My mother asked me to call my grandmother. What could we possibly have a 1about? Nothing! I just did what she told me and2called my grandmother.

    When she3the phone, I planned to have a small, 10-minute exchange.4, she invited me to lunch at her house so we could5together. Hesitantly, I agreed.

    After hanging up the phone, I immediately6agreeing to the lunch date on Saturday.

    Surprisingly, my Saturday morning wasn't 7. I found it was nice to see her. I forgot the time8her stories about her recent trip to Europe and her sewing class. I wasn't9that 60-year-old people had a social life. It turned out that her10wasn't as mundane（平凡的）as I thought. I was happy to have spent time with her. We planned to meet11at her house. My mom didn't have to12me any more.

    This time I didn't feel the gloom(忧郁).13I wanted to ask were building up in my mind: What was my grandfather like? What did you do at my age?

As we looked through pictures, I was14. I had never seen, nor imagined, my grandmother as a young girl. She reminded me of myself. I learned that as humans, we15human experiences, no matter what age.

    She told me about the time she and her friends went swimming in the lake late at night and the first time she met my16. "You would have adored him. He was the funniest man I'd ever met. "We sorted through three shoeboxes of photographs, each with a17story.

    Ever since that18phone call to my grandmother, we have talked at least once a week. I regret not calling her earlier. She has19me what can't be learned in a textbook: being open to new things, enjoying the simple things, and appreciating what life has given me. I have20a new perspective(视角) on life.

    If you've ridden any New York subway, chances are good that you've watched your cellphone clock tick while seated on an unmoving, delayed train. You wouldn't wish to have such a1feeling of being stuck on public transportation anymore. No one knows the feeling as 2 as Jerich Marco Alcantara does particularly when he had 3in his life to celebrate. He 4 his graduation ceremony at Hunter College's Brookdale campus due to a delay.

    There were two5ceremonies that day, but Alcantara specifically wanted to6the early ceremony, because students were only7 two tickets for friends and family at the latter event. He wanted all of his family and friends in attendance.

    Stuck on the train in full baccalaureate gown (学士服), Alcantara still got to experience a formal 8, sort of. Some friends and strangers improvised (即兴创作) a ceremony on the subway.9a cellphone, a friend presented Alcantara with a “diploma”;10 somebody else on the train played Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. Another passenger11the ceremony and posted the video to Facebook.

    12he wasn't able to attend the full ceremony, in a way this will end up being a more memorable13for Alcantara down the road. He will be able to point to his14and not just think of the hard work it took to earn it, but the15missing his real graduation ceremony created.

    Moments like these help us get a little more16of our fellow man during a17time. Although these aren't all strangers, it's still wonderful to see people18 to make sure someone feels the proper19, or at least their big achievement should be20. Though Alcantara missed his official graduation ceremony, he said his subway experience meant a lot.

    Every day Jack met me at the beach of the River Yenisei. The1is 5,539 kilometers long. It is frozen almost half the year. When the water was 2enough to go in, we played with his shark toy. "Mr. Shark," he called it. Mr. Shark was very 3, but after it got filled with water, it became heavy enough to throw.

    We had long talks about our 4. Jack worked as a lawyer but was5with his job. He had to work long hours. His bosses were not always kind. He 6 of travel, or working a different job. Why don't you 7? I asked him. But quitting is not so 8 . Attending university for so many years 9him a lot of money. Working as a lawyer 10  well. But he thought about doing different work, 11would help poor countries and poor people, volunteer work perhaps. That's 12we were both doing in Siberia, volunteering our time.

    But if we were just 13 here, we'd never get the 14to know so many local people. The students did almost anything the teachers asked. They wrote and 15plays, did dances and sang songs. Siberian kids were certainly not 16. Well, the students were not all kids. The youngest was about ten years old; the 17was 40!

    Each day throughout the two weeks had a  18. One day the theme of our class was the world 19 day. As an American, it was interesting to talk to young Russians about peace because when I was growing up, the United States and Russia did not 20. Wouldn't it be great that we were now talking about peace?

    Mr. Gray travelled a lot on business: He sold machines of different kinds to farmers.

    He had a big car, and usually 1 driving it long distances, but he was quite satisfied to go by 2 sometimes too, especially when the 3 was bad. He was a little afraid of driving in rain or snow, and it was 4 tiring to sit comfortably in a train and to look out of the window without being worried about how 5was going to get to the next place.

    One of Mr. Gray's problems was often 6 to stay when he reached some small place in the country. He did not 7 great comfort and wonderful food, but he found it annoying (使恼火) when he was given a cold room, and there was no hot water or food after a long and 8 day.

    Late 9 winter evening, Mr. Gray arrived at a small railway station. The 10 by train that day had not been at all interesting, and Mr. Gray was cold and tired and 11. He was looking forward to a simple 12 satisfying meal by a brightly burning fire，and then a hot bath and comfortable bed.13 he was walking to the taxi rank, he said to a local man who was also 14 there. “As this is my first visit to this 15of the country and I was in too much of a hurry to 16 about hotels before l left home, I would very much like to know17 you have here.”

    The local man answered, “We have 18 .”

    “And which would you19 me to go to?”Mr. Gray asked him.

    The local man thought for a while and then answered, “Well, it's like this: Whichever one you go to, you'll be20 you didn't go to the other.”

    My 4-year-old son now enjoys posting letters. He has formed the 1of drawing pictures, writing his name on them, and then 2 the artwork in an envelope. He then insists on 3his handwork to the neighbors, and a mail box he 4 belongs to the elderly couple who live next door. To be 5, I didn't think much of it, but I had 6 to warn my neighbors of the drawings7 appearing in their letterboxes—I just didn't have the 8 to do so, because I was a little busy recently.

    On Tuesday of last week, I was walking down to school to collect my son when I 9 Mary, my elderly neighbor, 10at her mail box. She said, "Jodie, is it your little son that has been posting items in my letterbox to me?" I was at once11, "Oh yes, Mary, it is. I'm sorry. I meant to tell you…" She cut me off, "Jodie, I just love his mail. I've 12 every item he has sent. You don't know how much 13 the letters has made my day. I just love them." While I was walking down to school after our 14, many thoughts came to me. Mary doesn't have a lot to fill her days, 15 she was a mother to a number of children herself who receives fairly regular visitors. The small 16 of getting some mail—pictures drawn by the hand of a young child—has brought 17to her days, just as my visit to my grandparents does.

    I have decided that my son should 18 this practice. He should also start sending some items to his grandparents in Perth as well. It will most 19 make their day.

    It's doing the little, simple things that can often make a big 20 in someone's life.

    "Do I really want to go through with this?" Have you ever asked yourself that 1 ? Sometimes in life, there are moments when you 2 if you will be able to handle the responsibilities ahead of you. For me, these 3 come daily, whether it's taking a test or working. But one Saturday afternoon, my family and I were 4 around when my dad pulled into a small mall. Little did I realize, we were going to a 5 store where a new member would be 6 to our family.

    As my 7 parked our car, I figured we would just take a 8 look and then leave. After a while, my dad called us over. He was standing next to my mom, looking at several 9 . I began to think, "Are we 10 a cat"? My dad asked, "So guys, you like any of these?" My brother said "Yes!" before I could even open my 11 .

    When I pictured feeding the cat, cleaning it and giving it water, all of these responsibilities felt  12 to me. Would I be able to handle it? 13 , I would have to live a more adult-like  14 if I got a cat. Later on, after 15 that we should get a cat, I thought about this new phase of my life. I realized that the 16 I make can affect my future.

    Looking back, I find that I have been able to 17 the responsibility of owning a cat. Some tasks may be 18 , but that doesn't 19 they can't be accomplished. You simply20 to do your best in order to push past them.