Whatever misfortune you face, just hold up your head and face it with a smile! I got to know this from a musical soul.

    The other day I was feeling quite 1, having just been laid off from my job. With so many 2 to pay, I was wondering what was going to happen to my family.

    I got off the bus when I heard piano music and singing rising above the noise of the 3. I walked a bit slower, trying to find out where it was coming from. Through the 4 I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a box next to her.

    She was sin ging songs about love and her sweet voice 5 me a bit. Then I stood there watching her playing, thinking that it must take 6 to perform on her own in front of hundreds of people she didn't know.

    She might have felt my 7 for she occasionally looked in my direction.

    By now I was telling myself that I could at least tell her how good she sounded. I walked 8and put some money in her box and she expressed her thanks with a smile on her face.

    I asked her 9, “Why are you playing the piano in the middle of this crowded place?”

    She explained to me that she sees so many 10 people in the world that she is trying to relieve the pain by 11 motivational (激励的) music.

    Instead of continuing my way home, I said to her, “I have been going through a 12 time lately, but you've made me  13 again.”

     “I'm happy that I could be 14 to you,” she replied. “Why are you so sad?”

    I told her my story and said, “I'm not so 15 about what to do….”

     “You see, here's the 16,” she responded. “When you were walking, your head was down.” She looked me in the eyes and went on, “Don't look defeated, because 17 comes in different ways and if your head is down you might never see it. You should   18 more … lift your head up.”

    I was really 19 by what she said! I did hold my head up and soon got through the difficult time.

    So 20 in trouble, just face it bravely and you are sure to overcome your difficulty sooner or later.

    If you have been to Harbin in winter, but didn't have a 1 to see people do winter-swimming, I am sure you will feel it's a(n) 2. Can you imagine swimming in a river with the temperature being about 10 degrees below zero? This would be 3 to the people from the South. If you were on the Songhuajiang River, you could not help 4 those brave swimmers.

    I felt greatly excited as well as 5 when I first saw the winter-swimming, though it was very cold that day, the swimmers were only wearing 6 clothes, while all the people watching were having heavy clothes covering all their bodies with only two 7 visible. I had thought that the river was warm, but it 8 much cold when I dipped my hand into the river water. What excited me most was the way they 9 into the river from the high ice-platform and the styles in which they swam, 10 butterfly-stroke and back-stroke.

    My uncle has been 11 about winter-swimming for several years. Now he is a member of the Winter Swimming Club. Once I asked him, “Aren't you afraid of cold? Have you got a 12 from it?” Smiling, he said, “13 we have a strong will, we can surely overcome any 14 and difficulties. I haven't got a cold at all. On the contrary, I have become 15 than I was before “That's true, he 16 suffer from bronchitis. However, since he began to like swimming, he has been fully 17 from the disease.

    Today, more and more people are 18 joining in the winter-swimming, including women and children. This activity shows the great 19 and strong will of the people in Harbin which I think is just what we 20 in our work and study as well.

    A Florids woman walked into a Publix supermarket last week. She asked a(n)1  ques­tion at the bakery counter, “Are there any first-birthday cakes scheduled for 2 over the weekend?

    Nick DeClemente, who works at the store, was initially 3 by the request. He then asked if the woman had any 4 person in mind. To his surprise, she didn't.

    The woman said, "No, I want to pay for one anonymously (匿名),"

    Minutes later, she started to burst into 5. She then explained to him that her baby was born 6 one year ago and she wanted to 7 his memory by paying for another 1-year-old's birthday cake.

    "I was a little lost for words just because of the deep 8 I developed for her," DeClemente recalled. He 9a pile of cake orders and picked out an order for a birthday cake for a 1-year-old boy named David. The buttercream topped sheet cake, which 10 at least 20 people, cost $32.99. The woman 11 agreed to pay.

    “She told me, “Thank you, and 12 that I let her do this," DeClemente said” "I hope that this lady finds 13 through this gift and that the customer receiving this gift will pay it 14, "“I told her how much it made my 15 especially because I have a little boy on the way and wished her many 16." DeClemente said, explaining he was standing by the stores front door as she was 17.

    The dad-to-be said he never got her name nor did he get a 18 to explain to the customer whose cake was paid for the story behind the 19 gesture — but he hopes their paths 20 again.

    Many people spend their New Year's Eve getting dressed up and dancing their way to midnight. My brother and I decided to do things a bit 1.

    We each filled a backpack with clothes, shoes and other things and headed out to the 2. The first person we saw was a 15-16-year-old boy picking up 3 plastic bottles on the train platform (站台). We called him over and started up a(n) 4. We had a look at his 5 and noticed he had 6 fingernails (手指甲). We explained that it was 7 to keep short nails and then we 8 cutting them for him. When we were 9, we offered him some chocolate candies, which made him look at us 10. We talked to him some more and began 11 some of the chocolate ourselves. Finally, he 12 took the chocolate himself and then began telling us his 13.

    His name was Raju. After his mother died, his father remarried. Unable to 14 his stepmother (继母), Raju ran away from 15 and has been living on the streets for 3 years, collecting and 16 empty plastic bottles.

    When we met Raju, he wasn't wearing any 17. One quick look into our backpacks and we 18 what we were looking for-a pair of Nike shoes. When we dressed him in them-Raju's eyes were full of 19. "These shoes are so great. Nothing will hurt my 20.Thank you so much!" Touched by our actions, he joined us as we walked around and looked for those in need.

    It was the last day of school. The teacher walked around the class and 1 each student a piece of paper except me. It was everybody's2 for the year. I knew that I3 the class because I couldn't read. I was 4 of being asked to come up in front of the class and read.

    Suddenly the5 bell rang. My seat was next to the door so I just ran out of class across the playground until the fence (栅栏) of our school. I sat on the grass with my head in my knees and burst out6. A couple of minutes later I heard the crinkle (沙沙声) of a lunch bag and then 7. I saw a girl in my class 8 out my lunch. She set it down next to me then and didn't say a word. She9 sat with me till the bell rang. On the way back she put her arm around me. “You might not 10 so well but I think you are a(n) 11 painter in the class," she said 12. "My mom always tells me if I do the best I can, I will be better," she added.

    The rest of the day I was lost in thought13 I had drawn a picture of a black horse 14 to reach some grass on the other side of a fence. When the last bell rang, I went to her15 where she was talking with her 16 and put the picture down. I could hear the girls talking about the 17 as I walked away. That18 a lot to me because it reminded (提醒) me that I was 19 something. At the same time, I also 20 that I wasn't doing the best I could.