The moon had gone behind a cloud and there weren't many stars in the sky. As I took a glance(一瞥)at my neighbor's house, I saw a flame (火焰)in his 1. I thought he was having a midnight fast food so I went back to my2.

    Soon, there was a 3 smell in the air and I guessed something was wrong. 4, I jumped out of bed and went downstairs to 5. I saw fire coming out of my neighbour's kitchen. Right away, I 6"Fire! Fire!" But there was no one nearby to 7 my shouts for help.

    I 8into my house, called the Fire Department and went back to my neighbour's house. I rang the doorbell, hit on the door and 9 my neighbour's name but there was no 10. I managed to 11 the house and rescued a cat and a rabbit.

    I tried to throw water through the kitchen window 12 it was no use; the fire was too strong. 13, a fire engine arrived and soon the firemen put out the fire. They arrived just 14 as the fire was going to 15 to the other rooms in the house.

    When my neighbor came back, he was 16 because his kitchen was burnt down, but he thanked me for calling the Fire Department and for saving his 17. He wanted to give me some money in return but I did not 18 it.

    Weeks later, my neighbor repaired and restored his kitchen. He 19 me to see his new kitchen and there he gave me a medal(奖章) that he had 20 ordered from a factory. It made me feel very happy.

    “None of us get out of life alive, so be brave and be thankful for all the opportunities (机会)you have.” Those were 1 words said by 18-year-old Jake Bailey, a cancer patient.

    Bailey was in the leading position of the Students' Union. The young man had planned to2 at his high school's end-of-year ceremony (典礼)on schedule. 3, just the week before, he received shocking 4. After several weeks of not feeling well, tests showed that he had a fast-growing form of cancer. Doctors said, without 5, he would only have weeks to live, so they didn't 6 him to take part in the event. But Bailey put on his school uniform along with his 7 face and left his hospital bed to give the inspiring speech to his 8. Without doubt, his surprise appearance 9 everyone at the ceremony. Sitting in the wheelchair, he began to 10 his ideas. He expressed that a strong-willed person would not easily 11, no matter how hard life was.

    At the speech, Bailey encouraged his schoolmates to 12 their time. "The future is truly in our hands. 13 about having impractical long-term dreams. Let's be 14to short-term goals ," He15. "We don't know where we might end up, or when we will end up, so work with pride on what is 16 us."

    When the senior 17 his speech with the school's 18, "Altiora Peto," which means "I fight for higher things", the entire room burst into cheers.19, Bailey's message was heard loud and clear. Bailey then closed his eyes and 20 the words "Thank you".

    Cheating often happens in our city. It can be hard to know who is really in 1 and who is trying to take advantage of other people's 2.

    Recently, I was finishing my work at home 3 the dog barked, letting me know that 4 was at the gate. I rushed to see who it was and there I saw a 5 weak woman in her late fifties.

I said to her, "May I ask what you 6?"

    She 7, "Hello, my name is Parvathy. My husband and I live nearby. We earn our living 8 working at construction sites. A few days ago my 9 fell off the stairs while 10 a heavy load. He is 11 hurt and hasn't been able to 12 for the past five days, so we have no food. Now he is in bed with a high fever. Please help me! I need to take my husband to a doctor!"

    "Oh!" I said. "Please 13 here." I went into the room. I felt really bad about her 14 but ...Was she telling me the 15 or trying to cheat money?

    Finally, I 16 to help her. But first I said a simple prayer, "Dear Lord, you know 17 I earn my pennies, so please make sure that my hard-earned money helps those who 18 need it."

    I went out with a fifty note and 19 it to her. The moment she got the money she broke down in tears. She took my hand and said, "Thank you so much!"

    I was so 20, and left.

    "A bird with a broken wing will never fly as high." I'm sure that John would agree with this saying, 1 he felt this way almost every day in school.

    By high school, John was the most famous 2 in his town. He was always absent, didn't answer questions and got into 3. He had failed almost every exam by the time he entered his senior year, yet was 4 each year to a higher grade level. Teachers didn't want to 5 him again the following year. John was moving on, but definitely not moving 6.

    I met John for the first time at a weekend leadership training program since John was one of 405 students who 7. At the start of the training, John was just standing 8 the circle of students, against the back wall. He didn't 9 join the discussion groups. But slowly, the interactive games 10 him in.

    The ice really melted when the groups started building a list of 11 and negative things that had occurred at school that year. John 12 some constructive ideas on those situations. The other students in John's group 13 his comments. All of a sudden John felt like a 14 of the group, and before long he was 15 like a leader. By the end of the training, he had joined the Homeless Project team. The other students on the team were 16 with his passionate concern and ideas. They 17 elected John co-chairman of the team.

    John started 18 at school every day and answered questions from teachers for the first time. He led a second project,19 300 blankets and 1,000 pairs of shoes for the homeless shelter from house to house.

    A bird with a broken wing only needs 20. Once healed, it can fly higher than the rest.

As a young man, Aaron was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his older son developed a stomachache. Thinking it was some

1 disorder, neither Aaron nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But the illness was actually severe and the boy 2 suddenly that night.

The son's death could have been prevented if he had only3 the seriousness of the situation! Aaron's emotional health got 4 under the heavy burden of his guilt (内疚). What's worse, his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Aaron could handle, and he 5 alcohol (酒精) to help him cope. In time Aaron became an alcoholic (酗酒者).

As the alcoholism (酗酒) 6, Aaron began to lose everything he possessed — his home, his land, his art objects, everything. 7, Aaron died alone in a San Francisco motel room.

When I heard of Aaron's death, I reacted like most people who show no respect for one ending his life with nothing material to show for it. "What a complete failure!" I thought. "What a8 life!"

As time went by, I began to reevaluate my earlier cold9. You see, I knew Aaron's now adult son, Ernie. He has a family and he is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his 10. I saw the free flow of 11 between them. I knew that kindness and consideration had to come from somewhere.

I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to12 an alcoholic. One day I worked up my courage to 13 him. "I'm really 14 by something," I said." I know your father was basically the only one to 15 you. What on earth did he do to make you become such a special person?"

Ernie sat quietly and thought for a few moments. Then he said," From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Aaron came into my room every night, gave me a16 and said, 'I love you, son.'"

Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Aaron as a(n)17. He had not 18 any material possessions to his son. But he had been a kind loving 19. He 20 one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.

For the past 18 years, my daughter has been around me all the time. Now that she is in college, the 1 of our relationship has totally changed and our relationship is completely 2 . I'm not going to be there every morning to have breakfast with her. I won't know when she's mad or when she's happy. Here's a little story of our new 3 .

A week ago, my daughter wanted to 4 so she called me during the day as I was in meetings. I 5 her later on, but she was in class. At midnight, she reached out 6 to ask if we could talk. Well, guess what? I was 7 . I thought we would talk the next day, but she was not 8 ... 

Research shows that parents are 9 when their children are grown up, but for me that is when I start to get concerned. I am always left to 10 , how can I, as a parent, remain 11 to my daughter to guide, support and love through life's changes?

We may have to 12 the way we communicate. My daughter encouraged me to go digital. That's how I ventured into the world of social media, following her updates and occasionally sharing my own experiences. Through this 13 presence, the physical gap is 14 and I feel I still have an active role in her life.  This experience serves as a reminder that 15 , however scary, holds the promise of growth in our shared journey.