One day, I went to my favorite cafe for lunch. I 1 a burger and went to the outdoor seats. While waiting for my meal, a homeless man on a bicycle stopped to ask if there was a grocery store nearby. After I gave him 2, he asked if I had 3 from Santa Clara University. (I was wearing a SCU T-shirt. )I told him, yes. Little did I know that this 4 response would lead to a 90-minute conversation. The man, Michael, told me he was very intelligent. 5, drug use had ruined both his formal education and his pursuit of 6 in his work. He drifted from one topic to another, 7 the fact that I was ready for my lunch.

    He clearly had more of a 8to talk than I did. I made every 9 to give him my full attention, never 10 our talk would go on and on... Eventually, I did eat my meal, bite by bite 11 responses in our conversation. Michael was a bit strange. 12 his interests and viewpoints. We had little in 13, but he was fascinated with talking with, as he 14 it,“intelligent people.” I have to admit, I wish our conversation had been 15 to ten or fifteen minutes, but when Michael finally 16 off, he thanked me for listening so 17 to him and for my 18 to talk with him for so long. It was then that I 19 that, just maybe, that was my purpose in life for today … to be there, in that place, at that time, to 20 in that conversation.

Little Bit

    "Meow, meow, meow," is what I heard as I walked through the alley. I approached the noise and observed a tail sticking out from under a piece of wood Under the wood was a 1 black and white cat I picked him up and 2 he must be freezing to death 3 home with the cat held in my jacket.

    My new best friend, who soon became known as Little Bit, received his name because he was almost4when I held him in my hands. He stood about five inches tall. Little Bit's small size had a great advantage—he 5 perfectly in the pocket of my jacket, which made 6 him everywhere very easy.  Any time I was home, he wouldn't leave my 7 He was always  8 to me. When I fell asleep at night,he would always rolling up around my head to ensure that I was warm.

    Unfortunately, I grew up. My teenage life 9 my relationship with Little Bit. I lived at such a fast10 that I stopped making time for him. My free time was spent with my friends instead. I would come in the house on my phone and not 11 him at all. His meows became an annoyance to me, but it wasn't his fault that he wanted my 12 back.

    Time had caused a13 to Little Bit. His body began shocking down and by the time I  realized 14 was wrong with him, he had already lost his balance. He lay there and looked at me, and 15 this day I still remember the 16 look in his bright green eyes. I took him to the vet (兽医 ), but there was nothing he could do The last time I17 him he wasn't he same tiny cat I had found ten years before. Little Bit filled my arms and he was put to sleep that day.

    Little Bit's 18 made me realize how much he meant to me.He was always there for me when I needed him. I 19 our last years together and I feel sorry for not always being there for him.I will always20 the special memories we made.

    After my brother died in an accident, my mother was very sad. I was only 4 years old at the time, but I still understood the 1 in my mom's attitude toward safety.2, everything around us was potentially 3.

    I grew up with a lot of 4 and rules that were meant to 5 me. For example, I was not 6 to walk home from school by myself, even though everyone I knew already did. I couldn't 7 evening parties or go to summer camp,8 what if something happened to me?

    As I got older, the list of things to 9 got longer. I became a natural 10. I was concerned about things like getting cancer, losing my wallet, being caught in car accidents and earthquakes —11 big and small, real and 12.The funny part is that you'd never know it by looking at my life, because I'm constantly 13 myself to do the things that frighten or worry me. In fact, I've developed a 14 for myself: If it scares me, then I have to do it 15 once. I've done lots of things that would have 16 my mom: I've ridden a motorcycle, I've traveled alone, and I've performed stand-up comedy.

    Courage isn't a natural attribute (品质) of human beings. I believe that we have to practice being courageous. The more 17 I do things that scare me or that make me 18, the more I realize that I can do a lot more than I originally thought I could do.

    Even though I inherited (经遗传获得) my mother's cautious19, I've also come to believe that fear can be a good thing, if we 20 it. Believing that has made my world a less scary place.

In February of 2005, Phil Belfiore was teaching one of Robert Frost's poems Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. He liked it so much that he 1 it on his home answering machine, which would lead to one of the most 2 friendships of his life. 

When Phil returned from his vacation, he listened to his voice

3 . One gentleman caller 4 for dialing the wrong number. But, he added, he'd really enjoyed the poem. Phil thought nothing more of it—until the phone rang a few days later. 

Phil 5 John's hollow voice immediately, who said sorry to

6 , but he was calling to hear the poem again. The two men talked. It turned out that he had 7 to phone his brother, but dialed the wrong number. Before hanging up, Phil told John to 8 anytime, whether to hear the poem or just to have a chat. 

That was 11 years ago. They've spoken on the phone a few times a month ever since. It is John who is still the starter of most calls. However, Phil will ring if a long while has passed. Not 9 , John has been in poor health. His special voice is just the 10 of some heart trouble. They seem to always 11 when there's been a big sports event. The men like to discuss football most. John will also 12 Phil on his life. Slowly, their conversations have grown much more 13 . They planned to meet twice, but circumstances went against them. Their friendship is based on the 14 act of picking up the phone. "My best friend is someone I've not yet met 15 ," says John.

A grocery store in Ann Arbor, Michigan opened on Tuesday to the public. This is an artist's uneatable creation. The Plastic Bag Store presents shelves filled with items such as meat, eggs, cakes and so on, all of which are made from single-use plastics taken from streets and garbage.

The store at times during the day will be transformed into a stage for a series of short films in which puppetry(木偶戏表演), shadow play, and handmade sets are used to tell a story of how the overabundance of plastic waste we leave behind might be misinterpreted by future generations—and how what we value least may become our most lasting "cultural legacy (遗产)".

Theater and film director Robin Frohardt is the creative driving force behind the Plastic Bag Store. "I got the idea many years ago after watching someone bag and double-bag and triple-bag my groceries," Frohardt said on Tuesday. "I just was sort of struck by how much packaging was involved in our everyday lives. And it just seemed so unreasonable. I just thought, maybe I could set up a project to change it." Combining a real-life supermarket with film experience, Frohardt planned to use art and humor to question our culture of consumption and convenience and to show one of the greatest problems of our planet.

Plastic bags are created by fossil (化石) fuels and often end up as waste in landfills and the ocean. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic grocery bags per year. She hopes that she can continue to tour with the project and bring it to different communities. "My dream would be that this project will become unnecessary one day," said Frohardt.

 "Frohardt's work reminds us, with humor, to think not just about the next two weeks, but also about the next two decades and the next two centuries. What will remain hundreds of years later? We hope that our legacy will be plays rather than piles of plastics," said Tim Tompkins, President of Times Square Alliance.