As I rushed among the tables, suddenly, a  1  asked if I could mind a child. I was quite   2 but I could tell the man was quite desperate. So I had to make a  3  with him that if he wanted his son to stay and wait for him, he had to 4  something in the shop．

       This was quite  5  for the man to do; I could  6  he was quite poor by the  7  he was dressed. It looked as if he had tried to come in his 8 clothes. But they still looked a bit old and worn out 9 he had often worn them, just to make himself look best. Looking down I could see his 10  were also a bit torn and the heels were in a terrible state. I thought he was going for a job interview. In the end he bought a small box of 11 for his little son and seated him down in the corner. I could tell the boy was feeling down and only could   12  with a bit of cheering up．

       Seeing that the kid sat there for quite a while, I was a bit  13  as the poor little kid was sitting  14  his own. People watched him and some kids even came over to pick on him. I was15  to see one of them even knocked his cookies off the table．He quickly went and got them back without saying a word．I was hoping his father would 16  up and come back for his son's 17  .

        At closing time, the only person left was the little boy．After a while, the father finally came in with a tiresome look. I  18 he didn't get any job．As they were leaving, I offered the kid a little cake, but the man rejected it. I19  he felt as if I had just abused him．Of course I didn't mean to．But I could understand why he felt like that．I only wished them good  20  whatever happened．

The man opened the door to leave－father and son hand in hand．

    One day, when I was in high school, I saw a kid named Kyle from my class walking home from school with all his books. I thought to myself, "1 would anyone bring home all his books for the weekend? He must really be 2 ."

    As I was walking, I saw several kids running toward him. They ran at him, 3all his books out of his arms and he fell down in the dirt. His glasses went 4and landed in the grass.

    My 5 went out to him. So, I ran over to him.  6 I handed him his glasses, he looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!"

    I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it 7 , he lived near me. We talked all the way home. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

    Kyle was the 8 student of our class, one of those guys that really found 9 during high school. Therefore he had the honor to prepare a 10 speech. On the graduation day, I could see that he was 11 . So, I patted(拍) him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be 12 !" He looked at me and smiled.

    He cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to 13 those who helped you make it through those 14 years. Your parents, your teachers…but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best 15 you can give him."

    I just looked at my friend with 16 as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to 17himself over the weekend and was carrying his books home. "Thankfully, nothing happened. My friend 18 me from doing the unspeakable(不能说出来的)."

    Not until that moment did I realize that you should never underestimate(低估) the 19of your actions. With one small act you can 20 a person's life. For better or for worse.

    Every year around this time kids perform in their holiday concert. For many schools it is the most well-attended 1 of the year. In years past, my daughter has joined her classmates in singing. This year was 2 though. She had a few 3 parts.

    My daughter was very 4 about earning these parts. Yet with her excitement also came some nervousness. She 5 practiced her lines until she knew them 6. And, each day her class would prepare for what was going to be a special 7.

    Each day she would tell us that she did well but that she was very 8. She was worried that people would 9 her if she made a mistake. 10, she was worried about speaking in front of over a thousand people.

    Then the 11 night came last week. We luckily got front row seats, which was great for 12.

    When the time had finally arrived for my daughter to recite her lines, she did it 13. But she thought she had made a mistake, and I could see that she was close to 14 when she had finished her first part. You can only imagine how 15 it was for me not to run up on stage and 16 her and tell how much I 17 her. What happened next was the reason she is now my 18.

    She went back up to the microphone two more times and spoke her lines perfectly. The 19 it took to do that was something I will never forget. I will not 20 myself in any situation as long as I remember the night my daughter showed me what real courage looked like.

    "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that John would agree with this saying, 1 he felt this way almost every day in school.

    By high school, John was the most famous 2 in his town. He was always absent, didn't answer questions and got into 3. He had failed almost every exam by the time he entered his senior year, yet was 4 each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to 5 him again the following year. John was moving on, but definitely not moving 6.

    I met John for the first time at a weekend leadership training program since John was one of 405 students who 7. At the start of the training, John was just standing 8 the circle of students, against the back wall. He didn't 9 join the discussion groups. But slowly, the interactive games 10 him in.

    The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of 11 and negative things that had occurred at school that year. John 12 some constructive ideas on those situations. The other students in John's group 13 his comments. All of a sudden John felt like a 14 of the group, and before long he was 15 like a leader. By the end of the training, he had joined the Homeless Project team. The other students on the team were 16 with his passionate concern and ideas. They 17 elected John co-chairman of the team.

    John started 18 at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project,19 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter from house to house.

    A bird with a broken wing only needs 20. Once healed, it can fly higher than the rest.

It was my last class before summer break, and I was finishing up the first year of a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in poetry. Unsure if I deserved a 1 in the program, I worried I wasn't as2 as my peers. When the professor asked about our summer 3 , I panicked. I didn't want to appear idle (闲散的)，so without much 4 , I burst out "gardening". Surprisingly, my professor nodded and mentioned Emily Dickinson loved gardening. Emily Dickinson, a great American poet, studied plants as a 5 . But I was in my twenties and had no gardening 6 .

A few days later, I 7 some seedlings in a store. I thought I should get some. At least I could say I had 8 gardening. Wait, was that a jalapeno (墨西哥辣椒)? I 9 it up.

Over the summer, the plant grew, not big but 10 . I was proud. Maybe I didn't have 11 . But then I had to move out of my apartment for some reason. I 12 with my friends. It was December when I found my new apartment, and my jalapeno was suffering: its 13 had fallen off. I set it next to a window by the kitchen sink, and 14 for the best.

I 15 to work hard in school. Then spring came. My plant grew with new leaves. And it flowered when I 16 my graduate paper, a book of 17 , in May.

I was washing dishes one day when my professor called. "Your poems are strong..." he said. I'd done it! I went back to the dishes, but suddenly I found the flowers 18 my jalapeno were gone. Had I done something 19 ?  I looked closer. Where a flower had been, a tiny green fruit 20 through.

It was 1504,and Columbus was making another trip to the New World.Columbus and his men needed fresh water and food after three months at sea.They saw an island and went to the shore.On the island there were unfriendly Indians who refused to give food and water to them.Columbus' men were afraid of the Indians,but he had a clever plan.He used gesture(手势) language to tell the Indians about his mysterious (神秘的) power to turn off the light in the sky.He knew about a lunar eclipse (月食) the next night because the information was in his almanac (天文历书).Columbus told the Indians,"Tomorrow night I'll turn off the light in the sky." But they didn't believe him.When the eclipse began the next night,the Indians became very frightened.They begged Columbus to turn on the light again,and they quickly gave him all the food and water he wanted.Immediately Columbus and his men hurried back to the ship and sailed away in the moonless night.