Several decades of years ago, I ran 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 1on the front door of our house. A young man, wet from2 to toe, explained that he had3 out of petrol about 30 km up the road. He had left his pregnant 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 both6  , saying that they were cold. Once the car had started, I suggested that he  7 me back.

Before leaving, I had turned the heater 8in the roadhouse, so that when we went in, it was nice and9.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  15from Interstate, a large bus company that we had 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 19me 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.

    At the age of 14, Harvey Bay teenager Mark Farrell took a dive into a swimming pool that would 1 his life forever.

    “I jumped into the pool and broke my 2,” he says. It's a very 3 story because I jumped into the deep end, not the shallow end where most spinal (脊柱的)4 occur.”

    Mark has been in a wheelchair ever since and now, at 27, is very matter of fact about any 5 life might throw at him. In fact, he finds it 6 to name any challenge at all. “I just live my life and 7 it day by day,” he says.

    For the past few years, Mark has 8 with the Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT), telling his 9to young people in the Harvey Bay region. He also works as a whale 10, taking photos for various publications and calendars. “If I can 11 one kid's life, it makes every single 12I do worthwhile,” he says.

    The aim of the SEAT program is to 13 students to prevent spinal injuries and help them to 14 understand the challenges and feeling of the people who 15 with a spinal injury.

    Mark discusses the importance of checking the 16 of water before diving in and being more 17 in general. He has told thousands of school students his story over the years and says that if his 18 can prevent one spinal injury in a young person, he's 19. Mark's contribution to preventing spinal injuries was 20 in 2017, when he was named Young Australian of the Year.

    I guess I was spoiled at first. I was an only child, 1 by all relatives. Up until I was eight years old, life was 2. Then along came Grant and everything 3.

    Grant is my little brother. He was born a month earlier, so he needed a lot of extra 4. My parents still 5 me, but I was no longer the center of the universe. I was angry about the change. And at first, I was also 6 with Grant.

    Fortunately, Grants didn't cause any real 7 in his growth. Gradually, he developed the habit of 8 himself to me. My parents want me to be 9 to him, but I found him totally annoying. By the time I became a teenager, he was, at five, my shadow, 10 me around, copying my every move, and asking endless questions.

    Still, in spite of my unhappiness towards him, I began to 11 the time we spent together.

    As time went on, we developed connections and partnership, becoming more 12. Grant stopped asking to go along on dates with me, and I set aside time to go fishing with him. He cheered me on at my soccer games, and I 13 to coach his T-ball team. He became less 14 and more of a buddy. I became more patient, more able to 15 and more likely to accept the unconditional love he 16.

    Today I am happy to say that Grant and I are a 17. We have already 18 how he will come visit me when I am in college. It will be hard to be 19, but I know that we will always be close, if not in age or distance, we will be close in the long journey shared by 20.

    Mrs. Hudson walked into the classroom with a girl limping (瘸着走) behind her. She introduced, "This is Margaret. She just moved here from Florida. Let's 1 her." The teacher guided her 2 to a front seat, then bent over and 3 something in her ear. Finishing explaining the math problems, Mrs. Hudson 4,"Milk- break time. See you in ten minutes."

    Boys 5first. "Today, let's meet at the far end of the sidewalk. And make sure the new girl doesn't follow us!" I said. After a while, I came back to the 6. I wanted to find out if Mrs. Hudson liked my book report. With her usual big smile, she began, "Jack, you are a good 7." Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I was a little 8 that Mrs. Hudson liked me so much. Her 9 let me know how much she appreciated having me around. My teacher 10 in her quiet voice. "That's 11 I am sure you will invite Margaret to play with you today." Her 12 words sounded like frozen knives aiming at my heart. Could she 13 suspect what we had been saying about Margaret? Could she know how 14 I was?

    Then I managed to 15 Margaret in our group. While many school memories have 16 over the years, the 17 Mrs. Hudson taught me has stayed with me. Mrs. Hudson gently guided me, 18 me to do the right thing. She believed in me, and 19 what she did, I rose to the level of her 20, both for Margaret long ago and even later in my choice of career.

My husband and I were both raised on Kansas farms. It was1 to my husband's parents that their children should be educated and given the2 to gain financial stability that they themselves didn't have when they3to feed their family.

We each sought careers in the medical field. As we searched for a place to settle, we looked only at 4 communities. The city held no attraction for us. We wanted a5, quiet area where our children could be exposed to good basic values, a good6 , and a friendly environment. Our7was made 40 years ago, and we never once8settling down in a small town in north central Kansas. .

Early investment(投资) to secure the education of our children and our future retirement were focused on9 . Farming was and is a(n)10part of our lives, although the primary income source is our11 practice.

What's great about small town living? The air is clean! There is no12. We feel safe! Our doors are locked13 . Our neighbors are honest and friendly. Only recently have we learned to14 car keys from unattended vehicles- not because of any great dangers, but to15 us more cautious and safe when we are in more heavily populated areas.

There are very few16in our small community. Even if you don't know each other very well, smiling faces with recognition and greetings are17with warmth. Friendly enquiries are18when there has been an experience with pain or joy. Anytime a neighbor is19from illness or some loss, the community is there to help, to20 the burden and to express their loving concern.