My first lesson is at a meeting. As we settle around the table I hear Meg, who is 1 a recent operation, talking to Judith, the manager of our project. “Thank you so much for 2 my daughters to their dance lessons last week.” “Don't mention it,” Judith says, “It was nothing.”

    Knowing how 3 Judith's schedule is, with her work, kids and aging parents, I find her driving Meg's children to lessons unbelievably 4. I am about to say more about this when Donna, another colleague, enters the room 5. She apologizes for being late, saying she just hosted a lunch for her friends who are over seventy. “That is so nice of you,” I say, 6 how busy she is, how she doesn't like to cook and clean. “Oh,” she says, waving her hand, “It was nothing.” 7, I can still tell the 8 in her voice. She did gain a sense of satisfaction from the entertainment offered to her friends.

    Seeing their 9 to help others selflessly, I start thinking about the concept of “nothing”, this peaceful and generous way of living — had it really been nothing or are they simply saying that? It 10 to me that once I spent a whole afternoon after work helping a friend 11 a speech she was going to deliver. I 12 her to rearrange the sequence of the stories in the lecture to make it sound more 13. After the fifth try, she finally 14 it . She hugged me with 15, saying thanks to me. I smiled and said it was nothing.

    Suddenly, I realized that helping someone was really something to me. I learned that giving from the heart doesn't 16 mean sacrifice and hard work. The 17 is finding something we love to do and finding someone who 18 that something. Our generosity can benefit others 19 ourselves. Once you have a good 20 of it, it's nothing. And it's really something.

    Once a boy really had everything he wanted, so he was 1 interested in the rarest (最稀有的) objects. One day he 2 a mysterious（神秘的） mirror and took it home. When he looked into the mirror, he found that his 3 looked very sad. He tried 4 ， but it remained the same.

    Surprised, the boy went off to buy some sweets. He went home and looked into the mirror as happily as possible, 5 he still looked sad. He bought all kinds of toys, but he looked forever6 in that mirror. So the boy put the mirror away in a 7.

    “What a(n) 8 mirror! I've never seen a mirror that didn't 9 properly！”

    That same afternoon he went out to play, but on his10 to the park he saw a little girl crying loudly. So he went over to see what was happening. The little girl told him that she had 11her parents.

    Together, they 12 in search of them. As the little girl continued crying, the boy 13 his money in buying sweets to cheer her up. 14 ， after walking for a long time, they found her parents, who looked very worried.

    The boy said goodbye, and walked off towards the park. However,15the time, he decided to turn around and head16 home, as he had no time to 17.At home, he went to his room and noticed a shining 18 in the corner where he had left the mirror. Seeing this, he went over to the mirror and 19 that the light was coming from his own body, because he was so happy about having helped that little girl.

    So he understood the mystery of that mirror, the only mirror reflecting（反映） faithfully（诚心诚意地） the 20 joy of its owner.

    I was invited to attend a presentation at the Kentucky School. That evening I found gratitude（感恩）had amazing 1to change our attitude and our life.

    The young musician Mr. Patrick was 2 onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His 3 danced across the keys as he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was wonderful. But what shocked me most was his 4 smile.

    Patrick was born with no eyes and an illness in the legs, which 5 him disabled for life. However, as a child, he was6 with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first 7, he discovered the piano. When his mom hit any note on the piano, and within one or two 8, he'd get it. By his second birthday, he was playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". His father was extremely 9. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."

    When Patrick was at the University of Louisville, his father 10 classes with him. He was also a part of the 214-member marching band! He was a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father did it together. His father 11 the night shift（夜班）in order to accompany his daytime band practice. Patrick says, "My dad's my 12."

    But even more than his 13 musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that 14 my soul. On stage, between songs, he talked to the audience about his life and about how 15 he was to his great father. When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and 16 for over five minutes.

    We all face misfortune in our lives. 17, it's not the hardship but how we 18 to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our lives. During 19 times, do we spend too much time feeling 20 for ourselves, or can we, with gratitude, learn how to dance in the rain?

    Think of the ways you use your eyes every day. Imagine your life  1sight. Cover your ears, and  2being deaf and blind for the rest of your life. Think about the songs, the voices, the music you will never  3again.

    For the first 19 months of her life, Helen Keller was  4to see and hear. But then a sickness struck her. She became  5blind and deaf. For the rest of her life, she was never to see or hear. She didn't have memories of sight or 6. And the sickness struck her when she was a baby 7she learned to talk. But Helen Keller became a teacher and writer. She was in the hearts of millions of people.

    8did this miracle (奇迹) happen? For the first seven years of her life she was almost like a 9animal. Her mother and father did not know how to  10her. She screamed, kicked and cried. She wanted very much to have others understand her, but there was no way she could do. 11her parents decided to send for a family 12to treat her. Some went away shortly after they spent a few days with her, until the 13one — Annie Sullivan came, who seemed to be sent here by  14, for during the rest of Helen's life, she stayed with Helen to overcome (克服) a lot of unthinkable 15.

    Sullivan was a lovely young woman with great patience and imagination. She was a born teacher, 16of turning a deaf-blind creature into a useful human being. It was this teacher that did not let Helen's world be  17. Through the teacher's hands and fingers, Helen heard the sounds 18one can hear on a farm, the noises made by cows, horses, chickens and pigs.

    19back on those years, Helen once said, she was greatly struck by her teacher's wisdom and she was very grateful 20 her teacher.

Daniel Hove spent years serving his community in Wisconsin as the Assistant Fire Chief for the Burnsville Fire Department. In 2012, he 1 from the job he loved after doctors diagnosed him with pancreatic（胰腺的） cancer.

Daniel spent years fighting the 2 disease. And he had tons of 3 from friends and family. But his beloved 11-year-old Labrador （拉布拉多猎犬）, Gunner,4 by his side every step of the way.

As Daniel's 5 grew more difficult, Gunner became ill, too. And he 6 the highs and lows right along with his favorite human.

"When my dad would get restless, the dog would be 7 ," Daniel's daughter Heather explained. "So once we 8 how the dog was doing—he wasn't moving much anymore and not doing well—we knew, it was coming."

As Gunner's suffering hit its peak, Heather 9 knew the dog's time on Earth was done. Gunner was 10 an animal hospital where the veterinarian put him to 11 forever. And soon after Gunner passed away, Daniel found his 12 was close. About an hour and a half later, Daniel was gone too.13 in life, the dog and his beloved owner also remained that way in death.

Special friends are placed in our lives. And the story of this dog and his owner is a beautiful 14 that sometimes those furry friends offer lifelong 15 without words.

My mother has always been one of those rare people that sees the good in everyone and does good things "just because". Life hasn't always been kind to her; she lost my oldest sister to leukemia (白血病) in 1963 and my father in 2007 after nearly 51 years of marriage.

She's had her ups and downs but has always 1 a positive, sunny outlook on life and been very 2 to people.

One day, my little sister fell and hurt her ankle, desperately needing a 3 to the hospital emergency room. My mother immediately 4 into crisis mode, packed my sister into the car, and drove to our local hospital. In such a 5 , my mother didn't call to tell my father. When she got to the hospital, she realized she needed to 6 with my father immediately.

While waiting for my sister to be examined, my mother 7 her way to the pay phone to place her call. She put her coin in, called my father and told him everything. After she hung up, the phone 8 several additional coins that Mom wasn't owed.

Realizing that the phone was 9 , my mother decided to leave the 10 coins by the phone. She told us that in a crisis, people might not remember to bring 11 with them to make that emergency call.

I've often thought about her 12 from an adult's perspective I realize that someone seeing the money by he phone may have 13 taken it because not everyone was as 14 as my mother. But I like to believe that my mother's faith was 15 and that someone who needed them found the coins waiting there.