When Karen found another baby was on the way, she tried to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new 1 And day after day, night after night, Michael2 to his sister in Mommy's stomach.

    The pregnancy 3normally but illness arose during 4

Finally, Michael's little sister was born. But she was in serious condition and was taken to the intensive care unit at a Hospital in Tennessee.

    The days 5 by. The little girl got worse. The doctor said there was little hope. Be 6 for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a cemetery about a 7 service.

    Michael, however, kept 8his parents to let him see his sister, “I want to sing to her.” However, kids are never allowed in Intensive Care.

Karen decided to take Michael whether the hospital9it or not. If he didn't see his sister right then, he may never see her 10 She dressed him in an oversized operation suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket.

    The head nurse 11him as a child and shouted, “Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed.”

The mother rose up strong in Karen and the usually mild-mannered lady 12 steel-eyed right into the head nurse's eyes, “He is not leaving until he sings to his sister.”

Then Karen 13Michael to his sister's bedside. He looked at the tiny baby losing the 14 to live. After a moment, the 3-year-old began to sing:

     “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray.”

    Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate became15

    “Keep on singing, Michael,” encouraged Karen with 16 in her eyes.

“You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away.”

As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's 17 became smooth.

    “The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my 18”.

Michael's little sister began to relax.

    “Keep singing, Michael.” Tears covered the face of the bossy head nurse.

    “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.…”

    The next 19....the very next day...the little girl was 20 enough to go home.

    I was a lovely child with a loving family. I was not a (n) 1, but a leader in school. But what made me special was not seen from the outside: I was 2 about life. My best character was my personality.

    At age twelve, my life had a breakdown. It was then that I developed OCD (强迫症). I was no longer the 3 girl. I finally told my mother I was suffering from depression. I started taking medicine. 4, the medicine did help. But one thing didn't 5: I still was overwhelmed with depression. I still was 6 sad and I started to believe that my life no longer 7.

    Thinking my life no longer had 8, I decided suicide was the solution. I wrote a note to all my friends and family, expressing I was 9 for leaving them. As I was folding the note, my eyes fell on a photograph. It was a little girl wearing a carefree smile.

    It took me a few minutes to 10 who the girl in the photo was. I 11 couldn't believe that smiling child was me! It seemed my younger self had sent me a 12. Right then and there I knew I couldn't 13 myself. Once I had been a strong girl, and I had to be like that again. I swore I wouldn't only 14 my medicine. I would fight the depression with my 15, too.

    It's been two years 16 I recovered. The real reason I'm 17 is that I refused to let depression 18 my life. I learned a lifelong 19: Never give up. Life is good. Everyone has 20 in life, but everyone can survive. I am living proof of that.

Hope in my arms

    Last year, I was invited to participate in a carnival（嘉年华） for Tuesday' s Child, an organization that helps children with AIDS.

    All the children that had 1 at one special room could paint a square on a piece of cloth. Later the squares would be sewn(缝) together to2 a quilt. The quilt would be presented to a man who had devoted his life to the   3 and would soon be retiring.

    The kids were given paints in bright colors and asked to paint something that would make the quilt beautiful. As I looked around at all the squares, I saw pink hearts, blue clouds, orange sunrises and red flowers. The pictures were all bright and 4. All except one.

    One boy was painting a heart, but it was dark and lifeless. It lacked the bright colors that his fellow artists had used. I asked why. He told me that he was very5 and so was his mom. He said that his sickness was not ever going to get better and 6 was his mom's. He looked7into my eyes and said, "There is no hope in my life."

    I told him I was sorry and I could understand why he had made his heart a dark color. I told him that8 we couldn't make him better, we can give 9, which can really help when you are feeling sad. I told him that if he would like, I would be happy to give him one so he could see what I meant. 10, he crawled(爬上) into my lap（大腿）. I thought my own heart would burst for this sweet little boy. He sat there for a long time. Finally he slipped 11to finish his coloring.

    As I was getting ready to12 home, I felt a tug (猛拽) on my jacket. Standing there was the little boy,13. He said, "My heart is changing14. It is getting brighter. I think those hugs really do 15." On my way home I felt my own heart. It too had changed to a brighter color.

    It's a family tradition to go to dinner at my grandmother's house for all major holidays. After the meal, the youngest children go to the basement to play games, 1 the remainder of my family withdraw to the living room. For several years, I'd remain at the 2 dinner table, reading whatever book had caught my interest. I'll never forget the day when this all 3. My aunt came into the dinning room and said, “4 that book and talk to me before I hit you with this fork!”

    I'd been content to remain the attentive listener, 5 nothing, but hearing everything. Then came the 6 that I was antisocial, to which I 7 with a silent smile. There was a time when I foolishly believed my family would accept my preference；8, they seem to believe that they should encourage me to 9. In my opinion,  I'm the only one that has adapted well to the familial（熟悉的）talkativeness. What would be the 10 of all these voices if there weren't someone to shut up and 11?

    My 12 isn't the only thing my family finds puzzling. I would scream “No!” at 2 a. m. 13 a character was horrifically killed. I become active at night in summer so I can listen to music, read, and write without the 14 of my brothers and sisters, who seem to think if I want to  be 15 they should come near me and make as much 16 as possible.

    My family doesn't completely 17 all of my actions. They're well aware of what makes me 18 is reading while sitting in one of the black comfortable chairs. I've 19 that reading a book of any great length would make it extremely 20 for my parents to get me from the chair. Fortunately they have learned to accept my actions.

    Reggie couldn't hear a thing. He was a1boy, but he had been born deaf.  He was well-known to everyone in town, and they were all2him. Unfortunately, though, he3seemed to end up being treated differently from everyone else. Children worried they would4him, and that maybe because he wouldn't hear the ball being hit in his5. Adults acted like he was unable to6them, as though he was some kind of baby.

    His friend Michael didn't like this. He decided that things had to be7. Michael's father was the town's mayor(市长), and Michael8to convince him that this year, in honor of Reggie, they should offer one day of the9to deaf people. During that whole day everyone would have to wear earplugs(耳塞).

    People liked the10. The day became known as The Day of Silence, and when it arrived, everyone stuck plugs in their11, in a spirit of great fun. That morning was filled with12and laughter. But, as the hours passed, people became more and more aware of how13life was when they couldn't hear anything.

    On that day nobody was thinking of Reggie as just a14person. This meant he could be15just like any other boy, and people saw a whole new side of16. Not only that, but Reggie had a bright and sharp mind. On that day, using his usual17, Reggie was the one who could communicate best with everyone. This meant that people paid more attention to what he was saying, and they were18by his intelligence and his ability to find solutions to almost any problem. They19that he had always been like that, and that in normal life all Reggie needed was a little more time than others to20. That was the only difference.

    Many years ago, I owned a service station and roadhouse on the main road between Melbourne and Adelaide.

    One very cold, wet night at about 3:30 a. m, there was a 1 on the front door of our house. A young man, wet from 2 to toe, explained that he had3out of petrol about 30 km up the road. He had left his pregnant（怀孕的）wife and his two children 4 at the car and said that he would hitchhike（搭便车）back.

    Once I had 5 a can with petrol, I took him back to his car where his two-year-old and four-year-old children were both 6, saying that they were cold. Once the car had started, I suggested that he 7 me back.

    Before leaving, I had turned the heater 8 in the roadhouse, so that when we went in, it was nice and 9 While the little ones played and ran 10, I prepared bread and butter for the children, and hot chocolate for the 11.

    It was about 5 a. m. before they 12. The young fellow asked me how much he 13 me and I told him that the petrol pump（加油泵）had 14 $ 15. He offered to pay "call-out fee", but I wouldn't accept it.

    About a month later, I received a 15 from interstate, a large bus company that we bad been trying to 16 to stop off at our roadhouse for a long time, It 17 out that the young fellow I had helped was its general manager, the most 18 person in the company.

    In his letter, he thanked me again and 19 me that, from then on, all their buses would stop at my service station, In this 20, a little bit of kindness was rewarded with a huge amount of benefits.