Unchangeable Love

    One day I visited an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was expecting a quiet1 of the splendid artwork.

    A young2 viewing the paintings ahead of me3 nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided the lady was doing all the talking. I admired the man's4for putting up with her5 stream of words. 6 by their noise, I moved on.

    I met them several times as I moved7 the various rooms of art. Each time I heard her continuous flow of words, I moved away8.

    I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a9 when the couple approached the10. Before they left, the man11into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He12 it into a long stick and then tapped his way into the13 to get his wife's jacket.

    “He's a14 man.” the clerk at the counter said. “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn't change. So, as before, he and his wife come in15 there is a new art show.”

    “But what does he get out of the art?” I asked. “He can't see.”

    “Can't see! You're 16. He sees a lot. More than you and I do,” the clerk said. “His wife17 each painting so he can see it in his head.”

    I learned something about patience, 18 and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without 19 and the courage of a husband who would not20 blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away, hand in hand.

    It was already half past seven and I was running late again for the dinner appointment with my wife, Eleanor. We had 1 to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock. I felt a little uneasy, but to my2 ， I had a good excuse: A business meeting had 3and I'd wasted no time getting to the dinner.

    When I arrived at the4 ，1 apologized and told Eleanor I didn't mean to be late. She screamed, "You never mean to." Well, I 5tell she was angry. "I'm sorry but it was not6," I said. Then I told her about the business meeting.7, my explanation seemed to make things worse, which started to drive 8 mad as well.

    Several weeks later, when I9 the situation to my friend Ken Hardy, he smiled, "You10a classic mistake. You're stuck 11your own way of thinking. You didn't 12 to be late. But that's not the point. What is13in your communication is how your lateness affected Eleanor." He pointed out that I focused on the intention14Eleanor focused on the result. Thus, 15 of us felt misunderstood and crazy.

    Thinking more about Ken's words, I 16 recognized the root cause of such disagreement. It's the result of the action that really 17.I should have started the conversation by expressing18 my actions affected Eleanor and 19the discussions about my intention for later, much later and even never.

    Later on, after talking to Eleanor and really20her experience of the results of my lateness, I've managed to be on time a lot more frequently.

    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.”

    I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was 1and when I was 14, he said, "You're never going to be 2 but a failure."

    After five years of 3 jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the best 4 that could have happened to me. I 5 I wanted to do something positive (积极地) with my life because I wanted to prove to 6 that what people said about me was 7. Especially her mother, who had said to me, "Let's 8 it; you've failed at everything you've ever done." So I tried hard with my 9 and went to college. My first novel 10 while I was at college.

    After college I taught during the 11 in high schools and attended evening classes at London University, where I got a 12 in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of 13 that job to write full time 14 I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself — 15 was a working-class boy who'd 16 school early, now teaching at the university.

    My writing career (职业) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I'm rich and 17, have been on TV, and met lots of film stars. 18 what does it mean? I 19 wish all the people that have put me down had 20: "I believe in you. You'll succeed."

    When I was three years old, my parents discovered I was totally deaf. After discussing with doctors, they made a decision to send me to a 1 school.

    I experienced great 2 throughout elementary school because I 3 with most of my schoolwork in order that I could keep up. Because of my 4 I had to constantly ask everyone, "What did he/she say？"Classmates are warm­hearted. 5, I worried that everyone would soon 6 repeating everything back to me. Often I was afraid my classmates would make fun of me, so I 7 answered any teacher's question.

    Mrs. Jordan, my 5th­grade teacher, changed my 8 with a simple three­word phrase. One morning, she asked the class a question. I read her lips and immediately raised my hand. Yet I daren't 9 it — this time I knew the answer. When she called on me, I was nervous. Despite my 10, I felt confident because I was 11 that I had the right answer. I took a deep breath and 12 answered Mrs. Jordan's question.

    I will never 13 what happened next. Her 14 surprised all of us. Mrs. Jordan enthusiastically hit the floor with her right foot and ran her right finger in a full circle until it pointed directly at me. With sparkling (闪闪发光的) eyes and a wide smile she 15, "THAT'S RIGHT, STEPHEN！"

    For the first time in my young life, I was an instant star. My pride 16 in my heart. My 17 rose like never before. A simple three­word phrase delivered with 18 enthusiasm had totally changed my young life.

    From that day, my grades 19 dramatically. My 20 among my peers increased and my outlook on life did a complete turnabout.

    There are lots of ways to raise awareness for a cause. Usually, the 1 the idea is, the more it gets noticed. And that's precisely why one 2 Frenchman has caught our attention.

    Baptiste Dubanchet is biking across Europe, surviving 3 on discarded (丢弃) food. The three-month, 1,900-mile journey from Paris to Warsaw is Dubanchet's 4 of raising awareness of food waste in Europe and throughout the world.

    As you can 5, the trip is no piece of cake. While restaurants 6 tons of food each year, much of it remains inaccessible because of 7 garbage containers, health regulations, or business policies. Only about one in ten places 8 him food that would otherwise be discarded. For legal 9, most restaurants have a policy against 10 food waste. "Some people have even 11 their jobs by giving me food," Dubanchet said.

    What's 12 interesting is the attitude various cities have toward Dubanchet's cause. Berlin has been the 13 while the most difficult was the Czech town of Pilsen. There, he had to 14 at some different stores or restaurants before finding food. The 15 is all the more serious when you consider the 16 exercise required to bike from France to Poland.

    "I have to get food 17 because after all the biking I am tired and I need the 18." Dubanchet explained "Is my 19 full or empty? That is the most important thing, not what I am eating."

    He aims to 20 his journey by mid-July. With any luck, he'll turn a few more heads in the process.