When my oldest son was in high school, he planned to1 a Christian contemporary concert with the youth group from our church. To my 2 Aaron invited me to go along. I3 accepted; however, by the time the date of the concert arrived, my youngest son had been ill, and I was4 about him. I hesitated (犹豫). Then my husband5 me to attend the concert, promising he would take care of our youngest.

    Finally, the6 was made. Aaron was sixteen years old. How many 7 would I have to do something fun with him8he went away to college? And how many youths actually would 9 their mothers to attend a concert with them that was clearly for teens? I would not miss this opportunity.

At the concert, I 10with Aaron in the third row, putting cotton in my ears to block out the 11 ear-splitting music of the first performer. I stood when the kids stood, clapped when they 12 and never let anyone know how13 I was to feel the floor shaking beneath my feet. Aaron and his friends were 14at my enthusiasm (激情).

    By the time we left the concert, my ears were ringing, but it quickly passed.15 did my son's teenage years.16he was in college and away from home. I missed him more than I could say. Whenever I felt17 I would think back to the concert we attended and be thankful once again that I didn't 18an opportunity to spend time with my son.

    Aaron is now grown and has a family of his own, but he often calls just to 19and tell me about his day. I drop everything and 20the moment.

    These days my work is mostly on the Internet. However, there is one 1 that I use nearly every day. And I learned it from my dad almost 40 years ago in a very different 2.

My father ran a plumbing(水管) shop. I had to 3 him with his work. One day, I was asked to work 4 a concrete floor. It wasn't the kind of work I5 The work was physical work which involved6 a chisel(凿子) and swinging a five- pound hammer at it really 7 Often, my aim was bad 8 the hammer missed the chisel and 9 my wrist. After ten minutes, my dad came, expecting to find the job completed. Actually, it wasn't. He asked, "Son, have you been doing it all the time?""Well dad," I told him 10"I figure out a good way to do this more11 I just tap the chisel and move it. I'm generating a circle of shock wave down into the concrete. That way, it'll break along the lines and I won't hurt my wrist again." Dad gave me a12 look. He said, "Son, just hit the thing." Then Dad13 me his hand. I saw many scars on it .He told me, "If you stick to the work, you'll 14 it sooner. " Well, I did hit it then. And the job only took five more minutes to finish15 enough, even though I hammered my 16 two or three times, I was proud that I'd just done it.

Today, nearly 40 years later, when I 17 any difficulty in work I still hear my father's voice, "Son just hit the thing."I feel18 because I know he's still urging me to take action, go ahead, get the job done, and never 19the scars. And that's not a bad 20 to carry through life.

    When you live in a seasonal environment, you can learn that both outdoor and indoor activities have their place. As the seasons1 so does your mood. Certain activities become more or less attractive2 the weather and the length of the day.

    Spring is a time of the year when the world starts to3 from its winter sleep. During this season, I enjoy going on long walks through parks and watching the world come4.

    Many consider summer to be the top of the year. The city comes into full swing5 the weather becomes warmer and warmer. During the summer, I prefer to spend the daytime anywhere that is air-conditioned. This 6include the library, a shopping center or a movie theater. I often enjoy spending the7evenings sitting on the wide balcony of my house and having drinks with my friends.

    Fall, with the8 of the leaves and the summer heat gradually 9is probably another 10 time to go on long walks during the day. I love to be 11during fall and see the life of the city returning to its hibernation (冬眠). Another12to go outside during autumn is to 13the last days of warmth until the next year.

    Winter14 the shortening of days and cooler weather. Outdoor activities tend to become less 15 and sinking down on the sofa with a good book becomes my16 activity. It is not enjoyable to spend time outside if it is too 17I only choose to go outside when I want to go skiing.

    So, my 18to spend time indoors or outdoors is vastly dependent on the19. Different seasons 20different activities and therefore it is Impossible to choose whether I would spend all of my spare time indoors or outdoors.

    Travis laughed as he tore at the wrapping paper on his birthday present. He was so 1! Finally, he would have the coolest pair of name-brand basketball shoes.

    All the guys on his team were wearing the name-brand shoes of a popular basketball  2 , Chuck Hart. 3 Hart was criticized for his poor sportsmanship and infamous 4, he was a great player. In fact, Travis wasn't thinking about Hart's behavior; he had only expected to see Hart's 5 on the side of the box. The first indication that something was 6 came as he tore away the last piece of paper. Not Hart's. The new shoes were the name-brand of another player, Robert Ryann, who was 7 for his amazing work in the community.

    Travis's hands 8; his heart stopped. It wasn't that the Ryann shoes weren't nice, but what would his friends think? They were the wrong shoes and Travis would be 9 by the other players. When he looked up into his dad's eyes, however, Travis 10he would not tell him. "Thanks, Dad. I was really hoping for shoes," Travis said as he pulled the shoes out of the box.

    Next morning his dad drove him to school. When they 11 in front of his destination, Travis slowly opened the car door. Just then, his dad stopped him.

    “Hey, Travis, wait a minute, look…” his dad said 12,“Travis, I know those aren't the shoes you had hoped for, but I saw the names of the two guy s and made a（n）13. The guy whose name is on those shoes,” he said, pointing down at Travis's feet, “is someone I 14. Do you know how often Ryann has found himself in 15?”

    “No,” Travis said.

    “Never. He's never talked back to his coach or started a fight, and he's a team player. You could have acted like a (n) 16  when you didn't get the shoes you wanted, Travis, but you were 17and made the best of it. You have such a good 18, like the guy whose name is on these shoes. I'm hoping that someday, your name will be on the coolest pair of shoes I'll ever see.”

    When Travis looked down at his feet, he saw the shoes 19. His dad had used his mind and heart to give the son a thoughtful 20.

    Looking overwhelmed(淹没) by the attention, Rubi Ibarra celebrated her 15th birthday on a big farm in central Mexico. The 1 to the event by her father 2 rapidly and made her a star in her country.

    Family members had to open a path for the girl through dozens of 3 and photographers so she could reach the Mass(弥撒) for her on a farm in the state of San Luis Potosi. A large board4"Welcome to my 15th birthday party" with Ruby's picture towered over the tents and tables 5 with food.

    Thousands of people 6 from across Mexico for the celebration. Ruby's party 7 national and international fame after a local event photographer posted on his Facebook page a video of the girl's father 8 a birthday party complete with food, horse races and local bands. In the video, Crescencio Ibarra 9 describes the party and prizes, before announcing that "everyone is 10 invited."

    Rubi's mother later11 that Crescencio had only been referring to everyone in the 12 communities, not the world, but by then the video had been picked up many times on Youtube and had been seen by millions.

    Mexican airline Interjet published a promotion offering 30% 13 on flights to San Luis Potosi, under the slogan "Are you going to Rubi's party?" Actor Gael Garcia Bernal made a funny video of the invitation, and singer Luis Antonio Lopez wrote a lovely 14 especially for Rubi.

    Several hundred guests15 on the morning of the day for the party, but the number increased as the day 16 so that by evening there were thousands and the event looked like a rock concert. Cars 17 the access roads to the communities and police monitored the 18.

    "What happened with Rubi is an interesting example of how the 19 amplifies(放大) people's personal lives and how traditional media look 20 stories on social networks to bring in new audiences," said Sergio Octavio Contreras, a professor from a Mexican university.

One month ago my kind grandmother, Nonie, was put into hospice（临终安养院）. This was as much a (n) 1 as anything, since it 2 her to go home with what she needed, rather than being 3 in the hospital. It wasn't clear whether or not she was all that close to 4 . My mother said it could be a 5 still or it could be any time. My parents 6 I should pick a proper time to visit her in New York.

Three weekends were possible for me to make a 7 in the coming months: October 20th, November 10th, or December 1st. The 8 in October was certainly the least convenient as I was pretty 9, and I'd have to get all the arrangements in order very 10. But I chose it because if I waited just out of11, and Nonie died before I saw her, I'd never 12 myself. It turns out I did the 13 thing. When her driver came to pick her up today around noon, Nonie passed out, and never14 .

My trip was a 15 one, but I got to spend a full day and a half 16 next to her and asking her questions. Some questions got more 17 answers. I wanted to know more about her and my grandpa's love story and how they can stay happily 18 for nearly 70 years, dedicated to each other until the very end.

My grandpa got dementia(痴呆),and he almost19 everything slowly. 20, for years he still remembered Nonie. He died two years ago, and Nonie told me she'd been asking the Lord to take her ever since.