That holiday morning I didn't have to attend school. Usually, on holidays, Mother 1  me to sleep in. And I would certainly take full advantage of it. On this particular morning,  2, I felt like getting up early.

        I stood by my window overlooking the 3, having nothing better to do. But as it turned out, I was soon to learn about something  4  in life.

        As I watched several people go by, get into their cars and go off, I  5an old man on a bicycle with a bucket on its  6 and a basket of rags and bottles on its back-carriage. He  7  from one car to another,  washing and cleaning them. From the water on the ground, it seemed that he had already  8  washing and cleaning about a dozen or more cars. He must have begun to work quite early in the morning.

        Several thoughts  9my mind as I watched him work. He wash't well-dressed. He had on a pair of shorts and a(n)  10  T-shirt. The bicycle he rode was not by any means the kind modern  11 would want to be seen riding on. But he seemed 12  with life. There he was, working hard at his small business,  13at passers by and stopping to chat now and then  14elderly men and women on their way to the market nearby,

        There was a noticeable touch of  15 in the way he seemed to be doing things  16 the  windscreen(挡风玻璃), then standing back to admire it; scrubbing(擦净)the wheels and  17, standing back to see what they look like after the scrub.

        It was a  18 to learn, I felt. At no age need one have to beg for a  19 if one has good health and is  willing to work hard. For a while I felt  20 of myself. Young as I am—just sixteen, and there was this old man who must have been usefully engaged perhaps before the sun appeared above the horizon.

    I was wandering around to look for a cafe where I could sit and have something to drink on a cold day. When

    I saw one, I walked in, sat at a round table and asked for a coffee.

    While I was waiting for my 1 I realized that there were other people in the place2 I sensed loneliness. I saw their 3 but I couldn't feel their souls. That was because their souls 4 to the “Net”, instead of them.

    I stood up and walked 5 the tables. I asked a man a couple of times what his name was. “I'm Steve,” he 6 answered. “I can't talk with you I'm 7” he said.

    I was amazed to find he was 8online with somebody and, at the same time, he was 9 a computer game—Winner winner chicken dinner. I tried again to10 with him, but not a 11 came out of his mouth. I12 his shoulder, but there was no reaction. I was getting 13. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to 14“Leave me alone!”

    I was 15 I wanted to look and see if all those people in the cafe were looking at me, so I 16 head, but there was nobody interested in what was happening. 17 was using the computers.

    At the moment, I 18 all of the people there were more interested in having the relationship with the computer, 19 Steve. I wouldn't want to imagine the future of the human beings if they 20 sharing their lives with machines instead of with people.

    I'd been proud that I'd never lost my cellphone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.

    We went to visit a friend in hospital last year. When Jack's 1 rang, it was my mother calling from my 2. She asked if I had 3 my mobile. I checked (检查) my purse. It was 4!

I used Jack's phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I'll call Rhys, 5 it. "I have found your phone!" he said, excitedly. "I have been trying to find you, but 6 it was getting late, I decided to leave." He gave me the address of a 7 near his home.

    Later that evening, I went to 8 him there. I didn't dare to go 9, worrying this was some cheater (骗子). So Jack came along. After 10 10 km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys 11.

My 12 were gone. Rhys was just a young boy. "How did you 13 my mum? " I asked. He 14 that when he found my mobile by roadside(路边), he started calling people in my list of contacts (联系人). But all they 15 was my mobile phone number——which didn't 16. He'd called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who 17 my house.

    I was 18 to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost forever. I was so 19 to Rhys and offered (提供) him some money, but he 20.

    As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.

    When a homeless man named Marcus wandered into Abigail's Cafe asking for spare change, he didn't get turned away. Looking at the man, the owner Abigail asked, "Why don't you have a1？ You know nothing is given to me for free？"Marcus2that he had "a lot of crimes". Because of his3, no one wanted to hire him, so he had made money the only way he knew how："4or asking for money."

    Although the young owner had hit some hard times for her cafe, Abigail was5of hands that day and then decided to6Marcus the task of washing dishes. "His7opened wide and his smile made my8！"She wrote on Facebook.

    "He said he would do9for some food." For the past two weeks, Marcus has been on time every day for his10of working for two hours when he washes dishes. He uses the money he11to buy his own food at the restaurant, 12to take it for free.

    "A lot of people are saying that I've been a blessing for him13, at that point I was the one who needed a blessing," Abigail told CBS News. Her post has earned a lot of attention with plenty of14on the Internet. Because many people have asked15they can help people like Marcus, she16a Go Fund Me page with a modest goal of $1, 000."The hope, "she said, "is to create more hours and opportunities for him17others in the community."

    Abigail said she shared the story, hoping that people might be moved to help a18, too. "Do something nice for whoever may not be familiar to us and don't19them just because they go out there asking for money, for we don't know their real20, " she said in her post. "They deserve another chance."

    One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor 1the question papers, with the text facing down as usual.2he handed them all out, he asked his students to 3 the page and begin. To everyone's surprise, there were no 4, just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone's face, told them the following:

    “I want you to write what you 5 there.”

    The students,6,got started on the inexplicable(费解的) task.

    At the end of the class, the professor 7 all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no 8, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. After all had been 9, the classroom silent, the professor began to explain:

    “I'm not going to grade (打分)this. I 10 wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the 11 part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our 12.We have a white paper to observe and 13,but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a 14 given to us with love and care, and we always have 15 to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that16our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.17, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the18 relationship with colleagues, the 19 with a friend, and etc.

    The dark spots are very 20compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.”

It was a regular school day, and the air was filled with the usual sounds of chatter and laughter as students prepared for their lessons. Little did I know that this day would soon take a dramatic turn, making it a/an 1 day.

As the bell rang, 2 the beginning of our English class, we entered the classroom, completely 3 of the coming danger. The teacher began the lesson, and we were really 4 our literature lesson when, out of nowhere, a loud fire alarm interrupted everything.

Panic spread as we understood how 5 it was. Smoke filled the hallway, and a sharp burning smell hung in the air. The neat classroom turned into a mess as everyone 6 to the door, trying to get away from the coming danger.

In all the chaos, I noticed my 7 Sarah looking obviously scared by her desk. I quickly 8 she needed help. Without hesitation, I rushed over, took her shaky hand, and told everyone to stay calm. We went through the chickening smoke together, and each 9 felt like a really long time.

As we reached the door, it felt hotter, and we knew we had to hurry. With hearts 10 , we hurried into the playground where teachers and students were making sure everyone stayed safe.

Outside, we took a moment to catch our breath, 11 by the loud sounds of approaching fire trucks. Seeing parts of the building on fire, a sense of 12 washed over us, knowing that we had made it out unharmed.

After everything happened, I couldn't help but reflect on the events of that day. 13 all this taught me it's important to stay calm when things get 14 and how helping others during hard times matters. It was a day when ordinary students became unlikely heroes, bound together by the shared 15 to overcome the unexpected challenges.