One day when I was 13, my family was working in the fields to clear away old brush when somehow the electric fence sparked(冒火星) and1a fire. We didn't see the fire2it had blocked the way to the only gate. I3to jump over the fence to safety but the fire was all around us. I could only watch in4as the flames continued to rise. Little did I know that my father had once been a(an)5and knew what to do.6with only a pump sprayer, buckets, and his boots, he7down to the nearby pond, filled the buckets and the sprayer, and began spraying the8while my older brother threw water with the buckets. Soon the wind9 however, and with the Fire Department too far away to arrive in time, my father began to stomp(踩灭) out the flames as he moved to the10 so that my family was able to move inch by inch toward the gate.11he arrived at the gate, he jumped into the truck, rolled up the windows, and drove12the fire. Then the fire was put out, and my mother was looking at my father with her13eyes.

    After that, my father began telling us about his days as a firelighter, and my brother and I became14 asking him what other jobs he had done before he15 Well, it turned out that he had done just about16except brain surgery!

    He had been in the military as a carpenter, carpet layer, and electrician, and had built B2 bombers before being poisoned in an accident that had17him to retire. My father has a blood disorder as a result of that18 but that hasn't stopped him from being a full-time electrician.

    To all those people whose fathers have worked in the military and in other dangerous jobs, be19of them, and remember that some day their20might save your life.

    When I began teaching in a university, I was invited to a workshop for new professors. I had 1a long time learning what to teach, but not learning how to 2 it. Somehow, my university seemed to hope a weekend spent with experienced professors would 3 for that. My colleagues presented well-crafted lectures about the tools they used. I enjoyed their 4, but do not remember a thing they said.

    At a coffee break during the lectures, finding myself 5, I turned to a mathematics professor standing nearby. I asked him what his favorite teaching 6 was. "A cup of coffee." he said, "I talk too much and too fast in the classroom. Students sometimes have trouble 7 me. So when I've said 8 that I want my students to think about, I would 9 and take a sip of coffee. It lets what I've just said sink in."

    When we were called to the next talk, he put down his cup and I 10 there was not a trace of coffee in it. "My doctor11 me to stop drinking coffee," he explained. "So I have always used a(n) 12 cup." I decided to try his 13 in my class.

    I took a cup of coffee with me to my next class. It helped. My pauses, as I 14 the coffee, not only gave my students 15 to think about what I had said, but gave me time to think about what I was going to say next. I began to use my 16 to look around the room to see how my students were reacting to what I had just said. When I saw their 17 wander, I tried to bring them back. When I saw them puzzled over some concept that I thought I had 18, I gave another example. My 19 became less organized and less brilliant, but my students seemed to 20 me better.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's 1 , she said she would go. This 2be the first time that his classmates and teacher3his mother and he felt 4of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar（疤痕）that 5 nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to 6why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were7 by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother 8the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed（尴尬）and 9 himself from everyone. He, however,10 a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

    The teacher asked 11,“How did you get the scar on your face?”

The mother replied,“12 my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was13 afraid to go in because the fire was14 ，so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked 15 but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She 16 the burned side of her face. “This scar will be 17 , but to this day, I have never18what I did.”

    At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great19 of the sacrifice（牺牲）that his mother had made for him. He held her hand 20for the rest of the day.

We lived in an old building on a farm years ago. It was a wonderful house for children. Also on the farm was the old 1building for the wood company my grandfather had 2. It was a few hundred feet of the house. There was a big sign across the front 3"office." Later it was no longer 4as an office, so it became my playhouse.

    In the room was a safe that my grandfather used for his 5.It was locked. We didn't know what was inside, 6none of the family ever tried to open it. I used it for a 7. I had my dishes and little things on it.

    One night there was a terrible 8. I was always afraid of it, so when I heard the thunder, I 9out of bed and ran downstairs to my parents. They comforted me and 10me the storm was about over.

    The next day when I went back to my 11, I opened the door and discovered papers spread all over the floor. The front of the safe was 12and my little dishes were all around the room. It was a 13!

    I ran to tell my parents what I'd seen. Soon it was 14all over the neighborhood. Of course, that's an extraordinary 15, and everyone wanted to see the damaged safe. Maybe someone thought there was 16in it.

The loud "thunder" I heard during the night had almost 17the safe, so it was 18for some men to blew it apart. But we just saw some papers and several books. Everybody calmed down and left 19.

    Later I still used the damaged safe as a table, but years later, the picture of that old safe and the people's expression 20me.

    Last summer, I began the biggest adventure of my life. I moved from a tiny city in England to one of the 1 cities in the world.

    As the plane 2 in Beijing, one of the first things I did was to 3 one of the city's hutong. Walking around the 4 street, the warm air was filled with the 5 of delicious food as people played mahjong and 6 their old­fashioned bikes. This was the first moment I 7, "Wow, I'm in China."

    Beijing couldn't be more 8 to my home city, Preston, which 9 a population of just 114,000. It has one 10 street that's around 500 meters from one end to the 11, on Sunday, all the shops 12 at 4：00 pm. There isn't a great deal of 13 when it comes to restaurants, either, and as a 14 of food, I couldn't wait to see what Beijing has to15. I still don't have a favorite dish here yet-I'm still happily working my way through the city's countless 16 to try to figure that out.

    I'm slowly getting used 17 the fast­paced lifestyle and different 18 of life. In the future, I hope to buy a motorbike and 19 from one end to the other of this beautiful city, taking photos and 20 new people along the way.

    With his leg lame and his teeth uneven, the boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He 1 played with his classmates; and when asked to answer questions, he always 2 his head without a word.

    One spring, his father brought home some saplings(树苗). Each of his children would plant a sapling and he3, "Whoever grows his sapling best shall get a favorite gift." The boy 4 wanted to get his father's gift. 5seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, he 6 an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So after watering it once or twice, he never  7to it.

    A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was 8to find it not only didn't die, but also grew some 9  leaves.  Compared with those of his brothers and sisters, his appeared greener. His father  10 his word, bought the little boy one of his favourite gifts and said from the tree he planted, he would surely become an outstanding 11when he grew up.

    From then on, the little boy slowly became 12 and confident. One night, he suddenly  13his biology teacher once said that plants generally grow at night. Why not go to see his tree? When he came to the 14, he found his father was working near his tree with a ladle(长柄勺) . All of a sudden, he 15: his father had been 16watering his small tree ! He returned to his room, tears17in his eyes.

    Decades passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist. 18, he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.

    19 is the best nourishment (滋养品 ) of life;  Even though it is20 a bucket of water, it can make the tree of life grow well.