A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer's hair.The golden red sun was1.She was on the beach,looking up at the fiery（火似的）ball.She was2by its color,deep red in the middle,softly fading into yellow.She could hear nothing but the3and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

    The atmosphere4her.After all she had been through,this was what she needed.“It's getting5,”she thought, “I must go home.My6will be wondering where I am.”She wondered how they would7,when she got home after the three days she was8.She kept on walking,9herself to the bungalow where she spent every summer holiday.The road was deserted.She walked slowly and10.Just in a few hundred meters she would be safe in her house.

    It was really getting dark now.The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold,too.She11she had her favorite sweater on—it kept her really warm.She imagined having it12her.This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door.It seemed13.The outside garden seemed14.She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy.

    She entered the house.First,she went into the kitchen where she saw a15written by her father.It said, “Ellen, there is some coffee16.

    I went looking.”Ellen was her mother but—where was she? She entered her parent's home.Then she saw her. Her mother,lying on the bed,17.Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired.So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her.When Jennifer woke up,something was different.She was in her cozy18in her pajamas（睡衣）.

    It felt so good being back home.19she heard a voice,“Are you feeling better now?You know you got us very, very20.”

    Ann, a mother of 3 children, is a warm-hearted social worker and she has done a lot to help people1 . The family's dinner conversation often turns to local poor families, and she 2 tries her best to seek help for them. This year, Ann 3 that the pretended Santa Claus would pay a special 4 to a young unemployed mother named Ashley, who was 5 two sons by herself.

    One Sunday morning, the family were joyfully having breakfast 6 the phone rang, saying that the help she had requested for Ashley had 7. No Santa Claus, no presents, nothing. On hearing the news, Ann noticed the 8 disappear from her children's faces. Kinzie, the youngest one, 9 down from her chair and ran out of the kitchen room. In only a few 10, she returned carrying her piggy bank and began to 11 the coins over and over again, $3.30 in total. “Mom,” she shook her head 12, “I know it's not much. But maybe this will buy a 13 for the children.” Then suddenly everyone was reaching into their pockets and 14 their purses. Immediately, the money-coins and bills 15 on the table. The next day, Ann as well as Kinzie drove to Ashley's house. After Ann wished the 16 the woman a Merry Christmas, she began to unload the gifts from the car, 17 them to Ashley one by one and told her the whole story.

    Ashley was moved to tears 18the words: Kinzie opened not only her piggy bank but also her 19, and my children as well as I myself would be able to do something 20 for someone else in need.

    Were you happy and a little worried at the time? I thought so. Soon it would be the holidays, but before that, there were year exams. All the1had been working hard for some time, reviewing their lessons for the exams. If they didn't 2, they would have to retake them in September. There were usually a few who 3, but Jane didn't want to be one of them. She had worked hard all year, 4 just before the exams she was working so hard that her sister Barbara was 5about her. She went to bed too 6. The night before the first exam, Barbara 7 that she have an early night and take a 8pill. She promised to wake 9 up in the morning.

    She was not relaxed. As she was falling asleep, Jane was afraid that she might oversleep. Her 10 kept jumping from subject to subject. At last, with the help of 11, she went to sleep. In no time（不久）at all, she was sitting in the examination hall, looking at the examination 12 , but she couldn't answer any of the questions. 13 around her was writing pages and gages. 14she thought hard, she couldn't find anything to write 15. She kept looking at her 16. Time was running out. There was only an hour to go. She started one question, wrote two sentences, 17 and tried another one. With only half an hour left she wrote another two sentences. By this time she was so worried that she started 18. Her whole body shook. It shook so much that she 19 up. She was still in bed and it had all been a 20 dream. A minute later, Barbara called her name.

    “We have visitors this morning,” Ms. Myers told Class 5. “A journalist and a photographer from the newspaper are doing an article about our new school1. And some of you will be in the photo.”

    The kids were2, except for Brad. He knew he wouldn't be in the photo. Brad was small. Kids were always making jokes about how3he was.

    “They won't put Brad in the photo,” John said. “You'd need a magnifying glass（放大镜）to see him.” The other kids 4. Brad grinned (smiled widely), even though John's comment was rude. He5grinned when people made jokes like that. He figured they didn't mean to hurt his feeling.

    The newspaper people6half an hour later. The journalist was called Tegan and the photographer was a short, fit-looking guy named Rick. Tegan7to the class about how a journalist had to8clear sentences and paragraphs, and then Rick told them about some amazing9he'd taken. Once he had to hang on a rope from a cliff(悬崖) to take shots of a10.

    “I could be a photographer,” thought Brad. I'm not afraid of11. I wouldn't weigh much on a rope, either.

    “Any questions you want to ask our12?” said Ms. Myers.

    Brad put his hand up. “Rick? What things don't you like to photograph?”

    “13are tricky,” Rick said. “Once I had to photograph a mother duck that was looking after a baby duck. She thought I was trying to14the baby duck, so she started hitting me with her wings. Picking on a little guy like me!”

    Class 5 laughed again, and Brad grinned, too. It's OK when you make jokes about15, he thought. It was jokes from other people that could hurt.

Time to take photos. Rick said, “I'll have them.” pointing to 6 kids, Brad16. Brad could hardly believe it.

    In the hall, Rick put them in front of the new library's big painting of stars and planets and books. “It's big, eh?” he said. “We'll get you guys to17in front of it, so it looks even bigger.”

    “Is that why you picked Brad?” called one of the Class 5 kids. “So it looks really big?”

Some people laughed. Brad started to grin, as he usually did.18Rick shook his head. “No way,” he said. “I picked him because he's got a19two miles long.”

    He looked at Brad and said, “Plus, this guy is20inside, where it matters. Right, mate?”

This time, Brad spoke before he could think. “Inside, I'm three miles long.”

    Class 5 laughed again. But Brad knew that they were laughing with him, not at him.

    When I was younger I developed an interest in stories of magic. I 1 books where wizards (巫师) and fighters 2 the powers of darkness in strange worlds. I was very happy when they 3 to bring peace and happiness to their lands in the end. Like most of the readers of these stories I secretly 4 for magical powers for myself. I wanted to be able to magically make my pain disappear, to make my problems 5, and to have power over this world that so 6 has power over us.

    As I got older, however, I 7 that there was no such thing as magic and how 8 the reality of life was. I had daily pain from a back injury that never healed (治愈)  right. I went through a 9 period of poverty for many years. I felt 10 when both of my sons were diagnosed with Autism (自闭症). I still sometimes daydreamed of magic 11 even that faded away.

    Then one day it struck me that there was a 12 kind of magic, which grew 13 in my heart, soul, and mind day by day and year by year. This magic was called LOVE. It 14 me to my own highest self and to all of the other 15 in this world. It didn't get rid of my 16 but it made every day of my life feel richer. It didn't cure my sons, Autism, but it helped me see them as the beautiful, loving, and joyful souls that they 17 are. It didn't make me a wizard or a fighter.18, it helped me to drive the darkness of this world with my own 19.

    May you choose it, share it, and live in it every single day of your life. May you use it to 20 others, and to heal this world.

    A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's 1, she said she would go. This would be the 2 time that his classmates and teacher3 his mother and he felt 4of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar（疤痕）that5 nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to 6why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were 7 by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother 8the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed（尴尬）and9himself from everyone. He, however,  10 a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

    The teacher asked11 ,"How did you get the scar on your face?"

    The mother replied,"12my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was13 afraid to go in because the fire was 14, so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked15 but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us." She16 the burned side of her face. "This scar will be17 , but to this day, I have never 18what I did."

    At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great19of the sacrifice（牺牲）that his mother had made for him. He held her hand20for the rest of the day.