One day I was riding on a crowded bus downtown to go to work when it rained suddenly. The windows of the bus were soon 1 and we couldn't see the outside. Everyone was in low spirits. I was sitting next to a man in a business suit and I paid little attention 2 we both got off at the same stop and walked to the same news-stand(报刊亭) to get a morning 3.

    The man 4 the stand was obviously having a bad day. He was 5 and unsmil­ing as we bought our papers, which only  6 more gloom (郁闷) to my day. The business­man 7 my eyes and smiled brightly, 8 the news-stand owner for the paper and for being open on such a morning to 9 we were able to get our papers.

    As we went away, I asked this man why he was so 10 to the newsman when he didn't respond to his 11 of thanks and friendliness. The businessman smiled at me and said, “Why would I let someone else 12 what I say and what I feel?”

    We then 13 to go to our own work places. To this day, I still don't know who that businessman was, or where he worked. 14, I know nothing about him. He appeared briefly in my life and disappeared just as 15. But I've never forgotten the words he said and his 16 which seemed like a ray of light on a gloomy day.

    That was a good 25 years 17, but the effect this had on my life has lasted. I have learnt that we cannot control people and  18 we are in, but we can always control our 19 to them. That is, it is within our control and our  20 to make such positive decisions and thus to make a positive difference.

    I remember believing in Santa when I was a very young girl. However, as I grew older, I learned many 1 that “proved” his nonexistence. Always2by nature, I was determined to use 3to decide whether Santa Claus was 4.

    The first test5when I was 5, I decided that if I6all night on Christmas Eve, I could see if Santa really came down the chimney7 that was a useless8 I fell asleep that year, and when I woke up, I saw a 9 wrapped present under the10

    At the age of 7, I came up with another test to see if Santa was real. That year, I didn't send out my Christmas letter to Santa because I wanted 11for Christmas. But this turned into a plot. By then, I 12knew Santa wasn't real, but I wanted enough13to support this. That year was 14. Because on Christmas Eve, my mother dragged me to our local Wal-Mart led me around the toy section. I 15 to say a word, but did let my eyes16on a ballet set. I17that “Santa” wouldn't know what I wanted because he shouldn't be able to read my 18However, my mother would know everything that caught my eyes in the store. If I got the ballet set the next morning, I would have my evidence. On Christmas morning, there was the ballet set, sitting under the tree again.19I didn't use it much, my mother ended up returning it a few days later. She20 Santa was generous enough to leave a receipt. That was the end to my task to discover the existence of Santa.

    We talk about the persistence(坚持不懈) needed to make our dream come true today. Just think of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Their 1certainly didn't happen overnight!

    Wilbur was 12 years old and Orville 8 when their father brought home a2. It was a rubber3made in France. They4it so much that they played with it until it broke. Immediately, they began5copies. They were hooked on aviation(飞行器制造)! In 1900, as young men, having built their first glider(滑翔机), they decided to 6it out at Kitty Hawk on Kill Devil Hills. The place7consistent strong winds, and the somewhat cushioning effects of sand. That first flight was unsuccessful,8it didn't stop them. After several more tries, on December 17, 1903, with a much9plane, they risked their lives to drive it in the wind. They10flying the world's first powered airplane. Beginning at 10:35 a.m. that day, Orville11it 120 feet in about 12 seconds. At 12:00, Wilbur flew it 852 feet in 59 seconds! Johnny Moore, one of five men who12them that morning (in charge of dragging the plane across the sand for positioning), ran to the village of Kitty Hawk13, “They've made it!” This was the 14of aviation! At this time, Wilbur was 36 and Orville 32. Roughly 24 years had passed15their father gave them that toy!

    If you have a16, work at it. If it doesn't turn out as17, don't give up! Try again! Who wants to live and say somewhere, “If only” or “What if?”18what you want and accomplish it. Don't ever give up!19in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more20than unsuccessful men with talent. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts(流浪汉). Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent(无所不能的).

    Madison Williams, aged 13, was studying in her bedroom in Dublin, Ohio. Suddenly, her mother, Leigh Williams, rushed in saying1 “A little boy fell into a septic tank（化粪池）, and no one can 2 him.”

    They ran to the neighbor's yard, where they found the boy's desperate mother and other people 3a septic tank opening that was slightly wider than a4. The boy, only 2, had slipped in.

    Madison quickly 5 the situation. She was the only one who could 6 through the small hole. Without 7she got on her stomach next to the opening, placed her8 out in front of her9 told the adults, “Lower me in.”

    Leigh and the others 10her waist and legs. She moved her arms and shoulders from side to side until she got through the 11 Inside, the tank was dark, and the air was sick. She used her hands to 12 the boy in the dirty water, and jammed her left wrist 13a hidden pole, injuring the muscles in her wrist and arm. Ignoring her14 Madison continued. Minutes ticked by before she15grasped his foot.

    Then, ten minutes after Madison had16 the tank, she and the boy were17. But the boy wasn't out of 18.He had been kept from oxygen long enough that he wasn't19. An adult gave him several hard hits on the back. It was only when Madison heard him cry that she knew he was 20 Madison's action made her a hero.

    The day that I will always remember is when I ran my first 10km.While putting my toe on the starting 1, I felt my heart drop to my stomach. However, I would 2 my heart, because in running, when you run out of your 3, you just run with your heart.

    That day the 4 was cool and fresh, and my courage had 5. The race was about to start. Bang! The 6 of the starting gun ran into the air. I took off running, 7 like the wind. I knew it would be a really great 8 for me. In the first four miles, I felt like a cheetah (猎豹). I felt 9 and forceful in my pace.

    Then came the fifth mile. My legs 10 like jelly(果冻), and I could feel fire burning in my lungs, “keep 11!” the thought ran through my head. Now was the time I had to run with my 12. I had to win although I didn't know whether I would 13 it. My body really wanted to 14, but my heart told me not to. I think it's the 15 thing about running. The real run starts when you want to 16.

I saw the finishing line and I felt like an Olympic 17 who was about to win the race. I had 18 been happier, and felt proud too when I had my 19 put around my neck. As the saying goes, “Running is the greatest metaphor (比喻) for life, 20 you get out of it what you put into it.”

    During my second year at the city college, I was told that the education department was offering a "free" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits.

    I 1 the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to 2 a few dollars? More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, even if I weren't 3 enough about free credits, news about our 4 was appealing enough to me. He was an international grandmaster, which 5 I would be learning from one of the game's 6. I could hardly wait to 7 him.

    Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this 8was no game for him; he meant business. In his introduction, he made it 9 that our credits would be hard-earned. In order to 10 the class, among other criteria, we had to write a paper on how we plan to 11 what we would learn in class to our future professions and, 12, to our lives. I managed to get an A in that 13 and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the 14.

    Ten years after my chess class with Ashley, I'm still putting to use what he 15 me: "The absolute most important 16 that you learn when you play chess is how to make good 17. On every single move you have to 18 a situation, process what your opponent (对手) is doing and 19 the best move from among all your options." These words still ring true today in my 20 as a journalist.