It was Christmas Eve. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world was over for me. I didn't have enough money to buy myself the1 that I had wanted that year.

Dad came back in and there was ice in his beard（胡子)."You've been by widow（寡妇）Smith's house recently?"he asked. Widow Smith 2two miles down the road. Her husband died a year ago and left her with3children.

“I rode by just today,"Dad 4 “Little Jack was out looking for wood. They must have used up wood, Tom.”

We filled our sledge（雪橇）high with 5. Then we went to the store and Dad bought some food and a small pair of shoes. I tried to think about6Dad was doing. I knew we didn't have enough money, so why was Dad buying them so many things?

We 7 widow Smith's house and went in. "We brought you a few things, madam."Dad said, and 8 the bag of food on the table. Then Dad handed widow Smith the pair of shoes. At that moment, tears filled her eyes and started running down her face.

My throat seemed to be filled with 9, and there were tears in my eyes, too. Just then, my dream gift seemed very unimportant. Dad had given me the look on widow Smith's face and the smiles of 10three children. He had given me the best Christmas of my life.

    Many years ago, Dad worked as a farmhand（农场工人）. At that time, he had a horse. Every Saturday he 1to the town after dinner and spent a few hours on social2 with other farmhands, such as drinking, chatting, and playing cards in the café. On Saturday evenings, the café was3 because many farmhands were there. Before midnight Dad returned home on his horse, quite satisfied（满意）with his4 In his words, he 5thought of changing his job.

    At the age of 31, Dad married my mother who was a school teacher. In the following spring I came6 into the world. Life became hard, so my mother felt unsatisfied. She told Dad that they must make a7

    My mother had8of how some famous persons, especially Thomas Edison who was born in a poor family, fought against fate and achieved greatness and fame. And she9that I would some day become a great leader，ruling men or cities and Dad should be a successful businessman. So she persuaded Dad to give up his job as a farmhand, sell his horse and10a small business of his own. And I went to high school and college. She even sent me abroad for11 education when I graduated from college. Under the drive of my mother's hope, Dad and I12what we have today. Dad runs a big international13and I am a successful lawyer enjoying great fame in my country,14not a leader as my mother expected.

    Dad said, without my mother, we wouldn't be what we are today; at least, he would remain a farmhand.15he got a lesson of life: sometimes we really need drive from outside.

    Mark and Rosa wanted to go on holiday in a place called San Antonio. They worked very hard for several years. Finally, they made enough money for their dream 1. But their dream was more like a nightmare(噩梦)!

    They decided to go for two weeks in the spring2they heard that the weather was perfect there at that time.

    The problem3when the flight(航班)was delayed(延误)because of bad weather. They couldn't leave until night. They 4 got on the plane twelve hours late! But they 5fly to San Antonio because there was a storm. They had to fly to the capital city instead. There they stayed in a small hotel 6the airport.

    The hotel was next to the sea, but the sea was so dirty that they couldn't swim in it. And the hotel swimming pool was full of leaves! To make things7, the food was awful, too. For breakfast there was 8bread and milk! The worst part was when the storm arrived. They felt really9because of the wind and rain.

    Because of the weather they had to stay another night in the small hotel with10to do. They arrived in San Antonio three days late in the end. And someone told them the weather there had been wonderful all the time.  

   Granny Sarya lived outside Moscow. Her only son 1 to Afghanistan(阿富汗) and was killed in action there.Soon after that, her husband lost his job. The old man was always 2 food and clothes.And on a winter night he went out alone when Sarya was asleep. The next morning he was 3 dead in a cold lake. And his worn-out coat was 4 in a tree not far away. Sarya was so 5 that she nearly took her own life.

    Things got worse and worse after that. She always lived in hunger and cold. She had hoped that the government(政府) could help her but she 6 .

    It was a cold windy night. The old woman couldn't 7 asleep at all. She had to get up. She decided to write a letter to God(神), asking for 8 . She wished God to give her 100 rubles (卢布), so she could buy some food for herself. When she 9 writing it, she found she had no 10 . She had to put the 11 at a crossing. 12 the next morning a policeman found the letter. He read it to his comrades.They were all so 13 that they gathered some rubles and sent them to the poor old woman.

    At first Granny Sarya was happy. But after she 14 the money, she became 15 and said, "I'm told that all things that are touched by the policeman will be only a half left!"

    Everyone in our school knows Jerry, the Bike Boy. He is a lovely and warm-hearted guy. He often collects broken bikes that people don't use any more1and then gives them to people who need them.

    Last week he was down because he spent all his money buying old bikes. We really wanted to cheer up Jerry. 2Monday we told a radio interviewer that Jerry3money to buy old bikes. We also put up signs4old bikes and called up all our friends and told them5the problem. We even6advertisements at a local supermarket. Then we informed（告知） the teachers at school about his problem7they set up a call-in center for parents. The strategies that we came up with8fine. He now has sixteen bikes to fix up and9to children10don't have bikes.