I had been staring at the white walls of the video game store for about 2 hours since lunch. It was a very 1 day. I glanced at the table in front of the store, and my heart 2. It was the donation table for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda and even though I had donated what I could, I 3 felt sad whenever I saw the people on the TV suffering.I was broken out of my 4 when the doors got open. Customers, 5 !

    She was a small girl about 10 or 11. Her mother was accompanying her with a few plastic bags. I 6 her mom. When I was selling cigarettes on the street, I saw her selling clothes she7herself at the market.

    The daughter just had a 8 and her mom finally had 9 money to buy a PS3 and some games.

    The girl half-jogged, half-skipped to my counter. She 10 her backpack and pulled out a console(操纵板). Her mom handed me the bag full of games.

    “Can I 11 this?”

    “Sure sweetie, no problem.”

    I inspected the console and the games, and nothing was opened. According to our 12 , I returned the 13 to the mom. She handed it to the girl. And the girl ran off as fast as her little feet could take her. I was about to ask when the mom, seeing my 14 , explained, “She wants to sell her birthday 15 , so she can donate to the 16 .”

    She was 17to give up what was supposed to be hers and gave to those 18 . That's real generosity out there.

    19 I was watching her talking to the girl at the donations table, I was reminded that even though there are a lot of 20 people in the world, there are still those people just like that little girl.

    Last spring, I was fortunate to be chosen to participate in an exchange study program. In my application letter, I was careful to 1 how much I wanted to see France; evidently, my excitement really came through in my words. Once I 2 that I was going, all I could think about was the fun of foreign travel and making all sorts of new and 3 friends. While traveling was inspiring and meeting people was 4, nothing about my term in France was what I 5.

    The moment I arrived in Paris, I was 6 by a nice French couple who would become my host parents. My entire experience was joyous and exciting 7 I received some shocking news from my program coordinator（协调人）: there had been a death in my host parents' extended family. They had to travel outside France for several weeks. That afternoon, I had to 8 out of one family's house into another. The exchange coordinator told me I'd have a 9this time and asked whether I could share a bedroom with an English speaker. To avoid the temptation(诱惑) to 10my native language, I asked not to be 11 with an English-speaking roommate. When I got to my new room, I 12 myself to my new roommate Paolo, a Brazilian(巴西人), the same age as I, whom I was surprised to find playing one of my favorite CDS! In just a few hours, we knew we'd be good friends for the rest of the 13.

    I left France with many 14, so when people asked me what my favorite part of the trip was, they are always 15 to hear me talk about my Brazilian friend Paolo and scores of weekdays in class, weeknights on the town, and weekends16 France we enjoyed together. I love how people 17 seem so different, but end up being so18. The most valuable lesson I gained from studying in France wasn't just to respect the French people 19to respect all people, for your next best friend could be just a continent away. I would recommend an exchange program to anyone who wants to experience foreign cultures and gain meaningful 20.

    On his 67th birthday, Dad had a heart attack. He was1he survived. But something 2him had died. His passion for life was gone. He refused the doctor's3 and his bitter attitude made every visitor 4 Dad was left alone.

    I asked Dad to come and live on our small farm5the fresh air would do him good. A week later, I 6the invitation. He criticized everything here. Frustrated, I decided something had to be done.

    One day I read an article saying several depressed patients' attitudes had 7dramatically (显著地)when given dogs. That afternoon I drove to the animal shelter, where a pointer's eyes caught my attention. They watched me8.

    A staff member said: “He's been here for two weeks with nothing heard. His time is 9tomorrow.”

    I turned to the man in horror. “You mean to 10him?”

    “Madam, he said coldly. “We don't have 11for every unclaimed dog. The pointer's calm brown eyes12my decision. “I'll take him, ”I said.

    On arriving home, I took the dog to Dad's room. “Look what I got you! ”I said 13

    Dad frowned and murmured. “I don't want it”. Then, suddenly, the pointer 14from my grasp. He sat down in front of Dad.

    Dad's anger 15and soon he was hugging the animal.

    It was the beginning of a16Dad named the pointer Cheyenne. Together they spent long hours walking down country roads and relaxing on the banks of streams.

    Dad's 17faded, and he and Cheyenne befriended each other. Then, one night two years later, Cheyenne rushed into my bedroom as if telling something. Running into Dad's room, I found he had18.

    Two days later, my grief 19when I discovered Cheyenne lying dead beside Dad's bed. While burying him near their favorite stream, I silently 20the dog for restoring Dad's peace of mind.

    Last Sunday. I went to the neighborhood cafe with my friend. On the way, 1 an old lady,2 cart had been knocked over and her goods were scattered across the pavement. She was 3 her goods. People passing by were 4 her as if she were a beggar.

    I hesitated. Many things were running through my mind. “What should we do?” I asked my friend 5“It's none of our business. 6 you may get both of us into trouble and 7 it if you help,” my friend said 8 and then continued to walk ahead. However, I had great 9 on this poor lady. “She really needs help.” I said seriously and began to 10 the lady.

    I cautiously 11 beside the lady, helping her. I could feel the passers-by eyeing me 12 I knew they were thinking that I was 13 for helping her or that I had knocked over her cart and therefore I was assisting her out of  14.

    “Thank you!” She whispered.

    “You are welcome!” I murmured, offering a 15.

    She also smiled. After all goods were picked up, she slowly rose 16 her feet. She thanked me again, and continued walking down the street. Yet I knew that her smile and 17would always he impressed on my mind.

    At that moment, I didn't care anymore 18 other people thought.

    I smiled to myself because although I had helped that lady in such a 19wav, she had helped me more by showing me how I could be 20 in the world.

    In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can't 1 what you don't have,” my father would say.

    When I was aged thirteen, my father 2 his store manager, a one－armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his3 gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to 4 the day's calls 5 I find the right person？” he asked. The store has tens of thousands of 6. “People like to bargain,” he told me. “So I don't 7 prices. You just have to know a 8.”

    He took me around and said, “A quarter－horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the9, you can sell for thirty－five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars; 10 excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don't even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”

    Every day after 11, I would pedal(骑自行车) down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip(纸条) for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very 12. My father glanced down at what I was doing, 13 the customer and said, “You sure got a14 today. My employee gave you the price and that's the price.” Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all15？”

    It turned out that it was a(n) 16 plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was 17 to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.

    He said, “I could have stopped the sales if I'd wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn't yet taken the money. 18, by civil law, you're 19 age. But, a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.” It 20 my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity(正直).

Go for the Gold

    Diana Golden was 12 years old when she found she had bone cancer. Doctors recommended 1 her right leg above the knee.

    2 Diana heard the news, she asked the first question that came into her mind, "Will I still be able to 3?"

    "When the doctors said yes," she later said, "I thought it wouldn't be too 4."

    That was Diana's 5 to life. Losing a leg would cause most children to lose 6, but Diana refused to think about the 7 side. "Losing a leg?" she'd say. "It's nothing. A body part."

    Most of all, Diana didn't want to let cancer stop her from doing what she loved—skiing. She had been on ski since five. After the operation, Diana worked hard to get back to the 8. "I always skied, and I intended to keep on skiing. There was never any question in my mind about that," she 9. Seven months after losing her leg, Diana met her 10. She was back out on the slopes (斜坡).

    Skiing wasn't quite the same with just one leg, but Diana made the best of it. She 11 to go faster on one leg than most people could go on two. When she was just 17, she became a member of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team.

    After high school, Diana went on to Dartmouth College. There she saw how top two-legged skiers trained. 12 not to be left behind, Diana began training with the Dartmouth team. When they ran up and down the steps of the football stadium, she went up and down the steps too—by 13. "I had to 14," she later explained. "I was an athlete. I had one leg, which meant I had to do it 15."

    Her constant efforts finally paid off. In 1987, Diana placed 10th in a race 16 some of the best nondisabled skiers in the country. And in 1988, the magazine Ski Racing selected her "Skier of the Year", breaking the 17 of electing able-bodied World Cup athletes.

    As a result of her 18 and determination, Diana has changed the way the world looks at19 athletes. People have begun to see them as strong and competent. "Everyone has some kind of 'disability'," Diana says, "It's what we do with our abilities that 20."