There was a pet store and the owner had a parrot. One day a 1 walked in and the parrot said to the man ,“Hey you!” The man said, “What!?” The parrot said, “Your 2 is really ugly.” The man got very 3 and went to the store owner and said, “Your bird just  4 my wife. It said she was ugly.”

    The owner stormed over, 5 the bird, took it into the “black room,” shook it a bit, 6 out a few feathers, and said, “Don't ever, ever say anything to  7 my customers again. You got that！！！”

    With that 8 he took the bird and put it back into its cage. The old bird shook out its    9  and relaxed in its cage. A couple of weeks 10 and in walked this guy and his wife again. The parrot said, “Hey you!” The guy said, “What!?” The parrot answered, “You know that.”

A Love Note to My Mom

    When I was a little girl, I would often accompany you as you modeled for fashion photographers. It was years later that I finally understood what role modeling 1 in your life. Little did I know you were 2every penny you earned to go to 3 school.

    I cannot thank you enough for 4 you told me one autumn afternoon when I was nine. After finishing my homework, I wandered into the dining room where you were buried 5 piles of law books. I was 6. Why were you doing what I do—memorizing textbooks and studying for 7? When you said you were in law school, I was more puzzled. I didn't know Moms 8 be lawyers too. You smiled and said, "In life, you can do anything you want to do."

    As young as I was, that statement kept 9 in my ears. I watched as you faced the 10 of completing your studies, starting companies with Dad, while still being a 11 and a Mom of five kids. I was exhausted just watching you 12. With your words of wisdom in my 13 mind, I suddenly felt unlimited freedom to dream. My whole world 14. I set out to live my life filled with 15 seeing endless possibilities for personal and professional achievements.

    Your words became my motto. I 16 found myself in the unique position of being either the first (woman doctor in Maryland Rotary) 17 one of the few women (chief medical reporters) in my field. I gained strength every time I said, "Yes, I'll try that."

    Encouraged by your 18 , I have forged ahead (毅然前行) with my life's journey, less afraid to make mistakes, and 19 meeting each challenge. You did it, and now I'm 20 it. Sorry, got to run. So much to do, so many dreams to live.

    In mid-January the weather stayed clear and cold for several days. Jess had to 1 a week of school to stay home and2 his father to manure（给……施肥） the fields. This was his bad3, for he would have to make up his lessons as best as he could. It wasn't4, though. All the boys and girls at Pumpkin Hollow School were often kept home when they were needed.

    Jess5 manuring, but he couldn't get out of it. Filling the wagon（马车） with heavy manure was a tiring 6. With a full load（装载）, his father drove over the fields; Jess stood in the back and spread the manure.

    After several days at this job, both Jess and his father grew7 and impatient. It seemed as though life was too8 to stand. They fell into bed at night worn out, with nothing to 9 but another day of the same hard work. Jess was even 10with it. "Why does brother Ben stay in a warm prison while I myself tried to do his work？ It's 11!" Jess thought.

    His mother watched him 12. "You're looking thin," she said. Then she turned to Jess's father and said," Joseph, couldn't we hire（雇）somebody to help13the manuring is done？"

    Mr. Wright didn't 14, and Jess guessed why. His father couldn't15 to hire a man. The hundred dollars he had paid for Ben's fine had wiped out the family's savings. Jess said, "No, Ma, we don't 16 to hire anybody. Pa and I can manage.17 I'm tired, and so is Pa. We'll18 it in a few days."

    The19 look his father gave him for understanding the problem was reward enough. When they went to the fields and were silently working together, Jess was 20 he'd spoken up.

    A beggar, carrying a shabby(破旧的) old wallet, was begging alone from house to house. As he complained about his 1 , he kept wondering that people who lived in 2 houses should always be unsatisfied, 3 rich they might be, and they should go so far as to 4 all they have.

    "Here, for example," he said, the former master of this house succeeded in trading, and made himself very rich. By then, instead of stopping, and handing over his 5 to another, and spending the rest of his years 6 peace, he took to(从事) equipping ships. He expected to get mountains of gold; but the ships were 7 , and his treasures were lost. Now they all lie at the bottom of the sea, and he has found his 8 disappeared like those in dreams. In short, examples of this are 9.

    At this moment Fortune suddenly appeared to the beggar and said, "Listen! I have long wished to 10 you. Here are a lot of gold coins I have found. Hold out your wallet, and I will fill it with them; but only on this condition: All shall be gold that falls into the wallet, but if 11 of them falls out of the wallet to the ground, it 12 become dust. Consider this well. I have warned you I shall 13 keep my word. Your wallet is old, don't fill it 14 its power." The beggar was almost too overjoyed to breathe. He 15 felt the ground below his feet. A stream of coins were poured 16 it. The wallet soon became rather heavy.

    "Is that 17 ?" "Not yet," "Isn't it 18 ?" "Never fear." "Consider, you are a millionaire." "Just a little more, just 19 a handful," But at that moment the wallet broke, the gold coins 20 dust and Fortune disappeared. The beggar had nothing but his empty wallet and remained as poor as before.

    Geoff Hoffman, discovered that his dog, Bridget, was missing after his home was broken into on Dec 20th. That night, Hoffman penned an enthusiastic1to his Facebook followers to help him find the dog. "She is my source of2and she is my whole life."

    The next day, Hoffman, who served in Afghanistan for eight years went into3mode(模式). "Sergeant（中士）Hoffman was back," he says. "I was on4and told myself I would5searching for Bridget under two conditions: She returned home or I knew with certainty that she was6."

    During the four days Bridget went7, Hoffman reached out to his local police and fire departments, along with City Hall, asking officials to8his story with the public. He printed more than 100 cards featuring Bridget's9and advertising a "large reward"10 her return and registered with missing dog websites. Hoffman also created a Facebook group with hundreds of followers, called Bring Bridget Back, in the hopes of 11awareness for his search.

    On the morning of Christmas Eve, his efforts 12. "My girlfriend was driving down a rural road, a few miles from my house, when she saw Bridget," says Hoffman. "She was lying by the side of the road but when she saw my girlfriend, she started13her tail."

    While the dog was generally14, she hadn't eaten for days, along with a few slight cuts on her left leg. "It made me wonder whether someone15her for dog fighting and either cut or tried to16her to make her aggressive," says Hoffman. "Maybe the thief got17 by all the media attention and18her on a random road."

    Hoffman called the19a Christmas miracle and a holiday blessing and said "I am speechless with20."

    Martin Henfield talks about some of his 1 as a twin: when we were small, my mother dressed us 2 the same clothes. That was bad enough and we didn't like it. But we went on our first camping trip, it was even 3. We were only ten years old, and while 4 went into their sleeping bags for the 5, we were not happy to snuggle inside a double sleeping bag my mother made for us.

    At school our classmates 6 us Henfield One and Henfield Two, so people 7 even see our difference according to our initials because 8 of us were M.H. It was only when I went to college and began to have my own friends that I started to feel my own freedom of identity(身份).

    Before I went to college, during my secondary school 9, I 10 a job on a building site. My twin brother, Mike Henfield, didn't work. One day I asked my boss, "Can I have a week 11?" "Certainly," he said, "but you won't have the job when you 12 back." I didn't want to 13 the job. So on Monday morning, Mike went there in my 14 , jacket and hat and he worked for me for one week. 15 of them knew the difference.