I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like attention drawn to myself. And 1otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always  2to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this 3after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy 4because I didn't have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the 5to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my " 6for it", I wouldn't have decided to give it a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the 7 of it! When I first started 8the practice sessions, I didn't even know the rules of the game, much 9what I was doing. Sometimes I'd get 10and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid. 11, I wasn't the only one "new" at the game, so I decided to 12 on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't 13"just yet".

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the 14and the "moves". Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive 15in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the 16 — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

With my 17self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from " 18" in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, 19raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent 20I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

    I was in the kitchen making lunch when I saw my six-year-old son, Billy, walking toward the woods. I could only see his back. He 1 to be walking with a great effort, trying to be as 2 as possible.

    A few minutes after he disappeared into the 3, he came running toward the house again. I went back to making sandwiches, 4 that whatever task he had been doing was completed. Moments later, 5, he was once again walking slowly toward the woods.

    6curiosity, I walked out and followed him on his journey. He was 7 both hands in front of him as he walked, being 8 not to spill the water he held in them. I secretly walked 9 behind him as he went into the woods and I saw the most amazing 10.

    Several large deer loomed in front of him. Billy walked right up to them. I almost 11 at him to get away. A huge male deer with elaborate（精美的）antlers was 12 close. But they didn't even move as Billy 13. And I saw a small deer lying on the ground, obviously suffering from 14and extreme heat, lift its head 15 to drink the water cupped in my beautiful boy's hands.

    It was on this day that I learned the true lesson of 16. You know, we hadn't had any rain for three months and our crops were 17. As the tears that rolled down my face began to hit the ground, they were suddenly 18 by other drops. I looked up at the sky. It was19 God was moved to weep. The rain came that day and saved our farm, just like the 20 of one little boy who saved another.

    I had just arrived in this Asian country for a one-year teaching position. One day, I took the subway to visit some ancient palaces and temples in the downtown. The following account of what happened to me has taught me much about culture 1.

    Since all the 2 were taken, I stood. Suddenly, I felt someone pulling on my bag.3 I probably was in someone's way, I moved over slightly. 4 in one quick motion(动作), I felt my bag removed from my back, and in a flash it was5. I turned around to see who the thief was. I looked at the people standing behind me, but didn't see my bag or any 6.My heart sank and I began to7.

    I glanced around the car only to find directly across from me was an elderly lady, and sitting on her lap was my 8. I tried to get it back from her lap. But as I began to 9 it up, she quickly grabbed it back and held onto it. I looked around at the people standing beside me, and those sitting beside her, but no one took any 10 of the situation. Trying not to cause a(n)11, I tried to communicate through gestures. I used my hands as best as I could, but she 12 my requests for my bag and pointed to my back. She picked up my bag, showing how 13 it was. I finally began to understand. She was holding my bag to 14 me.

    As the subway 15 the main downtown station and I was getting ready to get off, the woman 16 handed me back my bag. But 17 I had a chance to thank her, she had disappeared into the crowd.

    Sadly, this 18 custom was more surprising to me than pleasing. Everyone back home had heard of being robbed—that was 19 city behavior—but having a stranger hold onto someone's bag out of 20, in a city of twelve million people—that was truly unusual.

    Eight-year-old Landen Johnson, from Lincolnton, North Carolina, suffers from a rare disease. It is thought to have just 28 patients 1.

    At only three-feet tall and 2 less than his three-year-old sister Hannah Grace, Landen is 3 to grow just another 4 at best in his lifetime. Although on the road to 5, Landen is taking a cocktail of medications (鸡尾酒疗法) and has to go to hospital three times a week, with doctors saying it will be months before he is fully 6.

    7 Landen likely facing the challenges of a little person in the future, his parents believe his brave, outgoing 8 will benefit him. His father Luke, 34, said, "I expect to see him 9 a lot in his adult life, especially as 10 as he is and as wide open as he is. He can do anything he wants to do." Speaking of his 11, Landen's mother Amanda, 32, said, "He wears a size 3T clothes, which are the size for boys aged three and he has to have an 12 waist. He is eight years old and he is almost about the same size as his three-year-old sister."

    Although Landen's parents worry about their son's 13, they believe it will be 14, with Luke saying, "I 15 his strength through everything he has been through. We wish Landen would live a 16, full and healthy life. We're going to challenge him and 17 him to do anything he feels like doing even though he is going to be smaller and he may have more health challenges, he doesn't have to 18 himself. He is teaching me a lot about faith and he has taught me a lot about what it 19 to be strong, even when he feel so 20 sometimes.

    I met Mrs. Neidl in the ninth grade on a stage-design team for a play and she was one of the directors. Almost instantly I loved her. She had an unpleasant voice and a direct way of speaking, 1 she was encouraging and inspiring. For some reason, she was impressed with my work and Mrs. Neidl would ask me for my 2. She wanted to know how I thought we should 3 things. At first I had no idea how to answer because I knew 4 about stage design! But I slowly began to respond to her 5. It was cause and effect. She believed I had opinions, so I began to 6 them. She trusted me to complete things, so I completed them perfectly. She loved how 7 I was, so I began to show up to paint more and more. She believed in me, so I began to believe in myself.

Mrs. Neidl's 8 that year was, "Try it. We can always paint over it 9!" I began to take 10. I had been so afraid of failing but suddenly there was no failing—only things to 11 upon. I learned to dip my brush into the paint and 12 create something.

    The shy, quiet freshman achieved success that year. I was 13 in the program as "Student Art Assistant" because of the time and effort I'd put in. It was that year that I 14 I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing stage design.

    Being on that stage-design team 15 Mrs. Neidl changed me completely. Not only was I stronger and more competent than I had thought, but I also 16 a strong interest and a word I hadn't known existed. She taught me not to 17 what people think I should do. She taught me to take chances and not be 18. Mrs. Neidl was my comforter when I was upset. Her 19 in me has inspired me to do things that I never imagined 20.

    One day last June, Clifford Luther served a burger and fries to a man passing through his restaurant, Old West Express, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Two  1 later, the man returned and wrote him a  2 for $500,000. "I thought, they were good burgers and fries,  3 they weren't that good," Luther told CTV News.

    The 4 man was Bob Erb of British Columbia, who won Canada's $25 million Max jackpot (累计赌注) in November 2018 and has been giving money to people  5. He's donated his6 to food banks, the old people, and some organizations, and he 7 20 people in Terrace, his hometown, to get necessary care they couldn't 8.

    While giving the burger that first afternoon, Luther 9 Erb that his 25-year-old daughter had just got cancer in Vancouver, about 1,000 miles away. "He and I had a 10 experience. One of my children had cancer, too. But he died four years ago. So, I know the 11 a parent has," says Erb. "I 12 on the way home I'd 13 him some money so he could go to see his 14."

    Two days later when Erb was on his way back to British Columbia, he 15 the restaurant for another burger, which Luther 16 to buy him because Erb had tipped him well just two days ago. Erb said "no way" and asked the restaurant owner for a 17, then wrote the check and left it on the table. "Luther looked at the check and couldn't 18 anything. He just held his arms out," Erb says.

    Erb, 60, 19 works on a building site part-time and hasn't 20 twice about the $7 million he's given to his family, friends, and society. "If you have enough to feed yourself, you help others out," he says.