As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games. I cheered as hard for 1 as they did. A dramatic 2, however, following a game in which I was a referee, changed my 3 on victories and defeats.

    It was a league championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. New Rochelle was 4 by Dan O'Brien, Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was 5, and the noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and 6 competed. Yonkers was 7 by one point as I 8 at the clock and discovered there were but 10 seconds left to play. New Rochelle, 9 the ball, passed off and shot. The ball 10 around the rim (篮筐边沿) and off. The fans 11. New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The noise was 12.

    I looked at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn't heard the final buzzer (终场哨) because of the noise. I 13 with the other official, but he could not help me. So, I 14 the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Sir, the buzzer 15 before the final tap-in was made.” Yonkers won!

    I had to tell O'Brien the sad news. His face 16. The young timekeeper came up and said, “I'm sorry, Dad. The 17 ran out before the final basket.”18, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, O'Brien's face lit up. He said, “That's okay, Joe. You did what you had to. I'm 19 of you.” The two of them then walked off the 20 together, the coach's arm around his son's shoulder.

    As a kid I loved everything about school. I loved books1tests and homework. Most of all I longed to someday march down the aisle (通道) to receive my2.That seemed more appealing even than getting married. But at 15, I had to3because my parents4afford tuition. My hope of getting a diploma was dead.

Pretty soon, I married. I had three Children, and I thought: "There5my diploma."

    Even so, I wanted my children to be educated. But Linda, our youngest child, had juvenile arthritis (幼年型关节炎) in her6and knees, which made it7for her to function (活动) in a normal classroom.

    One day, I saw an ad in the newspaper for evening courses.

"That's the answer," I said to myself. Linda always feels8in the evening, so I'll just sign her up for night school.

Linda was busy9out enrollment (入学) forms when the secretary said: "Mrs Schantz, why don't you come back to10?"

I11: "There's no way! I'm 55!"

12he insisted, and before I knew what I had done, I was enrolled for classes in English and crafts. "This is only an experiment," I13him, but he just smiled. To my surprise, both Linda and I thrived (茁壮成长) in evening school. I went back again the next semester, and my grades14improved.

It was15going to school again, but it was no game. Sitting in a class full of kids was awkward,16most of them were respectful and encouraging. During the day, I still had loads of housework to do. But when I was down, Linda encouraged me. "Morn, you can't17now!" And when she was down, I18her. Together we saw it through. At last, I got my diploma19 my classmates voted unanimously (一致地) for me to be class speaker, and I got a ＄3, 000 college scholarship.

    Yes, Mom, I was late for school, but I got there20.

    For Nick Vujicic, life was going to be difficult from the day he was born.When Nick arrived into this world, he 1 everyone.He was not like the other babies and it was 2 obvious to his parents and to the doctors in the hospital.

    There was no 3 or answers for his condition.Nick was born without any limbs—that is he was born without any arms or legs.But despite being physically  4 , he was mentally 5 and the rest of his body was functioning fine.

    6 he had loving parents, Nick would find school hard as he would often be looked down upon by the other children and at the young age of 10, he considered  7 his life by drowning himself in a bathtub.These dark thoughts were 8 by his negative attitude to being disabled and at the time, he thought that he would never be able to do 9 by himself, that he would never have a job and that he would always have to 10 on his parents for help.

    Nick was wrong.As an adult, Nick is a successful public speaker and is famous for his motivational 11 which focus on life with a disability, hope and finding meaning in life worldwide.He  12 so many people with the story of his life, how he has 13 so many difficulties and most importantly how he is happy every day.

    Despite having no arms or legs, Nick lives 14 , even finding ways to do almost  15 things like brushing his teeth on his own and swimming.He has to work harder than a full bodied person and he achieves his goals.

    At the first impression, you may look at Nick and feel 16 .You may feel sad that this man has no arms or legs and you might feel his 17 and upset that he could find everyday situations difficult.But we should

    18 Nick, as he is extremely positive and he gets on with life.He 19 every day and makes the best of what he has: a positive attitude, a creative mind and a powerful 20 .He also has a very kind and very beautiful wife and they are truly happy and in love.

    I walked into a bank in town a couple of days ago and waited in the queue. I was the second1and I couldn't help overhearing the2in front of me. The bank clerk must have been having a(an)3 day and after asking how the4was and so on, he began to complain about our government, 5them for not doing enough to6the coast from storms and floods as this had been much on the news at the time.

    He was in7spirits and you could tell that he was really8about a lot of things going on in the world.

    My heart went out to him. I was 9 next and all I could do was10. 1didn't have any words. Afterwards, it 11to me something that had been running under my own thoughts.

    So I left the bank, found a12and on it I wrote: Sometimes the bad parts of the world seem so13. There are so many sad things going on in the news. They make it hard to see 14going on around us. But that doesn't15life right now can't be beautiful. All you have to do is open your eyes. It's in the gaps(缝隙) that beauty is16.

    I17the postcard back into the bank, wandered around and18 it on a table, 19that the bank clerk would find it. Whether he did or not, I never found out, but it20would do someone some good, which I'm certain of.

    The dream of many people is to leave their mark on the world however they can. This could be in countless different 1, from coming up with a new invention to 2 starting a family. No matter what it is, 3 the world in some way is the purpose of many lives.

    That's 4 makes the Renaissance – an art period which centered in Italy between the 14th and 17th centuries — the era of 5.

    When we hear the word "art", it's very likely that we'll imagine a work from the Renaissance period. This w as a time when many believe art made a revival(复兴)— "renaissance", 6, means to bring new life to something.

    Take the works of Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci for example. His painting Mona Lisa became one of the best-known 7 on Earth. While many artists left their marks by bringing 8 to the world, Da Vinci did much more than that. The artist was fascinated with the study of human anatomy(解剖学)and even 9 time dissecting human bodies to help with his studies. Da Vinci also proved his 10 in many other areas, and he created sketches of ideas for many inventions, from bridges and machinery to even a helicopter and a robot.

    The Renaissance also played host to many other great names in the world of art. Italian painter Raphael, for example, was another leader of this era. But his most famous work isn't 11 on a w all today. 12, his masterpiece — the Raphael Rooms of Italy's Palace of the Vatican — IS the w all. The walls and ceilings of the palace are filled with beautifully 13paintings of Bib le scenes, which he started as a young artist in 1508.

    Religious works such as Raphael's w ere the 14 style of the Renaissance period. We only have to look at the most iconic (标志性的)sculpture of that period — and perhaps 15— to realize that.

    Italian artist Michelangelo's sculpture David, 16 a Biblical character, was firstly shown in the 1500s. The sculpture has 17 years of exposure to the rain, having rocks throw n at it by protesters(抗议者), and even someone 18 it with a hammer in the 1990s. 19 all these, David is still standing strong and 20 today — a true symbol of the Renaissance.

A big fire took the life of the mother in this family. When I 1 , the father and his child Mario were 2 staying in a garage. There were already quite a few 3 at the door. A mother and her daughter caught my 4 . The mother said to her 5 , "Look, this is the best jacket your daddy just 6 . This quilt is Mommy's best one. We all can 7 our best to Mario's family, so why can't you give your best? Can we change this old bear to your most 8 one?"

The daughter asked, "If I give away my best to Mario, will he give it back to me?" I couldn't help but 9 , "Of course not, once you donate something, you can't 10 to get it back."

Together, we 11 the garage. As the little girl's mother 12 the quilt and clothes, the girl took Mario's hand, whose eyes filled with tears, and 13 and carefully placed her mother's 14 into Mario's small one. Her face was pale. She bit her 15 as if making a big 16 , and said, "Mario, I am donating my mom to you, now you have a mom." After doing so, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she turned and 17 .

Her mother ran after her. The little girl, with tearful eyes, looked up at her mother and timidly said, "Mom, no, Mario's mom, I don't want to take you back, but I still want to give you a 18 kiss. Can you let me kiss you without telling Mario?" Her mother 19 her tightly, and I saw that the mother's eyes were filled with tears, her face beaming with happiness and 20 .