John Carpenter

    John Carpenter did nod like to buy toys that somebody else had made. He like the fun of 1 them himself. The thought that they were his own work 2 him.

    Tom,one of his playmates,thought a toy was worth nothing 3 it cost a great deal of money. He never tried to make 4,but bought all his toys."Come and look at my horse," said he, one day,"it 5 a dollar, and it is such a beauty!" John was soon 6 his friend's horse, and he was examining it 7 to see how it was made. The same evening he tried to make a 8one for himself. He went into the wood shed and 9 two pieces of wood—one for the head of his horse, the other for the body. It took him two or three days to shape them to his 10 But what about the wheels? This11 him. With great efforts, he finally got some 12 pieces of wood which could suit his 13 Proud of his great 14he ran to his friend Tom, crying, "Now then, Tom, here is my horse, —look!"

    "Well, that is a 15 horse,"said Tom," Where did you but it?"

    "I didn't buy it,"16 John, "I made it".

    "You made it yourself! Oh, well, it's a good horse for you to make.17it is not as good as mine. Mine cost a 18 and yours didn't cost anything."

    "It was real fun to make it, though," said John, and away he ran with his horse 19 after him.

    Does it really cost nothing and all his efforts are 20 ? Of course not, I will tell you. John Carpenter now is a master workman, and will soon have a shop of his own.

    Around twenty years ago I was living in York. 1 I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree,I could not find 2 work.

    I was 3 a school bus to make ends meet and 4 with a friend of mine, for I had lost my flat. I had 5 five interviews(面试) with a company and one day between bus runs they called to say I did not 6 the job. “Why has my life become so  7？”I thought painfully.

    As I pulled the bus over to  8  a little girl, she handed me an earring  9 I should keep it  10  somebody claimed (认领) it. The earring was painted black and said “BE HAPPY”.

    At first I got angry. Then it  11 me—I had been giving all of my 12  to what was going wrong with my 13  rather than what was right！I decided then and there to make a 14 of fifty things I was happy with. Later, I decided to15 more things to the list.That night there was a phone call for  16  from a lady who was a director at a large  17.She asked me if I would  18  a one­day lecture on stress(压力) management to 200 medical workers. I said yes.

    My 19  there went very well, and before long I got a well­paid job.To this day I know it was because I changed my way of  20  that I completely changed my life.

    I remember how hard the rain was in New York City one morning. It was as if pebbles(鹅卵石) were 1 from the sky. I was walking to the 2 and saw a little girl huddling（蜷缩）under her mom's arms, doing her best not to get 3. Our eyes met as her mom asked her to 4 as the light was about to turn red for them to walk across the street.

    I was feeling 5 and all of a sudden the rain was a shower of help as opposed to a problem. I offered my 6 to them and they were so overcome with the 7 that the mom offered me money. I 8 and said, “You just 9 the umbrella and give the money to your daughter 10she gets good grades.” The little girl 11 up and down and 12 her mom to take the umbrella. She did and we smiled. I told them to have a good dry 13 and I walked into the supermarket.

    I found the few goods that I needed and went to the checkout counter. But I noticed that the 14 was the longest I had ever seen. The woman who was next 15 that I had just a few items and 16 her place. I smiled and thanked her. I 17 my items and went home 18- and cooked one of the best breakfasts for myself as I watched the beautiful blessings of rain outside my 19. I love kindness; I will take and receive 20 everywhere I go.

    One evening, Catherine was at home as usual. As her1swung between what she was going to do with her life and their dinner plans for the evening, she was unexpectedly2by an urgent call from her sister “Get over here! Turn on NBC and check these guys out. They are just like you….” One Facebook message and a phone interview later, Catherine3herself on a bus with 8 strangers in the middle of the sweltering desert heat of Utah, picking up trash and4awareness about zero-waste and climate change.

    With a deep5of the environment and a desire to make a6, Catherine, Davey, and a group of self7“environmental pick-up artists” went on a coast to coast road side trash pick-up. As they walked, sometimes only80.9 miles in an entire day, they 9 and steadily made their way across the United States for three years, picking up a total of 201,678 pounds of trash.

    Catherine and Davey10with us wonderful stories of hope and inspiration that fueled their11to continue their journey. After spending weeks silently12how she would have enough13to fly home for their two-week spring break, Catherine found a blank, unidentified envelope14with $850 cash in the desert. Just enough to get her home and back. After their bus15outside of Denver, they unexpectedly got16and arrived in Yosemite National Park three weeks later, just in time for the “Yosemite Facelift” where17from all over the state came together with a18of cleaning up trash all over the park.

    Being at the right place at the right time became almost normal, and they realized that much of what they 19was more than just a coincidence. Together, their team learned to simply 20themselves to their task, and surrender to the journey.

    My mom is the most positive person I know. She has a/an 1 spirit, sees the good in all people, and always sees 2 in any situation. I grew up in a 3, positive home environment, where there were always family 4 and lots of laughter.

    I have fond memories of my mom taking us to 5 every Saturday morning. While my brother and I would have rather stayed home on our day off from school, she had us 6 her to help people in Roanoke, Virginia who needed groceries (食品杂货) to feed their families. While she did her service role, we helped to prepare bags of food. 7, this got to be something we looked forward to and we always left feeling 8 about what we did.

    My sweet mom 9 made doing housework enjoyable. The best 10 I learned from her that sticks with me today is "O-H-I-O". Growing up, my mom would 11 me a pile of clean clothes and I would 12 set them on the floor, 13 to put them away later. My mom would say, "Kids, you've got to 14: OHIO! That means Only Handle It Once. When I give you clothes, put them away in your 15 as soon as I give them to you so they are only in your hands 16."

    Today, as a forty-two-year-old wife and stepmom, when I pick up my mail or bring clean, 17 clothes to my room, I hear my 18 mom's voice in my head: "Remember, OHIO!" Most of the time, I take those extra two minutes to handle things only once and put them in their 19 place. Who knew that this girl from Virginia would learn such a/an 20 lesson about OHIO that stays with me still today? Thanks, Mom!

    Walking across campus with every pair of eyes on you can be embarrassing, especially when you're 13 years old. I looked around me in 1 of a friendly face, a smile, anything. I was quite disappointed. And I, 2, felt somewhat foolish, walking across campus 3 with a false smile plastered(粘贴)across my face. I was simply 4 to follow the advice my mother had given me years before: when things get 5, smile. No matter where you are, a smile will always be understood. A smile is 6. At that very moment, however, I felt my mother's advice didn't 7.

    When the teacher 8 me to the class as the "American girl," 10 sets of hands immediately shot up. Some students had 9; others wanted to practice their English with me. Because I couldn't speak much Chinese 10, I communicated with them via gestures mixed in with 11 English and Chinese. Although I was 12, I wasn't sure how much of it was 13. It was almost as if they were 14 about me and I was being examined. 15 who could blame them? After all, I was the first American ever to 16 the school.

    Then, from across the room, a Chinese classmate suddenly 17 at me, and my nerves were instantly 18. Though there are cultural and language 19, we were sharing something in common. And as usual, my mother was right. A smile does make a 20.