Alia Baker is a librarian in Iraq. Her library used to be a 1place for all who loved books and liked to share knowledge. They 2 various matters all over the world. When the war was near, Alia was3that the fires of war would destroy the books, which are more 4 to her than mountain of gold. The books are in every language — new books, ancient books, 5 a book on the history of Iraq that is seven hundred years old.

    She had asked the government for6to move the books to a 7place, but they refused. So Alia took matters into her own hands. 8, she brought books home every night,9her car late after work. Her friends came to 10her when the war broke out. Anis who owned a restaurant  11 to hide some books. All through the12 , Alia, Anis, his brothers and neighbours took the books from the library, 13them over the seven-foot wall and 14them in the restaurant. The books stayed hidden as the war15. Then nine days laters, a fire burned the16to the ground.

    One day, the bombing stopped and the17 left. But the war was not over yet. Alia knew that if the books were to be safe, they must be 18 again while the city was 19. So she hired a truck to bring all the books to the houses of friends in the suburbs(郊区). Now Alia waited for the war to end and 20 peace and a new library.

    Mrs. Jones was over eighty, but she still drove her old car like a woman half her age. She loved driving very fast, and was proud of the fact1she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished2a driving offence(犯规).

    Then one day she nearly3her record. A police car4her, and the policemen in it saw her5a red light without stopping. Of course, she was stopped. It seemed6that she would be punished.

    7Mrs. Jones came up to the judge, he looked at her seriously and said that she was8old to drive a car, and that the9why she had not stopped at the red10was most probably that her eyes had become weak11old age, so that she had simply not seen it.

    When the judge had finished what he was12, Mrs. Jones opened the big handbag she was13and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she14a needle(针) with a very small eye, and threaded it at her first attempt. When she had15done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed16the needle and the thread to the judge, saying, "Now it is your17. I suppose you drive a car, and that you are quite sure about your own eyesight." The judge took the18and tried to thread it. After half a dozen tries, he had still not succeeded. The case(案例) against Mrs. Jones was19, and her record20unbroken.

    To celebrate the end of our exams, my friends and I went to a fast food restaurant. We1hamburgers and Coca Cola at the counter. When our2came, I started walking towards an empty table. By bad luck, my purse strap(带子)got3on a chair and the tray(托盘)that I was holding slipped4my hands and went flying in the air. The tray, and its contents5on a man who was just about to6a bite of his sandwich. I stared, greatly7 as the drinks soaked(浸湿)his white shirt.

    Then I8my eyes and prepared myself for his burst of9Instead, he said “It's OK” to10me before he disappeared into washroom.

    Still shaky and unsure11to do next, my friends and I went to a table and sat there, trying our best to look12 A moment later, the man came out of the washroom and13our table. My heart almost stopped14I thought he was going to ask for my father's15and call him.

    To my surprise, he merely smiled at us, handed us some cash and said, “16yourself new hamburgers. ”He then walked17without even finishing his food.

    He could have made what was already an uncomfortable situation worse, 18he chose a different way and gave us a reason to believe that there is still19in this world. I'll never20his actions.

    It was 7:00 am in Paris,France,and the taxi company had just called a second time to say they couldn't find my house.Once again I spelt out1even a blind person could follow.I glanced2at my watch,and waited.Only two hours remained3my flight left—and it was one and a half hours4to the airport.

    Outside,heavy rains were5.My house was so far north in the city that buses6only three times a day.

    The telephone rang again."Terribly sorry,"began the man at the taxi company.Then I realized that the taxi company,flooded with calls,could only7in-city runs.I had heard this happens when the8gets bad.I9into the phone that I had a10to catch and I would meet the taxi outside my house.

    Standing in the wind-driven rain,I looked11the road.No taxi.A car went by,the driver and passenger staring at the12foreigner in the downpour.

    13a white car appeared and14to a stop.A young man threw open the door,waving to me to get in.Shaking with cold and15,I climbed in.

    In the most16French,the man said he was called Will,with whom I had spoken three times that morning.He had left his post in the office and17here in his personal car.He18again,but didn't explain why no taxi would pick me up19me straight to the airport,he refused the 2,000 franc I pressed into his hand.

    A few hours later,as the storm-delayed plane20,I opened the newspaper.On the second page my eyes caught the headline of a short article: Taxi Strike Begins This Morning in Paris.

    I was facing a decision. While delivering laundry (洗好的衣服) into the 1 bedrooms, I came across my thirteen-year-old sister's diary, suffused (弥漫) with 2. What was I to do?

    I had always been 3 of my little sister. Her charming smile, endearing personality and many talents 4 my place as leading lady. I competed with her secretly and grew to hate her natural abilities. 5, we seldom spoke. I sought opportunities to 6 her. Her diary lay at my feet, and I didn't think of the 7 of opening it, considering not her privacy, nor the morality of my action.

    I took the book from the floor and opened it 8, looking through the pages, searching for my name, convinced that I would discover 9. As I read, the blood ran from my face. I felt 10 and sat on the floor. There was neither charge nor hate. There was a brief description of herself, her goals and her dreams followed by a short description of the person who has 11 her most.

    I started to cry. I was her 12. She admired me for my personality, my achievements and, ironically (嘲讽地), my 13. She wanted to be like me. She had been watching me for years, quietly admiring my choices and actions. I stopped reading, 14 with the crime I had committed.

    I had wasted years hating her and now I had violated her 15. It was I who had lost something beautiful, and it was I who would never 16 myself to do such a thing again. Reading the earnest words my sister had written seemed to 17 an icy barrier around my heart, and I longed to know her again. On that fateful afternoon, as I 18 the laundry and rose to my feet, I 19 to go to her—this time to experience instead of to judge, to 20 instead of to fight. After all, she was my sister.

    A few weeks ago, my friend offered to sell some of our things for us. I thought it was a good opportunity to 1my 7-year-old son's room and 2some toys that were no longer suitable for him to play with. We 3 that all the money we got from selling the toys would be his money.

    The night before the 4 we loaded(装载)up the truck with toys and a little bike that was too 5for him. In the yard he   6 the bike for the last time and then happily put it onto the truck. This little bike had at least two previous (以前的) owners as far as we 7 .It was certainly not 8, but the tyres (轮胎)were 9 good.

    We put a price of $ 10 on it, but it didn't sell. So, after the sale was 10 , my friend put it on the sidewalk, with a sign that 11 "FREE BIKE". Within five minutes her doorbell rang. A little boy was 12 there. In poor English he asked whether the bike was 13 free. She said yes and that he could have it for 14He smiled, got on the bike and rode away.

    Later that evening when I told my son how much money he had made at the sale, he was very 15 , shouting happily. He asked about a few of his things, wondering 16they had been sold. When he asked about the bike, I told him about the little boy and that made him 17. He was much happier than when I told him how much he had 18 He was so happy to 19 that someone else would make good 20 of that little bike!