I was 8 years old when I found out my father was ill. It was 1993, but I can remember my mother's words as if it were yesterday. “Jessica, I don't want you to take food from your father, because he has AIDS. Be very careful when you are around him.”

    AIDS wasn't something we talked about in my country when I was growing up. From then on, I knew that this would be a family secret. My parents were not together anymore, and my dad lived alone. For a while, he could take care of himself. But when I was 11, his condition worsened. My father's other children lived far away, so it fell to me to look after him.

    We couldn't afford all the necessary medication for him, and because Dad was unable to work. I had no money for school supplies and often couldn't even buy food for dinner. I would sit in class feeling completely lost, the teacher's words muffled as I was thinking how I was going to manage.

    I didn't share my burden (负担) with anyone. I had seen how people reacted to AIDS. Kids laughed at classmates who had parents with the disease. And even adults could be cruel. When my father was moved to the hospital, the nurses would leave his food on the bedside even though he was too weak to feed himself.

    I had known that he was going to die. But after so many years of keeping his condition a secret, I was completely unprepared when he reached his final days. Sad and hopeless, I called a woman at the nonprofit (非营利的) National AIDS Support. That day, she kept me on the phone for hours. I was so lucky to find someone who cared. She saved my life.

    I was 14 when my father died. He took his secret away with him, having never spoken about AIDS to anyone, even me. He didn't want to call attention to AIDS. I do.

    I once had a hard time making a living in France. Three years ago, I moved to a new neighborhood and felt an intense(强烈的) need to meet people so I went to the cinema. Outside the cinema was a woman with long gray hair who had a strong smell and was asking for money. I reached for my wallet to give her a Euro and then something made me stop and enter into conversation with her. I said, “Look, all the women going to the cinema here on a Tuesday night are seeing a film that can change your life. I'd rather buy you a ticket than give you money.”

    She hesitated（犹豫） for a moment and then came in with me. She hid behind me because, she said, the people running the theater didn't like her. I got her a ticket and she sat next to me. There were about 80 women there; I noticed some of them were turning around and looking at me with expressions of surprise and curiosity(好奇心).

    I encouraged the woman I had bought the ticket for to come the following night to an event where there would be many representatives(代表) of various social services. I thought they could be of some help to her. She did come and I was able to direct her to an agency that helped women in her situation. At the same time, a woman came toward me and said, “Are you the person who bought a ticket for the woman outside the theater asking for handouts?” When I said yes she said, “I want you to come to the community center where I work. I want the other employees there to meet you.”

    This was the beginning of a deep friendship and colleague relationship. I now have a great job and have more work than I've ever had in my 20 years in France. And the woman I took to the cinema that night? I learned that she was not homeless and that she was a secretary.

    On May 12, a big earthquake in China hit Wenchuan, Sichuan. Buildings fell down and the city was destroyed. A lot of people lost their lives.

    Premier Wen Jiabao got on a plane to Chengdu 尽快地. He was leading rescue (救援) work there.

    During the earthquake, many school buildings fell down. Students were buried. But they didn't give up hope. Many got out with help. Here are some stories about the brave students.

    Jiang Dejia and Liao Li are both students from Shifang Yinghua Middle School in Deyang. They were buried in the school rubble(碎砖) for two days. Jiang and Liao didn't know each other before the earthquake. But they kept each other going during the two scary days. They were both rescued later.

    A Junior 1 girl called Deng Qingqing from Shifang Yinghua Middle School was buried under the rubble. She was cold and hungry. But the brave girl had a flashlight (手电筒). She used it to help her read books.

    Li Anning, 16, is from Beichuan Middle School. She and her classmates sang songs under the rubble to comfort each other. The PLA soldiers and policemen were trying to find people alive in the rubble.Helicopters (直升机) airdropped food, water and medicine. Medical teams went to the quake­ hit areas. People outside Sichuan were also offering money, blood and other things to help.

It was a Sunday morning. Lori was busy writing in her book. Marilyn was drinking coffee and I was reading a newspaper. Suddenly, Lori 1  and asked, "Why are there more pictures of Lisa than there are of 2  ?"Lisa is our older daughter.

I stared back, not understanding the 3 . Lori left the room . I looked at Marily,"Are there more pictures of Lisa than of Lori?"

"I've never 4  them. I don't know,"replied Mrilyn.

" But 5  would Lori ask such a question?" I asked. After a few minutes of thought, Marilyn said,"In my memory(记忆),you were taking photos when Lisa was born.

You hardly went 6  without a camera. When Lori was born, videos became 7  . You used a video camera to record nearly everything in our lives. There must be hundreds of videos of Lori in the computer that Lori has8 seen or doesn't remember."

Later that night, when we were alone, I turned on the computer and found the 9  of Lori.

"What are you going to do?" Marilyn asked.

"Her birthday is coming," I said. "Let's make an album for her as a gift. I don't know if the album will answer her question, 10  at least she'll know that we care enough to find her an answer."

Over the next few days, we secretly went through all the videos. We selected (挑选) some 11 . Marilyn had them made into photos. When the photos were returned, we placed them' into an album.

When we looked at the album, all the 12  memories came back. We hoped it showed how 13  she was to us.

On th June, when passing Lori's room to leave for work, I opened the door and slipped the album inside. Attached to it was a birthday card with a note 14  why her mother and I had put the album together.

It was about eight o'clock when my office telephone rang. I picked up the receiver. A tiny voice spoke,"I love you, Daddy,"she said and disconnected. I knew our 15  had been received.

注意：（1）文中不得出现真实姓名、学校等信息； （2）词数：100词左右；开头已给出， 不计入总词数。

 During the past years, I have done something to be better.