These days my work is mostly on the Internet. However, there is one 1 that I use nearly every day. And I learned it from my dad almost 40 years ago in a very different 2.

My father ran a plumbing(水管) shop. I had to 3 him with his work. One day, I was asked to work 4 a concrete floor. It wasn't the kind of work I5 The work was physical work which involved6 a chisel(凿子) and swinging a five- pound hammer at it really 7 Often, my aim was bad 8 the hammer missed the chisel and 9 my wrist. After ten minutes, my dad came, expecting to find the job completed. Actually, it wasn't. He asked, "Son, have you been doing it all the time?""Well dad," I told him 10"I figure out a good way to do this more11 I just tap the chisel and move it. I'm generating a circle of shock wave down into the concrete. That way, it'll break along the lines and I won't hurt my wrist again." Dad gave me a12 look. He said, "Son, just hit the thing." Then Dad13 me his hand. I saw many scars on it .He told me, "If you stick to the work, you'll 14 it sooner. " Well, I did hit it then. And the job only took five more minutes to finish15 enough, even though I hammered my 16 two or three times, I was proud that I'd just done it.

Today, nearly 40 years later, when I 17 any difficulty in work I still hear my father's voice, "Son just hit the thing."I feel18 because I know he's still urging me to take action, go ahead, get the job done, and never 19the scars. And that's not a bad 20 to carry through life.

A Deed a Day

    It was a busy day as usual. I was making sandwiches and balancing the phone between my shoulder and chin. The washing machine sounded as my husband walked in with our daughters. We had only about twenty minutes to eat 1 we had to take the girls to their next activity. My husband seemed a bit 2 that dinner was not on the table.

    That night, I had a heavy 3, thinking we were becoming taskmasters on an assembly line（流水线）. We had become too 4 in our own tasks and not very considerate towards those around us. We needed to do something to bring back some meaning into our lives. It needed to be something that would 5 our own matters and energize us toward the common good.

    I bought a notebook, named it “Our Deed Diary” and held a family meeting. I told my family I wanted us all to think about doing a 6 for others every day. It could be for each other or for people outside our 7. And we all needed to write it down in the notebook.

    I thought one deed a day was too easy. However, it was actually 8 than it seemed because it had to be something 9 what we had already done. Sending birthday cards to people we already sent cards to every year would not 10.

    We had a rough 11. On some days, someone would forget to 12 a good deed, while on other days, we would forget to write our good deeds in the diary. After a few weeks though, I found myself waking up in the morning trying to 13 what good deed I could do for someone that day. My daughters began to rush to me after school to 14me the good deed they had done.

    Now, after a year, I am happy to say that it is making a(n) 15 in our lives. Instead of always 16 what the day will bring for us, we think about what we can do for someone else.

    Who would have thought that trying to do a simple kindness a day would be so 17? I feel my daughters have felt inner joy that you can only 18 by giving to someone else from your heart. The best thing is that you feel so great about doing something for someone else; you don't even look for a expect anything in 19. So, when someone does return the favor, it is an enormous and 20 bonus.

    Several weeks ago, our headmaster, Mr. Gaudi, told us that our school had been chosen to compete on Smart Aleck—a game show which my best friend Carla and I both love. Carla has a good imagination, 1 I know a lot of history. So we thought we'd be good 2 for the team.

    A few days later, Mr. Gaudi held a meeting with everyone interested in the 3 . He told us that Smart Aleck uses a five member team. He also said that three more people would be needed as backup (替补). 4, four times that many students were at the meeting. So Mr. Gaudi said we would have a 5 among all the students present and the top 6 scorers would become the team and the backup. Everybody agreed that this was a 7 way to decide.

    Yesterday, all of the hopefuls went to the dining hall after school. We would have to 8 the starting line-up（阵容）. Mr. Gaudi acted as the 9. After a couple of hours, all the 10on the team were set except one. Carla and I 11 for that last position. We had to hold a one-on-one competition 12 the two of us. The winner would be on the team and the loser would be the 13.

    Midway through our two-person competition, I was starting to pull ahead. 14 I saw the look on Carla's face. I waited for a second and knew what I had to do. As much as I wanted to be on Smart Aleck, Carla wanted 15 even more. So, starting with my next question, I held back and let Carla 16, just by a little bit. Her expression as she 17 she would be on the show made up for my not being on the team. And since I will go as backup, I'll still have the 18 of seeing the show up close.

    Was I 19 by not trying as hard as I could? I don't think so. No one noticed, and Carla and I didn't 20 it. It won't hurt the team because Carla will be a very good competitor on the real show. I think that making my best friend happy was the right thing to do.

    Last July, Angela Peters rolled her wheelchair into a nail salon (美容院) at the Walmart shopping center with the idea of 1 her nails. But Peters, who has cerebral palsy(脑瘫), was 2 because the salon was afraid it would be too difficult to properly paint her nails, given that her 3 shook. What was meant to be a day of beauty 4 for Peters was now a disappointment.

    5 nearby was Ebony Harris, a Walmart cashier about to go on her 6 . Harris recognized Peters as a Walmart 7. "She's just like you, me and anybody else." Harris told ABC News, "She wants to look 8. So why can't she?"

    Harris approached Peters. "Do you want me to do your nails?" she asked. A smile 9 across Peters's face. "Yeah!"

    Harris 10 Peters into the beauty section, where they shopped for nail polish. They 11 on a bright blue—a color that would 12 every eye. They then made their way into a(n)13 McDonald's, found a table for two, and set up shop. Harris 14 took Peters's hand into hers and carefully began painting her nails.

    Watching it all with 15 was McDonald's employee Tasia Smith. What 16 her most was the ease and gentleness displayed by Harris, all the while 17 as if they were old friends. Smith was so taken by the 18 that she wrote about it on Facebook: She was so 19 with her. Thanks to the Walmart worker for making this beautiful girl's 20 ! And Peters wrote, "When people do us wrong, we should learn to forgive!"

    I was a young newspaper reporter, and I wanted to succeed. My first 1 was in Latin America. It was almost my last job.

    I had not 2 to stay in the village of Zacate, 3 it had been raining hard for a whole day. So I had to stay there.

    I found people there full of 4 . This village was at the foot of a volcano (火山). It was becoming more 5. Men, women and children came to the square. A few helped each other and went out of town to get as far away from the volcano as possible, with large and full 6 in their hands. Suddenly, I felt a strong 7. The villagers in the square 8 as soon as they felt the earthquake.

    Suddenly, I saw black smoke 9 down the side of the mountain towards the village. Trees and grass 10 up in a second. The volcano was coming so 11 that in less than a minute the roads to the villages were 12 . All I could do was watch and 13. Suddenly, my landlord (房东) cried out, "Look!" He 14 to a small hill. The lava (岩浆) was not coming over it but 15 on each side of the 16, leaving the village center 17. For a time, at least, we were 18, unless the lava grew much and bigger.

    My landlord gave me a wet blanket to cover myself to avoid the 19 and we poured water over our heads to cool ourselves. We could hardly breathe (呼吸) because of the heat and the 20 of the burning houses. Thanks to my landlord, I survived the volcano.

    It was a busy morning, about 8:30,when an elderly gentleman in his 80s came to the hospital .I heard him saying to the nurse that he was in a hurry for all appointment(约会)at 9:30 The nurse had him take a 1 in the waiting area, 2 him it would be at least 40 Minutes 3 someone would be able to see him I saw him4his watch and decided, since I was5busy—my patient didn't6 at the appointed hour, I would examine his wound .While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment .The gentleman said no and told me that he 7to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his8. He told me that she had been 9for a while and that she had a special disease I asked if she would be10if he was a bit late. He replied that she 11 knew who he was，that she had not been able to 12 him for five years now. I was13, and asked him, "And you14go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled and said. "She doesn't know me but I know who she is" I had to hold back 15 as he left.

    Now I 16 that in marriages，true love is17of all that is .The happiest people don't 18have the best of everything; they just 19the best of everything they have.20 isn't about how to live through the storm, but how to dance in the rain.