Gratitude: Gifts from the heart

    According to legend（传说）,a young man while travelling through the desert came across a spring of delicious water.The water was so sweet that he1his leather container so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.After a four-day journey he2the water to the old man who took a(n) 3drink,smiled warmly and thanked his student for the sweet water.The young man4to his village with a happy heart.

    5,the teacher let another student taste the water.He spat（吐）it out,6it was terrible.It7had become stale（不新鲜）8the old leather container.The student9his teacher, "Master,the water was stale.Why did you10to like it?"

The teacher replied, "You11tasted the water.I tasted the12.The water was simply the container for a(n) 13of loving-kindness and14could be sweeter.Heartfelt gifts deserve the15gift of gratitude.

    I think we16this lesson best when we receive innocent gift of love from young children.Whatever they are, the natural and proper17is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea18 the gift.

    Gratitude doesn't always come19.Unfortunately,most children and many adults value only the thing given 20the feeling hidden in it.We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.

    I was said to be the worst student in my class, and my family thought I was hopeless. I had to 1 grade six. At that time a new teacher, Miss Sadia, came to our school.

    One day after class, she2 that I was staying alone during the lunch break. She came 3 to me and began to talk to me. It was just a normal conversation. After that day, she gave me particular4  and it made me feel special. I started to work hard because she gave me the feeling 5  someone believed me, and my6  started to improve in her subject.

    Months later, she moved into a house near my7 . We would walk home together after school. Her constant (不断的) support helped me, 8  in my studies, as I knew she would check my grades both in her subject 9  the other subjects. I finally 10 second in my class.

    Then, after grade six, she started to slowly drift away (疏远) 11 still kept a constant check on me. By the time I was in grade seven, we 12  spoke, but by then I had become the 13  in my class. When I left my school, I was 14 with her, as she never answered the15  when I called her.

    Then I graduated and went to a good university. One fine day, our paths 16  again. I met her at a wedding. I could not 17 asking her, "Why did you stop talking to me?"

    "You are a clever boy. I wanted you to be a tree 18  on your own roots, not depending on others. Now here you are and I feel 19  of you. You are your inspiration(灵感，鼓舞) and do not need to 20  a shoulder," she said. I could not say anything, but I smiled. I'll always thank her.

    South Korean artist Young-Sung Kim has a very special talent, he can paint photographs. That may sound like kind of exaggeration (夸张).

    Most of Kim's paintings describe small1 interacting with man-made objects. The artist admits that he has been greatly 2 by insects and reptiles (爬行动物) since he was a young boy, keeping them in his room and 3 them. From that days on, he 4 to become a painter.

    “It wasn't 5 to paint their structure and color well. It was much harder than I had expected. I promised myself I would train myself at art school 6I could paint them perfectly,” the 7told Yonhap News Agency.

    8 his parents didn't approve of his decision to focus his studies on art9 that he would not be able to land a good job. In high-school, their 10 only made Kim rebel (叛逆) even more. After two years of this, his family finally 11 and allowed him to follow his dream.

    In the end, Kim 12his parents that they made the13 decision. Not only does he get to earn a living doing what he14most, but he became one of the world's most highly-regarded15painters, earning between $10,000 and $130,000 per artwork.

    Youn-Sung Kim paints for more than 12 hours a day16on weekends. Despite the17 realism of his paintings, Young-Sung Kim never completely 18with his work. He 19 his artworks on a 100-pomt scale, and none of his dozens of paintings have ever scored above 90 points. Kim hopes to 20 himself and get as close to that 100-point mark as possible.

Honest Thanks

    I sat down at my desk and started writing. I wrote an emotional letter of gratitude. I put the notecard into the 1, sealed it and stuck the stamps on it, but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox I 2.

    The letter was to a schoolmate with whom I kept in contact via（通过）Facebook 3. She had inspired me to live a(n)4 life—for example, by5 more.

    Her volunteer efforts weren't 6—she wasn't building well in Uganda, but7she was doing small, local good deeds, such as serving as a crossing guard. These were things I could do, too. She made me 8 I could make a difference here at home. I felt I should let her know how her 9 positively influenced my life. I could have easily sent her an e-mail,10 that seemed a bit lame for such an important thank-you. That's why I ended up 11 the letter. But now I stood before the mailbox, unable to place the envelope inside. What was 12 me? Why was this so13 to do? I guess I felt strange because it wasn't like she was my best friend, I just knew her. “people don't 14 do this,” I thought to myself. However,15 thinking it over, I still felt a(n)16 to let her know how grateful I was. Finally, I put the envelope in the mailbox.

    Weeks later I received her reply, she was 17 a tough time and my letter meant the 18 to her. She didn't know she had such a(n)19 on others. Not only did this letter make her happy, but her response to it increased my20 of happiness. I decided to write a gratitude letter to someone each month. Cultivating（培养） gratitude is a great skill to practise. Life is too short not to do it.

Learn to Meet Challenges

    My classmates called me "the alien", and they avoided me like the  plague（瘟疫）. As a young boy, I1from a serious skin disease, which filled my arms with scars. The true2of my condition, however, was social: I lived a life of loneliness.

    Doctors predicted（预言）that I would never fully recover, but my parents encouraged me to hope for the future, teaching me that my difficulty could be overcome. I therefore took a/an 3 role in fighting against my disease, trying many medications and herbs, and my health 4 greatly before I graduated（毕业）. I realized that my personal5had led to this improvement. I regained self­confidence and made many friends at school.

    Years later, 6my personal battle against disease, I learned a great deal about7by overcoming difficulties.

    I joined the Culture Club as a Special Event Director. I8a group of six students in organizing various activities. I was the most advanced ESL student among the group. So I considered myself the most capable. But I quickly learned my9. While preparing for our first presentation, I was10with my team members and often rejected（拒绝）their11. I performed most of their tasks myself, allowing them to12me only with small details. As a result, the presentation was not very successful. The setback13me, and I spoke of it to the club's director. She responded that she14my ability to succeed in the future. This comment filled me with15, for I realized that I had never trusted my own team members. 16they were weak in English, they had many valuable talents. I immediately17my policy, allowing my team members to choose the tasks they desired and to complete them on their own. For our program, we had many meetings, which gave18to many good ideas. Most importantly, the atmosphere among us improved dramatically. We were19and eager to devote time to the program, and I learned what true leadership is.

    My experiences20improved my ability to handle challenging situations.

    Have you ever imagined your future? I try to do this all the time. Most of us will follow in our 1 footsteps, by this I mean our adult lives will 2 resemble the lives we live as children, set by our parents' examples. Have you ever 3 and thought about this? What an awful job it must be to 4 a child properly! But, what happens to the children that live 5 drugs, alcohol and violence in their childhood? Where can they find good examples for themselves?

    I know of one place that is trying to 6 all children. It is the McDowell County D.A.R.E. program in McDowell County North Carolina. Our teachers carry on their shoulders the great 7 of teaching kids to just say NO to drugs, alcohol and violence. I am personally acquainted with 8 of these things, not because I have ever 9 them myself, but because of my dad. He drank, 10 drugs and smoked pot (抽大麻). When I was 7 my mom took me and my sister and 11. I wonder if my dad ever thought about the 12 and what this bad decision would lead to when he first started experimenting with drugs and pot at 13. He has been in jail, he can't get a decent job, and he lost his 13. These bad choices also caused him to hurt his children in horrible ways.

    I am 14 that I have at least one parent to help me make wise decisions, and to teach me right from wrong. I am also 15 that the D.A.R.E. program is taught in our schools. One of the most 16 things I learned from D.A.R.E. is that a person that has a parent with an addiction problem is more than twice as likely to become addicted themselves, as compared to a person that has no family history of drug 17. I have learned many things through this 18, especially about the consequences of our trying drugs. You could get arrested, hurt yourself or someone else, 19 your life by becoming an addict, or even die. All of these things are terrible, but I can't think of anything 20 as a parent than hurting our children and the people that love us. DRUGS DESTROY LIVES! I give the D.A.R.E. program two thumbs up, for all the good things being accomplished.