Six years ago, I walked into a local animal shelter on a cold, rainy day.1my house was already full of cats and dogs, I still couldn't 2an occasional visit to the shelter. This time as I was walking down the row of pens(畜栏) full of barking dogs, I3a small boy looking into one of them.

    He had a malnourished（营养不良的）looking body and a4face with a big nose5out of the middle of it. He was looking at a small golden dog. Its ribs（肋骨）were showing and its thin tail was folded between its legs. It wasn't begging for6like the other puppies7was hiding in the corner instead. The boy looked up at me with8eyes and asked what was wrong with it. “It was probably abused and9 ” I said. “That is why it is so 10 ”

    The boy 11turned to an old lady and said, “ Grandma, I want this one.” The old woman smiled and walked to the front desk to fill out the 12forms. I followed her and asked 13the boy. She told me that he'd had a 14start in life, too. She had just gotten custody(监护权) of him15the state had taken him from his parents. She hoped getting a dog would make his life 16for him. I looked back at him, holding his scared puppy, and said a prayer for them both.

    It was yesterday that I was driving down the road enjoying a gloriously sunny, spring day. Then in a green front yard I saw the boy. His 17body was tall and strong. His nose no longer 18big but fit well into his smiling face. He was throwing a ball to a healthy, happy dog shining golden hair. His little act of love and 19had indeed gone a long way. It had saved a dog's life, 20his own heart, and given this middle-aged man fresh hope for the whole world.

    I do voluntary work for an organization that helps the people in need in Haiti. Recently I took my son Barrett there for a week, hoping to 1 him.

    Before setting out, I told Barrett this trip would be tiring and 2. For the first two days, he said almost nothing. I worried the trip was too 3 for a 17-year-old. Then on day three, as we were 4 over high rocky mountains, he turned to me and grinned（咧嘴笑）,"Pretty hard."

    After that there was no turning back. A five-year-old girl, wearing a dress several sizes 5 large and broken shoes, followed Barrett around, mesmerized（着迷）. He couldn't stop 6. Later he said 7. "I wish I could speak French." I was 8－this from a boy who hated and 9 French classes throughout school.

    Usually silent, he 10 Gaby, our host, and kept asking questions about the country and its people. He blossomed（活泼起来）.

    11 , the moment that really took 12 breath away occurred in a village deep in the mountains. I was 13 a woman villager for an article. 135 centimeters tall, she was small in figure but strong in 14. Through determination, she had learned to read and write and 15 to become part of the leadership of the 16.

    Learning her story, Barrett was as 17 as I by this tiny woman's achievements. His eyes were wet and there was a 18 of love and respect on his face. He had finally understood the importance of my work.

    When leaving for home, Barrett even offered to stay 19 as a volunteer. My insides suddenly felt struck. This 20 achieved all I'd expected. Soon he will celebrate his 18th birthday. He'll be a man.

    Two years ago, I was a typical girl with a rather plain life. When1to a local voluntary organization called “Peer-to-Peer” by a poster. I had no idea what this group was about.2, to learn more about it, I decided to attend a3, which changed my life.

    Just like the4suggests, everyone is considered a peer, including regular members and our leaders. This means we can5our leaders by their first names. We can also ask our leaders for help in6life situations which we know they will never7! When it comes to conversations about awkward topics like love, we are8not to be ashamed of ourselves.

    This organization's meetings9in our local library. We usually gather and communicate about10topics concerning our society education, equality and safety...This kind of communication helps us to make the right choice and11our mind. Sometimes we've gone outside in order to participate in12events. One event we had,13was “Give a cigarette- Take a candy” intending to14smoking.

    At this organization we are friends with each other and are a15community. I have also gained a lot of16experience by communicating with people and working in the team.

    With time going by, I have found an abundance of other17organizations such as “Give Good” and “Youth Initiative Center”. All of them have18me a great chance to develop my own personality and make my life19I'm sure I'll have a lot of wonderful20about my youth with me getting older.

    One day, I drove into a service station to get some gas. It was a beautiful day and I was feeling 1 . As I paid for the gas, the attendant said, “How do you feel?” That seemed like a 2 question, but I felt fine and told him so. “You don't look 3.” he replied and continued to tell me my skin appeared 4.

    By the time I left, I was a little 5 . About a block away, I 6 to the side of the road to look at my face 7 the mirror. Was everything all right? Had I picked up 8 rare disease? By the time I got home, I was beginning to feel a slight 9 somewhere in my body.

    The next time I went into that gas station, I 10 what had happened: The place had recently been painted a bright yellow, and the light reflecting off the walls made everyone inside 11 as though they were sick! That was the truth. 12 , I let that short conversation change my attitude for an entire day. His 13 observation affected the way I felt and acted.

    This experience made me think a lot. It is the same with life, in which attitude 14 . The way we look at life determines how we feel and how we 15. If we expect something to turn out 16 , it probably will. But the 17 also works in reverse. If we expect good things to happen, they 18 do. An optimistic attitude, I believe, is not a luxury but a(an) 19. So after that, I chose to highlight the 20 throughout the rest of my life.

On a steamy July day in Bayonet Point, Florida, Gene Work and his brother-in-law, Mark Rouco, were resodding（重新铺草皮）Gene's yard.

The lawn had grown 1  in the heat, and the Works had been threatened to accept a huge fine if the situation wasn't remedied. The new sod was sitting in the driveway, but the job was slow-going.

Gene, then 40, wasn't feeling right. He went inside to take a break and 2  on the couch, clutching his chest. His wife, Melissa Work, called 911 quickly. Even though he was 3  down death, Gene had one thing on his mind: that 4 .

If the sod wasn't 5  that day, it would die. "While he was having his heart attack, literally in and out of consciousness, he kept 6  me to have it put down because he didn't want it to go to waste," Melissa wrote in a Facebook post.

Soon Pasco County Fire Rescue arrived and took Gene and Melissa to the hospital, leaving Rouco behind to 7  the yard. Within an hour, he had managed to remove the old grass. He was about to lay the new sod, which he 8  would take him well into the night, 9  two emergency vehicles appeared. Seven men—the same ones who had treated his brother—10 . Gene had told them how 11  he'd wanted to get the sod down, so they had returned to help. The job was done in under two hours. Meanwhile, Gene had surgery to insert stents（支架）in his heart, 12  a potentially deadly blockage.

He's home now, fully recovered—and enjoying his beautiful lawn. The Works are still 13  that those EMTs went above and beyond their job 14 . "These men," Melissa told tampabay.com, "saved Gene's life, and then came back to save his grass. That's just so 15 ."

Eduardo and Mast both badly wanted a puppy. When they got1 , the top of their list in their new life together was to adopt a dog. They stopped by Animal Shelter two days before their wedding and2 connected with a 4-month-old German shepherd, Daisy. They thought she was3 for their family. However, they encountered a(an)4 situation when they learned Daisy would be ready for 5 on a first-come, first-served basis on the same day as their wedding ceremony.

6 to make Daisy a part of their special day, they decided to 7 the wedding vows(誓言) to 9 a. m.. "Everyone was really 8 and told us, ‘It's your special day and we'll be there 9 you'd like,'" Mast said.

On the wedding morning, Mast, in a white dress, and Eduardo, in a black suit10 vows at a civil celebrant's(民事神父) home. The excitement of marriage was matched with the 11 to welcome Daisy into their life. Upon finishing saying their "I dos," they 12 to Animal Shelter.

"We got there about 9:45 and were first in line. When a shelter worker fetched Daisy and carried her in, we were both in 13 at how cute she was," Eduardo said. "When I grabbed her, she started loving all over us."

Cavedon, the manager of Animal Shelter, said "I am 14 that the newlyweds step up to adopt the puppy and I witness the tender moment when Daisy15 them with kisses.

Afterwards they first shared Daisy's16 and theirs with people present. The couple's romance began with friendship in the Marine Corps and17 evolved into something more serious. After a proposal(求婚) at Great Falls, they18 for a small civil ceremony and a larger one in the future.

"Now Daisy is learning to be house-broken and has smoothly19 our apartment," they said. "She loves to curl up with us in bed at night," Eduardo added. "She's20 , adorable and super playful."