Each morning a rich man found a poor man sitting on a park bench（凳）．The poor man always 1there, looking at the big   2  in which the rich man lived. One day the rich man got out of his car and said to the poor man, “Excuse me, but I just want to know 3 you sit here and look at my hotel    4 ”.“Sir ,” said the poor man, “I am a failure. I have no money, no family, no home. I sleep on this bench, and every night I dream that one day I'll sleep in that hotel.”

      The rich man said, “Tonight your dream will  5  . I will pay for the   6  room in that hotel for you   7  a whole month.”

      A few days later, the rich man  8 the poor man's room to ask him if he was enjoying  9  .To his  10 , he found that the man had moved out of the hotel, back to his   11 .When the rich man asked why, the poor man said, “You see,   12    I'm down here sleeping on my bench, I dream I'm up there , in that big hotel. It's a    13 dream. But when I was  14  there, I dreamed I was back to this cold bench. It was a terrible dream , and I   15  get any sleep at all.”

    As my husband, Doug, stood on the busy New York city street trying to stop a taxi, I tried to protect my daughter from the cold December wind and rain. I put my head down to kiss her tiny face.

    Frustrated and 1, my husband gave up his attempt to flag down a taxi. I knew the feeling. Just after her first birthday, we 2that our daughter Katie had a rare brain illness. Since that moment, Doug and I felt like runners in a marathon race where the finish line kept disappearing. We knew Katie was running out of 3. It had taken months before we finally 4 a name for the illness, but only a few specialists in the world knew 5 to fix it. Now, as we finally found a brilliant doctor to save our girl, we were in a strange 6in the cold rain.

    Just at the moment, a middle-aged woman pulled over and said, "Pardon me? May I offer you a ride?"

    7 we could say anything, she continued, "It's really no trouble for8. Just get in."

    It was then that I noticed her thick Irish accent，which9 me up like hot soup. We 10 said, "Thanks! Roosevelt Hospital, please," as we got in her car for the ride.

    "Are you going 11 the baby?" she asked us.

    I nodded my head, holding back my tears.

    At the hospital, we 12 her a dozen times for the ride, as the woman hugged me. I noticed her face was wet with tears. She promised to pray for us before she left.

    After three more visits to New York and two more 13surgeries，Katie is cured. But the 14of the Irish Angel still rang as a constant reminder of a tiny ray of light that appeared in our15days. We would pray for her just as she did for us.

    I used to hunt and have killed quite a few deer. There was great 1 in waiting and shooting.

    One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside. I carried my gun and three thick sandwiches. I found a natural hiding place. It was pretty cold, but I had 2 clothing on. I sat there waiting for one hour. Nothing showed. The place was really 3.

    Suddenly, a beautiful buck(雄鹿) appeared. Surely I couldn't 4 it. I must wait for him to realize I was there. I waited for him to 5 with a start (惊吓).

    To my surprise, he came towards me! He was curious(好奇), I suppose. He must have known about men and their 6which would kill him. But he walked right up where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me! I was getting a bit 7 now. A big buck can do a lot of damage.

    What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I reached up and scratched(抚摸) his head. And he 8 it. That big, wild, beautiful buck bent(弯下) his head.

    I scratched his body and fed him my last sandwich. Then he went his way, down the hill. I just watched him go--a strong buck carrying a proud head.

    I picked up my gun and started walking back. 9, I heard the shots—two of them. If you've hunted enough you know two shots mean a(n) 10. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around.

I decided to give up hunting from that day on.

    An artist went to a beautiful part of the country on holiday and stayed with a farmer. Every day he went 1with his paints(颜料)and brush and painted till evening. When it got2 . He went back to the farm and had a good dinner3he went to bed.

    At the end of his4he wanted to pay the farmer, 5the farmer said, "No, I don't want money. But give me6of your pictures. What's money? In a week it will all be finished, but your picture will still be here. "

    The artist was very7and thanked the farmer for saying such good things about his pictures. The farmer smiled and answered, "It's not that. I have a8in London. He wants to be9. When he comes home10month, I'll show him your picture, and he will not want to be an artist any more. I think."

    Last October, I told my pupils in Pompton School about my plan. "I'd like you to do jobs to make some 1 ." I said. "Then we'll buy food for someone in need."

    I wanted them to experience that it's 2 to give than to receive. I hoped they could experience a sense of their own ability to make a change.

    Early in Thanksgiving week, the children couldn't wait to 3. Before paying for the turkey and other food we chose in the supermarket, Kristine cried.

    "Flowers!" And the group all ran toward the holiday 4.

    "You can't eat flowers!" I said 5. After all, it was helpful to buy more food.

    "But Mrs. Sherlock," came the loud 6," we want flowers."

    In the middle of the plants, there was a pot of unusually purple mums."7 will like this one," the children agreed.

    8 the address of a poor grandmother who had lived alone for years, we set off. An hour later, we stopped in front of a small house. A thin woman with a 9 face came to meet us.

    As the kids carried all the food in, the old woman oohed and ached—much to her visitors" pleasure. When Amy put the mums on the table, the woman seemed 10. "She's wishing it was a bag of food," I thought.

    11 is your close friend in the woods?" Michael asked.

    The woman brightened. "The birds. They often fly over for food 12 I share my bread with them." She said.

    Then we returned to the car. Through the window we saw her walk past the turkey, straight to the 13. She put her face in them and looked up with a big smile. She was 14 before our eyes!

    In that one short moment, the children had seen for themselves the 15 they owned to make a change. Sometimes a person needed a pot of nice purple flowers on a dark November day.

    Thanksgiving was just around the corner. The menu (菜谱) had been set. The shopping list was made. 1 seemed perfect. I could taste turkey and mashed potatoes (火鸡和土豆泥). Pictures of different pies, fruit and vegetables came into my mind. I couldn't 2!

    The day before Thanksgiving my dad called a family meeting. He said we needed to practice being 3. "We are going to 4 at a homeless shelter (收容所) on Thanksgiving Day." I couldn't believe this was happening. So we wouldn't cook our own Thanksgiving dinner? The holiday wouldn't be the same. I thought the day would be ruined (糟蹋).

    The next morning, we got up 5. I followed my father to the shelter with my sleepy eyes. I had no great expectations and felt 6 all the way. As soon as we arrived, we got to work. There was so much to be done. But all I could think about was the dinner I couldn't enjoy.

    However, those thoughts soon 7. Over the next few hours, I watched hundreds of people come through the shelter. For some, this was the only hot meal they would eat that week. For others, it was the first time to eat a Thanksgiving meal. The shelter was filled with 8.

    Through this experience, I learned that Thanksgiving is a time to think about your blessings (祝福) and look for ways to bless others. When I gave up what I had wanted, I discovered how much I have. It is much better to 9 than to receive. In the end, that Thanksgiving became an 10 experience.