Once when there was a famine (饥荒), a rich baker sent for twenty of the poorest children in the town, and said to them, “In this basket, there is a loaf (一条面包) for each of you. 1 it, and come back to me every2at this hour till better times come.”

    The hungry children 3 eagerly around the basket, and quarreled for the bread 4 each wished to have the largest loaf. At last they went away without even 5the good gentleman. But Gretchen, a poorly-dressed little girl, did not 6 or struggle with the rest, but remained 7 modestly in the distance. When the ill-behaved children had left, she took the 8 loaf, which alone was left in the basket, 9the gentleman's hand, and went home.

    The next day the children were as 10 as before, and poor, shy Gretchen received a loaf only nearly half the 11 of the one she got the first day. When she came home, her mother cut the 12 open, and then many new, shining pieces of silver fell out of it. Her mother was very much 13 , and said, “Take the money back to the good 14at once, for it must have got into the loaf 15 . Be quick, Gretchen! Be quick!”

    But when the little girl gave the rich man her mother's 16 , he said, “No, no, my child, it was no 17 . I had the silver pieces put into the smallest loaf to 18 you. Always be as contented (满足的), peaceable, and 19 as you now are. Go home now, and the 20 is your own.”

    One day, a well-known speaker was invited to give a lecture to an audience of 200. He started his lecture by1a $ 20 bill. He looked around the room, and asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”2started going up.

    He said, “I am going to3this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this.” He crumpled up (揉皱) the 20-dollar bill. He then asked, “Who4wants it?” Still the hands were5in the air.

    “Well”, he replied,“6I do this ?” And he dropped it on the7and started to step on it with his shoes. He picked it up. Now it was crumpled and8

    “Now, who wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

    “My friends, we have all learned a very9lesson. No matter what I did to the10, you still want it because it doesn't decrease in11It is still worth $20, with12we can buy what we need.

    Many times in our lives, we are13, and trampled underfoot by the decision we14and the circumstances that come our way. We feel15we were worthless. But no matter what has happened or what may happen to us, you will never16your value. Dirty or clean, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives is determined not by17we do or who we know, but by who we are. You are18Don't ever forget it.”

    If you19this lesson in mind, it will help you to20again when you fall. Each time it makes you grow much stronger.

    Many years ago, I read online of a woman who sold a lifetime of possessions and moved from the west coast of America to Hawaii with one suitcase. Apparently she had never regretted that  1 to simplify her life, and she had never been 2 I remember wondering a lot about that story. I just couldn't 3 how she could be happy without her things. What was it like waking every morning to a near 4  room, I wondered.

    Years after 5 that article, I found myself at a crossroad in life. I had to sell all my possessions, 6 what I could fit into two suitcases. I was very worried about losing things that I had previously decided were as 7 to my existence as the air I breathe. 8 I knew this was the right thing to do at that time, I still felt a bit 9 about who I would be without all my stuff. Then I remembered that woman who had found happiness in Hawaii after radically (彻底地) downsizing her 10 At that moment I decided to 11 her lead. I told myself that parting with all my stuff was a time of 12 and self-discovery.

    Life went on as usual. Better than usual, 13 ! I very quickly began to notice I felt  14 and freer than I had in a long time. And 15 I felt at peace and 16 In the absence of anything else in my room, I began to notice the 17 of light and shadow, and the subtle (微妙的) variations in each hour of the day.

    Over time I've come to see the benefit of 18 living. I've discovered the less stuff I have, the more  19 is my relationship with the things I have. I hope that woman who went to live in Hawaii sees how her words 20 one woman to take the journey of a lifetime and to learn that she is so much more than her stuff!

    I work as the reception manager at my hotel. A(n) 1 came in a few weeks ago with a note attached that the guest would be travelling with her 2 father. Just so that we would be aware when 3 with them when they arrived as his daughter wanted to make his trip to Ireland as 4 as possible. Upon seeing this note and noting I would be the one to 5 them in, I decided to learn some basic 6 language.

    I greeted the guest in my usual way, 7 for the surname on the booking. Once I heard the name I 8 immediately who was standing in front of me.

I had been learning for over two 9 how to say” welcome to Ireland. My sign language is 10 , but if you need anything during your 11 just let me know and we will help you”.

    I smiled at the father and daughter in front of me, turning to the father who I greeted in sign language and began the bit I had 12 for him. The father smiled and was so 13 .Seeing his reaction was 14 for me. It was so worth the last few weeks of learning basic sign language.

    On check-out I sadly wasn't 15 .but they had left a gift for me with a note saying” thank you very much for what you did on check-in. My father has been in 16 form since you checked us in and insisted we get you a 17 before we left. You have no idea how much this 18 to my father and me and we can't thank you enough. You've made his trip very special with one simple 19”.

    They wrote a letter to the general manager also asking to give me a raise, which I really 20 . I cried for a solid 5 minutes when I came to work today to find this gift in my locker.

One teacher had two students. One of them had a positive vision while the other had the 1 one.

One day, the teacher 2 for a park with both the students and while wandering in the garden, they 3 a mango tree from which some ripe and juicy mangoes were 4 . On seeing this, the teacher thought to 5 both of his students. Then, he asked the first one, "My dear child, what do you think of this mango tree?"

The student answered instantly, "Teacher, in spite of people 6 this tree with stones, it gives us sweet and juicy mangoes. It does 7 but still it gives us fruits. I wish all human beings learn this important 8 from the mango tree-to share their 9 even if they have to suffer for this."

After that, the teacher asked the other student the same question. The student 10 answered, "Teacher, this mango tree is no good and will not give mangoes by itself but only when we hit it with stones and 11 . Therefore, we should hit it hard to get sweet mangoes from it. That is the only way to 12 these mangoes. It is also clear from this tree that in order to get good 13 from others, we need to be violent and only when we become violent, then and only then will we get 14 ."

The teacher was delighted with the answer given by the first student because he had an admirable vision and 15 the tree with positive vision.