I grew up in a small town and the main entertainment was football on Friday night. It was just a sleepy little town where parents wanted to raise their children away from crime and 1 of a big city, and where teenagers like me 2 leaving to find something bigger and better.

    All that changed one summer night. My friend Lisa, Martin and Tyler held a party for my eighteenth birthday at Lisa's house. 3 they kept handing alcohol to me, I was pretty 4. I asked Tyler to take me home. With some 5, we made it out to his car and drove home. News came next morning. My friend Martin was 6 in a car accident. That night after Tyler and I left, Martin, who was   7 more drunk than me, got into his car and 8 towards the highway to go home. Driving on the wrong side of the road, he never saw the truck coming. The driver didn't see him 9 to avoid the car. They hit head on. Martin died immediately, and the driver was thrown 10 the truck windshield（挡风玻璃）and died a week later.

    Whenever I 11 back on that day, I can't help thinking that it was my 12 to drink so much that night. 13 things would be different. I know Martin 14 the choice to drink and drive that night, but I will always feel 15 for what happened. I may not change the world with my story, but I do hope that by 16 my story I can make you 17 that you not only have a responsibility for yourself but also for others. Don't ever think that your choices are yours 18. Every choice is like a stone dropped into 19water—each ripple (涟漪) represents someone who your choice 20. That's quite an influence, isn't it?

    I wasn't prepared for the way I felt when my 18-year-old son, Dylan, left for Asia during his winter break.

    I was 1 the moment he first told my husband Michael and me that he wanted to use some of his 2 to travel around China. We were excited for him to explore the world. We told him that3 was one of the best ways to spend his money and the 4 will last a lifetime.

    On the morning of Dylan's departure, he5 a few more things into his bag. Before he and Michael 6to the airport, I yelled, “Be safe, and 7 when you arrive in Shanghai.”

    That night 8 he was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, it hit me that Dylan was really on his9I woke hourly, each time 10the clock and counting the hours before he would land the following morning.11 my decision to let him go alone, I prayed，and thought about all the things that could go 12 Then I heard from him. The first text said he'd arrived. The second text said his luggage didn't 13 it.

    Feeling anxious, I madly attempted to 14 down his luggage. To search for lost baggage, I persuaded him to go back to the 15 and suggested he go to the airline's office. My efforts 16 All the while Dylan was texting me he was all right.

    After that, there was no more 17 about lost luggage. I knew that he'd figure it out, and that the life lessons would be18.

    Several days into the trip, Dylan sent a photo from Hong Kong. “I thought I could never study abroad anywhere but Europe19 I could definitely do it here.” his note read.

    And I was 20

    One Saturday afternoon, my mother was driving home. On the halfway, after1her credit card to buy something at the store near the gas station, she put her wallet on the top of the car just for a moment to2my phone call. And then3, she forgot and drove off. When arriving home, she realized that and thought that the4of getting it back was small.

    She was so5surprised when she found a6on the door from a person who said he and his friend found her wallet a few hours earlier. Patrick and Catherine saw the wallet in the middle of the road a few7from the gas station. They stopped their car to8. It was filled with all the things one usually kept in a wallet, including some9and other cash. However, no phone number,10this, they managed to get a（an）11from my mother's driving license, and without hesitation, they decided to drive to our home to12it.

    When my mother went to get the wallet she was so13and grateful. She14to give them some money as a（n）15of gratitude, but they refused, saying that they were just glad to16my mother help.

    They were naturally17, and they had a firm18in the Golden Rule as well. They drove over to my house because they realized the unpleasant and upset experience that the loss of a wallet and all its contents could19. I think they were really20and helpful.

    Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can also be 1. A group of Americans who taught English in other countries 2 discussed their 3.They decided that miscommunications were always 4, even over something as 5 as "yes" and "no."

    On her first day in Micronesia, Lisa thought people were 6 her requests. The day was hot, and she needed a cold drink. She went into a store and asked, "Do you have cold drinks?" The woman there didn't say anything. Lisa 7 the question. Still the woman said nothing. Lisa gave up and left the store. She later learned that the woman had 8 her: She had raised her eyebrows, 9 in Micronesia means "yes."

    This 10 Jan of an experience she had in Bulgaria. She had gone to a restaurant that was well-known for a 11 named stuffed cabbage( 塞馅卷心菜). She asked the waiter, "Do you have stuffed cabbage today?" He 12 his head. Jan eagerly waited, 13 the cabbage 14 came. In that country, a nod means "no."

    Tom had a 15 problem when he arrived in India. After 16 something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They responded 17 many different nods and shakes of the head. He guessed some people had not understood, so he explained again. When he asked again if they understood, they did the same thing. He soon 18 that his students did understand. In India, people nod and shake their heads in different ways 19 where they come from. You have to know where a person  is from to 20 whether they are indicating(表示) "yes" or "no."

    My first job was at a local restaurant, where I worked for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow1.

    Helen was in her 30s and had extraordinary self-confidence, something I was really 2. I looked up to Helen 3 she was doing what she loved— 4people better. She always made everyone, customers and co-workers,5and feel good.

    Being a waitress changed my life. One of my6customers was Fred Hasbrook. He always ate an omelet(炒蛋), and when I saw him7, I tried to have it on his table as soon as he sat down.

    Thanks to the newfound confidence I 8from Helen, I dreamed of having my own9. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan(贷款), they said, "We just don't have the money."

    The next day, Fred saw me and asked, "What's 10? You're not smiling today." I 11my dream with him and said, "Fred, I know I can do more if somebody12just have faith in me."

    Before long he handed me checks13$50,000—along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, "The only collateral(抵押品)on this loan is my trust in your14as a person. Good people with a dream should have 15to make that dream come true."

    I took the checks to Merrill Lynch, where the money was provided for me. I16working at the restaurant, making17 for the restaurant I would open. My plans soured, though, and I lost the 18.

    Later I decided to apply for a job at Merill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was 19and ended up becoming a pretty good agent. 20. I paid back Fred the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm.

Hawthorne worked as a clerk in a small company. He suffered a heavy blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken 1, "Your services are no longer needed." Hawthorne left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in deep 2. When he entered his house, he blurted out(脱口而出)to his wife Sophia, "I lost my job. I am a complete failure." A tense silence followed. 3, a smile crept across Sophia's face. "What great news!" she responded, "Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write."

"But I have no job and no prospect of a job," he objected completely without hope. "If I 4 to be an author, then what will we 5? Where will the money come from?"

Sophia took her husband by the hand and 6 him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of 7. "Where on earth did you get this?" Hawthorne asked. "To whom does it 8?"

"It's ours!" Sophia replied. "I always knew that one day you would become a great writer 9 you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have 10 as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to 11 us a whole year. "

What a(n) 12! What a wife! The 13 husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater 14,—she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous 15.