Life is a series of choices and we can't always foresee the consequences.

    Harry Saleen, an obese man with too much money and power, faced a(n)1 Outside his office waited his personal2, bringing him the important news about the3medicine that could save his life. On the other side of the world, one of his engineers waited for his decision on an important4of business.

    His secretary asked him5she could bring the doctor in. The billionaire businessman made his6 “No. let the fool wait,” answered Saleen, “business comes first.”7the health problem caused by his huge weight, he was still8about making money. He raised a9finger, and one of his staffs10to switch on a large television set.

    On the screen appeared his engineer. They talked by satellite directly to each other although they were thousands of miles11 “It's all ready to explode, Mr. Saleen”, he said, “Just one12” His engineer was standing above Pakan Valley in South America. A few months ago, it had been a rainforest. Then Saleen's men came, cutting down all the valuable trees and13the villagers to move out.14the valley, a dam had been built. This would provide power for the factories that Saleen planned to build in that area. The factories would bring him great15. He saw no reason to delay. He ordered the engineer to press the button. There, in the valley, a cloud of dust rose, followed by a dull explosion. A large river changed its16and water flooded into the valley.

    “Good, that's that. Now, get that doctor in here” he17

The doctor came in with a worried look and started to examine his18patient. “You are doing very well, Mr. Saleen. The only medicine is saving your life. But the difficulty is getting more of it.”

    “Can you get more? Money is no problem.” Saleen said. “Tell me what you need and we'll get it.”

    The medicine was made of a plant, which is19. There is only one place in the world where the plant grows.”

    “Where?” asked the businessman,20.

    The doctor smiled. “Well, luckily, the plant comes from one of the lands you own, sir. It comes from a place in South America, known as Pakan Valley.”

    As is known to all, most stories of kindness do not begin with formerly drug-addicted celebrity (名人) bad boys. 1 does.

    When this 2 took place, I was accompanying my grandmother at a huge garden party. 3, Robert Downey Jr., in a nice cream-colored suit, came in. I pointed out this big movie star to grandma 4, but she was far more interested in piling her paper plate with cheese. As my 80-year-old grandmother rose for the 5 after the party, she fell into a wheelchair ramp (踏板) nearby. The sharp ramp 6 her leg open and it was bleeding.

    I should have quickly taken control of the 7 —but due to my blood faint, I didn't. Luckily, Robert Downey Jr. 8

    He called an ambulance immediately, and asked someone to 9 a blanket. He took off his suit and 10 his suit around her leg. The cream color turned dark red. Robert surely knew how to speak to her, 11, distract her. He stayed with my grandmother until the ambulance came, 12 her hand and telling her she was breaking his 13 by leaving so early. I hurried into the ambulance without a word, feeling too shy to thank him.

    Some 15 years after that garden party, and five years since he'd been set free from prison for possession of drugs in his car, I came across Robert in a fancy restaurant. I was 14 to respect people's privacy and never 15 someone having a meal. But on this clay, I decided to 16 the code.

    “I don't have any 17 if you remember this. "and I told him the story. “I just wanted to tell you that it was simply the kindest act I've ever 18.”

    It's never too 19 to express our appreciation for kindness which lies in everyone, even a celebrity bad boy. 20, appreciation itself is a sort of kindness.

    When I first met my new parrot, Chico, his wings had been cut short and he was stuck on the earth just like us humans. When the weather turned nice, I would take Chico outside. I 1 him on a branch of a tree, hoping to make him happier. At first he seemed confused. He walked back and forth on the branch looking 2 . He didn't even flap his wings in an/a 3  to fly. Somehow he knew he was incapable.

    One day Chico got especially excited. He paced back and forth and made an 4 amount of noise. Then all of a sudden he stopped and let out an even louder scream. He started 5 flapping his wings for the first time ever—then he lifted off the 6 like a space shuttle! I was amazed and 7. Little did I know his feathers had been growing back, and Chico had been waiting until the moment was ripe for 8!

    Two days later Chico returned. First I tried to 9 him back with food, but he would not come near me. Then I took his 10 and put it away—still he would not come. Finally, I made him a firm promise that I would let him out every day if the weather was nice as long as he did come back. 11, he flew onto my shoulder.

    From that day on, whenever the weather was good I would let him 12 early and he would fly around and be back before dark. The routine lasted for two months 13 suddenly Chico became 14. The vet said that he had been infected with a disease from the pigeons in the 15. Within a few days he died.

    I was very sad. The 16 crossed my mind that if I had not set him free to fly, he would be still alive. But what 17 is there in being a bird if you can't fly?

    Chico made his first 18 for freedom on a late Monday afternoon in April. When will you make yours? You too can take a 19 when the conditions are right, knowing you too, in your own way, were built to fly. If you don't set yourself free, what will be the 20 of your life?

    When pilots fly over the grassland of the Pampas region, Argentina, they're often surprised to spot a huge guitar-shaped forest in the ordered fields. The site is more than an amazing example of land art. Behind the site is a(n) 1 love story.

    When young Argentine2 Pedro Martin Ureta, aged 28, met 17-year- old Graciela Yraizoz in his hometown, they fell in love at first 3. Two years later, they got married and4down on the farm where Ureta had been 5. Graciela had many big plans for the farm in her mind. One day when she was taking a plane on a flight 6 Pampa, Graciala noticed that another farm looked like a milking pail(桶) from the 7. Graciela thought that her family could create something even more attractive on their own farm: A huge forest 8 as her favorite musical instrument—the guitar. Graciela 9playing the guitar in her spare time and often played the guitar at the local10.

    But Ureta didn't take his wife's idea 11saying, “We'll talk about it later.” Later12 came. In 1977, Graciela died suddenly of brain cancer at the 13 age of 25 while carrying their fifth child. After her wife's death, Mr. Ureta 14not fulfilling her wish. Still heartbroken a few years later, Ureta decided that the best way to honor his15wife would be to fulfill her wish and 16the giant work of art in her honor.

    After the local government refused to17with the project, Ureta and his children took it 18. One by one, they planted roughly 7,000 trees into the shape of a guitar. It took a few rough seasons for the trees to take root, but Ureta's dedication19.

    Watching the forest grow over the years gave Graciela's children 20.

    “It was the closest thing possible to have my mother alive,” Maria Julia, Ureta's second daughter, said.

    A mum of two was shocked. She went downstairs to get a drink and found a1stranger asleep on her sofa. The 26-year-old man had let himself in and2his shoes at Elaine McDade's door while she was upstairs watching TV in bed with her children. She later3the man had made a mistake4his parents used to own her house.

    Engineer Thomas Airlie, from South Lanarkshire, didn't5that none of the belongings in the house were those of his parents' when he lay on the sofa for a6. "When I saw him, I7him up straight away," Elaine said. "I even asked him if he used to live here, or if he lived in the same8now and just got the wrong door."

    Elaine said Thomas9when she woke him up. "I10my husband and he agreed to come home immediately.11, my husband didn't even know where he lived so he12the man at the police station instead," she said. She later posted a photo of the13Thomas on Facebook explaining that it was the only time when she had ever forgotten to lock the door. She wrote that Thomas was "14" but added, "Lesson learned again. Lock your doors."

    She sent him the15and got a message from him on Facebook saying "Oh, my God. I can't apologize16."

    Thomas had been out with friends when he17got a taxi back to his parents' old house,18his current home.

    His friend Robbie McKean said they will never let him19his experience. "Our friend had a baby boy not long ago so we were drinking a lot to celebrate it. I can happily say he doesn't walk into people's houses and sleep on their sofa on a(n)20basis."

Roberta appeared on the stage. She took a deep breath and began to 1. Now she was Portia, a strong­willed 2 in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.  The theater was filled with people. She was speaking with a power she had never before experienced, the words flowing 3 from her.

4, Roberta had never acted in her life before the audition (选拔试演). She 5 being in front of other people. She was very 6 at school. She had never thought she was good enough at anything to 7 much attention. She stayed mostly to herself, making 8 friends. She had excellent grades, 9 she always thought that something was missing.

Two weeks before the audition, Robertsa's mother had heard about it and 10 her to join in.

"I can't think of anyone else better suited to 11 the part. Remember all the plays you used to act out for us?"

Her mother wouldn't let the 12 drop. "You're just a little scared. Everyone gets scared. You know you 13 do it. The trick is to look past the 14 to find the love of what you're doing. "

So Roberta had made an appointment with the head of the Drama Club. She had read the play and found herself excited by the 15 of speaking such rich words. In secret she practiced Portia's part, 16 the lines by repeating them over and over. It wasn't hard; she 17 every minute of it. Every time she spoke the words, she had a new 18 of the lines, as if Shakespeare had written Portia on many levels.

On the day of the audition, she 19 two of Portia's famous speeches for the auditors. When she had finished, the head of the Drama Club announced the 20 was hers.