My first lesson is at a meeting. As we settle around the table I hear Meg, who is 1 a recent operation, talking to Judith, the manager of our project. “Thank you so much for 2 my daughters to their dance lessons last week.” “Don't mention it,” Judith says, “It was nothing.”

    Knowing how 3 Judith's schedule is, with her work, kids and aging parents, I find her driving Meg's children to lessons unbelievably 4. I am about to say more about this when Donna, another colleague, enters the room 5. She apologizes for being late, saying she just hosted a lunch for her friends who are over seventy. “That is so nice of you,” I say, 6 how busy she is, how she doesn't like to cook and clean. “Oh,” she says, waving her hand, “It was nothing.” 7, I can still tell the 8 in her voice. She did gain a sense of satisfaction from the entertainment offered to her friends.

    Seeing their 9 to help others selflessly, I start thinking about the concept of “nothing”, this peaceful and generous way of living — had it really been nothing or are they simply saying that? It 10 to me that once I spent a whole afternoon after work helping a friend 11 a speech she was going to deliver. I 12 her to rearrange the sequence of the stories in the lecture to make it sound more 13. After the fifth try, she finally 14 it . She hugged me with 15, saying thanks to me. I smiled and said it was nothing.

    Suddenly, I realized that helping someone was really something to me. I learned that giving from the heart doesn't 16 mean sacrifice and hard work. The 17 is finding something we love to do and finding someone who 18 that something. Our generosity can benefit others 19 ourselves. Once you have a good 20 of it, it's nothing. And it's really something.

    When our second child was born, the doctor pointed out that her feet were turned inward. “Left uncorrected, it would be a 1,” he told us.

    We2 to do anything we could do help our baby.3she was growing I had to take her back to the doctor every two weeks to have each foot recast. 4the casting was finished and it was time for corrective5.Jim and I watched with hope and concern as she6to walk. Those first, awkward steps made us so7. By the time she entered preschool, her steps appeared quite8 . Encouraged by her progress, we looked for something else to help strengthen her9body.

    As it turned out, she loved the10 ! When she tuned six, we helped her join in skating lessons and soon she was skating11a swan. She kept working hard at every new 12, and her efforts13. At fifteen, she competed in both pairs-skating and the ladies' singles at the 1988 World Junior Championships in Australia, wining both14!

I thought back to the early years of15for Kristi—the years of fear for us as her parents, and the same years of frustration for her as a child two 16wanted to walk. During those years, we didn't expect gold medals and a good professional career17her. We admired Kristi herself, 18 her strength and efforts, and how far she had come on two tiny feet that had19been bound in heavy casts. In our eyes, Kristi had always walked with the20of a true champion.

    An 18-year-old student at Stanford University was struggling to pay his fees.Not knowing where to turn for money,he came up with a bright1.He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to2money for their education.

    They 3out to the great pianist Ignacy J.Paderewski.His manager4a guaranteed fee of $2,000 for the piano recital（独奏会).A deal was5and the boys began to work to make the concert a6.

    The big day arrived. But 7,they had not managed to sell enough tickets.The total8was only $ 1,600. Disappointed,they went to Paderewski and explained their plight (困境).They gave him the entire $ 1,600,plus a9for the balance $400.They promised to honour the cheque at the10possible.Paderewski tore up the cheque,11the $ 1,600 and told the two boys to keep the money they needed for the fees.The boys were12,and thanked him heartedly.

    It was a small act of13.But it clearly marked out Paderewski14a great human being.15should he help two people he did not even know?We all16situations like these in our lives.And17of us only think “If I help them,what will happen to me?”The truly18people think, “If I don't help them,what will happen to them?” They don't do it19something in return.They do it20they feel it's the right thing to do.

    A nurse took a tired and anxious soldier to the bedside of an old man, “Your 1 is here.” She had to repeat the words several times 2 the patient's eyes opened.

    Heavily drugged with sleep because of the 3 of his heart attack, the old man could 4 see the uniformed soldier. The soldier held the old man's hand, expressing a(an) 5 of love and encouragement. All through the night the soldier sat there beside the bed, 6 him words of love and strength. Now and then the soldier said a few 7 words. Along towards dawn, the old man 8.

    Finally, the nurse offered words of sympathy（同情）, but the soldier 9 her.

    “Who was that man?” he asked.

    The nurse was 10. “He was your father,” she answered.

    “No, he wasn't,” the soldier replied. “I never saw him before.”

    “Then 11 didn't you say something as I took you to him?” asked the nurse.

    “I knew 12 there had been a mistake, but I also knew he 13 his son for his last moment, and his son just wasn't here. Knowing he was too 14 to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I15.”he answered.

    I had offered to watch my 3-year-old daughter, so that my wife could go out with a friend. I was getting some work done in my study while she 1to be having a good time in the other room. No problem, I figured. But then it got a little too2 and I shouted, "What are you doing?" No response. I3my question and heard her say, "Oh…nothing." Nothing?

    I got up from my desk and ran out 4the living room, where I saw her running across the hall. I followed and watched her as her little behind（小屁股）made a quick5into the bathroom. I had her6! I told her to turn around. She 7. I pulled out my big Daddy voice, "Young lady," I said, "turn around!"

    8, she turned toward me. In her hand was what was left of my wife's new lipstick. And every square inch of her face was9with bright red! As she looked up at me with fearful eyes. I heard10voice that had been shouted to me as a child. "How could you… You should know…How many times have you been 11…What a bad thing to…" It was just a matter of my picking out which old 12 I was going to use on her so that she would know what a bad girl she had been. But 13 I could let loose, I looked14 at the sweater on her. In big 15 it said, "I'M A PERFECT LITTLE ANGEL (天使)!" I looked back up into her tearful eyes and, 16seeing a bad girl who didn't listen, I saw a little angel full of17that I had come dangerously close to18. "Sweetheart, let's take a picture so Mommy can see how 19you look." I took the picture and thanked God that I didn't 20 the chance to prove what a perfect little angel he had given me.

    I had worried myself sick over Simon's mother coming to see me. I was a new 1, and I gave an honest account of the students' work. In Simon's case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn't read his own handwriting. 2 he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his3 .

    So when Simon's mother entered the room, my palms(手掌心) were sweating. I was completely4 for her kisses on both my cheeks. "I came to thank you," she said, surprising me beyond speech. 5 me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he6 me, he had began to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had 7 spent an afternoon at a friend's house. She wanted to tell me how grateful she was for the 8I had nurtured(培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left.

    I sat, stunned (惊呆), for about half an hour, 9 what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without 10 knowing it? What I finally came to 11 was one day, several months before, when some students were 12 reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke 13 , and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, "Speak up. Simon's the expert on this. He is the 14 one you have to convince, and he can't hear you in the 15 of the room." That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, 16 more, and became happy. And it was all because he 17to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed 18 was the one who took the last seat that day.

    It taught me the most19 lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I'm thankful that it came 20 and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.