I got aboard and sat down in my seat．It was going to be a long flight． Around me were some  1  "Where are you headed?" I asked．

       "Lakes Air Base．We'll be there for special training, and then to the front．"

After about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were  2  for five dollars． The journey would be several hours, and I decided to buy one．

        As I 3  for my wallet, I heard a soldier ask his fellows if he would buy lunch．"No, that seems a lot of money for just a box lunch．" I looked around at the other soldiers. 4  were buying lunch．I walked to the back of the plane and  5 the flight attendant a fifty-dollar bill．

        "Take a lunch to all those soldiers．" I said．She seized my arms tightly．Her eyes wet with tears, she  6  me, " My son is a soldier in the front．．．it's almost like you are doing it for him．"

       Picking up ten boxes, she headed to the soldiers．

       After eating, on my way to the rest room I was  7  by a man．"I saw 8 you did and I want to be part of it．" With this, he handed me twenty-five dollars．

       Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming, looking at the seat numbers  9  he walked．When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his10  , and said, "I want to  11  your hand．" I stood and took his hand．With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier．12 , someone bought me a lunch．It was such an act of  13  that I never forgot．" I was a little bit  14   when applause rang out from all of the passengers．These soldiers were giving their all for our country．I could only give them a couple of meals．

       Later, when I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs, a man  15  another twenty-five dollars in my hand．

When we 16  , I gathered my belongings and started to leave．A man stopped me, put something in my pocket, and walked away 17 a word．Another twenty-five dollars! Seeing the soldiers  18  at the terminal, I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars．As I walked  19  to my car, I prayed for their safe  20  .

    A strong wind was blowing hard, thunder was rumbling（雷声隆隆地响）, and lightning flashed across the dark sky. Rain was 1 down; it looked as if heaven had been broken open.

    Gleams（闪光）of light appeared from windows of faraway houses, 2 like jewels in all the dark.

    A 3 woman dressed in rags and trembling with cold was 4 on a lonely road, while the merciless rain was 5 her without pause.

    She knocked at a door, and a 6 answered it. She begged him to let her stay a while 7. The boy then let her into the sitting room and 8 her sitting by the fire.

    The woman 9 old and tired under the bright electric light, 10she was only in her early thirties. She sat 11 for a moment, and then her eyes began to look about the 12. When her wandering eyes rested on the picture of a young man, she 13 up, looking thunderstruck（大吃一惊）.

    Just then, the boy came with his14. The man at once recognized the woman as his 15. They had 16 touch with each other during the war, and he thought he had lost her forever. 17words needed to be spoken. They ran into each other's arms 18the boy stared at them, puzzled.

    The storm was over and the sky cleared. Feeling very 19, the couple stood face to face with their child between them, watching the rain as it gradually 20.

    A large cat arrived at a farm where many mice lived. None of them dared go outside for fear of being 1by the cat.

    The mice decided to hold a 2to find a way of stopping themselves from being in3.One day, when the cat was out, mice of all ages4into the meeting room.

    “Let's build a big trap,” one mouse5.When this idea was6,another said, “What about poisoning(毒死）her?” But7knew where to buy the poison. One young mouse, whose mother had become the cat's food,8said, “Let's cut her teeth, so she can do no more harm,” But the meeting did not accept his9. At last, one mouse,10than the rest, jumped onto a table. Waving a bell, he called for11. “Be quiet!” we'll tie this bell to cat's tail, so we'll always know12 she is! We'll have13to escape, and the slower and weaker mice will hear her coming and he able to14!”Hearing the words, everyone got15and they congratulated him on his good idea.

    We'll tie it so tightly(紧紧地）that it will never16!”

    “she'll never be able to walk17again! Why, the other day, she suddenly appeared right in front of me! Just imagine....”

    However, the wise mouse said, “We must18who is going to tie it on her tail.” There was not a sound in the room. Nobody was19enough to put the plan into action. The meeting ended without any decision being made.

    It's often very20to have bright ideas, but putting them into practice is a more difficult matter.

    One day in early December, we woke up to discover a heavy fall of snow. “Mom, can we go1after breakfast?” my eleven-year-old daughter Erica begged. I didn't want to 2her request, so we headed towards the only 3in our town.

    When we arrived, the hill was crowded with people. We found an open spot next to a thin man and his three-year-old son. The boy was already lying in the sled (雪橇), 4to be launched. “Come on, Daddy!” he called.

    The man looked over at me. “Okay if we go 5?”he asked.

    “Sure. Looks like your son is ready to go, ”I said. With that, he gave the boy a huge 6 and off he flew! And the father ran after his son at full speed.

    “He must be afraid that his son is going to7somebody, ”I said to Erica. “We'd better be 8 too.”

    Then we also skied down the hill at a great speed. As we returned to the top, I noticed that the man was 9his son, who was still lying in the sled, back up to the summit (山顶)，When we reached the top, the boy was ready to play again. Again, the father 10him down the hill, and then pulled both the boy and the sled back up. The little boy was terribly spoilt by his father, I thought. 11he was small, the child could pull his own sled up the hill once in a while. This 12went on for more than an hour, but the man never 13 and he was very happy instead. Finally, I could14it no longer. I called to him, “You have tremendous15!”

    The man smiled and said, “He has cerebral palsy (脑瘫)，He can't walk.

    I was dumbstruck (惊呆的). It had all seemed so happy, so 16 that it never occurred to me that the child might be 17.Although I didn't know the man's name, I told the 18in my newspaper column. Either he or someone he knew must have recognized him, 19shortly afterward, I received this letter:

Dear Mrs. Silverman,

    The energy I expended on the hill that day is 20compared to what my son does every day . To me, he is a true hero.

    When I was 16, I wrote a list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime. Some things were easy, some difficult and some almost 1. One of the things on the list was to do a 2.

    Two years ago I spent three months travelling with a friend and it was a great experience. One of the most 3 things we saw was Iguassu Falls. The day after we visited the waterfalls we were 4 in a hotel in Brazil, playing games when my friend 5 noticed an advertisement on the wall 6 “Skydive over Iguassu Falls today!”. I realized it was time to realize my 7. Today would be the day that we would jump out of a(n) 8.

    That afternoon we were 9 and taken to the Skydive Centre. We put on our harnesses（跳伞装备）and helmets, were given some 10 and then took off into the air. My heart started to beat very fast and I felt very 11.

    Luckily, I was 12 to an instructor so I didn't have to worry about anything; I just had to 13 myself. He asked me if I was ready to fall from the plane but 14 I had enough time to 15, we fell to the ground at 400 km an hour! After about 40 seconds of 16, the parachute opened and everything slowed down. We 17 peacefully towards the earth, leaving the 18 behind us.

    This was definitely one of the scariest but most exciting 19 of my life. I would do another skydive if I had the20. I think that everyone should do something that scares them once in a while！

Successfully receiving a US visa (签证) is full of ups and downs. In early 2023, I received an offer to join in the Sports Industry Management Summer Program at Georgetown University in the US. Never having been to the US before, I was thrilled about the upcoming 1 .

However, my excitement turned into shock when I 2 a scheduled interview appointment at the US embassy (大使馆) in New Delhi in early May. The waiting list was so long that it 3 all the way to September, well 4 the start of the summer program in July.

Still, that wasn't the only 5 we faced with the US embassy. A friend planning to visit France mentioned that the visa application process now took two months longer than before. It seemed that an increasing number of people were applying to travel abroad. I waited until mid-July before 6 giving up on the summer program for 2023.

At last, I secured an appointment for Sept 18, 2023. After all these difficulties, I thought I could finally get my US visa. During the interview, the visa officer, a pleasant woman, began asking me a few questions. Then there was 7 as she typed on her keyboard for five minutes. I though that the exciting moment was coming. 8 , after smiling at my mom and 9 a green form to her, she said, "Sorry, but due to your job, we require 10 documents."

As a journalist, my mother was required by the green form to email a list of her published stories. Fortunately, she specializes in 11 and art, with hundreds of articles on cultural exchanges and interpersonal communications between India and the US. I don't know whether or not her touching stories 12 the visa officer. After all, the embassy gave us 10-year visas after about a week.

With the visa I am applying for the summer program for 2024 now. If you're planning to travel abroad, I 13 starting the visa process early, 14 many others likely have the same plans. Your parents' jobs can also affect your visa application, so make sure you do some 15 and are ready to provide extra documents.