanage（孤儿院）, 16 in Belgrade, the entire family went there to take home their 18-month-old addition.

    Although Bowen had been well taken care of at the orphanage, he didn't get much attention, and for the most part he was just laid in the bed.

    The young boy 17 to his new family in a way 18 he surprised everyone. "We laid eyes on him and from that moment on, he 19 joyful, which really touched our hearts," she says, "I said to myself, 20 is no wonder that I wanted him the moment I saw him'. He is my child."

    As a teenager, I was pretty lazy when it came to doing things for my family. I worked hard at school, and sometimes looked after my younger sister. Still, I found myself regularly resisting the urge to1out at home with even the simplest things.

    Every Wednesday afternoon, for example, my mother 2 me to another town for a piano lesson. During my two-hour lesson, she'd rush to the nearby store and buy a week's worth of3. Given the fact that my mom had driven me twelve miles there, twelve miles back,4for my lesson, and bought me a candy bar, you'd think I'd be very5 to help her bring the groceries into the house.6 I wasn't. I generally just brought in an armload and left the7 for Mom as I ran to my room, shut the door, and started studying.

    Don't get me wrong: even back in my room, I felt8about not helping my mother more. Deep inside, I wanted to change my9. But I also realized that once I did change, there'd be no going back.10I took on more responsibility, my parents would start11more of me. At age fifteen, I sensed that this one small change would 12 something much bigger: my personal change from a cared-for, spoiled (被宠坏的) child to a more13caring and giving young man.

    I'll never forget the Wednesday when I made a(n)14to jump in and see what happened. Returning home from the15I disappeared into my room, as usual. But once inside, I felt that deep and burning16.Throwing my school books on the bed, I suddenly opened my door and17back to the garage to help my mother. How happy I felt that day!

    Surely, over time, I continued to help out with more housework. The neat thing was, the more I helped out, the18I felt about myself and my place in my family. As Mom and Dad realized they could 19on me more, our trips became far less stressful, too. In short, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

    Sometimes the little things we put off doing the longest20 out to be the simplest things to complete. And feeling happy beats feeling guilty any day.

    When I was a boy we had several gardens around our old house. The largest one of all was used just for 1 potatoes. I can still remember those potato 2 days. The whole 3 helped.

    4 my Dad had tilled(耕地)the soil，my Mom，brothers，and I went to work. It was my job to 5 the little seed potatoes in the rows while my Mom dropped 6 of fertilizer (肥料)beside them. My brothers then covered them all 7 the freshly turned earth.

    For months afterward I would 8 over at the garden while I played outside and wonder what was going on underneath the ground. When the harvest time came I was 9 at the huge size of the potatoes my Dad pulled out of the soil.

    Those little seedlings had grown into sweet food. They would be 10 meal after meal of baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and my 11 favorite: potatoes cooked in spaghetti sauce.

They would 12 the entire family well fed throughout the whole year. It 13 was a miracle to be held.

    Thinking back to those special times makes me wonder how many other 14 I have planted in tills life that have grown 15 in the hearts and minds of others.

    How many times has God used some little thing that I said 16 did to grow something beautiful? How many 17 has Heaven used these little seedlings to 18 another's soul with sweet food?

    I hope then you always 19 the garden around you with care. I hope that you plant only goodness, peace, and20 in the lives of everyone you help. I hope that everyday you help miracles to grow.

    Eddie has lots of hobbies, but he loves baseball best. So it is his1sport. Eddie plays baseball on a team every year in the spring. He loves to go to baseball2.

    Every day when it is3, Eddies father throws a baseball to Eddie in the backyard. This is the time of day that Eddie4best. He enjoys spending time with his father and he loves practicing baseball.

    Eddie5baseball cards throughout the year. He and his father visit the6and buy cards for Eddie's collection. Eddie spends hours with his baseball cards. He arranges them in different7and trades them with other baseball8.

    One day, Eddie s father came home with two tickets to9the Atlanta Braves play the next Saturday. Eddie was so10. He counted down the days on the calendar.

    Finally it was the day of the game. Eddie and his father11to Atlanta early in the morning. Before they watched the match, they12the Braves' museum at the stadium and saw a short movie on the history of the Atlanta Braves. Eddie enjoyed seeing the13

    They ate14at the stadium when it was at noon, and soon it was time for the game.

    The game was exciting. Eddie tried to15every move the players made.16he watched carefully and practiced a lot, he might just be on one of those baseball cards some day!

    17the game, Eddie and his father drove home. They talked about the game. They talked about which18were the best, and which19were the most exciting. Eddie went to sleep that night still20of baseball. His dreams were filled with images from his very special day.