I have had the pleasure of meeting a few neighbors . They seem to be quite kind people . For Christmas , I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors that I knew . I sat down and counted . There were nine neighbors , and I also knew which houses they lived 1 .

    However , I decided to add one more person to my list , the lady I met every morning walking to work when I drove down the street . She always gave me a sweet smile and a friendly wave（挥手）, 2 I had no idea about her address .

    My gift idea was to make small 3 baskets and leave them on each of my neighbor's front porches（门廊）the night of Christmas Eve . I kept the last one for the friendly lady because I was still not sure about where she lived . It was 4 the house down about where I met her each morning . Finally I decided to put it there . My neighbors really enjoyed the baskets and a couple even came by to thank me .

    This morning I got a Thank you card.

    The card said , “ Thank you for those lovely apples and strawberries you left on the porch of Thomas . He 5 on January 19 , but he never stopped 6 about how nice it was that he was remembered in his time of illness . He really enjoyed it . ”

    I was very 7 . Why he sent a card to me ? I had no idea 8 Thomas was or that he had been seriously ill . I had left that nice lady's basket on Thomas' porch by accident . I believe Thomas never expected to have that basket . I feel sorry that the nice lady didn't get a basket from me , but I believe if she knew what had happened , she would 9 me .

    I feel lucky to have helped Thomas be more cheerful in his last days . This just makes me further believe that sometimes 10 in life are beautiful .

    Emily was an eighth grader. To pass her Civics course, she had to do some volunteer services in a nursing home for a week.

    One Monday, Emily went to the nursing home after school. When she arrived, she was told she would spend an hour every weekday with an elderly lady, Mrs Blair. She was then led into a room, where an old lady in a flowery dress was sitting on a sofa.

    Emily stood awkwardly（别扭地）in front of the lady. She cleared her throat and said, "Good afternoon. I'm Emily."

    "Good afternoon, Emily. Take a seat, please." Mrs. Blair replied.

    Then,1filled the space between them. Emily wondered what to say.

    "Tell me about yourself, Emily," Mrs Blair said suddenly.

    "Well," Emily started, "I don't have any grandparents, so I don't know how to get on well with elderly people. I love the performing arts. I'm here mainly because I have to volunteer here to get a good grade for my Civics class."

    Mrs Blair didn't seem to mind. 'Many people, especially teens, don't seem to2old people like me. Now you are here, and I'm going to change that about you. Ask me anything."

    Emily thought for a moment, and finally decided, "What was your job?"

    "I was a Broadway star in the 1950s."MrsBlair answered.

    Cool! Can you tell me about it?" Emily asked, amazed.

    Mrs Blair smiled. "Back then3the lead actress had the honor to wear a special bracelet. I was the lead in almost all of the plays, so I always wore the bracelet. Till this day, I still have it."

    Emily smiled along with Mrs Blair and listened to the other stories attentively. She had become very4Mrs Blair's stories. She decided to come earlier the next day.

    Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday passed by quickly. Then came Friday. As she was leaving, Emily was really upset to say goodbye.

    "Don't be sad. You can still visit me," Mrs Blair comforted her. She then handed a small box to Emily, "It's my gift to you."

    Emily5opened the box and was surprised to see what was inside. "It's the bracelet that you wore. Thank you!" Emily said, with tears in her eyes free.

    I'm sure to visit you whenever I'm on the way home, Emily thought of her own love for the performing arts. She touched the bracelet and6that she would keep her word to Mrs Blair.

    Annie works in a big company. She lives 1 in Chicago. She often does everything on her own. One day, she 2 down from her bed and broke her leg, and she had to save herself. She tried to call her friend Lisa. But she dialed a 3 number. The call 4 Taylor, an 18-year-old girl. She was a college student and she lived hundreds of miles away from Chicago. At that time Taylor was reading in bed and she thought it was someone 5 a joke and making fun of her. When she was going to hang up the 6, she heard a woman saying, "Help! Help!" From it, Taylor thought something 7 must have happened to the woman. After she got the 8 name and address. Taylor called 911 at once. Then she tried to make the woman, Annie feel 9. She spoke to Annie on the phone till the doctors 10 at Annie's house. Annie was saved and she wrote a letter to Taylor to thank her.

    Mr. Reynolds, my teacher, handed us a list of thoughts, and asked us to write a paper on one of those thoughts. I chose the1I wonder why things are the way they are.

    I wrote down all the questions that puzzled me about2. I realized that many of them were 3to answer, and perhaps others could not be answered at all. When I handed in my paper, I was afraid that I might4because I did not answer the questions.

    The next day, Mr. Reynolds handed me5and asked me to read it for the class.

    The other students became6as I began to read my story：

    Mum, why are the roses red? Why is the grass green and the sky blue? Why do I have to graduate(毕业)? Why do I have to 7? Why do I have to be called "Grandma" one day?…

    Dad, why can't I8until 12：00 at night? Why do I miss my old friends? Why do I miss being at home? Why do you love me so much?…

    Mum, Dad, why did you have to 9me? I need you.

    At the end of my story, I looked at Mr. Reynolds, and I saw a tear10coming down his face. Then I realized that life is not built on the answers we receive but on the questions we ask.