I arrived in the classroom, ready to share my knowledge and experience with 75 students who would be my English Literature class. Having taught in the US for 17 years, I had no1about my ability to hold their attention and to2on them my admiration for the literature（文学）of my mother tongue.

    I was shocked when the monitor shouted,3!  and the entire class rose as I entered the room, and I was somewhat 4about how to get them to sit down again, but once that awkwardness（尴尬）was over, I quickly 5my calmness and began what I thought was a fact –packed lecture, sure to gain their respect – perhaps6their admiration. I went back to my office with the rosy glow which comes from a (n)7of accomplishment (成就).

    My students 8 diaries. However, as I read them, the rosy glow was gradually 9by a strong sense of sadness. The first diary said. Our literature teacher didn't teach us anything today.10 her next lecture will be better. Greatly surprised, I read diary after diary, each expressing a 11subject. ―Didn't I teach them anything? I described the entire philosophical framework （哲学体系） of Western thought and laid the historical12for all the works we'll study in class, I complained. How13they say I didn't teach them anything? It was a long term, and it14became clear that my ideas about education were not the same as 15of my students. I thought a teacher's job was to raise 16questions and provide enough background so that students could 17their own conclusions. My students thought a teacher's job was to provide 18information as directly and clearly as possible. What a difference!

    19 I also learned a lot, and my experience with my Chinese students has made me a20American teacher, knowing how to teach in a different culture.

    Every day on the way to work I drive down a street lined with pine trees. One tree in particular1 my attention. It must have suffered some 2Part of its trunk grew nearly parallel to the ground, and then in an effort to 3its own course of life. The trunk took a 90-degree turn 4 to stand tall and stretch toward the sun.

    This tree became a5for me. Each day as I drove by, I saw this bent but determined tree and I would be 6. It was a reminder to me that 7I may not have had the best start in life, I could change8 in the parts of my life at any time.

    I was planning to stop one day to get a perfect 9of my kindred-spirit (志趣相同) tree. But that week I was10. After that busy week, I still didn't take any action. Every time I drove by the tree I would11 myself, “Tomorrow, I'll stop tomorrow to take one.” Then one day, as I 12by “my” tree, I glanced over, and much to my13 I found a sawed-off stump (树桩) where that symbolic tree had stood. Gone. I had14my plan until “tomorrow” and tomorrow proved to be too15.

    A picture of a tree is not of great 16. But my lesson rang through clearly17I found out one of my colleagues had been18 with stage-four cancer. He may no longer have many19.

    What have you been putting off? What would you do today if you knew you would 20 have the opportunity to do it again? Why not do those things that you have been putting off until tomorrow?

     For a long time, I thought a present and a gift were no different. I grew up in a household where presents 1 special occasions, say there were always presents for Christmas and our birthdays.

     So when I married Gary who did not give presents on a 2 basis, I had to make an adjustment. Gary did not wholly avoid gift-giving, though. 3 noticing how many hours I spend on the 4. he brought home a shoulder pad (垫肩）for the telephone receiver. But mostly, he 5 holidays, let alone shop for earrings to 6 to me showing his affection.

    I tried to change Kim 7. I bought books for his birthdays and knitted him hats and sweaters for Christmas. 8I began to tell him what I wanted, giving 9 instructions, but got nowhere.

    Last year when the snowstorm 10 our town and he was on business, I used his present—road scraper (铲土机)to11 both our drive and our neighbor's, thinking how12 earrings would have been. Gary had wisely chosen not the thing I 13, but the thing that he knew I would need.

    I 14 began to understand the difference between a present and a gift. A present is just a thing. But a gift is broader and often cannot be 15. It is a small act of kindness, the 16to bend to another's needs, the sacrifice of time and effort.17 is a gift. Any expression of it, freely given, is a(n) 18 from the heart that is immeasurably better than a present.

    My insistence on presents must have seemed to Gary a lack of 19 for the gifts he had been giving all along, but he never stopped giving them.

    Gary will be home this Christmas, but I don't 20 a present. I already have the greatest gift.

    During my second year at the city college, I was told that the education department was offering a "free" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits.

    I 1 the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to 2 a few dollars? More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, even if I weren't 3 enough about free credits, news about our 4 was appealing enough to me. He was an international grandmaster, which 5 I would be learning from one of the game's 6. I could hardly wait to 7 him.

    Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this 8was no game for him; he meant business. In his introduction, he made it 9 that our credits would be hard-earned. In order to 10 the class, among other criteria, we had to write a paper on how we plan to 11 what we would learn in class to our future professions and, 12, to our lives. I managed to get an A in that 13 and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the 14.

    Ten years after my chess class with Ashley, I'm still putting to use what he 15 me: "The absolute most important 16 that you learn when you play chess is how to make good 17. On every single move you have to 18 a situation, process what your opponent (对手) is doing and 19 the best move from among all your options." These words still ring true today in my 20 as a journalist.

    Jake was born healthy, but his parents noticed there was something wrong when he was 5. Jake 1 about 20 pounds in just six months. He kept putting on weight 2 eating only salad. In 2015, Jake was diagnosed with ROHHAD, a 3 condition that affects the brain and causes rapid weight gain. Only 75 cases have ever been reported, and 4 of the sufferers is known to have survived twenty years.

    But Jake wants to fight for his 5. Although there is no way to fully 6 the weight gain, he does everything he can to slow it down, including 7 competing in triathlons (铁人三项). Triathlons help him keep fit and active. It's good for his 8 and also gives him a chance to socialize with other kids. He 9 with the Malta Youth Triathlon Association three times a week.

    "He is extremely 10. He never misses a training session without valid 11 and is constantly eager to train," Jake's trainer said. "Jake is very lovable and steals the heart of all who know him. It's heartbreaking to see what he has to 12. I look at his family with a mixture of 13 — despite the hardship they try their best to ensure that Jake gets as 14 a life as possible."

    Everybody is more than happy to help Jake, and they 15 change event dates and training schedules just to make it easier for him to 16. He is always very determined, but due to his condition, he can't 17 himself to push his heart rate too high.

    Jake's 18 is to meet two famous British Triathlon players, 19 due to his disease, he cannot travel. After Jake's story was made public, someone 20 that he would do everything he could to make the boy's dream a reality.

    The big day had finally arrived. I had won the local speech contest(比赛), representing Madison Middle School. Here it1the state competition. I waited backstage for the host to announce2name.

    3I had practiced much, I was extremely nervous. My heart was thumping, my palms4, and my mouth was dry. "Calm down, "I told myself. Still, picturing an audience of teachers, parents and classmates made me want5totally.

    Mr. Patrick,6taught me to give speeches, reminded me, "You'll do great. You're prepared. You've come this far."

    Mr. Patrick was right. I was ready7this, and besides, I won first place in the8contests. Yet, when I pictured9eyes on me waiting for me to mess up, my heart was gradually sinking into my stomach.

    "You10back out now, "I told myself as Mr. Nichols, the host, announced my name and the title of my speech, "My Hero."