My wife and I were attending a wedding at St. John's Church. The sound of 1rang to the heavens as the ceremony continued.

    At the church, I 2an old friend, Casper, who happened to be at the3. Now 73, Casper was a brilliant and 4softball pitcher（投球手）back in the Men's Leagues of Philadelphia in the mid-60s. I did not 5the now silver-haired fellow until my brother-in-law John mentioned his name to me！After a very pleasant 6, Casper asked if I remembered a letter of 7I had written to him back in 1964. It appeared Casper fell on hard times, as professional pitchers8do, and he wasn't pitching too well for a period of time. I did not 9the letter, but he said, “Yes, I still have it and I read it anytime 10aren't going too well.” He said that he had read the letter many times, and the situation always seemed to improve. I was 11and speechless!

    He continued, “You don't remember?” I said, “Sadly, no, I don't.” But I did ask if I could have a(n) 12of the letter. He said he would email it to me. After the 13, we met on the steps of the church. Casper came up to me and 14the letter. He lived a block from the 15 and had run home to get it. The envelope was 16 and turned yellow, and so was the letter inside. That letter had to be nearly 50 years old.

    In 17 terms, the letter read: “These hard times are 18！Keep your enthusiasm for the 19. Never quit and you'll be back on the top again 20. Hang on there!”

    When pilots fly over the grassland of the Pampas region, Argentina, they're often surprised to spot a huge guitar-shaped forest in the ordered fields. The site is more than an amazing example of land art. Behind the site is a(n) 1 love story.

    When young Argentine2 Pedro Martin Ureta, aged 28, met 17-year- old Graciela Yraizoz in his hometown, they fell in love at first 3. Two years later, they got married and4down on the farm where Ureta had been 5. Graciela had many big plans for the farm in her mind. One day when she was taking a plane on a flight 6 Pampa, Graciala noticed that another farm looked like a milking pail(桶) from the 7. Graciela thought that her family could create something even more attractive on their own farm: A huge forest 8 as her favorite musical instrument—the guitar. Graciela 9playing the guitar in her spare time and often played the guitar at the local10.

    But Ureta didn't take his wife's idea 11saying, “We'll talk about it later.” Later12 came. In 1977, Graciela died suddenly of brain cancer at the 13 age of 25 while carrying their fifth child. After her wife's death, Mr. Ureta 14not fulfilling her wish. Still heartbroken a few years later, Ureta decided that the best way to honor his15wife would be to fulfill her wish and 16the giant work of art in her honor.

    After the local government refused to17with the project, Ureta and his children took it 18. One by one, they planted roughly 7,000 trees into the shape of a guitar. It took a few rough seasons for the trees to take root, but Ureta's dedication19.

    Watching the forest grow over the years gave Graciela's children 20.

    “It was the closest thing possible to have my mother alive,” Maria Julia, Ureta's second daughter, said.

The Power of Kindness

    Leo Kellner loves helping people in the sweetest way possible­by baking them cakes and pies. The 99-year-old man from Hastings, Nebraska, 1 his wife in 2012. They had been together for 72 years.

    Since his wife passed away, Kellner took up 2as a way to give back to the community. "I didn't know what to do with myself ," Kellner said. "I was 3 all the time, and I thought I'd better do something that could make me get out of the 4and be good to the community as well, and that's how it started."

    That first year, Kellner made 144 pies for people in need. He 5 community organizations to let them know he'd like to connect with families having a 6 time. Kellner then started reaching out to those families, getting to know them, and baking up some lovely cakes and pies during their time of need.

    What he did made him 7 known around the communities. And whenever people met him, they showed their 8 to him.

    "I regard everybody as a  9­ I love everybody even people that gave me an unpleasant time when things were going hard for me.

    Born in 1918, Kellner lived 10 the Great Depression, when his family lost their farm. Kellner had to move from state to state as a teenager looking for possible 11 on farms to make a living. "I knew what it was to be 12 , and a lot of times we just had vegetables and flour mixed up together;" he said. "So as long as I can do it, I will lend a helping hand."

    And Kellner's made quite a/an 13 . "I've got friends from all over," he said. "I've gotten thank-you cards from Alaska". Through his baking, Kellner has helped the 14 a lot.

    15 is powerful. Children begin to learn to cook so they can spread 16  just as he does. Kellner believes that this interest to give to everyone just might be the secret to a long, 17 life.

    Life constantly presents us with opportunities to take an extra step or do a kind deed that will make a 18 . And the wonderful thing is that as we do, it changes things for the 19 for us too. Kindness is also a kind of noble cycle. It twice blessed; it blesses him who 20 , and him who receives.

    It was a mid April-a time when the planet Earth turns under the hot rays of the Sun. There was a large desert in Africa with no trace of 1 except a little rose. There was not a bird or a tree in 2. The sand dunes(沙丘) became piles of burning coal as the days 3. But the little rose 4 the cruelty of the Sun. The Sun was very 5 to have seen the rose's ability to 6 such unfavorable conditions.

    One afternoon, the Sun said to the little 7, "Dear Rose! I am the supreme power in this universe. I have the 8 to give and take life. Thousands of living things 9 every day, as they are not able to bear with my heat. But, you have been weathering even my hottest rays 10 any complaint. May I know the source that gave you this great 11?"

    "Oh, mighty Sun," the little rose said 12 , "I don't know much about this desert. But it appears 13 and there seems to be no one else in the whole world my eye could stretch. I began to feel 14 for the loneliness of this desert and 15 to help it as possible as I could. And in this process, I never 16 anything that causes pain to me. My whole 17 has been to be a good friend to this desert and 18 its loneliness."

    19 by the little rose's care for the large desert, the Sun offered a(n) 20-millions of other roses filled the desert with their sweet smells and thus turned the entire stretch into a great oasis of life.

Bill Sumiel was having a tough Friday. It was October 2020, and the 71-year-old, who was dealing with kidney(肾)failure and had been on dialysis( 透 析 )for a few years, found himself away from home. 

He'd been diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病) over 20 years before, which led to his kidney problems. He was on the transplant list, but no matches had yet appeared. So he continued with his treatments periodically. Without a ride lined up for Friday's do-over, Sumiel took Ubers to and from his appointment. 

Timothy Letts, 31, was driving to visit a friend when his phone received the request for Sumiel's ride home. When Sumiel got into his car, Letts could see that the older man was unenergetic but in good spirits. And as they set out to Sumiel's home, the pair got to chatting. During conversation, Sumiel revealed that he was searching for a kidney donor. Letts joked that he'd be a good donor candidate, given that he didn't drink or smoke. 

Sumiel agreed, though he didn't think much of it. Letts, however, couldn't stop thinking about it and it was always on his mind. So, Letts said:"I'd like to see if I could be a match to give you a kidney. "

"I was shocked, "Sumiel recalls. He was shaking so hard that he could barely write his name when they exchanged contact information. After the initial excitement, Sumiel started feeling less optimistic. He was touched by Letts's offer, but he wondered if it had just been an emotional moment. Would he hear from him? And what was the likelihood of a match?

But Letts was true to his word. He got in touch with Sumiel just a few hours later, and by the next week, Letts had contacted the kidney transplant program. After a series of testing, the results were in: Letts was an ideal donor, and he and Sumiel were a perfect match. 

In December 2021, 14 months after their chance encounter, Sumiel and Letts had their surgeries. It was a success. Today they live respectively and healthily and anticipate the day they can reunite. 

It is a special cross-country race. The competitors' vehicles are made{#blank#}1{#/blank#}fruits and vegetables like carrots eggplants, grapefruits, pumpkins and oranges. They are the creations of pupils from the Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School.

According to Chen You, the science class teacher,{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(base) knowledge had been taught within 6 classes to students before they drew sketches and{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(choose) vegetables to make a food car.

Although students were encouraged{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(design) their cars together with parents, all the cars should be made in the class. After{#blank#}5{#/blank#}(bring) piles of ingredients as well as tools the children began their innovation. Some cut the carrot slices to make them round, and some others assembled (组装) their car components together.

In addition to the{#blank#}6{#/blank#}(compete), students are required to reflect on the {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(difficulty) they encountered making their vehicles,{#blank#}8{#/blank#}things they have learned from the activity and the improvements they think the course can make.

{#blank#}9{#/blank#}touched the teachers most was the unity and friendship among the children. For example, although the contest was fierce (激烈的), students felt {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(excite) for the champion car as if they themselves had stood out, and when a girl's car fell apart their friends comforted her and helped reassemble the car.