Years ago I was hiking (徒步旅行) in the Himalayas and had made the mistake of changing a large amount of money into the local currency(货币). As I walked through the villages of the Annapurnas, it soon became 1that the people were too poor to 2 even the simplest 3. They had nothing. This meant that it was no use carrying the wad(捆) of 4 in my pack and I was a virtual(虚拟的) walking 5 compared to the local people. I grew to 6 the money and it was 7 to have it in my bag. This led to a remarkable experience that 8 me deeply and its 9 has never left me.

    On this particular day I was left behind by my fellow hikers and found myself in a valley. As I made myself down, I noticed a young girl of around 13 10 some sheep. Like so many of the children of the amazing Nepalese people, she was very beautiful. I couldn't 11 looking at her and she looked at me. As I approached her she suddenly rushed 12 to me, and without a 13, handed me a flower. She 14 at me for a tiny moment and then she ran away. The spirit in this lovely child had responded to something she saw in me and her first 15 was to find something to 16 . Due to her 17 , there was nothing she had 18 a single flower. The 19 of my bag was never heavier than at this moment and I had just received one of the most valuable 20 I have ever had in my life.

    I used to believe in the American Dream, which meant a job, a mortgage (按揭), credit cards, and success. I wanted it and worked toward it like everyone else, all of us 1 chasing the same thing.

    One year, through a series of unhappy events, it all fell 2. I found myself homeless and 3. I had my truck and $ 56. I 4 the countryside for some place I could rent for the 5 possible amount. I came upon a shabby house four miles up a winding mountain road over the Potomac River in West Virginia. It was 6, full of broken glass and rubbish. I found the owner, rented it, and 7 a corner to camp in.

    The locals knew nothing about me, 8 slowly, they started teaching me the 9 of being a neighbor. They dropped off blankets, candles, and tools, and began sticking around to 10. They started to teach me a belief in a 11 American Dream – not the one of individual achievement but of 12 .

    What I had believed in, all those things I thought were 13for a civilized life, were nonexistent in this place. Up on the 14 , my most valuable possessions were my 15 with my neighbors.

    Four years later, I moved back into 16. I saw many people were having a really hard time, 17 their jobs and homes. I managed to rent a big enough house to 18 a handful of people. There are four of us now in the house, but over time I've had nine people come in and move on to other places. We'd all be in 19 if we hadn't banded together.

    The American Dream I believe in now is a shared one. It's not so much about what I can get for myself; it's about 20 we can all survive together.

    After 21 years of marriage, Bill Henrichs and Mary Ziegler concluded that they were no longer a good match. The couple politely divorced in 1995 and went their 1 ways, but they continued to see each other when meeting their 2at their school and sporting events. In February 2018, 3 , she and Henrichs learned they were a match in a different way.

    Henrichs's kidneys(肾)were 4, and he was in need of a 5.After nearly 40 family members and friends were tested as possible 6 , the result surprised all—only one person 7 to be a perfect match—Ziegler.

    So on Oct.16 more than four decades after they said "I do, "she and Henrichs, 62 , were 8into an operating room, and one of Ziegler's healthy kidneys was 9 and given to her ex-husband. The surgery went well, and the transplant is 10 well and continuing to improve as Mr. Henrichs 11 from the surgery. Henrichs was beyond grateful for his ex-wife's sympathy and 12 , but he was also worried in the hours before the 13 .

    Just three weeks after the transplant, she was back to work and doing yoga—a quick turnaround considering that the 14 kidney donor needs a healing period of six to eight 15."This entire experience has brought us all 16."She and Henrichs hope that by sharing their story, other 17 will realize that divorce is not always a reason to 18ties.

    "Divorce is divorce, but there's no reason to 19 , "Henrichs said."There are lots of reasons why it's 20 to get along." He pauses and laughs." Someday, you just might need a kidney."

    Bullied(霸凌), bothered and mad, I became a troublemaker in school. In the tenth grade year, it came to a head. I 1 friends with a rough kid who well could have 2 the end of my future. A big fight was planned for that Friday night. My friend said, "Rudy, we're tough. Let's go." I 3agreed. I had a big head. It was a 4 to show off. I would 5those who had made me so mad.

    I waited until the family was 6asleep. Quietly, I 7 out of bed, pulled on my clothes, and tiptoed(踮着脚走) to the back door. I was careful not to make a sound. However, Dad knew something was up. He 8 me off at the door.

    With his hand on my shoulder, he 9 that we talk. I admitted where I was 10. The kids we would fight against had 11 us.

    It was our 12 to teach them a lesson. That's when Dad13 my future, and maybe my life. He replied, "You are no man when a 14fight is your way. You become a man by knowing when to walk away. Learn it now and remember."

    I'm 15 that Dad stayed up to catch me that night. Bad 16 came the next day. Several were badly hurt in the fight. With a 17to the head, my friend was now dead.

    It could have been me, or I might have been 18 and taken away. Either 19, that would have caused my end: Dad, you were the best: You taught me to stop the foolish 20and to know when to walk away:

    Here's one touching story about two heroic teachers. When a1filled with schoolchildren went madly out of control, their teachers stayed cool to deal with the emergency. It was the quick reaction of the teachers that saved scores of lives.

    It was 6 a.m. They were 2the May day field trip. As the kids waved goodbye to their parents and boarded the bus, their teachers Tina and Kelly settled into front seats. The teachers were whispering quietly3they felt the bus switched its direction suddenly across the highway and4into the guardrail(护拦). The driver was stuck in by his seat belt and his head was just kind of hanging there.

    The children seemed frightened and screamed in5.

Both the teachers comforted their students and kept telling them to6down.

    Meanwhile, the bus ran 7down the highway at 70 miles an hour.

    In a second, Tina made her decision.8over the driver, she put her hands on the wheel and tried9to pull it back to the right.

    However, the bus didn't react as10. Instead, it was beyond Tina's11and turned over into a deep grassy valley, sending Tina through the front window of the bus. She was severely12. The bus slipped through the grass on its roof for several yards13 it finally stopped and the 14began struggling their way out through the broken window.

    Luckily,15of the children were killed. Not only had Tina droved the bus toward a safer place,16her gentle right turn also slowed down the bus speed, when it17into the valley. Obviously, she reacted properly and did an impressive job.

    Tina was rushed to the hospital for a(an)18by air. After she recovered from the operation, she returned to school, receiving cheers and praise,19she seemed embarrassed by all the attention. "I'm not a hero, I just did the best I could." she said, adding, "All those kids will be20to me, for we escaped from the jaw of death together."

    My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat which was hanging at a secondhand clothing store in Northampton Mass. While the other coats drooped(低垂), this one looked as if it were1itself up. The coat had beautiful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an)2price of $28, which was popular just then with3, but could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better, bearing that4of classic elegance(优雅). John tried it on and the fit was perfect.

    John5the coat to school the next day and came home wearing a big smile" Did the kids like your coat?" I asked. "They loved it," he said,6folding it over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, a7came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness (作对) and reasoned discussion replaced fierce8. He became more mannerly and9, eager to please. He would generously loan his younger brother his tapes and lecture him10his behavior.

    When I mentioned this incident to his teacher and11what caused the changes, she said laughing. "It12be his coat!" Another teacher told him she was giving him a good13not only because he had earned14but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ran into a friend "Could this be John?" he asked surprisingly,15John's new height, assessing the cut of his coat and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.

    John and I both know we should never16a person's clothes for the real person within them.17there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see and for18what is on the inside to what is on the outside.

    For John it is a time when it is as easy to try on different approaches to19as it is to try on a coat. The whole world, the whole future is stretched out ahead, a vast landscape20all the doors are open. And he could picture himself walking through those doors wearing his wonderful, magical coat.