Before he sailed round the world single-handed, Francis Chichester had already surprised his friends several times. He had tried to 1 round the world but failed. That was in 1931.

    The years passed. He 2flying and began sailing. He enjoyed it greatly. Chichester was already 58 years old when he won the first solo 3race across the Atlantic. His 4dream of going round the world came back, but this time he would sail. His friends and doctors thought it was a(an)5 attempt, as he had lung cancer. But Chichester was determined to 6his plan. In August, 1966, at the age of nearly 65, an age at which many men 7, he began his greatest 8of his life.

    Chichester covered 14,100 miles 9stopping in Sydney, Australia. This was more than twice the distance anyone had previously sailed 10. On shore, he could not walk 11help. Everybody said the same thing: he had done 12; he must not go any further.13  he did not listen.

    After 14in Sydney for a few weeks, Chichester set off once more in spite of lots of 15. The second half of his voyage was by far the more 16 part, during which he sailed round the risky Cape Horn. After succeeding in sailing round Cape Horn, Chichester sent the following radio message to London: “I feel as if I had waken up from a nightmare (噩梦). Even a wild horse could not drag me down to Cape Horn and that Ocean 17.”

    Just before 9 o'clock on Sunday evening 28 May, 1967, he arrived 18in England, where tens of thousands of people were waiting to welcome him. Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ honored him with a very valuable sword. The whole voyage from 19and back had covered 28,500 miles. It had taken him nine 20, of which the sailing time was 226 days. He had done what he wanted to accomplish.

    I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people 1 I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a 2person:

    I think my 3started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my 4, and be left alone. I thought I was smarter everyone else, so I hardly ever5to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really,6. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n) 7. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I 8to help. That was really a big 9for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of 10are still my best friends today.

    A bigger cause of my new 11, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer s disease became my 12. Every time I came into her room, she was so13because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never 14her, so I took her place. She let me 15. That making others feel good make me feel good, too. When she died, I was16, but I was very grateful to her.

    I think I am a much 17, person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not 18these experiences. They have 19e to care about other people more than about myself. 20who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

    The whole school was talking about the coming trip at a winter camp. And everyone was 1, except me.

    "I'll hate it," I told my parents. "I'll get homesick (想家的). I'll look stupid at winter sports, and everyone will 2 me. "

    "You might be surprised, Bree," said Mom. "The only way to find out is to 3."

    "It's what growing up is all about," Dad added.

    When 4 the camp, we were asked to share one 5.

    "I'm afraid I'll be homesick," someone said.

    I wasn't the only one?! I began to 6. After lunch, we were asked to ski (滑雪) down to the field. I skied 7, but I still hit a piece of ice and 8.

    "Ha! Ha!" Behind me, somebody started laughing. I 9 to see who was making fun of me. To my 10, I saw a girl in the same awkward (尴尬的) position I was in. "I thought I'd be bad at this, 11 I'm worse than I expected!" she said.

    12, I started laughing too. After being so 13 of falling, it was a comfort not to fear it anymore.

    At dinnertime, I was so happy to be talking about interesting things that I 14 to feel homesick.

    The next day, I was 15 to try ski jumping first, even though I didn't want to. But when my feet left the ground, I felt I was 16 and it was wonderful.

    Maybe Dad was right when he said "You might 17 it if you give it a chance!"

    Maybe the kind of 18 Mom and Dad were talking about had more to do with my outlook (态度）than my looks. We all 19 fitting in and failing when we try 20 things. Sometimes you've got to fall on your face to discover how much you've got in common.

    One cold December morning, my dad and I were walking along the road to a store to buy Christmas presents. Suddenly a car ran to us out of 1. Pushed away by my dad, I was 2 while he was unable to escape and injured. My dad 3 unconditional love to me when faced with the accident. Since that day, I have 4 the power of love and the 5it can teach to those who take anything for granted, as I did everything before.

    People wander into our lives for various reasons, but each one has something to 6, even the driver who caused the 7. He helped me a lot. Whether our 8is entirely good or not, there remains something to be gained from every person we 9. I have come to view 10 in this way. Sometimes, when schoolwork gets tough and I lack 11, I remind myself that I am here to make use of every lesson that I have been given. What a 12 it is to be able to acquire knowledge!

    This unconditional love I have for 13allows me to see the world through what some may call rose-colored glasses, which helps me to love and be loved in complete confidence as well. 14, it offers me the power to see things clearly in the15 changing world and 16myself to overcome difficulties in my life. I am 17 to learn, and because of my ability to love, I 18 the challenges that will help me grow. I approach everything with interests, and 19 an opportunity for education on every page of my books, and even with difficulties and 20.

    Last summer, I travelled to Meixian County with my friends. It is a small county at the foot of Taibai Mountain in Shanxi Province. We stayed there for one week and I1 my vacation because of the beautiful scenery at the top of the mountain.

    I will2forget the day when we climbed the main peak(山顶). The3in that area changes very quickly: it was sunny in the early morning when we set out,4it began to rain heavily when we were only halfway up.

    Soon, we were all5and some of us wanted to go home. They said, "There is nothing6here. We came to see the scenery,7the pouring rain!" However, the guide8, "Since we have got wet already, why not just go on with our journey？"

    So we carried on up the mountain and,9we even noticed, the rain stopped and the sun was smiling again. When we reached the top of the peak, the view was unique (独特的).

    Up there, it was bright and clear. The sky was10and the air was fresh. The gentle wind made us feel cool. All the clouds were just like waves in the ocean,11and falling under our feet. We could only see the peaks of mountains, as if they were12floating sparsely (稀疏的) in the ocean. It was a really magical experience.

    While we were enjoying the scene, the guide said13,"You see, I knew that there would be no rain above the clouds."

    It is14. While it may rain below the clouds, the sun is still there above them.

You will never see the sun15you don't try your best to climb to the top of the mountain. If we had stopped and gone home when the rain was very heavy, we would never have seen the beautiful scenery16the clouds. I think this is also true in17.

    As the song says, "You won't see the rainbow unless you have gone through the thunder and storm." I think in the18, whenever I have any difficulties in my life, I will remember the19from the top of Taibai Mountain and the20which touched my heart deeply: There is no rain above the clouds.

When I was a child my father taught me five words that I've used all my life — in my acting career, as a mother, in my business activities. If I 1 that I was afraid of the dark, or if I seemed worried about meeting new people, Dad would say, "Stand porter to your 2 . "

A porter is a gatekeeper who stands at a door letting people in or out. Dad would get me to picture myself stopping 3 things — such as fear — at the door, 4 saying "Come in" to faith, love and self-assurance.

As an actress, before I went on camera, I'd make sure anxiety stayed out and confidence in my ability came in. As a mother, when I was anxious about my children, I would try not to let worry in but would 5 my mind with trust in them.

Of course, there were always times I'd 6 those words.

In 1972 my husband, Fillmore Crank, and I opened the doors to our own 7 in North Hollywood. This was a new business venture for us, and it was a lot more 8 and complicated than we had 9 .

We were on call 24 hours a day. Something was always going 10 . Electricity went on the blink (失灵), food wasn't enough, employees called in sick. Once, a flu epidemic suddenly left us with no maids. Fillmore gave me a choice: scrub (擦洗) floors or do the laundry. For 10 days I folded enough sheets to 11 the whole state of California.

Then there was the 12 crisis. The price of gasoline doubled, and tourism in California 13 . How could we fill our beds? What if we kept losing money? What if we failed? Fear and worry were sneaking in. But I caught them just 14 I stood porter.

I stood in the door of my mind and sent fear packing.

These days at the hotel, whenever fear tries to 15 , I just smile and point to the sign that reads "No Vacancy".