I got aboard and sat down in my seat．It was going to be a long flight． Around me were some  1  "Where are you headed?" I asked．

       "Lakes Air Base．We'll be there for special training, and then to the front．"

After about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were  2  for five dollars． The journey would be several hours, and I decided to buy one．

        As I 3  for my wallet, I heard a soldier ask his fellows if he would buy lunch．"No, that seems a lot of money for just a box lunch．" I looked around at the other soldiers. 4  were buying lunch．I walked to the back of the plane and  5 the flight attendant a fifty-dollar bill．

        "Take a lunch to all those soldiers．" I said．She seized my arms tightly．Her eyes wet with tears, she  6  me, " My son is a soldier in the front．．．it's almost like you are doing it for him．"

       Picking up ten boxes, she headed to the soldiers．

       After eating, on my way to the rest room I was  7  by a man．"I saw 8 you did and I want to be part of it．" With this, he handed me twenty-five dollars．

       Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming, looking at the seat numbers  9  he walked．When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his10  , and said, "I want to  11  your hand．" I stood and took his hand．With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier．12 , someone bought me a lunch．It was such an act of  13  that I never forgot．" I was a little bit  14   when applause rang out from all of the passengers．These soldiers were giving their all for our country．I could only give them a couple of meals．

       Later, when I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs, a man  15  another twenty-five dollars in my hand．

When we 16  , I gathered my belongings and started to leave．A man stopped me, put something in my pocket, and walked away 17 a word．Another twenty-five dollars! Seeing the soldiers  18  at the terminal, I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars．As I walked  19  to my car, I prayed for their safe  20  .

    People from every corner flooded into the streets that Christmas Eve. "Frosty the Snowman," and "Jingle Bells" 1 in stores; on the pavements, the street singers performed happily. Everyone was 2 by someone else, delighted and cheerful. I was alone.

    As one of 8 kids of a Brazilian family, brought up in America's crowded apartment, I'd spent several years searching for aloneness. Now,3, at 27, a college student after the 4 with my girlfriend, every cell inside me wanted to be alone,5  not at Christmas. My family had 6to Brazil and my friends were 7with their own lives. Dusk was approaching, and the fact that I had to return to my 8 home made me sad. Lights from windows blinked (闪烁), and I hoped someone would 9 from one of those homes to invite me inside with a Christmas tree decorated with shiny fake snow and 10 presents.

    At a market, I felt more 11 when people were buying lots of goods, which12 the gifts we received as children in my mind. I missed my family and wanted to cry for wanting to be alone and for having achieved it.

    Outside the church, a manger (小耶稣) had been set 13. I stood with others watching the scene, some of them 14 themselves, praying. As I walked home, I realized that leaving Brazil was still a painful experience as I struggled with 15 I had become in 15 years in America. I'd mourned (悲叹) the 16, but for the first time, I recognized what I'd gained. I was independent, 17 and healthy. My life was still ahead, full of 18.

    Sometimes the best gift is the one that you give yourself. That Christmas, I gave myself 19 for what I'd obtained up to now and promise to go forward. It is the best gift I've ever got, the one that I most 20.

    There was a small boy living on a farm which seemed so far away from everywhere. He was1 to get up before sunrise every morning to start his work and to go out again later to work in the evening.

    During sunrise he would take a 2and climb up on a fence, so in the distance he could see a house with golden3. He thought how4it would be to live there and began to5the modern equipment that might be6in the house. He thought, “If that is a house with golden windows, then there7be other nice things in the house.”8, he promised himself, “Some day I will go there and see this wonderful place9.”

    Then one morning his father told him to stay at home as his father would do the work. Knowing that was his10, he packed a sandwich and11across the field towards the house with golden windows.

    12 the afternoon going on, he began to realize how he had misjudged the distance.13, something else was wrong. As he came14to the house, he saw15golden windows but a place16by a broken fence which badly needed17. He went to the door and knocked. A small girl opened the door.

    He asked the girl if she had seen a house with golden windows. “18,” said the girl and invited him to sit on the porch (门廊). As he sat there, he looked19. There the20turned the windows of his home golden.

    Having returned from her round trip, the angry woman stood outside the ticket office of the station. “The railway owes (欠债) me $12,” she said to Harry Jenks, the young man working at the 1. “You sold me a ticket 2 May 22nd, but there was no ship from Jersey that night. So my daughter and I had to stay in a hotel. It 3 me $12.”

    Harry was 4. He remembered selling the woman a return ticket. “Come into the office, Madam,” he said politely. “I'll just 5 the Jersey timetable for May 22nd. The woman and her little girl followed him 6. She was 7 right, as Harry soon discovered, there was no 8 on May 22nd. How could he have 9 such a careless mistake? He shouldn't have sold her a ticket for that day. Wondering 10 to do, he smiled at the child. “You look sunburned,” he said to her. “Did you have a nice holiday in Jersey?”

    “Yes,” she answered, shyly. “The beach was 11. And I can swim too!” “That's fine,” said Harry. “My little girl can't 12 a bit yet. Of course, she's only three…”

    “I'm four,” the child said proudly. “I'll be four and a half.”

    Harry 13 the mother. “I remember your 14, Madam.” he said. “But you didn't get 15 for your daughter, did you?” “Er, well,” the woman looked at the child. “I mean, she hasn't started school yet. She's only four.”

    “A four-year-old child 16 have a ticket, Madam. A child's return ticket to Jersey costs…, let me see… $13. So 17 the railway pays your hotel, you will 18 $1. The law is the law, but since the 19 was mine…”

    The woman stood up, 20 the child's hand and left the office.

    For many, just taking part in a single marathon is the achievement of a lifetime. But for Julie Weiss, it has become a1routine. She has run 12 marathons once a week-for the past year in memory of her dad who2just 35 days after he was3with pancreatic cancer(胰腺癌). When Julie Weiss lost her father in 2010, she was4to find the research for pancreatic cancer is so short of fund. "It made me feel5" she said, "I knew I had to do something."

    So this marathon queen, 6she calls herself, did what she did best; she went running. Having completed 25 marathons during the7two years, Julie now vowed(发誓) to run 12 marathons in 12 weeks in8of her father. After asking people to9money for each marathon, she10a website, marathon goddess, com, to collect money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network(PANCAN), a nonprofit organization. Julie began her incredible11with a marathon is Rome and then entered a race every12in some city across North America.13leaving work at 5p.m.on Friday she would be ready to begin the next race, before she14home to California on Sunday. Julie finished her 1,362.4-mile journey in March 2013, 15more than $ 200,000 in the process for PANCAN.

    While running, she stuck to a strict training schedule. "My body's getting used to this. I'm changing my diet, becoming more healthy and learning to run more16" she said. When her muscles began to17, she kept her18in mind. "When you do what you love, for those you love, that is where the19happen. Together we can make a(n)20, and pave the way for a happy, healthy, cancer free life." she said.

    As a child I once read an article about the Pacific Crest Trail (太平洋屋脊步道) in National Geographic. It was a 1 of two men who walked 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada with huge packs. It caught my eye, as I, too, 2 adventures in the wilderness. I've always remembered that story, but never believed I would actually 3 it. It was too far out of my comfort zone.

    But then, at the age of 42, I hiked the 88 Temples Trail through Japan. There, I experienced how 4 it could be to hike alone. What 5 me most were the fantastic mountains, grand temples and generous local people. And 6, I managed to complete the trail in six weeks without any severe injuries. For the first time, I 7 that I could achieve my dream of travelling around America one day.

    When I shared my plan with friends and colleagues, the news was welcomed with 8 reactions. From some I got enthusiastic 9. But from others there were frowns and question marks. Half a year away from my family was a 10 for me. Yet it wouldn't defeat me. After all, six months is 11 a short period in a lifetime. After having worked hard for 20 years in shiny office buildings, I felt the need for more 12 in my life. I hoped to 13 and look within, as well as explore the unfamiliar things. I understood that I needed them both. 14 John Muir once put it, "Keep close to 15… and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."