There was a man who played the piano in a small bar. There were not too many1, but because he was a good piano player, some people2came in every night just to hear him play. But one night, a patron (老主顾) told him he didn't want to hear him play but to sing a song.

The man said, "I have never3that before in public. I think I'm4at playing the piano."

But the customer5. He told the waiter, "I'm6listening to the piano day after day. I want to hear something new and I want that guy to sing."

The waiter7across the room, "Hey, buddy! If you want to get8, sing a song. The patrons are asking you to sing!"

    9in order to bring some money home that night, the piano player who had never sung in public did so for the very first time. And 10 had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung before11that night by Nat King Cole, and it surprised all, including the12himself!

    He had talent he was13on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar, but because he had to sing, he14 to become one of the best-known entertainers in America.

You, too, have skills and15. You may not feel as if your "talent" is particularly16, but it may be better than you think! And with persistence (坚持), most skills can be17. Besides, you may as well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you18! The19is not "What ability do I have that is useful?" It is20"How will I use whatever ability I have?".

    My wife Pat and I were having drinks outside our home, The weather was unusually1for March in Mississippi, There was barely any breeze, After we finished the second cup, flashes of2danced across the sky. When the first drops of rain drove us3 the phone rang.Pat's face4on that gray and hot day. It was our son, David, a helicopter pilot who5in the US Air Force in South Korea. David intended to sound6but we recognized the sign of homesickness from his voice7the power of conversation made us feel8until a crash shook the windows.

    David wondered what it was,“Just thunder,”Pat said.

    There were several seconds of silence,“David”,I asked, “are yo9there?”

    “Yes…apart from the two of you, do you know what else I10most? Thunder, We have rain, wind, and11here, but it never thunders, Remember? Dad, when I was a kid, you laughed me out of fear of thunder? I wish I were there to12with you now.”

    “Yes…”I said, trying to13my tears, On hanging up the phone, I told Pat,“I'm going to record our son some 14”“Bob, the neighbors will think you're crazy.”

    “David won't,” I said and went outside with a recorder, Later I15the tape to David with a single line:A16gift.

    David called again, “Dad,”he said,“you won't believe that some friends and I had a thunder party where we realized we were listening to the sounds of 17 Thanks, Dad! It was really a special present,” While David was in Korea, we found ourselves 18thunderstorms.19feeling blue, we regarded the thunder as special which let us know that wherever we might be, we were 20together as a family.

    A few days ago, I observed a teenager doing yard work that his dad had told him to do. Instead of doing the task1, he wandered around there for hours,2to himself and doing a bad job.

    The person he hurt the most was himself. His dad was trying to teach him 3and how to do a good job. As a result of his4attitude, he spent the whole afternoon finishing a task that should have taken one or two hours. And the yard 5wasn't clean enough when he got through.

    He6his day because of his attitude. And his dad was 7with him, and the boy's bad mood ended up8the whole family that day.

    A sweet lady was working in a fast-food9. The minute I walked in, she welcomed me10. She smiled as she took my order, and then as we11for the food, she talked with me. As I walked off with my tray, she said with a big 12, "I hope you have a blessed day!" I think the food tasted better because of her13. There was a delay, during which I sat there hearing her singing as she14her tasks behind the counter.

    She wasn't making a large salary, and she didn't have a powerful15, either. In addition, she stood on her feet for a long shift each day, often dealing with 16customers. But she chose to be joyful.

    I want to17from her. I want to do my best, even when there's no 18or glory. Other people are watching me19I might not realize it at the time. I want to bring joy to all those around me. A(n)20can make a great difference.

    A mother and daughter were rescued from the wreckage (残骸) of a car crash thanks to an app. It can 1 people anywhere in the world using just three 2.

    Valerie Hawkett, 33, lost 3 of her Ford Fiesta while 4 round a sharp bend in Somerset last October. Ms Hawkett's 5went flying over a bush and landed on its 6 in a field.

    Her four-year-old 7  Tegan was in the back and the 8 mother called the police to come to her aid — but she didn't know 9 she was.

Officers were able to find their way to Ms Hawkett in the field— after 10 her the link to a website called what3words. It is able to find the exact 11 of any location on Earth. It told Ms Hawkett the three-word square she was in —"Weekend foggy earphones" — which 12 policemen to a road near a field on the A36 heading out of Norton St Philip, Somerset.

    Ms Hawkett, from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, said: "It was absolutely brilliant. It's really, really 13 . I could have been in that field all day 14 the three-word location."

    Ms Hawkett said her car landed on its side, with the only means of 15being through the back passenger-side door. She said: "The only thing 16 me in my seat was my seat belt. But I 17 to get that undone and get me and my daughter out through the back door. I 18 the police after we got out the car."

    Ms Hawkett and Tegan were taken to a 19 nearby to be checked over — but were told they were 20 injured and sent home shortly afterwards.

Sargassum is the smelly seaweed piling up on beaches across the Caribbean. It isn't something most people 1 kindly. But for Omar de Vazquez, a gardener, it was something like a(an) 2 .

Years ago, as part of his gardening business, Omar launched a beach cleanup service to 3 the leafy seaweed. But, as its 4 intensified, he started considering how to turn it into something useful, and in 2018 he 5 a way to use it in building blocks. He started his company—SargaBlock to market the bricks which are being 6 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a sustainable solution to a current environmental problem.

"When I look at SargaBlock, it's like looking in a 7 ," he says, comparing his company to overcoming his personal 8 , including drug and alcohol addiction. "That was a time when I felt unwanted and 9 , like the sargassum people complained about."

Luckily, Omar grew up in nature and poverty, which 10 his character and turned him into someone who takes action. He wanted to make something good out of something everyone saw as bad. Omar then put his idea into 11 , mixing 40% sargassum with other organic materials, like clay, which he then puts into a block-forming machine. The process was 12 .

The UNDP selected Omar's work for their Accelerator Lab, which 13 and recognizes innovative solutions to environmental challenges globally. The idea is that some of the most timely and creative 14 come from locals suffering from environmental dilemmas 15 .

I still remember that busy fall evening as I hurried with my eldest daughter, Athena, to get to her classroom on time for a parent-teacher night. We walked in and all 1 were on me. A few adults quickly quieted their kids' 2 . A classmate 3 my daughter, "What's wrong with your mom's 4 ?" Shocked, I started to explain my 5 , but my six-year-old daughter looked at him and said, "It's my mom's birthmark! Don't be rude!" I was extremely 6 of how she handled that situation. 

I was quite young when I realized I looked 7 . I always thought I would be alone because of birthmark, but I was lucky enough to meet my 8 who saw me for who I am inside. When I had my first daughter, I was overjoyed, but I began to 9 if the world would judge my children. 10 , my facial difference has 11 my children. My daughters get disinvited from birthday parties or certain kids are no longer friends with mine. 

When my kids were 12 , I explained how my special purple skin was rare, and we talked about acceptance and never 13 others on how they look. With time, both my daughters have become my strongest 14 : we see the world a little differently and with a kinder, more 15 heart.