I drove to a local supermarket the other day. My shopping list was 1and my wallet was light. Still, I needed to get a week's worth of groceries for my family. I parked my car, looked down at my list, and hoped I could 2 it all. As I 3 the door, I saw a man with kind eyes and a gentle 4. He said he was collecting for a local food bank that helped to 5 the hungry in my area. He handed me a second shopping list of things they could use and asked me to 6 if I could. I smiled back, took the 7 and walked into the store. I really wanted to help, but wasn't sure if I could this time.

    I walked through the store, picking up vegetables, soup, spaghetti, bread, milk, cereal, macaroni, bananas, and a dozen other things. I slowly 8 each item off my list until I was done. When I looked down at my full cart I 9 again if I even had enough to pay for it all. Then, as I put my own list back into my pocket, I saw the food 10 list under it. I smiled and decided to trust my heart.

    With the food bank in mind, I went over and 11 two of the biggest boxes of rice the store had and put them in my cart. It took 12 six dollars out of my wallet to pay for them, 13 my heart felt six times larger when I did. And when everything was 14, I had just enough to pay for it all.

    It 15 so little to make our world a better place. A few dollars can help to fill a child's 16belly(肚子). A smile and hug can help to heal(愈合)a hurting heart. An17word can inspire someone else to live and to love. A random 18 of kindness can change another's day and life. It is up to us, 19. If we can20a few dollars on rice , then we can share a love that will last forever.

    There was once a lazy crow(乌鸦). He thought it was too much trouble to 1 food. “Caw! Caw!” he said. “If someone brought me my food every day, I'd be very 2!”

    One day, he saw a(n) 3 pigeon(鸽子) flying by. “How happy and well-fed it looks,” the crow said to himself. So the craw 4 the pigeon until they came to a 5. There were some other 6 there too. Before long, an old man came along and brought them a large bag of food. When the man had gone, the crow flew over to the pigeons. “Caw! Caw! ”said he. “Can I 7 you?”

    “No, you can't !” 8 the pigeons angrily. “We don't know you.”

    The crow went home feeling 9. But he suddenly had a(n) 10. “I'll paint my 11 grey, ”he said, “and then the pigeons will 12 I am one of them.” After he finished the painting, he flew off to the park and was 13 by the pigeons. The crow was so hungry that he got very excited at the food. “Caw! Caw! Give lots to me!” he said loudly. 14, the pigeons found he was a crow. They flew after him and made him 15.

    Sadly, the crow flew to his own forest. But when his old friends, the other crows saw him, they asked him to 16. They did not 17 him because of his grey-painted feathers. So the crow felt 18 than before. His own 19 did not want him, and 20 would the pigeons let him into their group.

    “What looks easier isn't always so.” the crow said to himself.”I wish I had never painted my feathers grey!”

    Many years ago, there was an emperor(皇帝). One day he told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and 1 as much land area as he liked, he would give him the area of land he had covered.2 enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and 3 as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could.

    He 4 riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. Even when he was 5or tired, he did not stop 6he wanted to cover as much area as possible. When he at last covered a large amount of land, he was exhausted and was 7. Then he asked himself, “Why did I 8myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only 9 a very small area to 10myself.”

    The above story is 11 to the journey of our 12. We push ourselves very hard every day to make more 13, to gain power or recognition. We neglect(疏忽，忘记) our 14, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding 15and the things we love to do. One day 16 we look back, we will 17that we don't really need that much, 18 then we cannot turn back time for what we have 19

    Life is not about making money. Life is definitely(肯定地) not about work! Work is only 20 to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life.

    When I was in the third grade, Mother's day came around much too quickly; I found myself empty-handed with nothing to give my mom on her special day. So I was1when an announcement over the loudspeaker said that one of the older grades would be2pins(胸针)that said “Number-One Mom”. It may not sound like much, but to an 8-year-old it's3.

    So each day I4myself that the following day I would bring the money to buy the pin, but I always forgot. And I was5when the principal(校长)and a few of the older kids selling pins came into my6and announced that it was the last day to buy them.

    I always7my principal. She could be sweet, but sometimes she could be 8. If you break9, she was quick to set you straight, so I remained as disciplined as a 10before her.

    On this day, however, my principal was in a good11. And she must have heard me tell my classmates I'd12my money again. I wasn't crying, but she knew I really wanted to buy a13.

After she left, I got called to her office. I'd never been there. So I was terrified. When I arrived14, she told me to come to her desk, and she pulled out the pin I'd had my eye15for days.

    “The kids gave me this to give to my16,” she began. “But my mom passed away, so I want you to17it.”

    Taking the pin, I looked at it in my this hands. I didn't know what to say. I probably18her and walked back to class, and proudly presented this19gift to my mother.

    I don't know if my mom still has the pin, and I don't know20the principal remembers giving it to me. But I will never forget that act of kindness from someone I'd never expected it from.

    Sally jumped up as soon as she saw the doctor come out of the operating room. She 1 towards the doctor and asked, "How is my little boy?"

    The doctor replied2, "I'm sorry. We did all we could. Would you like some time with your son 3 he's transported to the university?"

    Sally nodded yes and asked the doctor to stay with her while she said 4 to her son. She 5 a lock of the boy's hair and put it in a plastic bag. She said, "It was Jimmy's6 to donate (捐献) his body to the 7 for study. He said it might8 somebody else." She went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. He always 9to help others if he could."

    Sally walked out of the hospital and put the bag with Jimmy's stuff (物品) in her car. The drive home was 10. It was even harder to11 the empty house. She carried Jimmy's stuff, and the 12 bag with the lock of his hair to his room. There she 13 a letter, which said:

Dear Mom,

    I know you're going to 14 me; but don t think that I will ever15 you, or stop loving you, just because I'm not 16 to say I LOVE YOU. I will always love you, even more with each day. I don't17 if you want to adopt (收养) a little boy. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl 18, she probably wouldn't like the 19 things we boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls 20, you know. Just take care of yourself.

Loving you,

Jimmy

    I was in my third year of teaching creative writing at a high school in New York, when one of my students, 15-year-old Micky, gave me a note from his mother. It 1 his absence from class the day before.

    I had seen Micky himself writing the note at his desk. Most parental-excuse notes I received were penned by my 2. The forged(伪造的) excuse notes made a large pile, with writing that ranged from imaginative to crazy. The 3 of those notes didn't realize that honest excuse notes were usually 4: "Peter was late because the alarm clock didn't go off."

    The students always said that it was hard putting 200 words together on any subject, but when they 5 excuse notes, they were brilliant.

    So one day I gave the excuse notes to my classes, saying, "They're 6 to be written by parents, but actually they are not. True, Micky? " The students looked at me 7.

    "Now, this will be the first class to study the 8 of the excuse notes — the first class, ever, to practice writing them. You're so 9 to have a teacher like me who has taken your best writing and turned it into a 10 worthy of study."

    Everyone smiled as I went on, "You used your 11. So try more now. Today I'd like you to write 'An Excuse Note from Adam/Eve to God'." 12 went down. Pens raced 13 paper. For the first time ever I saw students so 14 in their writing that they had to be asked to go to lunch by their friends.

    The next day everyone had excuse notes. 15 discussions followed. The headmaster entered the classroom and walked 16, looking at papers, and then said, "I'd like you to see me in my office." My heart 17.

    When I stepped into his office, he came to 18 my hand and said, "I just want to tell you that that lesson, that task, whatever the hell you were doing, was 19. Those kids were writing on the college 20. Thank you. "