Once upon a time a teacher and his student 1down under a big tree near the big grass area．Then suddenly the student asked the teacher，"Teacher，I'm puzzled．How do we 2 our soul mate(知己)?Could you please help me?"

    Silent for a few seconds，the teacher then answered，"Well，it's a pretty hard and easy question．" The teacher 3 ,"Look that way．There is a lot of grass．Why don't you walk there? But please don't walk 4 ． On your way，try to find a blade(叶片)of beautiful grass and 5 it and then give it to me．But just one．"

    The student said OK and then he walked straight ahead to the grassy field．A few minutes later，the student came back empty-handed．When the teacher asked the 6 ,the student said，"On my journey，I found quite a few beautiful blades of grass，but I 7     that I would find a better one，so I didn't pick it．But I didn't realize that I was at the 8 of the field，and I hadn't picked any because you told me not to go back，so I didn't go back." Hearing this, the teacher said，"That's what will happen in real life．"

    What is the 9 of this story? In the story，grass is the people around you；the beautiful blade grass is the people that 10 you and the grassy field is time．In looking for your soul mate，please don't always 11and hope that there will be a better one．By doing that，you'll 12your lifetime．Remember "Time Never Goes Back．"

      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.

    One of my favorite things in life is my monthly date with my daughter. Now it has become our 1to include some kind of Smile Card activity whenever we can. It's very2today, so we planned to make our3act something cool. We went to an ice cream shop,4 at the table near the counter.

    As we5our ice cream, we said that we'd like to6ice cream for the next person who came to the counter. After knowing my intention, the cashier was so excited and couldn't7for the8person. My daughter was also excited to9our victim(受害者) secretly.

    About five minutes later the cashier told us, "Oh, a mother and two little kids are coming!" As the woman10their ice cream and11for her wallet, the cashier told her that someone wanted to buy her family's ice cream. She couldn't 12it. "Seriously?" she asked with 13. Rachel and I14not to notice.

    The cashier came over to "wipe our table", leaving our15without being seen. She was as16as we were about our act of kindness. We took a piece of paper and  17a note to the cashier thanking her for helping us. We placed the note and a Smile Card on the counter, leaving the shop before we were seen.

    When we got home, my daughter was still excited to tell her mom what we did. I love my date with my daughter more than18in the world. What's more, I19every moment with her. It is even more special that we20our Smile Card adventure together.

    As the saying goes, roses given, fragrance in hand. I am always in the 1 of giving money to every beggar or homeless person I pass by. My friends say it is not good to 2. We may come across beggars or homeless people begging every day and all beggars have their ability to survive. It 3 them that I never listen.

On a 4day, my friend and I were walking to the bus stop 5 I passed a beggar lady. I had seen her several times before and had always given her a few 6. That day, I gave her 2 Euros. I was waiting for the bus and reading a book when I 7 to see that lady standing in front of me. She 8 me a piece of paper covered in a plastic bag to prevent it from getting9. She stood there, looking at me 10. Putting away my book, I took the paper, which 11 she and her family had to 12 their country because of floods, and she was 13 to support them. She had got a bit of money, but she needed five 14 Euros to get home. I 15 into my pockets and found 20 cents. My friend 16 a 5 Euro note. I asked her to give it to the lady, and said that I would 17 the next day. When she got the money, the lady hugged us and said thanks again and again, and went on her way. Later on the bus, I wondered where her home was and 18 she had gotten to this country. In her story, I felt that my friend and I would always remain part of it as the 19, who helped her get home on a rainy day. But for me, helping a stranger did bring me happiness, giving me a pleasant 20 .

    Experts say boredom is good for kids. It forces them to be creative, 1 their imaginations, and helps them discover new things. A(n) 2 in point is 13-year-old Luke Thrill from Dubuque, Iowa.

    Luke was 3 of playing video games and riding his bike, so he decided to build a tiny house in his backyard instead. He made money from cutting lawns (草坪) and 4 exchanged some services, such as gaining the help of an electrical engineer 5 sweeping his garage. Luke also 6 spare materials from his grandmother's house and other 7 materials from his neighbors for some of the windows and the door.

    The 89-square-foot home cost $1, 500 to build and 8 18 months. Inside there's a kitchenette, a back sitting room, a table and a mounted (镶嵌的) TV, and an upstairs bedroom can be easily 9 by stairway.

    Although Luke did the 10 and learned how to do all the work, he had his father's 11 throughout the project. Greg Thrill was very happy that his son learned to stay on 12 and deal with grown-ups. 13, he had some simple rules when Luke 14 the house: "You 15 the money. You build it. And you own it."

    Luke is now in love with 16. He has a YouTube channel and hopes to 17 other kids to start building. 18, he wants to build a bigger tiny house to live in, but for now, he 19 in his new home a few nights a week, does homework there, and uses it to take a 20 from his twin brother.

Worth the pain in the end

    I used to hate running. It seemed too hard and pushing outside my comfort zone was not something I was raised to do.

    In fact, I wouldn't have become a1if it weren't for my husband Charles. He had been a serious competitive runner for many years. After our marriage, he wouldn't stop talking about how much he missed it.

    "So start running again, why don't you?" I was getting 2 of hearing about it.

    So he picked it up again, and after about a year, I started to join him at the track (跑道). Just a few weeks later, Charles signed us both up for a five-kilometer race. I 3about doing it. It was too soon.

    But on 4 day, there I was.

    The gun went  5. Thousands of runners pushed forward.

    The first kilometer was 6.

    "I don't think I'm going to make it." I was already breathing heavily and painfully aware of the group of runners  7 past me.

    "No, you're doing 8", said Charles. He was trying to encourage me, to get me focused on something other than my  9.

    "I can't, " I said, 10 audibly (听得见地).

    He tried a different way to 11 me. "Just make it to that house and let's see how you feel."

    After another minute I saw the three-kilometer  12. All I could think of was that I was dying and that my husband was torturing (折磨) me.

    Miserable doesn't even begin to describe  13 I felt. And there was so much 14.

    "You'll be fine. You've got less than a kilometer to go."

    I rounded a corner and saw both sides of the street thick with people watching the race, all cheering the runners on. I 15 my legs to keep going.

    Then I looked up and saw the clock. The seconds ticking away (一分一秒地过去) gave me an incentive (助力). I knew that if I finished this race, I would have achieved something. So, I straightened up, and kicked it.

    I had my arms held higher when I passed 16the finish line. A volunteer put a 17 around my neck.

    "You did great! I'm so 18 of you!" Charles was thrilled that I'd 19 it.

    "That was AMAZING! I want to do another race. This running stuff is amazing!" I proudly hugged my medal as we started to walk to the post-race festivities.

    My lungs and my comfort zone both 20.