On a hot summer day in America, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. He dived into the cool water, Not 1that as he swam towards the middle of the lake, a crocodile (鳄鱼) was swimming toward him.

      His mother 2was looking out of the window and saw the two as they got closer and closer. In great 3 , she ran toward the water, 4 to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became5 and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. 6   , it was too late. Just as he reached her, the  7  reached him. From the shore, the mother  8 her little boy by the arms just as the crocodile snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war (拔河) between the 9  The crocodile was much 10  than the mother, but the mother wouldn't  11   . A farmer 12 to drive by, heard their screams, raced from his truck, took aim and  13  the crocodile.

    14 , after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His 15 were extremely scarred(留下疤痕) by the attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches(抓痕) where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

       The newspaper reporter, who  16  the boy, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his legs. And then, with obvious  17 , he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them 18 my Mom wouldn't let go.”

Never judge another person's 19 , because you don't know 20they were made.

    “Paul must have been trying to carry his waste paper to garbage can and dropped a few pieces.” I1picking them up.2later I found more pieces. No quiet sighing this time. I 3“Who is throwing garbage?” No answer. Instead, I saw more bits of paper silently floating4from upstairs. Looking up, I saw my seven-year-old son, Paul.

    “Stop making a mess.” “It's not a mess. They're5.” “Sorry, what did you say?” I hadn't heard him clearly.

    He didn't answer me. Paul has autism (自闭症) and6answers a question, especially when he's 7attentively on something else. He ran down the stairs. “Where are my other butterflies?” he asked,8around. Every time Paul 9five or more words together, my heart says a 10of thanks. But lately he seems to 11that the benefits of forming complete sentences when communicating are12of the effort.

    Butterflies. Of course. I rushed to13them from the garbage,14them off and handed them to my young artist. “Want to see them15again?” he asked with a shy smile. “Oh yes! They're beautiful.” I whispered. He ran back upstairs to float his 16down again. They really did look like beautiful butterflies.

    That day Paul 17me to look up at 18instead of down at garbage. How many other masterpieces (杰作) do I miss because I'm too caught up in my 19to take time to appreciate what's right in front of me? Life is not what happens to us. It's 20we look at it. Now, I look up.

Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I packed all the necessities —except the 1.

    While the convenience of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my 2 not to take with me the few expensive kilograms of out-of-date information, this was not the only reason why I decided to fly alone.

    To be honest, my main 3 with the guidebook is that I find it 4 the pleasure of a journey—like bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do, 5 she doesn't always know what is the best.

    Experience has taught me that there is an obvious 6 between a tourist and traveler.

    While waiting in a queue, I met a man who had a checklist. He showed me his list of “Top 20 Things To Do in Italy” and 7 off in a loud American accent that he'd seen everything Italy has to offer in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's 8 to travelling was that he was too 9 information provided by his guidebook. He was lost in the 10 attractiveness of the “must-sees” and 11 to all the wonders and adventures that might happen during the 12 trip.

    So, 13 any guidebook, I traveled to Estonia, the tiny Baltic country bordering Russia. In the 14 of advance plans as guidebooks would suggest, I had no choice but to turn to some friendly faces for advice. I 15 myself first and then asked them what was happening around the town. When this 16 an invitation to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I 17 a 110-degree wood-stove sauna, 18 picked forest-mushrooms and the good 19 of our five newfound Estonian friends, I was most glad that I had left my “bossy 20” at home.

    In kindergarten, I met my first love – dancing. For the last eleven years, I have spent many hours at the dance studio. The 1 I began as a little girl has shaped my personality, forming 2 that I will have for the rest of my life.

    Once while our dance team 3 for the state competition, six senior members quit without notice, leaving our team without a 4. My team's enthusiasm for the season was cut in half. 5, I was determined to become the new captain and lead my team past this obstacle.

    During the first practice after the seniors quit, my team's emotion was 6. As a leader, I tried to motivate my team through 7. I started to do 8 work outside practice to improve my kicking technique. My team respected me as a coach because I showed 9. On weekends, I spent hours trying to make up a creative competition routine. I wanted my team members to 10 the dance and perform well.

    Before the state meet, I drilled the 11 into the girls' heads and constantly encouraged them to work harder. I would shout out names of people who were 12 well during the dance, and the girls would 13 with even more energy. Through my dance experience, I also found I got better by 14 myself. I mixed new skills into the routine for the state competition to 15 my team's technique. We wanted to prove to ourselves and our school that we could still be a(n) 16 dance team without the girls who 17.

    On the stage, I felt my team's 18. I was proud that we were able to rebuild our confidence and go beyond our expectations at the state competition. We were 19 for all our hard work by placing in the top five. This experience taught me a lesson: with a passion for something, I could 20 any obstacle with creativity and determination.

    William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His childhood1the harmony that was2of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered "little of childhood but its pain". In fact, he3excellent taste in art from his family — both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally4literature,5drama and poetry.

Yeats had strong6in the coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the7task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments,8, were not received9at the beginning. He didn't lose heart, and finally enjoyed 10in his poetical drama.

    11with his dramatic works, Yeats's poems attract much12notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern13to them. As his literary life14, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide15.

    He had not16a major public life17winning the Nobel Prize in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would probably now be18as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who19his greatest works between the ages of 50 and 75. After Yeats's death in 1939, W. H. Auden wrote, among others, the following lines:

    Earth, receive an20guest:

    William Yeats is laid to rest.

    Let the Irish vessel (船) lie.

    Emptied of its poetry.

    Now you're a fool for helping. "I don't want to get involved" seems to have become a national motto. One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City, California to New Orleans, Louisiana. In the middle of the desert, I passed a young man standing by the roadside. He had his 1 out and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him. There was a time 2 you'd be called a jerk for passing by somebody 3.

    Several days later I was still 4 about the hitchhiker（搭便车的人）, about how I didn't even lift my foot 5 the accelerator(油门)for him. "Does anyone stop any more?" I wondered. I recalled Blanche DuBois's famous line— "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Was that 6 these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey 7 the US without any money, just 8 on the good will of others. What would happen? Would he find food, shelter and support?

    The idea intrigued(激起兴趣)me.

    The week I9 37, I realized that I had never done something truly crazy. 10 I decided to really do it: travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny. I would only accept 11 of rides, food and places to sleep. For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states. I was treated kindly 12 I went. I was 13 by people's readiness to help a stranger.

    In Oregon, a house painter named Mike 14 the cold weather and asked if I had a coat. I didn't, so he gave me a big green army-style jacket. A lumber-mill worker in Michigan named Tim invited me to a 15dinner with his family in their shabby house. Then he offered me a tent. I refused, but Tim insisted, packing it into my bag himself. I found people were generally compassionate. Hearing I had no money and would take none, people bought me food or 16 with them whatever they happened to have. Those who had the 17 to give often gave the most.

    I'm 18 to all the people I met for their rides, their food, their shelter and their gifts. My faith in ordinary folks was 19. I was proud to live in a country where people were still willing to help. In spite of everything, you can still depend on the 20 of strangers.