Suddenly my mobile phone rang. “Where are you?” the urgent voice demanded on my phone.

    The woman on the other end of the phone had1news—news that would  change  my  life forever.  Apparently  my 2was on his way home at lunchtime3he suffered an unexpected heart attack.4a neighbor's sharp eyes had spotted him. By now it was after 1pm and Ueli was on his way to the nearest hospital. It turned out that,5a huge effort by a large team of medical staff, nine hours after the6, Ueli, the father of two of my sons, died.

    But Ueli's story didn't7there. Ever since I met him, he had8that, should he die before me, I must ensure that if it were possible his9would be donated. So on that awful night I10the medical staff  to  help  make  his  wishes 11.   Once the 12were made, I thought that I had honored Ueli's final act of selflessness and would hear no more of it.

    Some time later,13, I received a letter telling me that the corneas(角膜) had been successfully transplanted into the eyes of two young women who would benefit greatly from improved vision. What a14it was to know that this generous man's15 would have such a positive impact on these women. But the best news was16to come. More than a year after Ueli died, a lovely card arrived in the mail from the organ donor organization,17me that a young man who may not have lived much longer had successfully18Ueli's heart valve(心瓣膜).

    What happiness I have! I know Ueli would have been extremely19to have had a part in20this young man's life and ensuring that he would now pursue his own dreams with much improved health. Now I can forever say, “Rest in peace, Ueli; you'll be remembered—even by strangers.”

Growing Up

    I fell in love with driving before I could ride a bike. For my second birthday I 1 my first car. It was the most 2car with leaves as fuel and my feet as its engine. I would try to 3 my elder sister or parents to push me and was always waiting for that day 4 I could drive for real.

    My sixteenth 5 finally arrived. After all the 6 , I got my permit(驾驶证).7 at it, I couldn't wait to drive. After tons of begging, my dad  8 me to an empty parking area. I sat in the driver's seat, 9and scared. I put one foot on the gas pedal(脚踏板)and 10 on the brake(刹车). "Never use your left foot,, switch(转换) between the brake and gas pedal 11 your right foot only." Dad 12 . That's when I realized I didn't know what I was doing, but I was too excited to13 . Dad and I spent the whole afternoon 14 the basic skills of driving. For the next month I 15 to drive almost every day in all kinds of parking lots, and 16on the road.

    Driving is an important 17 in my life. It not only shows I have become more 18 , but also that I have grown up. In some ways I'm still that little girl trying to get my 19 to push her, but now I'm starting to push  20.

    If you want your life to stand for peace and kindness, it's helpful to do kind, peaceful things. One of my1ways to do this is by developing my own helping rituals (习惯). These little2of kindness are opportunities to be of service and reminders of how good it feels to be kind and helpful.

    We live in a rural area of the San Francisco Bay Area.3of what we see is the beauty of nature. One of the exceptions to the beauty is the4that some people throw out of their windows as they are5on the rural roads. One of the few drawbacks(缺点) to living out the boondocks（偏远地区）is that 6services, such as litter collection, are less available than those closer to the city.

    A helping ritual that I practice7 with my two children is picking up litter in our surrounding area. We've become so8 doing this that my daughters will often say to me in animated(兴致勃勃)9, “There's some litter, Daddy, stop the car!” And if we have10, we will often pull over and pick it up. It seems strange, but we actually 11 it. We pick up litter in parks, on sidewalks, practically12. Once I even saw a complete stranger picking up litter close to where we13. He smiled at me and said, “I saw you doing this, and it seemed like a good idea.”

    Picking up litter is only one of an endless supply of possible helping rituals. You might like14a door open for people, visiting lonely old people in nursing homes, or shoveling snow from someone else's driveway. Think of something that seems effortless yet helpful. It's fun, personally rewarding, and15a good example. Everyone wins.

    I have spent years of my life traveling all over the world. When I arrive in a new country or city, usually I am very 1 and go to bed early. For this 2 my first day or night in any 3 place is always quiet and very little happens. 4 my first night in Algeciras was very different. That night was very 5 and unusual.

    At that time 6 in Southern Spain was a dirty and badly looked 7 city. I arrived late in the 8 by boat. As soon as I got off the 9, I went to look for a 10. I found a small one not far from the quay(码头).

    This hotel looked 11 and untidy from the outside. I was very tired and did not know my 12 around the city of Algeciras, so I decided to stay in this 13 hotel on the quay. I also decided to stay in this hotel for 14 reason. The moon was full and it was a clear, 15night. From the hotel I could 16 at the sea. I could see the huge rock of Gibraltar in the bright 17.

    The hotel had a narrow 18 and no name. When I 19 this doorway, I had to climb up narrow and dark stairs to the first floor. I 20 a small cup-board with desk in front of it. This was the hotel office.

A Doll from Santa

    Alice's mother died when she was five years old. That year was 1925, and life was hard. Alice, who grew up to be my mother, told me that her family was too 1to even afford to give her a doll.

    One afternoon in December 1982, I was decorating the tree to prepare for the Christmas season. A young lady 2me with a sample of her handiwork: beautiful handmade 3. She was taking orders for Christmas. I decided to get one for my daughter, Katie, who was almost five years old. Then I had an idea. I asked the lady if she could make me a 4doll for my mother — one with gray hair and a pair of glasses: a grandmother doll.

    The doll maker felt that this idea was certainly 5and took it on as a creative challenge. So I placed my Christmas 6: two dolls, one blonde and one gray-haired for Christmas morning! Things really started to fall into place 7a friend had told me that his dad, who played Santa Claus in my area, would be willing to make a visit on Christmas morning to our home to 8my Katie her presents!

    Christmas Day arrived and at the planned time, 9did Santa Claus. Katie was delighted that Santa had come to see her at her 10house, the happiest I had ever seen her in her young life. My mother was enjoying watching her granddaughter's 11to the visit from this special guest. As Santa turned to leave, he looked once more into his bag and took out one more 12. As he asked who Alice was, my mother, surprised by her name being called, 13that she in fact was Alice. Santa handed her the gift, which was accompanied by a message card that read: For Alice,

    I was cleaning out my sleigh before my 14this year and came across this package that was supposed to be delivered on December 25, 1925. The present inside has 15, but I felt that you might 16wish to have it. Many apologies for the17of the gift.

    Love, Santa Claus

    My mother's reaction was one of the greatest deeply 18scenes I have ever witnessed. She couldn't speak but only gazed at the doll she had 19fifty-seven years as tears of joy running down her cheeks. That doll, given by “Santa”, made my mother the happiest “20” alive.

    "Where is the bus?" I asked myself. I was going to be late and the manager wasn't going to be 1 ." Thank God. Here it is." The bus  2 round the corner and I got on. Ten minutes later I was walking into the 3 where I work. Twenty-five past nine. I hope the manager doesn't notice. But no 4luck.

    "Smith!" shouted the manager. "Late again. What's your 5 this time?"" I'm afraid the bus was late, Mr. Brown." "6 up earlier tomorrow! Anyway, get to business at the counter. We'll be opening in a few minutes."

    My first customer was a pretty girl 7 a red dress. Behind her was a young man of about 25. He seemed very 8 , and 9 few seconds he looked towards the main entrance. The girl asked about opening a bank account. I gave her the necessary 10 and she walked out. 11 , I noticed a tall man by the door, carrying something 12 with brown paper. Turning to my next customer, I was terrified to see a gun 13 out of his coat. The next moment a loud noise 14 my ears. Everything went black. I was falling.... After 15 seemed a very a long time, I opened my eyes and found myself in bed! 16 shaking from the memory of this terrible dream, I got dressed and ran out of the house. As 17, the bus wasn't on time, and I arrived at 9:25.

    "Smith!" the manager cried out in a voice like thunder. " Later again! Go and start work at once!" To my 18 , the first customer was a girl 19 a red dress and behind her stood a man carrying something wrapped in brown paper. The dream!  20 that the surprise of my life!