It was a very cold evening. The old man's beard was almost icy. He was waiting for a 1 across the river. The wait seemed 2. The old man sat on the ground waiting for quite a long time.

    3, he saw several horsemen coming. He watched them silently and let the first one pass by without even asking. Another passed by, and then another, till the last rider came near the old man. The old man caught the rider's 4 and said, “Sir, would you 5 giving me a ride to the other side?”

    6 his horse, the rider replied, “Of course not.” But it was so cold that the old man's body was almost 7. He could not get 8the ground. The horseman helped the old man onto his horse. He took the old man not just across the river, 9to the old man's home.

    As they 10 the old man's house, the horseman asked, “Sir, you let several other riders pass by without even asking. Then I 11 and you asked me for a ride at once. Why? 12 I had said 'no' and left you there?”

    The old man looked the rider straight in the eye, and said, “I looked 13 the eyes of the other riders. I quickly saw that they didn't 14. It would be 15 even asking them for a ride. But in your eye I saw 16. I knew that you would help me.”

    The words 17 the rider deeply. “Thank you for what you've said,” he told the old man. “I hope I will never leave others 18 simply because I'm busy, and every American citizen does 19 in my heart.”

    With that, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the US, turned his horse around and made his 20back to the White House.

A Person Who Has Influenced My Life

    There is always a time in one's life when a hero comes along. Someone who has inspired you can really help you learn what life is about.

    I 1 it as if it was yesterday. I was fifteen years old that year. It was around eight o'clock one evening when my mother 2 a phone call from her brother-in-law, who told us my aunt was in hospital and that the doctor 3 them she would need an operation immediately. My family became very 4about my aunt's situation.

    While my aunt was in the hospital with special 5 , my cousin Mark, who is mentally disabled, spent time with my family. Mark was seventeen at the time, and had been born with severe mental disorders, which 6 a wide range of social and physical problems for him throughout everyday life. He never had any true friend 7 no one could relate to him. I must 8 that at the beginning I was filled with uncertainty as to how much of a 9 my cousin would bring on my family. Now looking back it saddens me to see the 10 I once showed.

    Over the two weeks when Mark lived with my family, I probably 11 more about life and its meanings. Thinking back, I took 12 in daily life for granted, believing it would always be there. I never even thought about being able to do things like walking, brushing my teeth, or going to the bathroom on my own. Now I see how 13 I am to be able to do these things independently.

    Mark was seventeen, but learned on a nine-year-old 14. Although his learning ability was slower than most, he could still learn. He explored 15 to do most of the things everyone else did. 16 he did pretty well and succeeded in almost everything he tried to do. He 17 his illness and showed an ambition to love life. To him, having a successful life means achieving goals on his own terms and at his own 18.

    Mark is my hero, for his disability has forever 19 my viewpoint on life. It seems like a well-deserved life when you're fifteen, and it is amazing how in a period of time your point of view can change so 20 .

    Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers.

    Some years later, they got together again. While having dinner, they 1 for along time. They discussed the 2 they had given their elderly mother who lived far away in another city. The first said, "I had a 3 house built for Mama." The second said, "I had my Mercedes-Benz dealer (经销商) send a 4 to her.” The third said, "I built a beautiful 5 for Mama." The fourth said, "You know 6 Mama loved reading poems and you know she can't read anymore because she can't 7 very well. I met a businessman who had a parrot (鹦鹉) that can recite many 8. It took him 20 years to 9 it to speak and he earns his living by renting it out. I had to pay him $100,000 a year for twenty years, 10 it is worth it." On hearing that, the other brothers were 11 by his good thought.

    After the holidays their mother 12 her thank-you notes. She wrote: "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I only live in one room, but I have to 13 the whole house. It's a tiring job. Thanks anyway."

    "Marvin, I am too old to 14. I stay home and have my foods delivered, so I'll 15 use the car.  The 16 was good, although not practical. Thanks."

    "Michael, you gave me an expensive building for 50 people to 17 plays or watch movies in it, but all my friends are dead. I've almost 18 my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I won't use it. Thank you all the same."

    "Dearest Melvin, you are the 19 son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken tasted so 20. I liked it very much. Thank you.”

    My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat which was hanging at a secondhand clothing store in Northampton Mass. While the other coats drooped (低垂), this one looked as if it were 1 . The coat had beautiful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an) 2 price of $28, which was popular just then with 3 , but could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better, bearing (具 有) that 4 of classic elegance. John tried it on and the fit was perfect.

    John5the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile “Did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They loved it,” he said, 6folding it over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, a 7 came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness (作对) and reasoned discussion replaced fierce 8 . He became more mannerly and9 , eager to please. He would generously lend his younger sister his tapes and lecture her10 her behavior.

    When I mentioned this incident to his teacher and11what caused the changes, she said laughing. “It12be his coat!” Another teacher told him she was giving him a good 13 not only because he had earned 14 but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ran into a friend. “Could this be John?” he asked surprisingly, 15 John's new height, assessing(评估) the cut of his coat and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.

    John and I both know we should never 16a person's clothes for the real person within them. 17there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see and for 18what is on the inside to what is on the outside.

    For John it is a time when it is as easy to try on different approaches to 19as it is to try on a coat. The whole world, the whole future is stretched out ahead, a vast landscape 20 all the doors are open. And he could picture himself walking through those doors wearing his wonderful, magical coat.

    I went with some colleagues from my office for a dinner in a very popular local restaurant. It was1business time and the restaurant was packed. We2found a table in a corner for three of us.

    As soon as we sat down, we heard a crash when a cleaning boy3the floor with all the plates he was carrying. There was4and no one was saying or doing anything.

    In a flash I remembered my5many years ago. Once, I6in the airport because I had rushed there on my own on an empty stomach. I was picked up and taken care of by two7. Now this was my chance to8it forward.

    I ran to the young man's side immediately, turned him on his back and screamed for someone to9a hot drink. Soon people started asking if I was a doctor. I said I was not,10I was skillful at blacking out(晕厥).

    The kid soon opened his eyes,11what had happened. I12him by saying it was OK and I had had a13experience. He had not eaten anything. I held the14drink to his mouth till he finished it and sat with him till he felt OK. By then the15had arrived. I asked her to give the kid something to eat. I offered to pay.

    The manager was kind enough to refuse the16and agreed to make sure the kid ate before he went home. By the time all this was17it was getting late for my colleagues. We hadn't 18 anything yet, so they decided to go home.

    I slowly walked home, not hungry any more, feeling19for the opportunity I pay forward the20I had received many years ago.

    Tara and Lara were twins. Even their parents found it too hard to find the 1between them so the girls were2in different schools.

    Although they look the same, both the girls differ in3else. They don't have any common favorites. Lara is a night﹣bird and study all the night until she finishes.4, Tara is a morning bird; she used to5early in the morning. In addition, Lara wears light darker colors and modem outfits, while Tara likes light colors and6dresses.

    This wasn't the7with these twin girls. However, they8each other that the opposite one was wrong.

    While both sides have the advantages and disadvantages, the9continues. They fight mainly about10things all﹣day and during the study time. Their parents decided to11to their arguments.

    Lara and Tara blindfolded their12with a black ribbon. Their13brought them to the dining room. In the dining room, a big14was placed in the middle. Lara stood on one side of the board and Tara stood on the other side of the board. Both the ribbons were15. The girls were surprised to see a huge board in between them.

    Now, their father asked Lara, what is the color of the board？ She replied, "It is black!" Their mother asked Tara the same question. She replied, "It is white!"

    They began to argue. While Lara16strongly it was black, Tara was17it was white.

    Now, they were asked to18their places. They both were surprised and shocked. The board with Lara's side was painted black and Tara's was white, which was 19by them. They20that they were right on their own perspective only.