Mr. White had to travel somewhere on business, and as he was in a hurry, he decided to go 1 He liked sitting2 a window when he was flying, so when he got onto the plane, he looked for a window seat. He3 all of them taken but one. There was a young man 4 beside it, and White was surprised that he had not taken the one 5 the window. Anyhow, he went towards it.When he 6 it, however, he saw that there was a notice on it, written 7 large letters,8“This seat is kept for proper balance. Thank you.” Mr. White had never seen such a notice before, but he thought the plane must 9 something especially heavy in its room10 makes it necessary to have the passengers properly11, So he walked on and found 12 empty seat, not beside the window  13 .

    Two or three other people 14  to sit near the window 15 the young man, but they also read the notice and went on. Then when the plane was nearly 16 , a very beautiful girl 17  into the plane. The young man, who was watching the passengers coming in, 18 took the notice 19the seat beside him, and20 succeeded in having a pretty companion during the whole trip.

I still remember my kindergarten teacher Mrs White, although I don't remember much about what we learned in her class. My mother once told me that we used to1a lot. And I would bring back what I wrote and she could see there were so many2. But no red corrections. And always a star. Sometimes3a "Good"，which would make my heart soar (高涨）with4, But it worried my mother, so one day when she met Mrs White, she asked her why she never5the wrong spellings of words.

Mrs White replied, "The children are just beginning to get6about using words, about forming sentences. I don't want to7that enthusiasm with red ink. Spelling and grammar can wait. The wonder of words won't…"Maybe she didn't say it8like that. It was long ago. But I did grow up learning to use words with loving9like that.

I10now and think Mrs Whites was a rather11teacher. She encouraged the joy,12and excitement of expression-however faultily-like that. I used to13"beautiful" a lot. Never could I quite remember that the "e"went 14the "a".15my teacher in high school very much.16eventually the e's and a's settled into their17places. I am glad I didn't 18on them though. "Pretty" is 19to spell but it doesn't hold as much as you mean sometimes. And thanks to Mrs White, I had no20about writing what I meant even if I couldn't quite spell it out. Because life isn't Pretty. It's Beautiful.

    There was a businessman who was deep in debt and could see no way out. He sat on the park bench, head in hands,1if anything could save his company from bankruptcy (破产).

    Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is2you," he said. After listening to the businessman's troubles, the old man said, "I believe I can help you." He asked the man his name, wrote out a3, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time." Then he turned and disappeared as4as he had come.

    The businessman saw in his hand a check for $500,000,5by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! "I can6my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But7, he decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the8to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

    With renewed9, he negotiated better deals. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

    Exactly one year later, he returned to the10with the uncashed check. At the11time, the old man appeared. But just as the businessman was about to12the check and share his success story, a 13came running up and grabbed the old man. "I'm so delighted I14him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's15escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller." And she led the old man away16the arm.

    The businessman just stood there,17. All year long he'd been buying and selling,18he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or19, that had turned his life around. It was his20self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

    The journey my daughter Cathy has had with her swimming is as long as it is beautiful.

    Cathy suffered some terrible1in her early childhood. After years of regular treatment, she2became healthy.

    Two years ago, while Cathy was watching the Olympics, a dream came into her sweet little head—to be a swimmer. Last summer, she wanted to3out local swim team. She practiced hard and finally4it. The team practice,5was a rough start. She coughed and choked and could hardly6her first few weeks. Hearing her coughing bitterly one night, I decided to7her from it all. But Cathy woke me up early next morning, wearing her swimsuit8to go! I told her she shouldn't swim after a whole night's coughing, but she refused to9and insisted she go .

From that day on, Cathy kept swimming and didn't10a single practice. She had a11intention within herself to be the best she could be. My ten-year-old was growing and changing right before my eyes, into this12human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of13of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. It was difficult for Cathy to accept that she wasn't a14—ever. But that didn't stop her from trying.

    Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Cathy didn't expect any award but was still there to15her friends and praise their accomplishments. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach16, “The highest honor goes to Cathy!” Looking around, he continued, “Cathy has inspired us with her17and enthusiasm.18skills and talents bring great success, the most valuable asset(财富)one can hold is the heart.”

    It was the greatest19of my daughter's life. With all she hade been20in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph(成功).

    As she waited at the edge of the ice for her music to start, Peggy took a quick look at her father standing nearby with a group of parents and teachers. He smiled at her. Then she 1 out at the audience, 2 to see her mother. These two, Alvert and Doris Flemint, had 3 all the way from California more than 2,000 miles away, to see their 4 compete in this sports meet in Cleveland, Ohio.

    The music 5 and Peggy moved onto the ice, letting the music 6 her along into her turns, and she began skating with much 7 in herself. The cold fear she always had in the 8 seconds before skating onto the ice was 9. She was feeling the movement of the 10 and letting it carry her. She skated easily, 11 did some jumps, a final turn and her performance was 12.

    The crowd loved it and cheered 13 she skated off the ice. "Nice job," said one of the other 14. It was the remark that 15 came after a free-skating performance. But what should the 16 say? Standing beside her father, Peggy 17 for the scoring to be finished. On all sides were other young skaters, some waiting 18 alone, others with a parent. Shortly before 10 o'clock the results were 19. The new United States Women's Figure Skating Champion was Peggy Fleming of Passdena, 20.

Bathed in two cultures from childhood, moving around the world and experiencing different cultures has always been my thing. When I was in high school, I heard about students in my class wanting to take the SAT test and study abroad in the USA. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Actually, what I wanted to experience most was the European lifestyle and cultural mix.

 I used to travel a lot around Europe with my parents as a little kid, and also not forgetting that the French Language is one of my mother tongues, France seemed therefore like a top choice for me. French universities have a good reputation and the French capital is internationally well known for its cultural history. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. My university was one of those small cities and I also got the chance to obtain a scholarship which made it easier for me to start my studies.

 {#blank#}3{#/blank#}. Opportunities are offered to develop our network and explore the business world. The university participated as a partner in international networking courses leading to a European Master's degree, a double degree, or training abroad.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. So, if you are an international student who came to France for studies, you can take the chance to explore another country for a term and study in English. I remember wanting to take this opportunity in my first year of my college life and try the program which back then offered students the chance to go on an exchange with Linnaeus University in Sweden. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}.

A.I applied and was lucky to get accepted

B.But I was not that attracted to studying there

C.You can find a lot of student-friendly cities as well

D.Besides, all these universities have their own unique advantages

E.The university I chose was small but used to invite business chiefs and directors

F.Because there are many universities with good reputation which attracts students

G.Plus, all French universities work with several countries to offer an exchange program