Years ago when I volunteered at a homeless shelter, I talked with a boy, Albert. He said he liked my1 “Do you want to see mine?” he said, 2 his leg. He was barefoot. He said he'd been meaning to pick up a pair but hadn't gotten one. I felt a 3 feeling in my stomach.

    A few days later I was at home helping to 4 my daughter. I smiled when I 5 the socks over her feet. At that moment, Albert flashed in my 6.

    At noon, I went to a department store and 7 a shopping cart with socks — nothing 8, just white cotton men's socks.

    The next morning, I drove to the Palisades Park, which is a common overnight—destination for 9 individuals,

    I grabbed one of the 10 from my trunk and walked across the grass. It was dark out. It was a beautiful feeling to 11 before the sun and most living things.

    I headed fro a group of three men. Two were asleep and the third was digging through his shopping cart. It was loaded with plastic bottles and some clothes, and a few books — most 12, everything he owned in this world. As I walked toward him, he turned and 13 me, perhaps questioning my intention.

    “I thought you might 14 some new socks, ” I told him, handing him a pair. He looked 15 at first but took them, smiled and said, “Thank you.” I gave two more 16 for his partners.

    I 17. After 20 minutes, I returned for the second bag. An hour later, I 18 all the socks. Most people were sleeping, and I felt like a(n) 19 Santa Claus. I knew when they woke up they would find a very meaningful 20. That gave me an amazing feeling.

    When I was in the seventh grade, I was a volunteer at a local hospital in my town.Most of the 1 I spent there was with Mr. Gillespie.He never had any visitors and nobody seemed to care about his 2.

    I spent many days there holding his hand and talking to him,3 anything that needed to be done.He became a close friend of mine,4 he responded with only an occasional squeeze(捏) of my 5. Mr. Gillespie was in a coma(昏迷).

    I left for a week to vacation with my parents, and when I came back, Mr. Gillespie was 6. I didn't have the7 to ask any of the nurses where he was, for fear that they might8 me he had died.

    Several 9 later, when I was a senior in high school, I was at the gas station when I noticed a familiar face.When I10 who it was, my eyes filled with tears.He was 11! I got up the nerve to ask him if his name was Mr. Gillespie. With an uncertain look 12 his face, he replied yes.I 13 how I knew him and that I had spent many days talking with him in the hospital.His eyes welled up with tears, and he gave me the warmest hug I had ever 14.

    He began to tell me that15 he lay there comatose(昏迷的), he could hear me talking to him and could 16 me holding his hand the whole time. Mr. Gillespie17 believed that it was my voice and 18 that had kept him alive.

    Although I haven't seen him since, he fills my heart with 19 every day.I know that I made a(n)20 between his life and his death.

    I recently heard a story about a famous scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs（突破）. He was being interviewed by a reporter who asked him1 he thought he was able to be so much more 2 than the average person.

    He responded that it all came from a(n) 3 with his mother that happened when he was about 2. He had been trying to 4 milk from the fridge when he 5 the slippery(光滑的) bottle, its contents running all over the kitchen floor.

    When his mother came in, 6shouting at him or giving him a lecture, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful 7 you have “drawn”! I have 8 seen such a huge pool of milk. Well, the damage has already been 9 . Would you like to get down and 10 in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up？”

    His mother then said, “ You know, what we have here is a 11 experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two 12 hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can 13it .” The little boy learned that if he 14 the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful 15 !

    This scientist then said that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be 16 to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just 17 for learning something new, which is, 18, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn't 19 ,” we usually learn something 20 from it.

    In most people's eyes, I was a golden girl when I was eighteen years old： I was president of the college drama society, a member of the student senate and so on. I was the1of all my friends and I was in a state of 2 .

    The old Greek tragedies3us that when pride rises, punishment falls. My universe4 with great suddenness when the scenery(舞台布景道具）fell on my head and I was left almost5for the next four months.

    My memory was in a mess and within a few months all my 6 were taken away. I was even told that I would have to leave the college at the end of the spring term7clearly, I couldn't do academic work.”

    Sad, I took one last 8by Dr. Jacob Taubes. He was the most brilliant teacher I had ever 9and in his class, I began to raise a tentative 10 and ask an occasional question. He would answer with great intensity, and soon I found myself asking 11 I questions constantly.

    One day I was walking to the bus when I heard Dr. Taubes12me,” Miss Houston, let me walk with you. You know, you have a most 13mind.”

“Me? 1 have a mind?”

    “Yes, of course.” Then he asked my understanding of some problems discussed in the classes. From that day on, Dr. Taubes continued to 14 me to the bus, always15 me with intellectually vigorous questions. Within several weeks my eyesight came back and my spirit 16 .

    Though what I acquired from the accident was a 17 sense of life, I remain deeply 18 for the attention Dr. Taubes had shown. He 19 me when I most needed it. I swore then that I would try to 20 and acknowledge the unlucky person as I had been acknowledged.

    It was a warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon some fifteen or sixteen years ago. I took my two kids to the local playground. As soon as we got there my daughter headed for the swings(秋千) and asked for a 1. I noticed another little girl 2 to get her own swing going high as I was 3 my daughter to go higher and higher.

    I walked over to the little girl and asked 4 she need help. She smiled and said "Yes!" and I soon had her feet flying towards the  5 while she laughed happily. For the next two hours I found myself pushing swings and playing games with my daughter and the little girl. By the time we headed home, I was 6tired, but my spirits was still flying 7than those swings.

    Two years later I was 8again after a long day's work. Still, I needed to9 my kids from their school before heading home. I stood in the 10 waiting area waiting for my children. Suddenly, I felt two 11arms wrapped around my legs. I looked down and there was the little girl I met 3 years before in the 12smiling up at me. She gave me a big hug before running away to 13 the school bus. As I watched her 14, I didn't feel tired any more and my spirits were once again 15with that swing.

    The love we 16 with others will find its way back to us. It will travel from heart to heart, it may take seconds or it may take17. The law of love, 18, is never broken. We will get back what we give. We will harvest what we19. The kindness we give and the joy we create will always come back to 20 us.

Lanrick Jr. Bennett holds a unique title in Toronto: bicycle mayor. He led a Halloween Kidical Mass ride recently, which I attended with my daughter, son-in-law, their two dogs, and my granddaughter. He is working towards making cycling mainstream and safe for all residents in the city. I did not know that Toronto had a bicycle mayor; I surely would have voted for him in an election.

The bicycle mayor program is run by BYCS, an Amsterdam-based global NGO that believes "bicycles transform cities and cities transform the world". Standing in the strange but wonderful Bentway, a park built under an elevated expressway, Bennett says, "BYCS has 150 bicycle mayors across the world. And through a few friends putting in some really nice letters of encouragement, BYCS offered me a two-year term as an advocate here in the city of Toronto, becoming the first bicycle mayor of the city."

Bennett says he is boosting the work being done to make cycling more mainstream in Toronto. "I am giving a bit more exposure to the great work that has allowed me to be able to ride a bike throughout the city. It's getting better, we're seeing more infrastructure（基础设施）, and we're seeing more people not wanting to depend on cars as their primary piece. I'm happy that I have been part of a fantastic group thus far," says Bennett.

Since there's still a lot of work to do, Lanrick Jr. Bennett has been working hard to improve cycling conditions in Toronto, and his efforts have been recognized by the community. He has been advocating for more bike lanes（车道）, better lighting, and other safety measures to make cycling a practical option for commuters（通勤者）. It's great to see people like Lanrick

Jr. Bennett working towards making cycling safe and accessible for all residents.