It was a very cold evening. The old man's beard was almost icy. He was waiting for a 1 across the river. The wait seemed 2. The old man sat on the ground waiting for quite a long time.

    3, he saw several horsemen coming. He watched them silently and let the first one pass by without even asking. Another passed by, and then another, till the last rider came near the old man. The old man caught the rider's 4 and said, “Sir, would you 5 giving me a ride to the other side?”

    6 his horse, the rider replied, “Of course not.” But it was so cold that the old man's body was almost 7. He could not get 8the ground. The horseman helped the old man onto his horse. He took the old man not just across the river, 9to the old man's home.

    As they 10 the old man's house, the horseman asked, “Sir, you let several other riders pass by without even asking. Then I 11 and you asked me for a ride at once. Why? 12 I had said 'no' and left you there?”

    The old man looked the rider straight in the eye, and said, “I looked 13 the eyes of the other riders. I quickly saw that they didn't 14. It would be 15 even asking them for a ride. But in your eye I saw 16. I knew that you would help me.”

    The words 17 the rider deeply. “Thank you for what you've said,” he told the old man. “I hope I will never leave others 18 simply because I'm busy, and every American citizen does 19 in my heart.”

    With that, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the US, turned his horse around and made his 20back to the White House.

    Little John invited his mother to attend his school's first teacher-parent meeting. To the little boy's 1 , she said she would go. This 2 be the first time that his classmates and teacher 3 his mother and he felt  4of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar that 5 nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to 6 why or how she got the scar.

    At the meeting, the people were7by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother 8 the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed and 9 himself from everyone. He did, however, get within 10 of a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

    The teacher asked 11 , “How did you get the scar on your face?”

    The mother replied, “ 12 my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was 13 afraid to go in because the fire was 14 , so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a long piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked 15 but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She 16 the burned side of her face. “This scar will be 17 , but to this day, I have never 18what I did.”

    At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and felt a great 19 of the sacrifice（牺牲） that his mother had made for him. He held her hand 20 for the rest of the day.

    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.

    I felt like a good mother on that summer morning. I'd 1 up early, made a picnic lunch2 my three- and five-year-old daughters into the car, driven to my friend's house, packed her and her3 into the car, and driven the hour and a half to the shore where we4 our towels on the sands by 10 a.m.

    Soon the girls began running. About 50 yards from us, a man, maybe 5 his late 50s, was fishing. The girls stood next to him and watched with their mouths open 6 he cast the lines. He smiled at them. They all ran back to us except my three-year-old Drew, who7 just seated herself next to the white bucket where the man was 8 planning to put the fish he caught.

    However, suddenly a 9 came to my mind. Is it dangerous for Drew to stay there with the stranger? Good moms should also teach daughters that the world is dangerous. Then, I watched them like there was a hidden 10 in the lifeguard chair filming the man as America's Most Wanted. Every few minutes, I looked to my five-year-old to make sure she hadn't been 11 out to sea, then back to Drew to make sure there was no 12 between her and the stranger.

    When I looked at Drew again, she had started 13 with the man. She was probably telling him where we lived and how her father was away on 14. He nodded. She kept talking. He nodded again, then they laughed.

    A few seconds later, she ran back to us, with a toy fish in her hand. It must have been something 15 he used for bait(饵). The three other girls were 16 so they didn't try to 17 how eager they were to have one.

    Just when I was at a loss, there he was: the man, standing right next to us. He was holding three more toy fish. He handed them to each of the girls. By their 18 I realized that he was 19 a warm-hearted man, meaning no harm at all.

    “Thank you”, I said, realizing that yes, there is evil in this world…but there is also good, and 20 in strangers, and lessons for mothers to learn that only three-year-olds could teach them.

    As we slowly drove down the street on that cold December evening, we spotted the porch（门廊）light. “This 1be the house." I told our "Positive Teens In Action" group with certainty. We2in front of an older home with the porch light shining. We gathered up our 3 books, walked up the steps, and4on the door. We heard a 5 voice from inside say, "Come in. The door is open." We opened the door.

    There in a rocking chair 6 an elderly woman with a big 7 on her face. "I've been8you,"she said weakly. Ruth was one of our "Meals On Wheels" stops I had9. I had phoned her and told her about it. Going along with me were the10 church members who 11 singing carols（颁歌）.

    We 12 Ruth the basket of delicious food the teens had prepared earlier that evening. Then I asked Ruth what carols she would like to 13Ruth was smiling cheerfully when she 14 singing each song.

    15we hugged Ruth good-bye, she said to me with tears in her eyes, “The day you 16 I was still in bed. l had just finished17 .I asked God if it would be possible to have some Christmas carolers come to my home and18 this year. Thank you for being the 19to my Christmas prayer."

    Wow, what an awesome 20 to have the opportunity to make Ruth quite content!

    Even though it was only October, my students were already whispering about Christmas plans. With each passing day everyone became more 1, waiting for the final school bell. Upon its2  everyone would run for their coats and go home, everyone except David.

    David was a small boy in ragged clothes. I had often 3 what kind of home life David had, and what kind of mother could send her son to school dressed so 4for the cold winter months, without a coat, boots, or gloves. But something made David 5. I can still remember he was always6 a smile and willing to help. He always 7after school to straighten (使变直)chairs and mop the floor. We never talked much. He 8just simply smile and ask what else he could do, then thank me for letting him stay and slowly9home.

    Weeks passed and the 10over the coming Christmas grew into restlessness(骚动) until the last day of 11 before the holiday break. I smiled in 12as the last of them hurried out the door. Turning around I saw David 13standing by my desk.

    "I have something for you" he said and 14from behind his back a small box.15it to me, he said anxiously, "Open it" I took the box from him, thanked him and slowly unwrapped it. I lifted the lid (盖子)and to my 16saw nothing. I looked at David's smiling face and back into the box and said, "The box is nice, David, but it's 17."

    "Oh, no, it isn't" said David. "It's full of love. My mum told me before she died that love was something you couldn't see or touch unless you know it's there."

    Tears filled my eyes 18I looked at the proud dirty face that I had rarely given19to. After that Christmas, David and I became good friends and I never forgot the meaning 20the little empty box set on my desk.