Spreading an Infection

    I've made it a habit to smile at people as often as possible, saying some kind words, “hello, thank you, have a nice day”, whatever fits. I have the right situation as I am living in{#blank#}1{#/blank#}big city with many, many people.

    I'm doing this for quite a while now, so I've seen all{#blank#}2{#/blank#}（kind）of reactions, from people feeling{#blank#}3{#/blank#}（threaten） by a friendly word, reacting  {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（angry） or even aggressively, to people{#blank#}5{#/blank#}faces lit up with a huge smile and gave me the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}（impress） that I've made this moment good for them.

    Today something happened that I hadn't yet experienced: Two people, complete strangers{#blank#}7{#/blank#}me, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, whom I passed on the street without {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（smile）at them,{#blank#}9{#/blank#} with a friendly face, looked up from their inner focus, looked at me, started to smile and greeted me friendly while they{#blank#}10{#/blank#}（pass）.

    Have I started a “kindness virus”? That would be great! It makes my day, and I'm still smiling. I hope you do too!

    There was once a small boy who would never get dressed when his parents told him to,{#blank#}1{#/blank#}would he wear what they wanted him to. He preferred unusual clothes, but above all, he liked taking his time. His parents were always in a rush, and wanted him to be much {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (quick), but the boy didn't like this, and he would slow down even more.

    One day, his parents got so angry when he refused to dress that they told him to go out without any clothes at all.{#blank#}3{#/blank#} (surprise), the boy followed his parents out of the door. He held a belief {#blank#}4{#/blank#}nobody could do anything to him.

    As the boy stood outside his house with nothing on,{#blank#}5{#/blank#} (wait) for his parents's car, along came the local pig farmer. The farmer,{#blank#}6{#/blank#}was almost deaf, had very poor eyesight. Not only that, but also he{#blank#}7{#/blank#}(forget) his glasses that day. When he saw the boy's pink skin, he thought it was one of his pigs. Shouting and pushing, the farmer forced {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(he) into a pig cage. The boy begged him to stop but the deaf farmer couldn't hear.

    When found by his parents, the terrified boy never again wanted to be mistaken{#blank#}9{#/blank#} anything other than a human being. Now he's the first {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (get) dressed, and always looks neat.

    Because deaf people can't hear, they have special ways of communicating. For example, they can learn to understand{#blank#}1{#/blank#}someone is saying by looking at the mouth of the speaker. This{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(call) lipreading. Also, speaking is very difficult for the deaf, because they can't hear{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(they) own voices. However, it is possible with special training. According to many deaf people all around the world, the most {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(practice) and popular way of communicating is with sign language.

    We were studying Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the class. Each of us {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (require) to play a scene from the play, and I {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (joke) asked to play the nurse. How the classmates responded aroused my interest. They thought I, a guy, couldn't play the nurse. But I decided I was going to be the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (good) nurse to explode on the stage of the class. That fateful week, I imprinted the lines of the nurse in my head. On the day of the {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (perform), I walked onto the stage, {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (dress) in my grandmother's Italian suit, and poured my heart and soul {#blank#}6{#/blank#} the scene. {#blank#}7{#/blank#} look of astonishment on my classmates' faces was all I needed to realize what school {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (mean) to me. School was a place {#blank#}9{#/blank#} I could explore unknown areas of my mind and uncover new ideas about the world. Perhaps this realization had never shown {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (it) before, because I never been brave enough to uncover it.