An 18-year-old student at Stanford University was struggling to pay his fees.Not knowing where to turn for money,he came up with a bright1.He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to2money for their education.

    They 3out to the great pianist Ignacy J.Paderewski.His manager4a guaranteed fee of $2,000 for the piano recital（独奏会).A deal was5and the boys began to work to make the concert a6.

    The big day arrived. But 7,they had not managed to sell enough tickets.The total8was only $ 1,600. Disappointed,they went to Paderewski and explained their plight (困境).They gave him the entire $ 1,600,plus a9for the balance $400.They promised to honour the cheque at the10possible.Paderewski tore up the cheque,11the $ 1,600 and told the two boys to keep the money they needed for the fees.The boys were12,and thanked him heartedly.

    It was a small act of13.But it clearly marked out Paderewski14a great human being.15should he help two people he did not even know?We all16situations like these in our lives.And17of us only think “If I help them,what will happen to me?”The truly18people think, “If I don't help them,what will happen to them?” They don't do it19something in return.They do it20they feel it's the right thing to do.

    My daughter and I were driving from Los Angeles to Dallas. We were running1on gas somewhere in New Mexico and 2 we would see a gas station soon enough to fill up.

    But that didn't happen and we3 we were not going to make it to the next town. So my daughter made up a 4 that read “Low on gas. Can u help?”and held it outside her 5 in the hope that a passing driver would 6  it and stop.

    It was about 3:30 pm on a weekday and there weren't too many vehicles 7 us at that time. Then we found someone 8  along ahead of us. We caught up with it in the 9that the driver would notice the sign.

    After a brief expression of10 on his face, he seemed to have noticed the sign and 11down to pull over. We pulled over right behind him.

    When he knows that we don't have enough gas, he12  to buy us gas at the next town Roswell. When we 13  our difficulty of not having enough gas to get there, he said they had a gas 14on his farm about 10 minutes away, so if we could give him 20 minutes, he would 15 back there, get a can of gasoline and 16  up our tank.

    We could not believe our good 17 !We were filled with gratitude(感激)for the18of strangers such as this person as we waited for him to return. Sure enough, he was back with the can. He 19 to take payment for the gas, saying “What good is a man who cannot help another20.”

    Last night my husband and I were taking a walk. Then we saw a man1over on the ground, crushing(砸碎) something with rock. He was completely 2 his task and didn't look up at anyone 3 We kept noticing him. I thought he was crushing stones to make 4 but why would he do that?

    Finally we decided to go up and5 to him. He was crushing pieces of left-over bread to make feed for the birds that 6 there early morning. The large pieces of hard bread would be 7 for the birds to eat so he crushes them into a fine powder.

    He's been doing this every night, by himself, for the last 3 to4 years. What 8us more was that he was surprised we were even taking an9 in this, since for him it wasn't a big deal. Every night, after10 so his accommodation from his job as a tailor, he goes around 11 left-over bread from all his housemates. He12eats a quick meal and comes here, and spends the next 1 to 2 hours13 crushing each piece and makes a neat pile for the birds, which he says will be 14 by next evening. He also leaves grains on top of the pile, which he 15 every month from his wages.

    When we asked him what16 him to do this simple, small but devoted act of 17 he shrugged his shoulders and said. It's just something18I do: so that the left-over bread doesn't go into the rubbish and the birds get 19” We shared his story and perhaps it might inspire someone to start something 20 in their own area,

    Mrs. Jones was over eighty, but she still drove her old car like a woman half her age. She loved driving very fast, and was proud of the fact 1 she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished 2 a driving offence (犯规，犯法).

    Then one day she nearly3 her record. A police car 4 her, and the policemen in it saw her5 a red light without stopping. Of course, she was stopped. It seemed 6 that she would be punished.

    7 Mrs. Jones came up to the judge, he looked at her seriously and said that she was  8 old to drive a car, and that the 9 why she had not stopped at the red 10was most probably that her eyes had become weak 11 old age, so that she had simply not seen it.

    When the judge had finished what he was 12, Mrs. Jones opened the big handbag she was 13 and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she 14 a needle with a very small eye, and threaded it at her first attempt.

    When she had 15 done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed 16 the needle and the thread to the judge, saying, “Now it is your 17I suppose you drive a car, and that you are quite sure about your own eyesight.”

    The judge took the 18 and tried to thread it. After half a dozen tries, he had still not succeeded. The case (案例) against Mrs. Jones was19, and her record20 unbroken.

    My 7-year-old daughter always has her nose in a book. She even continued 1 in the car on the long drive to summer camp, where she lost the book. This is the first lost 2 book in my life. In my childhood, my family had always been expected to be 3, but we were poor, and I didn't 4 books. I had to borrow books. My library books lived on a 5 shelf while they were mine, and it 6 me when I had to return them to the library on the due day.

    However, my daughter has 7 books now than I owned my whole childhood. So it's probably my 8 that she didn't cherish the books. “Sorry. I can't find it.” My daughter said with a shrug, “we just pay $20 for the book. What's the big9?” The missing library book just met with a cold 10 from her, but it met with nail-biting 11 from me. I walked into the library in a deep 12 as if I had lost the book.

    Feeling the need to make her feel 13 for the book, I asked her to do the chores. She agreed to clean up all the pets' houses 14 my paying the library book. I'd meant the chore to be 15!

    Surprisingly, she was enjoying herself. I took a picture of her lovely back. So, was I winning or losing at 16? Did I teach her the 17 of keeping a library book if the picture I took shows she is working 18?

    To my 19, my little girl knew what 20 in her life. She could devote herself to the chores as much as books.

    He stood on the comer looking a lot like Santa Claus, a smile on his face and a cup outstretched in his hands. I smiled 1 and asked if he was 2, "Would you like to go somewhere and share a sandwich?" He 3 with a bigger smile and a resounding（夸张的）YES.

    His name is Aed. We went together to a comer bakery and then 4 the next hour, he very slowly ate his sandwich, 5 with deep delight on each bite as he 6 his story with me.

    He was one of the few hand pruners（修剪树枝者）still trying to work. He spoke lovingly and with deep 7 about all sorts of plants and trees and how to properly 8 them. Much like humans, each one required kindness and 9.

    He spoke of his time 10 in Vietnam and how the war forever 11 him. He spoke about a pathway diverged（分开）but then 12. He spoke about his philosophy on life that we all have gifts to 13 and we all have the 14 to be happy even without a place to call home. His blue eyes 15 brighter and brighter.

    I asked if I could hug him. 16 resounding YES. And then we hugged a second and third time，each one a bit 17 and a bit more joyful.

    Aed gave me a gift that day. It was the gift of his story. We 18 in touch now and again via email; he is a(n) 19 man. So, the next time you see someone on a comer with an outstretched hand, 20 out and gently take it. You may receive the bigger gift.