Last Christmas while staying with my parents, I 1 across some old love letters that my parents wrote to each other. These letters were all piled up in a basket, dirty and 2 with dust.3 to read and sort them, I asked them if I could take the letters back to my Illinois home. They agreed.

    As I carefully opened each letter, all of them delicate with age, I discovered a new page 4unknown to me in this private chapter of my parents' lives.

    My father used to 5 in the army. So his letters were full of frontline  6 of the things about the war. Each of my mother's letters was marked 7 her 1944 dark red lipstick kiss. I was 8 to these letters like a magnet (磁铁).

    Just six weeks after our Christmas visit, Daddy became very 9and was hospitalized. This time, he was fighting a 10 kind of war. As I sat by his bedside, we discussed the 11 . He told me how much receiving those lipstick-kissed letters had 12to him when he had been so far from home.

    It so happened that the next day would be February 14. From the 13letters I chose the card my father had sent Mother in 1944 and brought it to my father's bedside.

    At his bedside, I joked with him, saying 14, “Today is Valentine's Day, don't you want to send Mother a present?” He became more 15when I handed him the old 16. He carefully opened it and took out the card, and when he 17 it, his eyes were filled with tears.

    My father, in a voice tight with18read the loving19he'd sent to my mother fifty-six years earlier. And this time, he could read it to her 20.

    A few weeks ago I was at the comer store, and there stood an old lady in front of me in line. She seemed very 1 when the cashier asked her to pay $ 38.00. She had about $ 5.00 in her wallet, and she began to 2. The cashier became very 3, telling her that she cannot buy these 4 because she didn't have enough money. So, I told the cashier not to 5 it, and that I would 6 the difference. The cashier gave me a funny look,7 I really felt for this woman.

    Anyway, I paid for my groceries and 8 the store. When I got outside, I saw the lady standing there. I asked her what was 9. She said that she could not remember where she lived, and she began to cry again. I said some names of the 10 around the area but she had no clue (线索). Just then, a car 11and a woman jumped out of the car. It was this lady's daughter. I 12 that her mother couldn't find her way home. The daughter told me that she had Alzheimer's disease (阿尔茨海默病) and that she had been 13 off a lot lately. Then the daughter14 that her mother had 3 - bags of groceries and wondered 15 she got the money to pay for them. I was not 16 if I should tell her that I paid for them, but I did.

The daughter wanted to pay me back, but I 17. The daughter said “Thank you” and I said “Good bye”.

    I felt so 18and happy right through the day, because making others feel 19 makes me feel good. I know that if this 20 happened again, I would do the same thing.

    It's a sad reality that many of us find ourselves just too busy to contribute to our communities. For a long time, I, too, believed it cost too much in time, money and 1 to make a real difference. But all that changed when I 2 my good-deed-a-day project.

    My daughter, Emily, was my primary 3. I wanted to show her we could do little things to help others, and be 4.

    The first week, I wasn't sure if I could 5 it. I surfed the Internet for ideas. One day, I 6 a blind man in the subway station. He 7 as he thanked me. Another day, I brought flowers from my garden to a 8 nursing home… I could only hope I was arousing 9 in others.

    After just a few days, 10 I found it easier than I'd expected. I knew I was making a/an 11.

    Every evening at the dinner table, I 12 that day's good deed to Emily. Emily began 13 what I'd started. On a walk home from school, she 14 to a neighbour's pot of geraniums (天竺葵), which had toppled (摇晃) in the wind, and set it right. “That was my good deed for the day!” she yelled. Another day, she helped me collect 15 from our neighbours for the food bank. We dropped off the food and, 16 we drove away, Emily announced 17 that she wanted to work there one day.

    By the last week, I knew I'd changed. At first, I hadn't been entirely 18 that I could do a good deed every day. Now it was practically second 19. I felt a greater responsibility to take action when I saw a need, 20 looking the other way. I felt as though I'd awakened, somehow.

    I was ready to pay for my bananas at the grocery one night, when fear seized me. My wallet was gone. I could only have left it on the G9 bus, which was now speeding in the dark to some1station.

    The2moment was quickly followed by mental math. How much time and money would it cost to replace the3of that little wallet？The credit cards, the driver's license, the cash, all lost to the bus.

    Two hours later, back at my house, I heard a knock on the door. My husband 4it while I was on the phone in the dining room. "Does Jennifer live here?" I heard a lady say. In my husband's hand was my wallet, with not a penny5. She left before I could 6 make it to the door to offer my thanks.

    After sharing the story online, I heard from someone, who 7 the lady as Erin Smith. Without 8 , I called to thank her. She said she 9 my wallet on a bus seat. She10that going to a stranger's house was a 11 move, but she decided to take the chance. "If I were in that 12. I would want someone to try to find me," she said.

    This one stranger responded beautifully to my small 13 , but she actually wasn't the only one. Right after Erin 14 my wallet on the bus, she posted a picture of my driver's license to an online forum（论坛）, trying to see 15 anyone knew me. No sooner did she leave my doorstep than I had emails from two women whose kids go to my son's nursery and who recognized my face. I've never 16 words with those moms beyond small talk, but they wanted to help. I read that people are more divided than ever, but that's not how the people I17tend to act.

    18, I feel blessed someone had wanted to help a stranger. Erin had gone 19what almost anyone would have done, finding my house on a bitterly cold night, and for that I was extremely 20 .

    The dream of many people is to leave their mark on the world however they can. This could be in countless different 1, from coming up with a new invention to 2 starting a family. No matter what it is, 3 the world in some way is the purpose of many lives.

    That's 4 makes the Renaissance – an art period which centered in Italy between the 14th and 17th centuries — the era of 5.

    When we hear the word "art", it's very likely that we'll imagine a work from the Renaissance period. This w as a time when many believe art made a revival(复兴)— "renaissance", 6, means to bring new life to something.

    Take the works of Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci for example. His painting Mona Lisa became one of the best-known 7 on Earth. While many artists left their marks by bringing 8 to the world, Da Vinci did much more than that. The artist was fascinated with the study of human anatomy(解剖学)and even 9 time dissecting human bodies to help with his studies. Da Vinci also proved his 10 in many other areas, and he created sketches of ideas for many inventions, from bridges and machinery to even a helicopter and a robot.

    The Renaissance also played host to many other great names in the world of art. Italian painter Raphael, for example, was another leader of this era. But his most famous work isn't 11 on a w all today. 12, his masterpiece — the Raphael Rooms of Italy's Palace of the Vatican — IS the w all. The walls and ceilings of the palace are filled with beautifully 13paintings of Bib le scenes, which he started as a young artist in 1508.

    Religious works such as Raphael's w ere the 14 style of the Renaissance period. We only have to look at the most iconic (标志性的)sculpture of that period — and perhaps 15— to realize that.

    Italian artist Michelangelo's sculpture David, 16 a Biblical character, was firstly shown in the 1500s. The sculpture has 17 years of exposure to the rain, having rocks throw n at it by protesters(抗议者), and even someone 18 it with a hammer in the 1990s. 19 all these, David is still standing strong and 20 today — a true symbol of the Renaissance.

As I have perfect pitch(绝对音感) and started playing piano at 3 years old, it's much natural for me to join the school's choir when I got to college in the US.

At first, everything went pretty 1 . I passed the audition(试音), and was even invited to join the more selective Chamber Singers. However, I soon became 2 after several rehearsals(排练). From jokes to music theory, I simply couldn't understand what they were talking about! And when I 3 others' pitch mistakes, they seemed unwilling to accept. I remained silent even when I knew the pitches were 4 .

It was our New Year Concert last year that 5 me out of deep waters. When we were singing the words of a song: "To live is to give", I thought "how could I be 6 just being a silent Asian?" Soon after the 7 , I started my plan. In my second term, I 8 to join all the conversations and started to help fellow singers with my abilities 9 identifying pitch. I was overwhelmed by the content of helping people, and was thrilled 10 more choir members came to me for casual talks.

From March to May, I was 11 soloist(独唱者) for four different songs, an unusual 12 for a first-year student. Among them, my favorite piece was a Spanish folk song that we 13 during the choir's spring tour to Madrid. A Chinese student singing a Spanish song in an American choir—how proud I was to 14 as an ambassador of cross-cultural communication! When the audience applauded us, I came to see a better world with understanding, 15 and love.