As my husband, Doug, stood on the busy New York city street trying to stop a taxi, I tried to protect my daughter from the cold December wind and rain. I put my head down to kiss her tiny face.

    1and wet, my husband gave up his attempt to flag down a taxi. I knew the2. Just after her first birthday, we were told our daughter Katie has a3 brain illness. Since that moment, Doug and I felt like runners in a marathon race where the finish line kept4. We knew Katie was running out of 5It had taken months before we finally had a name for the 6 but we were told only a few of specialists in the world knew how to7 it. Now, as we finally found a brilliant doctor to8 our girl, we were in a strange 9in the cold rain.

    Just at the moment, a middle-aged woman pulled over and said, “Pardon me? May I offer you a(n)10?” Before we could say anything, she continued, “It's really no11 for me. Just get in.”It was then that I noticed her thick Irish accent, which 12 me up like hot soup. We simply said, “Thanks! Roosevelt Hospital,  please,” as we got in her car for the ride.

    “Are you going 13 the baby?”she asked us. I nodded my head, holding back my.14. At the hospital, we 15her a dozen times for the ride. As the woman hugged me, I16her face was wet with tears. She promised to17 for us before she left.

    After three more visits to New York and two more 18 operations, Erica is cured. But the19 of the Irish Angel still rang as a constant reminder of a tiny ray of light that appeared in our20 days.

    I'm always inspired by kids who look at the world and decide to start changing it for the better. They don't need to 1 until they become an adult-they look for ways to solve problems 2 they see them.

    A group of high schoolers in Chicago, US, 3spring break in Puerto Rico helping rebuild the island, which is still 4 from a hurricane that struck six months ago. Eight students traveled with a teacher, Lou Ramos, to help rebuild homes and 5 resources among the victims.

    “You read a lot about how we're in a 6of self-focus and iPhones and i-everything,” Lou Ramos told me. “But when we put this idea out there, the 7was amazing. They don't see this as 8anything. They see this as a great opportunity to make a 9.”

    Ramos' daughter, Faith, also went on the trip. I asked her if the 10 of spending spring break doing work—probably, 11, hot work rather than spending time with friends left her feeling conflicted (矛盾的). “12, I'd much rather help other people out,” she said. “I just feel more 13 being able to go and make a difference.”

    Her family 14to Puerto Rico two years ago for vacation. After they watched the videos of the hurricane's destruction, she said, they were 15. They wanted to do something, so they started 16 this spring break trip late last year.

    “I think it's going to 17 our young leaders to achieve an even bigger ambition.” Ramos said. “Some of them have 18 flown in an airplane, this is going to be a life-changing 19for them.” I cannot agree more with him and I'm sure it will also change the world more20.

    How much do you laugh and smile during the day? Do you take your life and your illness or injury so 1 that there is no room for joy to fill you? Want a totally free, simple way to lift your 2 and improve your health with no medicine needed? Then laughing and smiling is 3 to you.

    So laugh your way to happiness.4 it takes to put a smile on your face is what you should be doing. Research shows that laughing can increase the immune system,5 the body to stay disease free and fight colds and the flu.

    If you are facing an illness, having a positive life opinion and a 6 of humor will keep your body open to healing. If you are healthy, laughing will help to make sure you stay that way, and can 7 enjoyment to your work and home life and 8 your daily stress.

    Certainly, it can be 9 to keep a positive opinion of life all the time. Simply taking the time to 10 on the positive and treat for the good things 11 in your life can help 12, but if you are struggling with negative emotions that you just can't seem to 13, there are tools that can help.

    There are so many things out there to smile about and 14 you have to do is find 15. Practice looking for the bright 16 of every situation. Avoid the negative: don't 17 yourself with your own problems—or 18 others for their “shortcomings”. And don't pay no attention to the joy in everyday things. Create your own “Laugh for Health”19 - anything to add to your collection and to give you fresh materials that 20 to you.

    When my sister Diane began playing the violin, she was seven. How did she sound? Terrible. But she didn't 1. At twelve, she asked our parents if she could 2 a full-time music school. They said no. Actually, everyone agreed that my sister 3talent.

    I was better at my 4. My teacher had told my parents that I had great potential. So my parents found the best piano teacher in the area to 5me. But the only time he was 6was Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m. Back then, I was 7about the British TV shows "The Avengers", which was aired every Saturday at 3 p.m. I let nothing take up my "Avengers" hour. So I 8 this amazing opportunity. Today, I don't even have a 9 in my house.

    My sister became an engineer, but she 10 stopped making music. When she was in her 40s, she switched careers. She went back to college, got a(n)11in music education, and became a music teacher. She starts kids out on their first instrument and gives them all the encouragement and support she never12.

    Recently, she and a pianist pal put on a recital. A big crowd of friends and family13for her. As she played, I looked around at the audience. Everyone was 14enjoying the music. It occurred to me that I was the only person who remembered that 7 -year-old kid making those perfectly15sounds and knew how far she had come, despite everything.

    Talent is important. But enthusiasm is even more important.

    My 8-hour sleepy voyage finally came to an end after I stepped out of the airport. 1 on the bus, I was waiting anxiously for it to start.

    A woman beside me and her daughter both seemed 2. She told me that her daughter had an upset stomach and would3 continuously; 4, the mother had lost her purse. Apart from a significant 5 of money, the purse also had her phone and a phone number of an important 6. She would meet him for discussing a(n) 7 matter which had to be 8 by tomorrow morning.

    I handed her my cellphone without 9 and told her that she could make any 10 she wanted. I also produced a bottle of water I had in my bag to relieve her daughter of her 11. After making several calls, they finally 12 to the official! They turned to look at me 13 and thanked me many times. The woman tried to 14 for my assistance, but I refused 15 I knew she had lost her money.

    The next morning, I received a call from the mother, saying that they couldn't 16 how much my generous act touched them. They were so 17 that they had taken down my number to thank me. I was astonished to be thanked in this way. I never thought my simple offer 18 so much in her heart. And I thought of how many opportunities for kindness we had lost by plugging into cellphones and being disconnected 19 the reality around us-something with easy 20 may make a big difference to others.

    Growing up in Kenya was amazing because I learned so much, though the poverty and lack of resources were sometimes frustrating. I knew I didn't have much, but I was 1.

    There was only one thing I wasn't happy with: 2. I wanted to go to high school and university. I had the drive, the will and the grades, 3 I didn't have the resources. Even 4 things like food, water and shelter weren't readily available. Young people in poverty have little or no 5 to high schools and universities. Where I lived, it was challenging 6 someone helped. When I left primary school, I was in the same 7 as many other poor disadvantaged youth. 8, during that year, a charitable high school for girls, Starehe Girls Centre, was 9 and I received a scholarship. Today, I am 10 record as being the first student to be enrolled in this school.

    In 2006, my school 11 The Global Give Back Circle, a not-for-profit organization for 12 disadvantaged girls to complete their education and gain 13 skills. After graduating from high school, I was given access to a nine-month IT course. 14, its give-back attitude had taught us to not only care about ourselves but other people. With this in mind, 10 of us created a website called "Hey Sister, Get Clued-Up". Through this educational website, aimed at networking 10,000 African 15 worldwide, all Sisters commit to sending information to their villages. This can be to 16 financial freedom, advance information  17  to health issues and provide knowledge about social networking behavior.

    "Hey Sister, Get Clued-Up" is only 18  to those girls who can access the Internet, which highlights the huge challenge in 19 the divide between the haves and have-nots. But our plan is that these girls will  20 what they learn to other girls through the "power of their voice".