We have a small back garden with several trees，so bird nest in abundance. Therefore, it is1 year after year to find many young birds don't2 .

       One morning two years ago, I found a young blackbird sitting still, very cold, in a corner. I3it up and moved it to a raised warmer spot, 4it with tissue and made silly bird noises in the hope that it would5. It was breathing, though very weak and wouldn't open its beak (喙). I knew it had 6 and was dying but it did start to feel warmer so there was7.

I kept coming to check on it, keeping our three8inside the house, as I didn't want them to9it, as Toby, my cleverest dog had already spotted it. One time, I went to see the bird, it had 10down, legs outstretched (伸直), so I placed it 11back onto the tissue. Its eyes opened12and it seemed to look in my direction,13at times its head also moved round, which was not a good sign. I kept making bird noises and14it, saying “Come on, be strong.” I just felt so 15, but I wanted it to know that there was someone who16. Unfortunately, it died. I did feel so regretful because I tried my best but I17.

      To my18, last year I spotted two young blackbirds keeping each other company in one of our trees, and I'm19one of them had at least survived as one has been visiting20since and helping itself to seed from our feeders.

    Li Hua felt lonely when he arrived in Shanghai last August.

    The 24-year-old 1 at a publishing house had plenty of spare time to kill.“ 2 the Internet, I have found like-minded friends without much 3 ,”says the lover of traditional Chinese culture, who comes from Xi'an, Shanxi Province.

    Li began 4 kungfu when he was 5 and studied I Ching（Book of Change）at junior high school.

    His 5 interest is guqin, a seven-stringed Chinese zither（筝）6 .He tried to learn it by watching videos on the Internet but found it very 7 .

    Li joined an on-line chatting group at www.QQ.com in order to 8 a teacher and fellow students.There he met people from 9 parts of the country, who shared a（n）10 in Chinese guqin music and classic 11 .They exchange ideas online and also have offline 12 .

    “The gathering of guqin players was very exciting for me, a beginner,” he recalls.He was 13 with guqin songs which were played 14 by Fan Yumei, an experienced guqin player from Sichuan, and Pan Kun, a young guqin15 and musical major at Shanghai Dance Academy.

    Fan and Pan are students of Zeng Chengwei, a guqin master from Sichuan School in Chengdu.

    Their performances staged in a small apartment near the Shanghai University 16 less than 10 netizens (网友).Through the window of the quiet room where Fan 17 her students, one can see the bustling Northern Third Ring Road and two shopping centers.“But being together, drinking a cup of tea, 18 poetic guqin music and guqin songs, one may find an inner peace and nourishment 19 a week's hard work,”says Fan, who is 20 a calligrapher, painter and writer.

    It's a family tradition to go to dinner at my grandmother's house for all major holidays. After the meal, the youngest children go to the basement to play games, 1 the remainder of my family withdraw to the living room. For several years, I'd remain at the 2 dinner table, reading whatever book had caught my interest. I'll never forget the day when this all 3. My aunt came into the dinning room and said, “4 that book and talk to me before I hit you with this fork!”

    I'd been content to remain the attentive listener, 5 nothing, but hearing everything. Then came the 6 that I was antisocial, to which I 7 with a silent smile. There was a time when I foolishly believed my family would accept my preference；8, they seem to believe that they should encourage me to 9. In my opinion,  I'm the only one that has adapted well to the familial（熟悉的）talkativeness. What would be the 10 of all these voices if there weren't someone to shut up and 11?

    My 12 isn't the only thing my family finds puzzling. I would scream “No!” at 2 a. m. 13 a character was horrifically killed. I become active at night in summer so I can listen to music, read, and write without the 14 of my brothers and sisters, who seem to think if I want to  be 15 they should come near me and make as much 16 as possible.

    My family doesn't completely 17 all of my actions. They're well aware of what makes me 18 is reading while sitting in one of the black comfortable chairs. I've 19 that reading a book of any great length would make it extremely 20 for my parents to get me from the chair. Fortunately they have learned to accept my actions.

    Lana sat next to Grandma. She enjoyed looking at the old photo album. "Who is this?" she asked, 1 at a picture. It was of a small girl with a wild 2. She had a big gap (豁口) between her front teeth.

    "That is your mother when she was about your 3. We thought her front teeth would never come," said Grandma.

    Lana laughed. "She 4 funny with those teeth 5."

    "Yes, she did," smiled Grandma.

    "Did the tooth fairy take her teeth too?" asked Lana.

    "We liked to pretend she did," said Grandma. "She put the 6 under her pillow and went to sleep. The next morning there would be a coin in that place."

    "What really 7to the teeth?" asked Lana.

    "Well," said Grandma. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you this, but I kept 8."

    "You did?" asked Lana. "Why?"

    "They helped remind 9 of your mother and her sisters10they were growing up," said Grandma.

    "Do you 11 have them?" asked Lana.

    "I have not 12 of them for a long time," said Grandma. "I would have to 13."

    Lana jumped 14 from her chair. "Can we look now?"

    Grandma 15 and led her to the kitchen. She 16 one of the upper cabinets and began to 17. She pulled out a box of bandages and many bottles of medicine. There was even a jar of seeds.

    "I do not think they are here," she began to say. "No, wait. Here they are!" Grandma 18the bottle in the air and the teeth clinked inside.

    They 19 at the kitchen table. Grandma poured out the 20 onto a plate.

    I was appointed to tend to this patient several weeks ago and began to grow closer to her. Communicating with her was1because everything she wanted to say to me had to be written on a notepad. As a nursing graduate, I was able to2her mind by observing even a slight 3 in a patient's facial expression.

    One day, when I was checking the patient, she4me on the shoulder to show me a note," Do you think I could be let go5 the hospital in a month to see my niece get married?" Taking her hand in mine, I told her that I could not 6her, because I did not want to leave her a 7sense of hope. 8, I made her believe that I would be there with her every step of the way on her journey toward9. Hearing that, the patient gave me a10 and a hug.

    Day by day, I built her 11by walking around the floor with her. As I did this, I could see before my own eyes that her health was 12improving and able to walk more steadily. On her last today in hospital, just before her niece's 13, she wrote me last note," I couldn't have done this 14 you; I love you." After kissing goodbye, I had a strong sense of achievement. I realized that moments like this were 15I woke up early for16in the hospital and spent long hours with her. I truly felt, and her 17confirmed, that I was an18part of this woman's recovery. My experience with this patient shows me that this career allows to touch the 19of people in ways that people in other20will never get to experience.

The Coffee Place

    I used to believe politeness was a thing of the past. Very seldom had I met a 1 human being in this modem age of the so-called Ceneration X.

    Recently, I had to change my 2, when I came face to face with just such a human being. I had gone to a coffee place, with two of my grown-up daughters. The place was crowded with the usual loud crowd and we had to climb the stairs in order to find a(n) 3 table. After enjoying coffee and snacks, we were going down the stairs, where the 4 space made climbing down only possible in a single 5, with hardly any space for another person to either climb up or 6.

    Just as I was in the 7 of my going down, a gentleman entered by the main 8 of the coffee place which was in front of the staircase. I was sure I would be pushed 9 by the man who would want to go up 10.I kept coming down as fast as I could, 11 on to the bannister (扶手). My daughters were already down, looking up at me and hoping I would reach them before the 12 started up the stairs.

    Nearly reaching them, I noticed the man still standing near the 13. I reached my daughters and passed him at the entrance door he 14 holding open. I looked back, thinking he was still there trying to 15 whether to go in or find another less crowded place. But later I saw him going up the stairs, two at a time. I told my daughters about it and felt bad that we didn't even thank him who was actually holding the door open for us to pass through 16 going up.

    We 17 his thoughtfulness. Such 18 people are hard to find these days when pushing roughly is very 19 in our advanced but aggressive society. Till date, I remember this gentleman and 20 to God to make more human beings like him.