Dear Mom and Dad,

    I'd like you to know that I appreciate everything you've done for me, such as teaching me, taking care of me, and loving me.

    I'm writing this thank-you letter, Mom and Dad, because I want you to know what a big 1 you have truly made in my life. You   2 me so many things about the world and myself. You were the first ones to tell me about the importance of 3 by telling me it was 4 to refuse all my other playmates from using my toys. And to this day, 5 those toys are long gone, I 6 to live by the idea of sharing my blessings (祝福) with the people 7 me.

    Mom and Dad, you also 8 me to be sympathetic (同情) towards the blind old man. You told me that our pets are there for us to 9 and not to hurt. And because of those 10, I've learnt to be 11.

    Thank you, Mo m and Dad. You gave me some of the nicest 12. Mom, I remember how you would let me sleep in your bed 13 how you used to bring me my favorite fried chicken and take care of me whenever I was 14. Dad, I remember how you worked 15 to make me a playhouse in the yard so my friends and I could 16 happily there.

    I may have 17 you and your purposes when I was much younger. But now I know that 18 you did was for my own good.

    Mom and Dad, I hope this thank-you 19 is enough to let you know how much I 20 everything you've done for me.

                                                                                                                                                                         All the love,

                                                                                                                                                                                Rex

    A month ago, my friend Nick and I experienced a(n) 1 event. It was the evening of the fourth day on our hitchhiking(搭便车) trip to Morocco. We were 2 on the side of a main road in the cold 3. It was nearly dark. To our 4, there wasn't a single bit of grass where we could put up our tent. Finally, we reached a small town after 5 for about an hour and a half.

    We found a bar where we thought we might be able to 6 ourselves first. Then we would 7 where we are going. We each bought a coffee, but the barman, José， brought over some bread 8. Full of thankfulness for his generosity(慷慨), we explained to him what we were doing. He showed much interest in our 9.

    Then, we asked José if we could 10 on his floor. We were very worried he would refuse. 11, he said yes! Thinking he lived upstairs, we waited for him to lock us in 12 he could be sure we didn't 13 anything. To our surprise, he gave us the keys! He showed us how the 14 worked, said goodnight and was off.

    We all stood in 15. In only a few hours we had gone from standing in the cold rain to owning a 16 bar. All the fridges were 17 and there was a fair amount of money on the sideboard. We were amazed at how much he 18 us. Then it was a good night's sleep. The next morning, he 19 and we let him into his own bar. 20, he gave us a free meal, and then we were on our way.

    In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed 1but one with quite a2 story to tell.

    My grandma, an amazing woman,3from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that 4. But one year after I started college, she 5cancer. I made the choice to stop learning at college to 6her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to7.

    Then I got married with another dream: building my 8with adopted and biological (亲生的)ones. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was9— and very exciting. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then 10son No. 3. In 2003, I 11birth to another boy.

    You can imagine how 12occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo — a joyous zoo. Not surprisingly, I 13did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream, either. I 14 only one choice: to find a way. That 15taking as few as one class each semester.

    The hardest part was feeling16 about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to17, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

    In 2007, I finished my study in the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to 18my college degree!

    I am not19, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you're looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you're inside, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life in a day. It's a20 . Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.

    When you are five years old, your mother is your everything. She is your1, friend, nurse; the only person you rely on2with your hopes, dreams, and wishes. But for me, this was not the case.

    My mother suffered from 3problems that would keep her in bed for days, leaving me to care for her and look after myself. This situation4me to grow up much faster. While I knew my mother was sick, I felt deep down that we could5it and everything would be okay. 6, in 1997 everything went terribly wrong, and my life changed forever.

    Adoption is a7word to a five-year-old, but when I realized that my own mother had signed me over to8, I felt it was the worst betrayal. I suffered from shock, anger, and confusion as I attempted to adjust to my new family. No longer could I trust anyone since the person I had loved more than all else had9me. Hearing people tell me that she did it in my best interest, I felt it even more10. I could not forgive her and always11 how she could reject me like an old sofa.

    However, the more I got older, the more I began to understand how12 our situation had been. We had been13 on boxes of noodles, and at one point we14 lived in our car. I was once passed from drug-addicted cousins to mentally unstable neighbors as my mother15 to try and save me from what our lives were becoming16 each day passed.

      17 recently have I begun to understand why my mother gave me to strangers.    18, she really did save me. She loved me more than anything, so she wanted me to have a chance in life, 19 she could no longer offer me. I now know my life has been a special 20only because she was selfless enough to give me up. 

    When Pat Jones finished college, she decided to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could1she was young. Pat wanted to visit Latin America2, so she got a job3 an English teacher in a school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish,4 she was able to communicate with her students even when they didn't5much English.

    A sentence she had read somewhere stuck in her mind if you dream6 a foreign language, you have really mastered(掌握)it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and7that some day she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in8.

    One day, one of her9students came up and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He had10early, and had slept11.

    "What does this have to do with your12?" Pat asked.

    "I dreamed all night, Miss Jones, and my dream was in English."

    "In English?" Pat was very13, since he was such a bad student. She was14secretly jeal-ous (嫉妒的).Her15was still not in Spanish. But she encouraged(鼓励)her young student," Well,16 me about your dream."

    "All the people in my dream17 English," the student said. "And all the signs were, in English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English. "

    "But that's18,"said Pat, "what did all the people say to you?"

    "I'm sorry, Miss Jones. That's19 I slept so badly. I didn't 20a word they said. It was a nightmare(噩梦)!"

I didn't go to Santiago, Chile to look for friendship. In fact, Chile was not even on my wish list.

A mid-life crisis woman, I got a chance to study abroad. I only wanted to learn about global business, taste South American cuisine, and check "study abroad" off my wish list.

On the fifth day, I joined a group for a neighborhood work project aided by the anti-poverty (扶贫) organization. Our tasks were to build a water tower and paint the community center. Upon arrival, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like a scene out of a horrible film. That moment redefined poverty for me because I had never seen such terrible living conditions. As advised, I showed no signs of the motional battle going on inside me.

Just as I was about to start work on painting, a request came through for a few volunteers to help Nadia, a local resident who volunteered to cook for us. I raised my hand to help because I wanted spend time with the people of the neighborhood despite my shortage of Spanish speaking skills.

Nadia had a sincere smile but not overly friendly. Even without speaking each other's language we started to learn about one another. We chatted about our children, our upbringing, shared picture of our family, struggled to instruct each other to communicate in the other's language, and laugh many times.

After we fed everybody and the dishes were washed, my day was over. But I found myself hesitant to leave. It was as if I had known her my entire life. I had not predicted the unselfishness heart I would encounter, and it was moving.

As we were waiting for the car to pick us up, Nadia showed me her plants that are well-maintains. I could see that despite the hard conditions she was passionate about life. She made me long to be stronger person. She showed me that poverty was external, but happiness was internal. I was seeking to give 100 percent for a well-intentioned cause, but I left receiving 200 percent from her.