Education from My Father

    My memories of my father are slim because he was so sick in the last years of his life. But there are   1 that I am often reminded of and which may have had some bearing on my love of  2 .

    When I was small I was somewhat  3 of lightning and thunder. My father explained it. The explanation was in 4  that a child could understand but was basically correct. I gained a better 5 later, but I didn't have to unlearn anything.

    What he said was that there was electricity in the clouds 6  it traveled to the ground like a spark. When it traveled  7  the air it made the air so hot that it 8 . Then there was nothing where the air had been and the air all around rushed in to 9  the space. He clapped his hands together very loud,  10 to be the air rushing in, and said that makes the thunder. When I hear thunder, I can still hear that 11 .

    He explained why if it was cloudy in the winter the night was warmer than if it was 12 . It was one of those nights when the sky was full of stars: no moon, no town lights. But there were more stars than you could 13 and they had color too. He said that if there were no clouds, we had no blankets and were  14 to the universe. Our warmth was going to 15  the whole universe. When there were clouds, they were like blankets and we were not exposed to the universe. I 16 feel on the edge of space on a very clear night.

    I am sure there were many other lessons that I 17  but no longer remember. What I did 18 , in general, was that there were explanations and that the more I understood them, the more comfortable the world was to live in. I was not taught that there were 19 but that there was understanding if you looked for it. This may be why I have always been  20  in science.

    The family had had a cat for years. Then, one day, the children finally 1 to persuade their parents to get them a dog as well. So a little Labrador（拉布拉多犬）2 .

    The dog was so3that everyone wanted to hold him and he charmed everyone by just loving them. The cat made it very clear she did not welcome another 4 in the house, but the dog just 5 the cat anyway. The little dog 6her anywhere, trying to make friends with the angry cat. No amount of 7behavior from the cat could persuade the dog not to love the cat.

    The family thought the cat would 8like the dog.

    Then one day the family heard horrible 9 from their back yard. They ran to the 10 to see what was happening. They lived in the suburbs and so they saw a real lynx（猞猁）was just planning on11 their cat for lunch. The poor cat had nowhere to run or hide. It would only be a matter of seconds and their cat would be 12.

    And then suddenly a black lightning ran to the rescue. The little dog 13the big lynx with all its strength. It did not14 or stop to think. It saw its 15 in trouble and did what had to be done. The family opened the window and started yelling and the father ran to the yard. The lynx soon disappeared into the16

    And ever since that day the cat's behavior toward the dog17totally. Now it was the cat that followed the hero dog everywhere. They 18in the same basket. The cat even let the dog eat from her bowl.

So we can19: if ever anyone is 20 towards you, don't turn your back on them. They may not rescue your life —but their kindness can certainly rescue your day!

    Songs bring us through our life. Each time I listen to my favorite song Reach, I'm deeply 1 by its lyrics: "If I could reach higher, just one moment touch the sky..." When we hear this 2 song sung by Gloria Estefan, we can 3 imagine how she managed to return to the stage after her serious back injury. In 1990, this Cuban singer was 4 down in a terrible traffic accident, and the doctor 5 that she might never walk again. But Gloria did not 6 and kept on working hard toward her 7. Just one year after the disaster 8, she stood up again and 9 this encouraging song at the Atlanta Olympics.

    Whenever I think of Gloria, a 10 crowds in my mind. When I entered university, naturally shy, ordinary looking, and with 11 scores in my lessons, just like an ugly duckling. I seemed to be the 12 outstanding one in my class. Continuous failures drove me into 13. "Am I to take a back seat to everyone else?" 14 to give in to such a fate I spared no effort to work on my lessons and joined in many 15, such as English speech contests and dramas. I just wanted to catch every little chance to 16 myself. My continuous efforts finally paid off. I received some 17. More importantly, I 18 courage and confidence to face any difficulty in my life.

    19 is just like farming. You 20 what you sow. Once you have a dream, don't hesitate. Keep moving!

    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.

    I come from one of those families where you have to yell at the dinner table to get in a word. Everyone has a strong 1, and talks at the same time, and no one has a 2 leading to heated arguments. We often talk or even debate with each other on different topics. 3 a family like mine has made me more 4 about the world around me, making me tend to question anything anyone tells me. But it has also made me realize that I'm not a good listener. And when I say "listening", I'm not 5 to the nodding-your-head-and-6-answering-Uh-huh-or-Ooh-I-see variety. I mean the kind of listening where you find yourself deeply 7 with the person you're speaking with, when his story becomes so 8 that your world becomes less about you and more about him. No, I was never very good at that.

    I spent summer in South Africa two years ago. I worked for a good non-profit 9 called Noah, which works 10 on behalf of children affected by AIDS. But 11 you asked me what I really did in South Africa, I'd tell you one thing: I listened, and I listened. Sometimes I 12, but mostly listened.

    And had I not spent two months 13, I might have missed the 14 moment when a quiet little girl at one of Noah's community centers, orphaned（孤儿）at the age of three, whispered after a long 15, "I love you."

    16 that summer, I knew how to hear. I could sit down with anyone and hear their 17 and nod and respond at the 18 time­but most of the time I was 19 about the next words out of my own mouth. Ever since my summer in South Africa, I have noticed that it's in those moments when my mouth is closed and my 20 is wide open that I've learned the most about other people, and perhaps about myself.

    During my second year at the city college, I was told that the education department was offering a "free" course, called Thinking Chess, for three credits.

    I 1 the idea of taking the class because, after all, who doesn't want to 2 a few dollars? More than that, I'd always wanted to learn chess. And, even if I weren't 3 enough about free credits, news about our 4 was appealing enough to me. He was an international grandmaster, which 5 I would be learning from one of the game's 6. I could hardly wait to 7 him.

    Maurice Ashley was kind and smart, a former graduate returning to teach, and this 8was no game for him; he meant business. In his introduction, he made it 9 that our credits would be hard-earned. In order to 10 the class, among other criteria, we had to write a paper on how we plan to 11 what we would learn in class to our future professions and, 12, to our lives. I managed to get an A in that 13 and learned life lessons that have served me well beyond the 14.

    Ten years after my chess class with Ashley, I'm still putting to use what he 15 me: "The absolute most important 16 that you learn when you play chess is how to make good 17. On every single move you have to 18 a situation, process what your opponent (对手) is doing and 19 the best move from among all your options." These words still ring true today in my 20 as a journalist.