Years ago, I was on a long flight, during which a voice from the speaker said, “ We won't 1 drinks or the meal because we are facing a storm ahead. Please make your safe belts fastened.” Many passengers became 2 , talking about it with each other. At once it became 3 in the plane.

    Soon, lighting 4 the darkening skies, and within moments the 5 was like a boat on waves in the storm. One moment it was 6 up by the storm; the next, it was thrown as if it were to 7 onto the ground. All the passengers were 8 . Some cried. Some prayed (祈祷). The 9 seemed hopeless. I wondered if we could 10 it through the storm.

    Then I noticed the little girl next to me. Surprisingly, the storm seemed to mean 11 to her. She was 12 , looking through a picture book. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would 13 again, but she never showed a (n)14  of worry or fear. The little girl wasn't afraid at all 15 all the adults were scared to death. Finding me watching her, the girl smiled at me and said, “ Don't worry. My father is the pilot. He is taking me home. Take it easy. He will take us home safely.”

    When the plane was out of 16 , I smiled at the girl and she gave me a big smile in 17 . “I said my father would take us home safely.”

        Many kinds of storms may 18 us: diseases, difficulties… They can easily darken our skies and 19 our planes into hard times. Let us 20 : Love is the pilot. It will help us out of trouble. So take it easy.

    The summer before I went off to college, Mom stood me in her usual spot behind the ironing board (烫衣板)and said, “Pay attention: I'm going to teach you to iron.”

    Mom clearly explained her1for this lesson. I was going to be2and needed to learn this vital skill. Also, I would be meeting new people, and properly ironed clothes would help me make a good3 .

     “Learn to iron a shirt,” Mom said, “and you can iron anything.”

But ironing shirts was not4work. It didn't make use of long muscles we used to throw a baseball，and it wasn't a5operation like ice-skating. Ironing was like driving a car on a street that has a stop sign every 10 feet, Moreover, an iron produced steam and it carried an element of6.If you touched the wrong part of it, you'd get burnt. If you forgot to turn it off when you 7,you might bum down the house.

    As for technique, Mom8me to begin with the flat spaces outward, always pushing the iron forward into wrinkled (有褶皱的）parts. Collars had to be done right. Mom said they were close to your face, where everyone would9them.

    Over the years, I've learned to iron shirts skillfully, which gives me a sense of 10Whatever failures I suffer in my life, an ironed shirt tells me I am good at something. 11,through ironing I've learned the method for solving even the most troublesome problems. “12wrinkles one at a time,” as Mom might have said, “and before long everything will get ironed out.”

    Love Is Blind: The Magic of Tabby

    In October, 2003, 1 started my work at my local animal shelter's Adoption Department. Over the years, more than 50,000 animals have1the doors of the shelter. Most of them, I do not remember. But occasionally there are2animals, who touch me so deeply that I could never possibly3them. Tabby was one such animal.

    Tabby was an ancient Cocker Spaniel, probably 14 years old. What's more, she was blind and deaf. Tabby's chances at adoption seemed4at best. After all, we didn't have many adopters coming in5, “Can you show me all of your really old dogs who are also6?'' We had all thought that Tabby would live out the rest of her life at the7.

    One day a woman named Loretta came to the shelter. Her son, Gary, had8Tabby's picture and stories on the shelter's website at home. They were interested in meeting her! It was the only9we ever received about Tabby. What could a young child possibly see in a 14-year-oid dog who was both blind and deaf? Most boys would want a dog who could grow with them and10through grassy fields on summer days. Tabby would11be able to do that. But after meeting her, Loretta and Gary decided that she was the right dog for their family. They adopted Tabby!

    If Tabby's story had simply ended with her12adoption, it would still have been something very special indeed.13  it was what happened after her adoption that people might regard as “magic”. Gary14from seizures(癫痫). Since Gary and Tabby met they became15They did everything together. They became so “in tune” with one another that Tabby began to telegraph Gary's seizures16they occurred, giving his family a(n)17that one was about to strike. What's more, Gary seemed to be having fewer and fewer seizures since Tabby's18 .

    How could it be? Nobody could explain19Tabby did it. But those of us who were fortunate enough to know her and her family had20the magic, the kind that has its roots in love.

A Love Note to My Mom

    When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling 1 in your life. Little did I know you were 2every penny you earned to go to 3 school.

    I cannot thank you enough for 4 you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried 5 piles of law books. I was 6. Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for 7? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn't know Moms 8 be lawyers too. You smiled and said, "In life, you can do anything you want to do."

    As young as I was, that statement kept 9 in my ears. I watched as you faced the 10 of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a 11 and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you 12. With your words of wisdom in my 13 mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world 14. I set out to live my life filled with 15 seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.

    Your words became my motto. I 16 found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) 17 one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, "Yes, I'll try that."

    Encouraged by your 18 , I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life's journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and 19 meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I'm 20 it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

    At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds. I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to 1 bad feelings, to make myself feel better, and to celebrate. Worried about my health, I tried many different kinds of  2 but nothing worked. I came to believe that I could do nothing about my 3.

    When I was 50, my weight problem began to affect me 4 . I didn't want to live the rest of my life with this 5 weight any more.

    That year, I6 a seminar where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world. A seminar leader shared her 7 story —she had not only 125 pounds, but also raised $25,000 for homeless children.

    8 by her story, I created the As We Heal(痊愈), the World Heals 9. My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,00010 a movement founded 30 years ago to end hunger. This combination of healing myself and healing the world  11 me as the perfect solution.

    12I began my own personal weight program, I was filled with the fear that I would 13 the same difficulties that beat me before. While the 14 hung over my head, there were also signs that I was headed down the right 15. I sent letters to everyone I knew, telling them about my project. It worked perfectly. Donations began 16in from hundreds of people.

    Of course, I also took some practical steps to lose weight. I consulted with a physician(内科医生), I hired a fitness coach, and I began to eat small and 17 meals. My fund-raising focus also gave me new motivation to exercise 18.

    A year later, I19 my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000! I feel that I've been given a second life to devote to something that is 20 and enormous.

    On a cold winter evening, I was walking home, tired and hungry, when suddenly came screams (呼喊声) from behind some tress. 1, I slowed down to listen, and2that what I was hearing were the sounds of a fight. A woman was being3not far from where I stood.

    "Should I go to help her?" I thought. I was worried about my own4, and I regretted having suddenly decided to take a new way home that night. "What if I'm5too? Shouldn't I just6to the nearest phone and call the police?" But already the girl's7were growing weaker. I knew it was time for me to act fast because I could not8to the life of this unknown woman, 9it meant risking my own life.

    I am not a10man. I didn't know where I found the11and physical strength (体力), but once I had finally12to help the girl, I became suddenly changed. I ran behind the bushes and13the attacker off the woman. Struggling, we fell to the ground, where we fought for a few minutes14the man jumped up and escaped.

    15heavily, I stood up and came up to the girl, who was crying behind a tree. In the16, I could not see her clearly, but I could certainly17her shock. Not wanting to frighten her any further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.

    "It's OK," I said18. "The man ran away. You're safe now. "There was a long stop and then I heard the words, said in both wonder and19. "Dad, is that you?" And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest20, Katherine.