Rolling, dark clouds covered much of the sky. The warm wind suddenly became cold and picked up wildly, sending some dead leaves flying 1 across the sky. A few drops of rain mixed with ice began to fall, then into heavy 2.

    Doug, my older brother, and I first rode the bus to a bus stop. Then we3 off and began our long walk home. The wind was 4 the snow around us like a huge blanket, making it 5 to see clearly. The only sounds we heard were the6 of the wind as well as the crunch of our footsteps on the snow. Slowly but 7, my brother and I were 8 to death. Looking to my left, I saw a pine tree and squatted down.

    “What are you doing here, Bud? Come on!” said Doug, “There's no 9 behind this little tree. If we rest here, we will die from the freeze.”

    “You go on, and I'll 10 soon.” I replied.

    Doug was 11 for a moment. Then he spoke,“Bud, do you remember the four pine trees at the side of the road? 12 we get there, we can rest a while and get warm. You just stick your hand down the back of my 13, keep your head down and hold on.”

    As we struggled through the snow, my hand 14 from my brother's belt and I fell to my knees.

    “Where are the trees?”I said, as the snow 15 up around me like a feather bed. Once again, Doug pulled me to my feet.

    “Just a few more 16 and we'll be home and warm,”he said.

    As the darkness closed around us, we approached home, 17. I only heard a worried shouting not in the distance. Then someone took my hand and 18 me into a warm, bright light. And then I survived.

    Now, I still think about the lesson learned from our winter 19 story: Never 20, no matter what will happen.

    I lost my elderly mother a few weeks ago. Actually, my mother had fallen over during the night and had not been able to 1 again. She had woken up the neighbors by banging on the wall. The 2 called an ambulance, which took her 3 to the hospital.

    My mother has 4thought that hospitals are a real horror. She believes that doctors and hospitals give you 5 diseases. My father went to hospital a year ago, and after a few weeks, he 6. The fact that he was also in the final 7 of lung cancer was certainly related, but by my mother's logic, my father's death was 8 with the hospital.

    When a neighbor 9 me up and told me that my mother had been taken off in an ambulance, the first thing I did was similar, which was to ring Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The paramedics(护理人员) had told my neighbor that my mother would 10 be taken there, 11 I was told that no one by that name had been 12, so they gave me the numbers of two other West Midland hospitals. Both of them also 13 that they were holding my mother . I rang the 14 and asked them to find her, but the nice officer said he could only do that if she had been reported as a(n) 15 person.

    It took six calls to 16 my mother. She had been in Queen Elizabeth Hospital all along, but because their computer system hadn't been updated overnight, there was no record of her 17. My mother had spent more than a 18 in the hospital when it turned out there was nothing 19 with her. I managed to get her out within 10 days, but only by agreeing that in the future, she would live downstairs. In return, the hospital said they would 20 for a social worker to visit the house three or four rimes a day.

    Luckily, my mother is safe. Thank all the people who have given their help to us.

    During the course of a lifetime, we all make mistakes. And, often we take for granted what we have. We think that we surely1what we already have. We also believe that we will never need anyone to2us out from difficult and changing times. Cecilia, not her real name, had a great job, a nice house and everything she3 She was4 not a kind person for several reasons that became obvious5you got to know her.

    It was very clear that she6pity for others who were not as fortunate as she was. She would not help anyone, nor would she even begin to express any7for anyone in trouble. Her8was that they were just lazy or that they were deserving because they had personal problems.

    But, then9the fateful day. Her husband got into financial difficulty, to the point, where he was10to declare bankruptcy（破产）. Now, she found that she was the one who had11 She was desperate for help. She found out that even her12were unwilling to help her but13for her, her husband's family was willing and able to help them through these difficult times despite the fact that she had14them from her life. I wish I could give you a beautiful ending to this story of help but I15cannot. Even though Cecilia was assisted

    16challenging times, once over, she17her true self.

    As we all know, we all need help somewhere along life's18whether we think we will or not. If you have remained19you should try your best to help those that need your hand. If you20through life helping, caring, forgiving, you will always have your own special fan club — it is those who always love and respect you.

    There is a fine line between a parent who is active and open-minded and one that doesn't know when to let go. As my daughter, Nicole, prepares to leave home for college, I'm discovering how hard it is to stay on the 1 side of this line. One day, it was time to prepare for dinner. When I held 2 the apron strings (围裙带) connecting us, Nicole, eager to 3 independence, tried to loosen my grasp (掌控). What resulted was a (an) 4 mother-daughter, push-me, pull-you kind of tango.

    For the past two years, it's gone like this:

    Mother's question: “Have you thought of taking an advanced class (大学预备课程) so that you can earn college credit (学分)?”

    Daughter's 5: “No, I'm not interested in that.”

…

    Two months ago, she was 6 into a great university. However, I was still the mother having a 7 time letting go. The night before the introductory meeting of the university, I had read the course catalog (目录) carefully and 8 the courses which I thought looked good. We met on the campus the next afternoon, and Nicole's face 9with excitement. “I have had all my timetables of courses ready,” she said. “Already?” I was astonished, 10 she should have discussed it with me. I examined what he chose. Nicole hadn't taken a (an) 11 one of the courses I had suggested. Every course she had chosen 12 suited her interests. Just then I saw a mature, strong young woman with a 13 mind and the ability to shape her future. She no longer needed her mother 14 every decision she made. I felt proud, though still a bit 15.

    I 16 the lessons carefully. Nicole has struggled to learn over the past 18 years the following things: 17, sympathy, and hard work. There have been a few holes along the way. 18, she is well-equipped and eager to 19 the future. The next step, I recognized, was mine to take: giving my daughter and myself the 20 we both needed.

    Brian Peters had one thing to do before leaving his job as a police officer in Brooklyn. He decided to spend $500 he 1 for his service to buy 10 gift cards and handed them out to strangers in Brooklyn Center on his 2 day.

    It took him about two hours to 3 the cards and that he could put smiles on a lot of people's 4, including one woman he stopped 5 noticing the condition of her car. "Her car was really old and really 6. I saw her screen wipers were 7 in the up position," Peters said. "I 8 what I was doing and gave her a gift card, and 9 she lit up with a smile."

    Once people 10 the initial shock of what he was doing, Peters said he 11 a lot more hugs that day. Monique Drier, who 12 with Peters, said Peters has 13 wanted to give back and didn't really want the attention. "He didn't even have a going away 14," Drier said. "He has always tried to 15 the human side of law practice. He was a great 16 and will be dearly missed."

    Peters, who started his 17 job three days ago, said he still wants to continue giving back to the 18. "Community service is extremely 19, and when you're fortunate in life, you should give back to others who aren't as fortunate as you, Peters said. That's what 20 the world go round."

When I got to high school at the age of 16, I took art classes for all of my electives. I began looking at 1 and I knew New York City had the best design schools; the 2 was deciding which one was the best fit for me. I found FIT was a good fit because it could throw you into your area of 3 immediately and absorb you in the culture of New York City.

I've always felt like I'll 4 FIT because I know the fashion design program is probably 5 at times, but that is one of the things I love about the fashion industry. It's constantly moving, changing and looking 6. There's no time to slow down and think about anything but what's 7 next. Not only is fashion an ever 8 industry, it is also an expensive industry. In situations where it's 9 to get your words out right, the way you present yourself is a form of 10. I like fashion and art in general because I can use it to reveal things about myself to people who don't 11 me that well and to express my opinions or 12.

Once I got settled in high school and got more 13 in my art classes, I moved my 14 towards learning more about design. My school offers lots of art classes. 15, fashion design is not included. So I have to search for 16 on my own. The summer after my freshman year I 17 a two-week class at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. I 18 at 8 each morning and learned how to draw a figure with fashion proportions (比例) and even 19 my first clothing. There were ups and downs to this program, 20 this pre-college experience has helped me realize that this is what I need to be doing, and that I don't want to give up until I'm doing it.