My husband, Tom, has always been good with animals, but I was still amazed when he befriended a female grouse (松鸡). It's 1 for a grouse to have any contact (接触) with people. In fact, they're hard to spot, 2they usually fly off when they hear humans approaching.

    This grouse came into our lives in 3. Tom was working out in the field when he 4 her walking around at the edge of the field. She was 5 unafraid and seemed to be 6 about what he was doing.

    Tom saw the 7 bird several times, and she got more comfortable around him. We quickly grew 8 of the bird and decided to call her Mildred.

    One day, as Tom was working, Mildred came within a few feet of him to watch. Tom 9 he didn't see her and kept working to see what she would do next.

    Apparently, she didn't like to be 10. She'd run up and peck (啄) at Tom's hands, then 11 off to see what he would do. This went on for about 20 minutes, until Mildred became tired of the 12 and left.

    As spring went and summer came, Mildred started to 13 more and more often. 14 Mildred felt comfortable enough to jump up on Tom's leg and stay long enough for me to get a  15 of the two of them together. This friendly grouse soon felt 16 not just with our family, but with anybody who walked or drove by.

    When hunting season started, we put a 17 at the end of our driveway asking 18 not to shoot our pet grouse. My father, who lived down the road, 19 warned people not to shoot her. 20, hunters would stop and take pictures, because they had never seen anything like her.

    When I was shopping a few months ago , I saw a man trying to get people to donate(捐赠)to a very well-known charity(慈善团体)for children. I1to him that I can't donate money any more2my bank account(账户)having some problems last year. It was a3time and took months to get back our money.4, I noticed the man was hungry and cold, so I offered him a(n)5 in the nearby restaurant.

    Last week I6home on a really hot day. My husband Stewart was at the table with a person from a Charity having a7. We talked for a while and then I said, “I8you!” and he looked at me in surprise and said, “Oh, you're the lovely lady that9me a big lunch and drinks when I was at  10trying to get people to donate.” We both laughed and we had a little 11.

    He told me that he had let the organizers know about this lovely woman 12him out on a cold day. He said 13was so unexpected. I was so 14to see him again, sitting in my home. My act had really 15him for the kindness of it and I loved the fact that Steward had 16him in out of the heat for a cold drink.

    In our daily life, maybe we 17know how we18people when we do good things. But in fact, 19we do does affect others, for it is a lovely 20. Kindness is so catching (感染力的).

    A talented actor, producer, and singer, Will Smith is a success. In fact, his huge success can1back to some valuable lessons life taught him early on.

    Once Will's father2him an outdoor project. He had to rebuild a long 3wall in the yard. He had to4concrete and place one brick at a time, eventually covering the entire wall. Will felt surprised at their father's demand5 he couldn't even think of completing a project as big as this. However, with the 6of "one brick more", he completed it in six months. Will who7was so pessimistic about the job, felt a sense of 8 , and so did his father. Even today when Will thinks that he won't be able to do 9, he looks back to it and10himself, "one brick at a time."

    As a refrigeration engineer, Will's father often11stores to install freezers. Will mostly12his father. During one such visit, both Will and his father were installing a freezer in a supermarket basement and the employees had 13a rat killing solution across the floor. Both Will and his dad went in 14the place for the compressor(压缩机), and they found a dead rat. Will's dad had to 15the exact place where the rat had died; his dad, 16 even the slightest hesitation held the dead rat with his bare hands. He removed the17and fixed the compressor. This taught Will that one should never 18 about life. this made him realize the value of 19and hard work.

    Every successful man is shaped right from his 20. To achieve dreams, one should be disciplined and determined.

    A man died and was on his way to another1, either the Heaven or the Hell. He saw an extremely2palace half way and the owner of the palace3him to stay and live in the palace.

    The man said, "I have been working4during my life and now I just want to eat and sleep5any work."

    The owner of the palace said, "6, there is nowhere else better than here for you. There are a wealth of7in my palace and you can eat whatever you want without anyone8you. 9, there is10that needs to be done by you." Then, the man settled down in the palace.

    At the beginning, the man felt very11at the rotation（轮流）of eating and sleeping. But12, he felt a bit lonely and empty. So he went to the owner and complained, "It is13to live by just eating and sleeping every day. Now I show no14in this kind of life any more. Could you help me find a15?"

    The owner replied, "16, there is no job here at all."

    After another several months, the man could not17the present life and went to the owner18, "I really could not stand this sort of life any more. If you do not offer me a job, I would19to go to the Hell instead of living here."

    The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously（轻蔑地）, "Do you think it is the Heaven here? It is20the Hell!"

    Cheating often happens in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in 1 and who is trying to take advantage of other people's 2.

    Recently, I was finishing my work at home 3 the dog barked, letting me know that 4 was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a 5 weak woman in her late fifties.

I said to her, "May I ask what you 6?"

    She 7, "Hello, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live nearby. We earn our living 8 working at construction sites. A few days ago my 9 fell off the stairs while 10 a heavy load. He is 11 hurt and hasn't been able to 12 for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!"

    "Oh!" I said. "Please 13 here." I went into the room. I felt really bad about her 14 but ...Was she telling me the 15 or trying to cheat money?

    Finally, I 16 to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, "Dear Lord, you know 17 I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard-earned money helps those who 18 need it."

    I went out with a fifty note and 19 it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, "Thank you so much!"

    I was so 20, and left.

Eighty-year-old retired tailor, James McKay, spent Saturday night in prison after hitting 30-year-old Keith Smith over the head with his walking stick. McKay's wife, Laurene said that, while McKay is usually a（n）1 and pleasant person, he had been driven to this act of2 by literally getting wet just once too often. He could no longer3 it.

Smith lives above the McKays. He is a（n）4 gardener, and also a fish collector. Unfortunately, the water he5 over his balcony（平台）every day ended up on the McKay's floor, or too often, on the unsuspecting McKays themselves.

"For the last two weeks, since Smith moved into the flat above us, we dared not go onto our6 ," said Laurene. She added that it wasn't only the water7 their balcony from Smith watering his plants that8 them, but also the way he cleaned his fish9 . "We'd be sitting there happily reading our newspapers, when suddenly so much water would come from above that we'd be as wet as if we had10 with our clothes on! We could hardly11 the smell of fish!"

And on Saturday evening it was just too12 , "It was James' birthday," Laurene recalled, "and it was such a beautiful night to enjoy the starry night13 . I made him a birthday cake. The candles were a great sight as you can14 , but James didn't get to blow them out." Instead,

Smith15 one of his larger tanks over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. "I have never seen him move so fast and I couldn't stop him. He was up there in a（n）16 ."

Smith is not going to take things further with the police. He has also17 to change his ways from now on. And what of James McKay? As he left the18 station,a large crowd of supporters sang him "Happy Birthday". "Definitely the most exciting birthday ever!" said the19 old man. "The best since my20 , I'd say!"