If life were a book and you were the author, how would you like the story to go? That is the question that 1 my life forever.

    One day I went home from the training of snowboarding with what I thought was the flu, and less than 24 hours later, I was in a 2 on life support with less than two percent 3 of living. It wasn't until days later that the doctors diagnosed me with a 4 blood infection. Over the 5 of 2.5 months, I lost the hearing in my left ear and both my legs below the knee. When my parents 6 me out of the hospital, I 7that I had been put together like a patchwork(接缝物) doll and I had to live with 8 legs. I was absolutely physically and emotionally broken, 9 streaming down.

    But I knew in order to move forward, I had to let go of the Old Amy and 10 the New Amy. It was at this moment that I asked myself that significant 11. And that is when it 12 me that I didn't have to be five-foot-five anymore, 13 I could be as tall as I wanted. And 14 of all, I can make my feet the size of all the shoes. So there were 15 here.

    Four months later, I was back upon a 16. And this February, I won two Board World Cup gold medals, 17 me the highest ranked snowboarder in the world.

    So, instead of looking at our 18 and our limitations as something 19 or bad, we can begin looking at them as a wonderful 20 that can be used to help us go further than we ever know we could go.

    We have been driving in fog all morning, but the fog is lifting now. The little seaside villages are 1 one by one. "There is my grandmother's house," I say,2 across the bay to a shabby old house.

    I am in Nova Scotia on a pilgrimage (朝圣) with Lise, my granddaughter, seeking roots for her, retracing (追溯)3 memory for me. Lise was one of the mobile children,4 from house to house in childhood. She longs for a sense of 5 , and so we have come to Nova Scotia where my husband and I were born and where our ancestors 6for 200 years.

    We soon 7 by the house and I tell her what it was like here, the memories8back, swift as the tide (潮水).

Suddenly, I long to walk again in the 9where I was once so glorious a child. It still 10a member of the family, but has not been lived in for a while. We cannot go into the house, but I can still walk11the rooms in memory. Here, my mother 12 in her bedroom window and wrote in her diary. I can still see the enthusiastic family 13 into and out of the house. I could never have enough of being 14 them. However, that was long after those childhood days. Lise 15 attentively as I talk and then says, " So this is where I 16 ; where I belong. "

She has17her roots. To know where I come from is one of the great longings of the human 18. To be rooted is "to have an origin". We need 19 origin. Looking backward, we discover what is unique in us; learn the20 of "I". We must all go home again—in reality or memory.

    These days my work is mostly on the Internet. However, there is one 1 that I use nearly every day. And I learned it from my dad almost 40 years ago in a very different 2.

My father ran a plumbing(水管) shop. I had to 3 him with his work. One day, I was asked to work 4 a concrete floor. It wasn't the kind of work I5 The work was physical work which involved6 a chisel(凿子) and swinging a five- pound hammer at it really 7 Often, my aim was bad 8 the hammer missed the chisel and 9 my wrist. After ten minutes, my dad came, expecting to find the job completed. Actually, it wasn't. He asked, "Son, have you been doing it all the time?""Well dad," I told him 10"I figure out a good way to do this more11 I just tap the chisel and move it. I'm generating a circle of shock wave down into the concrete. That way, it'll break along the lines and I won't hurt my wrist again." Dad gave me a12 look. He said, "Son, just hit the thing." Then Dad13 me his hand. I saw many scars on it .He told me, "If you stick to the work, you'll 14 it sooner. " Well, I did hit it then. And the job only took five more minutes to finish15 enough, even though I hammered my 16 two or three times, I was proud that I'd just done it.

Today, nearly 40 years later, when I 17 any difficulty in work I still hear my father's voice, "Son just hit the thing."I feel18 because I know he's still urging me to take action, go ahead, get the job done, and never 19the scars. And that's not a bad 20 to carry through life.

    My grandfather died in 1970, leaving my grandmother living in their old house alone. Shortly after that, we went to the animal shelter(收容所) and picked out a little 1 to accompany(陪伴) Grandma. The dog was named Penny.

    Grandma and Penny quickly became very attached(依恋)to each other, and that attachment grew much 2 as years passed—they became very close. When Grandma went to 3, Penny walked along and lay beside her until she woke up.4 Penny aged, she could no longer jump up on the 5 to lie next to Grandma, so she lay on the blanket beside the bed. Grandma never went anywhere without her partner by her side.

    The time came when both my grandmother and Penny were becoming 6. Grandma had been sent to hospital several times, and Penny couldn't 7 around very well. When Grandma was in hospital, Penny would sit at the window 8 out for the car bringing Grandma home and would 9 wait at the door when Grandma came through it. Each homecoming was a great meeting again between the two.

    On Christmas Day in 1985, Grandma was again taken to the hospital. Penny, 10, sat watching out the window for the car bringing Grandma home. Two mornings later, I 11 she couldn't stand and wouldn't eat. Later, she had difficulty in breathing. I quickly 12 her to the hospital where Grandma stayed to let her see her owner for the last time. There, as soon as Penny saw Grandma, Penny's eyes brightened suddenly and then slowly 13.Grandma left this world, several 14 later.

    After fifteen years of loving friendship, Grandma and Penny passed away on the same day. God had it all worked out—Penny was waiting at the door to 15 her when Grandma came home.

    I won't forget my voluntary experience a while back. It always reminds me what people truly need is not always so 1. This story is a lesson which has stayed with me and helped me ever since.

    It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my mother at a 2 for the needy. We stood behind the counter 3 food to whoever came in. It seemed that most of our diners had been having 4 times. Their clothes were ragged, worn and dry; they were hungry and tired. 5 , they looked needy!

    When we were busy with the unlucky fellows, a well-dressed man came in who looked 6 but poor. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in7 when he joined the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I muttered. What was this man doing? I wanted to know. Surely he wasn't going to take the food8 for those really in need! He had small talks with 9 and the look on his face suggested that he just wished to10 being alone.

    Then my mother11 took me to one side, saying, “You have12 that the needs of the people who come here must be purely13 : hunger, inadequate shelter, clothing, etc. But this gentleman seems to have none of those problems. What if his needs are emotional? What if he needs 14, friends, or just to be among other human beings?” Her words 15 me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should apologize to the man, but I didn't.

    About a week later, from an 16source, the shelter received a large donation. I can't help but17 if it came from that man.

    Now, whenever I meet others, I remember my mother's words and try to send kindness and blessings to them,18how they look. Needs aren't always visible. Maybe emotional 19 is not only the loneliest feeling, but the most difficult need to get 20 . But kindness always makes a difference.

Confucius was a government official in the state of Lu, in what is now Shandong, China. His real name was Kong Qiu, but within China he is most often called Kongzi, which {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (mean). Master Kong. 

During Confucius's lifetime, China was ruled by the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BCE). {#blank#}2{#/blank#}, by the time Confucius was born, this dynasty was in a slow decline. The emperor's power was weakening and many small states were fighting {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (gain) control. Confucius's own city, Qufu, was capital of the state of Lu, and power in this state {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (divide) between several families which could not get along. 

As a government official of the state of Lu, Confucius wanted to end {#blank#}5{#/blank#} conflict between these families, and to help do this, he developed a philosophy {#blank#}6{#/blank#} he believed would bring peace and harmony. Confucius was perhaps a {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (good) philosopher than he was a government official, and he ended up having to leave the state of Lu. He spent thirteen years traveling around the other states, {#blank#}8{#/blank#} (spread) his philosophy, before returning to Qufu where he spent his later life teaching his disciples (门徒). The collective body of Confucius's teachings came to be known {#blank#}9{#/blank#} Confucianism. This enduring philosophical tradition has had a profound and lasting impact on Chinese culture and {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (civilize), shaping values and attitudes for over two millennia.