I was working in a store three years ago. I remember one girl who started 1 there a few months after me. I remember always meeting her. I don't know 2 but for a strange reason we would never talk. We would just see each other and smile.

    She would 3 smile in a really happy way until one day when we got to work in the 4 department again. She 5 as if she was the happiest girl in the world. But I had a strange feeling. So I went up to her and said, "What's wrong with you?" She answered, "Why?" I said, "I could feel you're very 6 today and you're trying to hide it."

    She was shocked as if I had 7 her deepest secret, so we started 8. She told me why she was feeling like that and why she was 9 to hide it and we had a good time together. Time 10 and we became good friends. She'd always tell me I had changed her 11 in so many ways, but I could not 12 how it had happened. I would just smile, not understanding what she 13 by that.

    Today this girl is one of my best 14. I really don't know what I would do 15 her. She has been there for me in every possible way a friend could be.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is you 16 know when you're helping yourself. I  17 this girl never knowing that at the same time I was helping myself by finding a(n)18 friend.

    So the next time you see a 19, and he looks as if he needs 20 who will listen to him, listen to what he has to say. You never know, you might just end up helping yourself.

    Once upon a time, there was a poor man. His 1 was also very poor — a small and empty house, which was2 with spider webs (蜘蛛网). People tried to 3 coming into his house as they didn't want to come to such a 4 place. And the poor man thought that poverty (贫困) was the  5 for his unlucky life.

    Then, the poor man 6 a wise man and told him about his poverty. The man felt sorry for the poor man and gave him a vase (花瓶). “This will save you from 7,” the wise man8. The poor man took the 9 from the wise man and wanted to sell it at first and then spend the money on drinking, as usual. Besides, why would he 10 such a beautiful thing? But then he started 11 the vase carefully and decided not to take it to the market. He brought the vase back to his house, put it on the table and started watching it again.

    “It's not 12for such a beautiful thing to be empty,” the poor man thought. So he pick some flowers and put them into the vase. It became even 13. “Not good that such a beautiful thing stands next to a spider web,” the poor man 14 again.

    So the poor man started cleaning his house. He cleaned the dust, washed the floor and whitened the walls. And it became clear that his house wasn't poor, 15 rather warm and comfortable. And the poor man wasn't a poor man anymore, but a hard-working host, who had no time to think about poverty.

    “We have visitors this morning,” Ms. Myers told Class 5. “A journalist and a photographer from the newspaper are doing an article about our new school1. And some of you will be in the photo.”

    The kids were2, except for Brad. He knew he wouldn't be in the photo. Brad was small. Kids were always making jokes about how3he was.

    “They won't put Brad in the photo,” John said. “You'd need a magnifying glass（放大镜）to see him.” The other kids 4. Brad grinned (smiled widely), even though John's comment was rude. He5grinned when people made jokes like that. He figured they didn't mean to hurt his feeling.

    The newspaper people6half an hour later. The journalist was called Tegan and the photographer was a short, fit-looking guy named Rick. Tegan7to the class about how a journalist had to8clear sentences and paragraphs, and then Rick told them about some amazing9he'd taken. Once he had to hang on a rope from a cliff(悬崖) to take shots of a10.

    “I could be a photographer,” thought Brad. I'm not afraid of11. I wouldn't weigh much on a rope, either.

    “Any questions you want to ask our12?” said Ms. Myers.

    Brad put his hand up. “Rick? What things don't you like to photograph?”

    “13are tricky,” Rick said. “Once I had to photograph a mother duck that was looking after a baby duck. She thought I was trying to14the baby duck, so she started hitting me with her wings. Picking on a little guy like me!”

    Class 5 laughed again, and Brad grinned, too. It's OK when you make jokes about15, he thought. It was jokes from other people that could hurt.

Time to take photos. Rick said, “I'll have them.” pointing to 6 kids, Brad16. Brad could hardly believe it.

    In the hall, Rick put them in front of the new library's big painting of stars and planets and books. “It's big, eh?” he said. “We'll get you guys to17in front of it, so it looks even bigger.”

    “Is that why you picked Brad?” called one of the Class 5 kids. “So it looks really big?”

Some people laughed. Brad started to grin, as he usually did.18Rick shook his head. “No way,” he said. “I picked him because he's got a19two miles long.”

    He looked at Brad and said, “Plus, this guy is20inside, where it matters. Right, mate?”

This time, Brad spoke before he could think. “Inside, I'm three miles long.”

    Class 5 laughed again. But Brad knew that they were laughing with him, not at him.

    “Oh, no! You're moving?” Such was my neighbor's 1 when she saw household items appearing on my lawn and 2 my driveway.

    “Nope. Just cleaning house!” I called back, smiling.

    This yard sale had been the result of six months of 3. I had searched every 4 and overflowing closet and cupboard—crazy about my seeking to find items to 5.

    I met loads of 6 and friendly people. The Mirror Lady was 7 to buy the antique mirror from my first apartment for her daughter's first apartment; and the Futon Girl, a college sophomore, said my futon (沙发床) and frame were 8 for her dorm room.

    And how can I 9 the Camera Man? Bending absorbedly over the “technology” table, he spotted my husband's faded 10 bag from the early 80s. Zippered compartments (隔包) 11 a broken camera and a few old lenses. “Wow!” he said, as he picked it up and made me a(n) 12. I asked what he was going to do with it. “It's just cool—I have a shelf at home for cool 13 technology.” So apparently he 14 it just so he could look at it. As he walked down the driveway with the dusty bag 15 over his shoulder, for a second I 16 my journalist husband doing the same, heading out to 17 a story. That made me feel 18.

    All yard sales lasted two days. As hard as it can be to let things 19, the true value of those things is to 20 you of a place you lived in, a special time in your life, or a loved one in your heart.

On their {#blank#}1{#/blank#}（arrive）in Toronto ，Li Daiyu and her cousin spent a few hours touring the city and having dinner with Lin Fei ， {#blank#}2{#/blank#} was Li Daiyu's mother's old schoolmate. She told the girls there were a few more Chinatowns in the Greater Toronto Area and there were many Chinese people  {#blank#}3{#/blank#}（live） in Canada. Therefore ，they could get all {#blank#}4{#/blank#}（kind）of great food there from all over China.

At night ，the train left late and arrived in Montreal early the next morning. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} surprised the girls was that all the signs and advertisements {#blank#}6{#/blank#}（be）in French and many people spoke English with {#blank#}7{#/blank#} accent. As their train wouldn't leave until evening ，they spent the afternoon  {#blank#}8{#/blank#}（go）around the city. When they sat in a restaurant ，a young man named Jean-Philippe joined them. He told them something about the city and hoped they would stay a little {#blank#}9{#/blank#}（long）to visit wonderful sights of the city.

On the train towards the province of Nova Scotia ，the cousins dreamt {#blank#}10{#/blank#}（happy）of the beautiful cobblestone streets ，old brick buildings ，and the red maple leaves of Montreal.