One summer evening I was sitting by the open window, reading a good but rather frightening mystery story. After a time it was too dark for me to read easily, so I put my book down and turned on the light.

    I was just about to draw the 1 as well when I heard a loud cry “Help! Help! ” It2to come from the trees at the end of the garden. I looked out but it was too3to see anything clearly. So I decided to go out and have a look in the garden, just4someone was in 5. I took the torch and picked up a strong walking stick, 6 that this might come to be useful, too. 7 with these, I went out into the garden. 8 I heard the cry. There was no 9that it came from the trees at the end of the garden.

    “Who's there?” I 10 as I walked, rather11, down the path that 12 to the trees. But there was no13. With the help of my torch， I 14the whole of that part of the garden and the lower15 of the trees. There was no sign of anybody or anything. I came to the 16that someone was playing a rather silly joke on me.

    17feeling rather puzzled, I went back to the house and 18 away the torch and the stick. I had just sat down when I was startled by the cry of “ Help! Help! ”, this time from19 my shoulder. I dropped my book and climbed up. There, sitting 20of the mantelpiece ( 壁炉 ), was a parrot!

    I learned my first lesson at a meeting. As we sat around the table I heard Meg, who was 1 a recent operation, talking to Judith, the manager of our project. “Thank you so much for 2my daughters to their dance lessons last week.” “Don't mention it,” Judith says, “It was nothing.”

    Knowing how 3Judith's schedule is, with her work, kids and aging parents, I found her driving Meg's children to lessons unbelievably 4. I was about to say more about this when Donna, another colleague, entered the room 5. She apologized for being late, saying she just hosted a lunch for her friends who are over seventy. “That is so nice of you,” I say,6 how busy she was, how she didn't like to cook and clean. “Oh,” she said, waving her hand, “It was nothing.”7, I could still tell the 8in her voice. She did gain a sense of satisfaction from the entertainment offered to her friends.

Seeing their 9to help others selflessly, I started thinking about the concept of “nothing”, this peaceful and generous way of living— had it really been nothing or were they simply saying that? It 10to me that once I spent a whole afternoon after work helping a friend 11a speech. I 12her to rearrange the sequence of the stories in the lecture to make it sound more 13. After the fifth try, she finally 14it. She hugged me with 15, saying thanks to me. I smiled and said it was nothing.

    Suddenly, I realized that helping someone was really something to me. I learned that giving from the heart doesn't 16mean sacrifice and hard work. The 17is finding something we love to do and finding someone who 18that something. Our generosity pan benefit others 19ourselves. Once you have a good 20of it, it's nothing. And it's really something.

    When two ninth-grade students found smoke coming out of the back of their school bus early Tuesday morning, their bus driver knew just what to do. Thanks to her1 thinking, more than 50 students' lives were2.

    While3a group of 56 students to their middle school in Duncan, South Carolina, on Tuesday, Teresa Stroble noticed the heavy4rising from the back of her bus. She5pulled the bus over, evacuated (疏散) the students, and radioed the transportation office to ask6to call 911. Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after the fire began and quickly7the fire, which CBS News reports was so8that people driving by were able to feel its heat inside their cars. Parents of the children on the bus were9the fire, but thanks to Stroble, the news they received was all10: not a single child had been hurt.

    Since then, Stroble, who has been a bus driver for seven years11also works as a teacher's assistant (助教), has been12for her brave actions. “We are so13of our bus driver,” headmaster Scott Turner told local CBS News. “She was14. She also kept the students calm. She made sure they were safe. She didn't leave the bus15they all left. She is our16today.”

    The local fire department is still unsure what 17 the fire, but some say that this 199518has been known to have wiring and electrical problems.19, we're so happy that Stroble was able to,20on her feet and keep everyone safe and sound.

    In August 1999,Yuriko noticed that her daughter,Ayako,was looking thin and pale,1 she insisted that the 22-year-old see a doctor.As they waited for the rest results,the doctor2 gave Yuriko a note while her daughter wasn't noticing.

    In the restroom,Yuriko opened the note,“It is stomach cancer,“said the doctor.“Please3There is no time.”

On September 21,Ayako had a(n)4Three quarters of her stomach were removed.The doctor 5 the situation to Yuriko but the medical terms sounded like a foreign language.

    Ayako was put on anti-cancer drugs,and over the next three months,she 6 from side effects,and lost seven kilograms.

    Yuriko decided to do more to 7 her daughter.She read all kinds of books on cancer.As a single mother,she had no one to share her 8with.

9 the difficulties,Yuriko was able to help her daughter.When Ayako started experiencing breathing difficulties,Yuriko 10 if it could be a side effect of the anti-cancer drug.She told Ayako's doctor and he 11to take her off the drug.

    12in November 2002,Ayako's treatment came to an end.Although she felt her pain 13Yuriko couldn't forget how lost and 14 she felt during her daughter's treatment.She wrote a letter to the local newspaper 15the creation of a support group for cancer patients.

    Phone calls and letters 16 her idea started pouring in.In December 2002,Yuriko formally17 Ikkikai,roughly meaning “sharing the joy”,with the18of providing hope and information for people with cancer,and their families.

    Ikkikai's message has begun to 19Yuriko says,“The simple act of talking to other people who understand your problems can make the greatest 20I hope that more people would join in the group.”

    The rosebushes were finally in full bloom on that spring morning.

    The sight of roses always brings to1Wanda's childhood memories. Then the family had no 2to buy extra things, so even a tired rose was something to 3 .

    Currently, to have a backyard full of different roses is pure 4. And her husband, Dale, devotedly 5the roses. 6that she loves the very first blooms, he picked some on this particular morning.

    But as Dale returned, he came across a neighbor who had7 for a quick visit. As the woman turned to go, Dale generously gave the 8 to her. And even though their visitor 9 she didn't want to take them, she was10 assured(确信)that the flowers were hers to keep.

    Seeing her precious first blooms go out the door11Wanda with regret, and a bit of 12. She knew it was "better to give than to receive." 13, she wished she could have kept the roses for herself.

    Later that day, the couple headed to the post office, where Wanda waited outside in the car.

    Then, without14, an older woman suddenly appeared at the open window, and gave her a bunch of fresh roses! "These are for you. They're my first blooms this spring."

    Completely 15, Wanda thanked the woman and16 for a moment to breathe in the rich fragrance. When she looked back, the mysterious visitor was gone.

That special17changed Wanda. It made her understand the true meaning of18gifts. Now, she always19her first blooms to others, as a(n)20that someone is thinking of them.

The snow trapped Taylor, but taco sauce (卷饼酱) saved his life. It all began last Sunday when Taylor, along with his dog, went to get gas for his 1, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Taylor told the police his car got 2 in the snow. After some time, he then 3   and woke up on Monday finding 4 more snow, unable to get out of the vehicle (车辆). He tried to 5 out on Monday, but the snow was too deep and made it 6 to go on foot so he and his dog 7 to the vehicle.

By Wednesday, a 8 person's announcement was put out for Taylor, according to a report. Over the next few days 9 he was trapped in the snow, Taylor told the police he stayed 10 by "starting his car from time to time. He 11 some of the taco sauce he had as food".

On Friday, a skater called 911 saying they had 12 Taylor. The office soon sent a construction truck to 13 out Taylor and his dog. The officers said they were just "hungry after being stuck in the 14 for five days". Taylor was 15 to who helped him and determined to help others as possible as he could in future.