I grew up in a small town. My father1chickens and ran a construction company. I was210 years old when my dad gave me the3of feeding the chickens and4up the stable（笼子）. He believed it was5for me to have those jobs to6responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club7the Natchbill Palace, I washed8and cooked from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm and then9to sing until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn't long before I became known10a singing cook.

    I had been rejected so many times by record11that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a12executive(主管) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was13, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to14it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call—Waner Brothers15to sign me to a record deal.16after, I release(发行) my first record in June 1986. It17over 2 million copies.

    My best efforts had gone into every job I've ever held. It was the18of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my19filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known20.

    One rainy afternoon I was sitting at home feeling so bored.1 feeling sorry for myself, I wanted to meet people and have new2, so I decided to start volunteering. I found a website where I could volunteer on a farm in France.

    Volunteering 3 so many opportunities to have fun and share 4stories. It was the first time for me to work on a farm. It was almost a(n)5holiday as food and accommodation were provided. It was not one6 holiday, however, as I had to 7 fifteen horses and sheep! I soon discovered that I was a(n) 8 farmer but it did not matter because I made some great friends and also improved my9.

    However, you do not 10 go abroad to volunteer. I have had plenty of adventures at home as volunteering can become a11. For example, I love12 so I had a good laugh waving my arms in order to 13my local choir(合唱团). At university, I organized a concert for charity with my friends. It was really 14 to find bands and raise money for a cause.

    It is true that you feel good volunteering but there are also other 15.I once volunteered as a steward (干事) at a charity sports event where the organizers 16 gave me cupcakes from an expensive London bakery to thank me for my 17. I also volunteered in a charity shop so I found loads of nice cheap clothes to 18my wardrobe（衣橱）.

    While this is all fun, my favourite aspect of volunteering is 19and sharing stories. My terrible20  at farming has given me funny stories to tell！

    Sanford Greenberg was once a lucky guy. A poor kid from Buffalo, New York, he was 1 into Columbia University on a full scholarship and had a great 2, Arthur Garfunkel. But in his third year of college, Greenberg's 3changed—he was going blind. He was so 4 that he refused to see anyone from college. But Garfunkel went up to Buffalo, 5 Greenberg to go back to Columbia and offered to be his 6.

    Greenberg returned to campus. Garfunkel and two other roommates read textbooks to him, taking time out form their own studies, and Greenberg 7 scoring straight A's. 8, he was afraid of getting around alone and relied on his friends to help him.

    Then, one afternoon, Greenberg and Garfunkel went to Midtown Manhattan. When it was time for Greenberg to 9, Garfunkel said he had an appointment and couldn't 10 him. Greenberg panicked. They argued, and Garfunkel walked off, leaving Greenberg 11in Grand Central Terminal. Greenberg stumbled (跌跌撞撞地走)through the rush-hour crowd. He 12 a shuttle train west to Times Square, then changed to an uptown train. Four miles later, he 13at the Columbia University stop. At the university's gate, someone 14him.

    “Oops, excuse me, sir” Greenberg 15the voice. It was Garfunkel's. Greenberg's first 16was anger, but in the next second, he realized what he had just 17 -- and realized, too, who had made it possible. “It was one of the most brilliant 18” Greenberg says. “Arthur had been with me the whole way.”

    After graduation, Greenberg got his doctor's degree from Harvard and became a successful inventor and businessman. 19blind, Greenberg sees everything. “You are talking,” he always says, “to the20 man in the world.”

    Yesterday I learned about the death of a member of the Eisner Camp family, Jonah Dreskin. Jonah, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Buffalo, was found in a(n)1condition lying on a campus road Sunday night, and died on the way to the2. The police are still3the cause of his death.

    I didn't really4Jonah, but I heard of him. He was a rabbi's (犹太教教士的) child and had spent many years at camp like I did.5I didn't really know him, I wish I had. I've been6people's memories of him on the wall of a Facebook group, and he was really a(n) 7person. Jonah clearly touched many people and will be greatly8.

    Like Jonah, I've always been the kind of person who enjoys making people feel9. I like to send cards to friends on birthdays or other 10, although not to all of them every year. I hardly ever11any, but that doesn't matter because that is not the reason why I do it. I just think about my friends getting the12through email and their smiles on their faces when they  13them, and that's all I need.

    14, remember that life is valuable. You should15someone for doing good or16 you out. Tell your friends that you're17to have them during your lifetime, and send email to a friend or relative that you haven't18for a very long time. Tell some people that they're 19to you, that you love them, and that you miss them… 20the truth is that you never know what tomorrow will bring and how you are going to make the most of today.

    How far would you go to make a good impression at a new job? A college student in Alabama walked 22 kilometers in the1to get to his new job.

    Walter Carr's2broke down the night before starting a new job at Bellhops, a furniture moving company. Several attempts as he made, Carr3 to find a ride. Knowing he couldn't afford to4it, he decided to walk and5how long it would take to walk to the job in Pelhain — 32 kilometers away. He left at midnight so that he could6it to the customer's house on time.

    Carr had reportedly walked about 22 kilometers before the local police7in to help the young man. After hearing his8, they took him to breakfast. Then, they gave him a9to the home of customer Jenny Lamey, whom he was 10to help move that morning, before the rest of the11arrived.

    "I asked Walter if he wanted to go12 and rest until everyone else arrived," said Lamey in a Facebook post, "He13 and said he could go ahead and get started." So, the family and Carr began 14 up the home, chatting along the way.

    He told Lamey that he and his mother15 from New Orleans to Birmingham after losing their 16 in Hurricane Katrina, an extremely destructive and deadly one that17 the Gulf Coast of the U.S. in 2005.

    "I just can't tell you how18 I was by Walter and his journey. He is modest, kind, cheerful, hardworking and19 ." Lamey shared her story of Walter on Facebook. It spread 20 , moving many others all over the world.

    Since I was young, my parents have encouraged me to watch the news every day to learn about major events in the world. And at school, my teacher urges us to study 1 so that we can one day become "global citizens".

    2, does simply having the skill of commenting on world affairs in fluent English make one a citizen of the 3? My experience in this summer school inspired me to 4 the answer, which would have been "Yes" if you had asked me this question earlier.

    In July, I 5 the PLE—Political science, Law and Economics—a session at the Yale Young Global Scholar Program. We had about 230 students 6 and about 45 percent of us were 7 students.

    We enjoyed lectures 8 by Yale professors and students. I was 9 with how the speakers stood on the stage. But more importantly, it was their 10 that impressed me most and made my experience in Yale especially 11.

    I talked to students from all over the world: a Palestinian girl told me the real living 12 of refugees (难民) in her country; a Greek guy 13 me to his country's government and people's attitude toward the debt crisis; a Mexican boy 14 the story behind his national flag, and how his country gained independence with me.

    By talking to them, I found myself opening a gate to a whole new world. I suddenly realized even if we're able to 15 different media and discuss world affairs in English, we're still 16. What really makes us think "internationally" is how we engage in 17 with people from different backgrounds and how we 18 their identities and opinions.

    If you were to ask me the question again, my answer would 19 be "No". To really 20 yourself a global citizen, open-mindedness and empathy are the real key.