It's a small gas station that has snacks, drinks, cigarettes, and candies. The young man behind the counter knows his 1by name and what they usually want to buy. He treats children and adults with equal2He reads science fiction behind the counter when business is3

    One day, three people rushed in and grabbed food off the shelves as fast as they could,4not planning to pay for it. He hit the “panic button”, then went over the counter and 5the front door. It was obvious they were homeless, and equally obvious that they weren't going6with the food. They7the food and simply crowded together in panic— knowing the police were8 the way.

    Imagine what they must have felt like when they were told they didn't have to steal if they were that9“We have food in the back, expired (到期) but still 10to eat. If you need food, you11have some.”

    They were told to12what they had dropped and put it back, and then asked to sort out the mess. They were doing just that13the police arrived. The officers were told the situation was under control and the police were no longer14.

    This wasn't what they had 15.They were being treated as human beings who could right the wrong they'd done. Shocked, they quickly followed orders to take turns and use the restroom to clean up themselves.

    Soon three 16people walked out with all the17their arms could hold. They were18that, if they needed to come back again, they were to ask and not just grab.

    And then the young man went back to read until the next customer came in. He would be the 19 person in the world to say he was a hero. But he gave three people something they were badly in need of —a20 amount of self-respect and a little bit of hope.

    In December 2016, Jordan Kahana was driving along a highway in Arizona when he 1 two small dogs on the side of the road. The puppies were eight weeks old. Kahana was on his 2 to Colorado to celebrate the beginning of the New Year with friends, but he stopped and rushed the 3 abandoned（被抛弃的）dogs to the animal hospital. After that, Kahana decided to 4 them.

    Kahana 5 his job as a digital director in 2017 to travel more. 6 he rescued the pups he was planning on 7 full time. He had bought a one-way ticket to Bali in November, to leave that upcoming March. After rescuing the pups, however, his plans took a bit of a 8. But still, the 9 was to travel. So 10 flying for international adventures, he decided road trips would be their thing!

    11 then, the 30-year-old man has traveled about 32,000 miles with the two 12pups, who he named Sedona and Zeus. So far, the three have been to 35 states together and hiked through 13 national parks. They've even visited Canada. Kahana posts his travels on his 14 Instagram account viewed by hundreds of thousands.

    When asked how he 15 Sedona's and Zeus' names, Kahana said that he first found the dogs when he was 16 from Sedona, Arizona to Page, Arizona.He thought Sedona was a 17 name for the female puppy and Zeus, which sounds a good name for a 18 dog, was taken from Greek Mythology.

    “I was 19 forced to become a morning person,” Kahana said. “The pups, without 20, wake me up around 6:30 in the morning to go out for a walk.”

    Last December, just a week before Christmas, I went to a local KMart store to pick up my layaway (预付定金购物).Upon reaching the counter, I 1the clerk my layaway receipts and told her I was there to pay off the balance and take the 2home with me. She grabbed my receipts, and kept messing with the computer 3something was wrong. I felt a little uneasy. I was4 her to tell me my layaway had been misplaced or something of the sort.

5, after about ten minutes, she said,"Oh, that's why I can't find it in our 6. You should have 7a phone call a few days ago that your layaway was paid off by a(n) 8 Santa."I couldn't believe what I was hearing! This kind of story only happens in the 9.Why was my family 10 to receive such a blessing?

    Immediately I asked the cashier if there was a 11 that I could leave something for the Santa 12 his random act of kindness, but she said that the individual wanted to 13 completely unknown. It definitely 14 my heart. However, I felt kind of 15. I kept thinking that perhaps some family out there was not going to have a Christmas because they really couldn't 16 to pick up their layaway.

    I decided to pay it17, so I used the money I had for the balance on my account to purchase some 18 and on my way out, I gladly 19 them off inside a huge toy donation box. Since I had received such a nice, heart warming gesture from someone, I wanted to keep the 20 going. And it felt nice to receive and to be able to give right back.

    It's about 250 miles from the hills of west-central lowa to Ehlers' home in Minnesota. During the long trip home, following a weekend of hunting, Ehlers 1about the small dog he had seen 2 alongside the road. He had 3 to coax（哄）the dog to him but, frightened, it had 4.

    Back home, Ehlers was troubled by that 5 dog. So, four days later, he called his friend Greg, and the two drove 6. After a long and careful 7. Greg saw, across a field, the dog moving 8 away. Ehlers eventually succeeded in coaxing the animal to him. Nervousness and fear were replaced with 9. It just started licking（舔）Ehlers' face.

    A local farmer told them the dog sounded like one 10 as lost in the local paper. The ad had a 11 number for a town in southern Michigan. Ehlers 12 the number of Jeff and Lisa to tell them he had 13 their dog.

    Jeff had 14 in lowa before Thanksgiving with his dog, Rosie, but the gun shots had scared the dog off. Jeff searched 15 for Rosie in the next four days.

    Ehlers returned to Minnesotan, and then drove 100 miles to Minneapolis to put Rosie on a flight to Michigan. “It's good to know there's still someone out there who  16 enough to go to that kind of 17," says Lisa of Ehlers' rescue 18.

    I figured whoever lost the dog was probably just as  19 to it as I am to my dogs,” says Ehlers. “If it had been my dog, I'd hope that somebody would be 20 to go that extra mile.”

The True Story of Treasure Island

    It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination. 1 recent research has found the true story of this exciting work.

    Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived 2 for many years. In 1881 he returned to Scotland for a 3. With him were his American wife Fanny and his son 4.

    Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long 5 over the hills. They had been 6 this for several days before the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain, Lloyd felt the days 7.To keep the boy happy, Robert asked the boy to do some 8.

    One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island, Robert 9that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of 10. "What's that?" he asked. "That's the 11 treasure," said the boy. Robert suddenly 12 something of an adventure story in the boy's 13. While the rain was pouring, Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the 14 a twelve-year-old boy, just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate (海盗)？

    Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the 15 of a wooden leg. Robert had always wanted to 16 such a man in a story. 17 Long John Silver, the pirate with a wooden leg, was 18.

    So, thanks to a 19 September in Scotland, a friend with a wooden leg, and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy, we have one of the greatest 20 stories in the English language.

    Sometimes people around you can change your life. The change may not be sudden or 1, but little habits can produce big 2 that make you think about what is important in your life. The person who changed my life is Julia Masi. She has 3 me so many things that I will carry with me 4 my life.

    One thing I've learned from Julia is how to balance 5. Julia has shown me how to 6 ahead so that I can finish all my school work, enjoy sports and 7 have time for my friends. She has taught me that you can do anything if you are 8 and if you never give up. I've also learned that you can find anything fun or 9 if you connect it with something that you enjoy.

    Last year I hated studying vocabulary, but I loved playing on my computer. Julia 10 the two and showed me a website called "freerice.com" where you can 11 a word game that gives you 5 grains of rice to donate to the poor with every correct word. She 12 me to learn a hundred new 13 by filling up the rice bowl. I liked playing the game so much that I 14 about 1, 000 words in just one month.

    Julia has always 15 me to try new hobbies. She showed me that going to the theater could help me become a better writer. 16, she taught me that discussing a play can excite an interest in reading.

    17 it wasn't for Julia I probably wouldn't have 18 how easy it is to help the poor. There are so many ways that one person can 19. I've learned to be more appreciative of what I own. I am 20 for the opportunities that I have been given. I will continue to think of ways to help those less fortunate for the rest of my life.