Forever friendship

    Twenty-one years ago，my husband gave me Sam，an eight-week-old dog，to help me ease(减轻；缓解) the loss of our daughter. Later my husband and I moved from New York to New Jersey where our neighbor，whose cat had 1had kittens，asked us if we would like one. We were afraid that Sam would not be2 ， but we made up our3to take a kitten.

    We picked a little，gray，playful cat. She 4around running after imaginary mice and squirrels and jumped from table to chair very 5 ， so we named her Lightning(闪电)．

    At6 ， Sam and Lightning were not close to each other. But slowly，as the days went on，Lightning started 7Sam. They slept together，ate together and played together. When I took 8one out of the house，the other was always 9by the door when we returned. That was the10they lived for years.

    Then，without any11 ， Sam suddenly died of a weak heart. This time，there was no Sam for Lightning to greet and no way to 12why she would never see her friend again.

    In the13that followed，Lightning seemed heartbroken. She could not14me in words that she was 15 ， but I could see the pain and 16in her eyes whenever anyone opened the front door. The weeks17by，and the cat's sorrow seemed to be lifting(消失). One day as I walked into our living room，I18 to have a look at the floor next to our sofa 19we had a sculptured replica(雕塑复制品)of Sam that we had bought a few years before. Lying next to the statue(雕塑)，one arm wrapped around the statue's neck，was Lightning，sleeping with her best20.

    We all love college reunion(再聚). I feel very lucky to have been able to 1my 25th anniversary reunion. The meals were2welcomed. The celebration was inspiring,3 an overview of the past years. And the 4of my four years on campus were satisfying and5.

    One of my favourite parts was 6about the lives of my classmates. Their7lives-families, relationships-and also their professional work. There's the classmate who is an organic farmer and a leader in the effort to 8 other farmers about organic farming skills; the classmate who9over her family's power plant; the classmate who 10her own company; the classmate who went to a(n)11school and now works as a delivery nurse. All are inspirational. What they also 12 is a commitment to learning, leading, challenging and contributing, all things we learned the value of in college.

    Then there is our classmate who passed away in January 2017. He shared the commitment to all the 13listed above, as well as to the value of adventure and positive thinking. He was missed14 words. As a class, we 15him on Saturday evening and as a college, we did honor to him, along with other classmates who have passed away in the past five years, at a memorial service on Sunday morning. I was honored, on16 of our class and our college, to read his name and 17a candle for him at the service. This classmate was an18throughout his short life.

    I have been 19 on my 25th reunion and on my college days and all the days since. I am 20for the lessons I have learned so far. And I am inspired.

    Experts say boredom is good for kids. It forces them to be creative, 1their imaginations and helps them discover new things. A (n)2in point is 13-year-old Luke Thill from Dubuque, Iowa.

    Luke was3of playing video games and riding his bike, so he decided to build a tiny house in his backyard instead. He made money from cutting lawns(草坪)and4exchanged some services, such as gaining the help of an electrical engineer5sweeping his garage. Luke also6spare materials from his grandmother's house and other7materials from his neighbors for some of the windows and the door.

    The 89-square—foot home cost $1,500 to build and 818 months. Inside there's a kitchenette, a back sitting room, a table and a mounted(镶嵌的)TV, and an upstairs bedroom can be easily9by stairway.

    Although Luke did the10and learned how to do all the work, he had his father's11throughout the project. Greg Thill was very happy that his son learned to stay on12and deal with grown-ups.13 ， he had some simple rules when Luke14the house: “You 15the money. You build it. And you own it."

    Luke is now in love with 16. He has a YouTube channel and hopes to 17other kids to start building.18, he wants to build a bigger tiny house to live in, but for now, he19in his new home a few nights a week, does homework there, and uses it to take a20from his twin brother.

    I became a gardener when I was twelve. My early 1 of gardening may not have come from my love for nature. It was to 2 my parents.

    At that time we had a big yard in which a beautiful maple tree stood. But my mother often looked with 3 at this work of natural art. Those golden leaves seemed like tons of rubbish to her, something else to 4. Seeing the neighbors busy with gardening, my father even thought it a waste of time.

    At that age, I always did something 5 to whatever my parents did! If gardening were something they found 6, I would plant a garden!

    I planted some lily seeds in the yard. But they failed to 7, I continued to plant sunflower seeds and roses. Wild 8 joy, I found the first rose bloom (开花). One by one, the flowers bloomed their heads off. 9, I was touched by this land of wonder.

    10, my parents showed no interest in my garden. My father even 11at me because he found it was 12 to move around my garden to the driveway. To my mother's 13, I put in her vase my real roses which in her eyes were simply weeds 14 flowers.

    Regardless of their 15, I kept on planting my garden and 16 to enjoy the pleasure of gardening. Plants make such good companions: they breathe, they bloom, they 17 to care and love.

    It has been many years since I made my first garden out of my desire to 18 my parents. Today I become known as Mrs. Green thumbs (手指), teaching gardening and hosting a gardening show, which makes my parents feel very 19. And now I could say it my affection for 20 that makes me a real gardener.

    I was about to get on a plane after a trip. Honestly speaking, the trip was very 1 and exhausting. To make things worse, I had a middle seat in Zone 5, where they 2 the baggage because there wasn't much room in the overhead bins (行李架).

    I had to ask the flight attendant if I could 3 my seat. Trying to be 4, she asked if I was willing to sit in an exit row. "Yes, sure!" I 5 responded, full of hope. But a moment later, she told me that row might not be 6. I could only accept the reality.

    Suddenly I heard her offer two seats in the exit row 7 a young couple next to me. I was filled with 8 that I was ready to get up and 9 with her. I wondered how she could 10 me and then go to help others. I was about to shout at her, 11 my good sense won. For that belief moment, I tried to comfort myself. "If you are impatient, you'll make a 12 of yourself." Then though I was still annoyed, I managed to 13.

    With about 5 minutes to board, when I was worried about how to keep my 14, the attendant handed a new ticket to me. "Is this for the 15 seat?" I asked. "No, it isn't," she responded. "Once in a while I'm able to do this and I'm glad it has 16 this time." glanced down—business class, Seat 2F—no charge! I was very 17 for that and I felt relived that I had 18 my anger. I do know even if I shouted at the attendant, she would 19 try hard to help me, because she seemed very responsible. Now I realize that it is always important to show 20 and understanding for others in life.

    At the far end of Islington Road in Newton, Massachusetts, lives a little girl near and dear to the neighborhood. Two-year-old Samantha Savitz is 1, but she loves to talk to anyone who knows sign language. And her whole personality changes when it's someone who can 2 with her.

    Her desire for communication has been 3 obvious to everyone in the neighborhood. Whenever Sam tries to be neighborly, they 4 themselves lost for words. So they need to 5 more than a basic conversation with the child in the community.

    Unfortunately, this isn't something you can 6 with ease. You'd need the whole community to learn sign language 7 for a little 2-year-old girl. You can't 8 neighbors to do that. You can only appreciate them when they do.

    On their own, Sam's neighbors got together, 9 an instructor, and are now fully 10 an American Sign Language class. Even the parents of deaf children don't 11 to learn sign language. Now Sam has a whole 12 to communicate with her.

    And this level of inclusion will almost certainly guarantee a happier, more 13 Sam. Her parents says there aren't words in any language to express their 14. In fact, they're already seeing a 15 in their daughter. "The first thing she says to us is 'friend'", said her mother, "I think your heart would 16 just as mine did."

    Sometimes it feels like America is losing its 17 of community — but then you hear about a place like this where it takes a whole village to 18 a child. Now the village is alive and is here to 19 us that what makes a "good neighborhood" is nothing more than good 20.