Many years ago,I was working as a psychologist at a children's institution in England.One day an adolescent boy1in my office.His headmaster had2him to me."David,"he wrote,"is very sad since both his parents died. He refuses to talk and I'm very3about him.Can you help?"

    How could I help him?There are human tragedies psychology doesn't have the4to.Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen5.

    The first two times we met,David didn't say a word.I6we play a game of chess the third time he came.He 7.After that we played chess every Wednesday afternoon in8.It's not easy to cheat in chess,9I made sure David won once or twice.It seemed as if he enjoyed my10.But why did he never talk with me?

    "Perhaps he11needs someone to share his pain with,"I12.Some months later,I sat staring at David's head, while he was bent13the chessboard.Suddenly,he looked up at me.

    "It's your14,"he said.

    After that day,David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club.He wrote me15a few times about how he would try to get into university.The letters16after some time.I knew he had really started to live a(n)17life.He needn't write me any more to tell me that.

    Maybe I gave David something.At least I18a lot from him.For example,David showed me19one—without any words—can reach out to another person.All it20is a hug,a shoulder to cry on,a friendly touch and an ear that listens.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried 1 for hours as the farmer tried to figure out 2 to do. Finally he decided the animal was 3and the well needed to be 4 up anyway, so it just wasn't 5 it to rescue the donkey.

He invited all his 6to come over and help him. They all grabbed (握起) a shovel (铁铲) and began to shovel 7into the well. At first, the donkey 8what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's9, he was quiet.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked 10 the well and was 11 at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that12his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would 13 it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors 14 to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take another 15 up. Pretty soon, everyone was surprised as the donkey stepped up over the 16 of the well and ran off.

    Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The best way of 17 out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our18is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest 19 just by not stopping, never20! Shake it off and take a step upward!

    I was confused while I was eating lunch in a restaurant the other day. I was sitting there looking at what I'd1and wondered if anyone else could see the2in my mind. I'm about to 3a lot of fat and wash it down with a diet soda.

    What can I say? I'm trying to lose some weight.4I do things like that all the time, which is probably why the pounds are 5so slowly. I spent half an hour on the treadmill (跑步机) and I6myself with potato chips. I7that I will no longer eat them again, so I just eat a lot at this time. I make it all the way through the entire day doing everything absolutely right, and then at bedtime, “just one chip won't8it “turns into “where did that entire bag of potato chips go?”

    Of course, I9do well with my weight loss program, Once I put together two full weeks of eating properly and exercising10I was starting to feel a (an)11I could bend over to tie my shoes more easily. But just as it was about to become a12I entered a period of long, late nights filled with13deadlines. I sat in front of my computer, eating snacks and drinking sodas to help me stay14Within a few days, the habit of a sensible eating and exercising was a15.

Unfortunate but16I was too tired to get on the treadmill.17I had work to do, for which I needed all the energy I could 18 So I started skipping exercise sessions. And 19I started doing so, it became easier to skip them.

    There are always reasons not to do the things that we really should do. Every reason is just another 20.

    Our apartment has been hit by a "hurricane". Every bit of furniture is 1 with paper chains, scissors, tape and modeling clay. 2, I'm so exhausted tonight, recovering from a surgery.

    The phone rings—for the sixth time in less than an hour. We know it is my mother, again. A stroke claimed her brain, but not her life. She is troubled by a severe mental 3— She has no idea that she has 4 the things she is about to say a million times. Nor can she recall I had a 5.

    Each time she calls, I play a game with 6 called "How Good a Person Can I Be?" I've won five rounds of the game tonight; I am due for a 7 this time.

    "Mom!" I 8. "You are not being removed from your home! And we visited two days ago!" Silence. Then:

    "I was only calling to say hi." My mother continues, "Why are you yelling?"

    I sink into the couch, aware that my daughter is 9. She hears me scold my mother and lose my 10. I have not only failed at being a good person; I have failed at being a good 11 to my daughter.

    "Can I talk to Grandma Ellie?" My five-year-old 12 the phone. 13, I hand it over.

    Then, I hear my mother 14 through the receiver. "Sweetheart! How are you? Did you go to school today?"

    What magic is this? All she says is "Hi, Grandma," Out of the phone comes a waterfall of good 15. My mother tells her how much she loves her and how lovely her voice sounds.

    I am not tired or angry; I am 16 inside, watching my kindergartner 17 her fragile grandmother with such skillfulness. I'm fascinated by their 18.

    The mess in our apartment still 19 around me. I listen to my daughter whispering to her grandmother, caring for her with extreme 20.

    When we saw a programme on TV about a Christmas trip to Lapland, we knew our four children would love it. 1 them on any holiday is costly, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime 2 for our family.

    In October, we got the children to write Christmas 3 to Santa. They thought it was a bit soon but were 4 just how many letters Santa receives, so getting in early would make sure that he would read them.

    Our departure day arrived in mid-December. There was an explosion of excitement as we parked and 5 our suitcases onto a trolley (手推车) and the children realized we were 6going on a plane. The excitement built as we 7.

    It was all worth it. The look on their faces as we 8 in Rovaniemi, Finland, was 9. Four days of total magic followed. We took sleigh rides, 10 snow mobiles (雪地摩托) and patted reindeer. On our fourth day we finally ‘found' Santa, who had a genuine, thick white 11. His home was 12 from floor to ceiling with Christmas parcels, which was every child's dream.

    If that wasn't 13, he held four hand-written letters that our children immediately 14. Santa said, "So, you must be Thomas, Lucy, Alice and Philip and you've come all the way from England just to see me!" He turned to one of the towers of wrapped presents, 15 up and carefully withdrew four parcels. Each of them received a personally addressed 16 signed 'With love from Father Christmas' and inside was 17 what they'd asked for in their letters.

    Those four days in Lapland will 18 forever the most memorable of our lives. Our four children, now aged between 32 and 38, still talk about that 19 as the most wonderful Christmas ever where childhood magic came to 20.

    I got to know a homeless man, Leo. I1him two options that I could either give him a2and teach him how to write computer3, or give him $100 in cash. He accepted my4offer, even though he didn't know what coding was. I am a5believer in the power of6. I was home-schooled by my mother, herself a software engineer. By the age of 12 I had7my own business designing websites and had earned $30,000. Writing code is a8and much rewarding skill, so I was sure that if Leo learned how to do it, and that could be a way for him to turn things9.

    I bought Leo a secondhand laptop and three books on Java, the programming language. Leo had used computers10at school but didn't have an email address and didn't know how to do very basic things such as copy and paste(粘贴) text.11he has an incredible memory and can12information almost word for word. Our goal is to13an app. Leo came up with the idea: a car-sharing app that14the amount of CO₂ emissions(排放) you've avoided; he is concerned about the15.

    He is16dedicated(专注的) and works at it for three hours a day: no mean feat(成就), because the information is incredibly dense and it's17to absorb a lot at one time.

    I always thought homeless people were18, but Leo is part of a very supportive community. When our project is over, I hope Leo will be offered a job19. I don't think that's20. As well as being brilliant at coding (he'll have surpassed me in two years), I think he could make a great teacher.