You Did More Than Carry My books

    Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with a baseball bat and several other things. Mark 1down and helped the boy pick up these articles. 2 they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of them for him. As they walked Mark 3 the boy's name was Bill, that he 4 computer games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of 5  with his other subjects and that he had just broken 6 with his girlfriend.

    They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was 7 in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed 8 with a few laughs and some shared small talk, and then Mark went home. They 9to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, and then both ended up from the same high school. Just three weeks before 10 , Bill asked Mark if they 11 talk.

    Bill 12 him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Do you 13wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I 14 out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess(脏乱)15anyone else. I had planned to run away and I was going home to 16 my things. But after we spent some time together 17 and laughing, I realized that 18 I had done that, I would have19 a new friend and missed all the fun we would have together. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You 20 my life.”

    According to legend, a young man, while wandering the desert, came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The 1 was so sweet, he filled his leather container so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his2.

    After a four-day journey he 3 the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and4 his student lavishly(浪费地) for the sweet water. The young man returned to his with a5 heart.

    Later, the teacher let another student 6 the water. He spat it out, saying it was 7 It apparently had become stale(不新鲜的) because of the old8container. The student 9his teacher: “Master, the water was 10Why did you11to like it?” The teacher replied, “You only tasted the water, I tasted the12The water was simply the container for an get of loving-kindness and 13 could be sweeter.” I think we understand this lesson best when we receive14gifts of love from young children. Whether it's an ugly plate or a bracelet, the natural and proper 15 is appreciation and expressed16because we love the idea within the gift.

    Gratitude doesn't always come 17Unfortunately, most children and many adults 18 only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied(被体现) in it. We should remind ourselves and19our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.20gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

    It had been a tiring journey. I 1the hotel at about ten o'clock that night. There were many other tourists waiting to 2in. I approached the reception desk and3my room number and the 4 to it. To my disappointment, I found that there had been a5in communication and my reservation(预定)for a room had not been 6. The receptionist(接待员)was very polite and helpful. She told me that the hotel was fully7for the night and suggested that I live in another hotel which is further down the hill. Faced with hardly any choice, I 8her suggestion.

    The hotel was rather strange and warm. The owner was Percy Williams who doubled up9a receptionist and a waiter. He greeted me10and showed me my room. By then I was so tired that I jumped into bed and11a deep sleep.

    The next morning, I woke up feeling very much 12. I realized that I was13with a blanket and my clothes were14put in the closet. “Mr. Williams is indeed a nice man,” I thought to myself. I decided that I would15on in this hotel for the rest of my holidays.

    I met Mr. Williams on my way out and thanked him for his16. Mr. Williams was surprised. “I didn't do anything 17show you to your room last night, Miss 18must be my wife who did that.”

    “Please give my thanks to your wife then,” I said as I moved to leave. Mr. Williams' next few words made me19 

    “I'm afraid I can't, Miss. You see, my wife has been dead for 20.”

View life from new angles

    When I was 14, life felt dull and boring. The high school I went to had over a thousand students, I didn't really 1 to notice the differences between us all.

    Butth is dull view of mine 2 when my parents bought me a camera for 3Even though I didn't 4 the first thing about photography, I dived headfirst into the medium. It was after a month of playing with my new camera when I realized I had no 5 for taking pictures. My photos were clearly 6 something of importance and lacked 7. After a while, I became so 8 with my lack of artistic talent that I quit my new hobby.

    During the summer break, I suddenly decided to pick it 9 again. I went for a walk on the railroad track behind my house. Surprisingly, this walk on the tracks was 10 began my love for photography. When I was walking on the train tracks 11 a model to photograph and only 12 around me, I 13 how important it was to look at the details of things. I didn't worry about trying to create something beautiful. Instead, I just 14 photos of the beauty already around me. I quickly became 15 to color, lighting, shape, shading and everything in between. After months of studying outdoor 16, I was finally able to create beauty of my own and my work has been 17 in two small magazines.

    Slowly, my photos became something I was 18 of. They're not masterpieces, but they're important to me. And they're signs of how much my artistic abilities have 19: I went from zero artistic talent to being published.

    20 this Christmas gift from my parents, I now have a new way of looking at the world.

    Christmas 1940 makes me misty-eyed every time I think about it. In the hard times, people1one another. We2food, clothing, bedding and household items and gave them to the needy.

    That Christmas we students found ourselves3toys we collected and loading packages for4.As we presented the gifts, we saw5in many faces, especially those of the children. We had a few more6to make on Christmas morning. The air was heavy and frozen to the bone. For several hours, we knocked on doors. But as the cold hours passed, our7gradually faded. When we8headed home, someone9a small house down a canal bank. None of us knew who lived there,10we wondered if there were11.We still had a doll, two trucks, some small toys, chocolate Santas and a box of groceries. We decided to make one last visit. When we knocked on the door, a young woman answered it, looking at us12.Three small children watched from behind her skirt—a little girl of about 2, and boys perhaps 4 and 5 years old. “Merry Christmas,” we13as we bent down and handed the gift-wrapped packages to the children and the box of groceries to the 14, whose eyes widened15.She slowly smiled, then quickly said, “Come in.” The room was16as the children looked at their mother, wondering if the gifts were really for them. The little girl17her doll, and the boys grasped the trucks as they sought a(an)18.She put her arms19them and said in a20voice, “I told you Santa Claus would come.”

Be a Traveler, not a Tourist

    Last summer, I had just enough money saved to buy a golden ticket—a 3-month train pass that would take me to the furthest reaches of Europe. Excited for my journey, I packed all the necessities —except the 1.

    While the convenience of the Internet was definitely a contributing factor to my 2 not to take with me the few expensive kilograms of out-of-date information, this was not the only reason why I decided to fly alone.

    To be honest, my main 3 with the guidebook is that I find it 4 the pleasure of a journey—like bossy aunt who is always telling you what to do, 5 she doesn't always know what is the best.

    Experience has taught me that there is an obvious 6 between a tourist and traveler.

    While waiting in a queue, I met a man who had a checklist. He showed me his list of “Top 20 Things To Do in Italy” and 7 off in a loud American accent that he'd seen everything Italy has to offer in just four days.

    The problem I had with this man's 8 to travelling was that he was too 9 information provided by his guidebook. He was lost in the 10 attractiveness of the “must-sees” and 11 to all the wonders and adventures that might happen during the 12 trip.

    So, 13 any  guidebook,  I  traveled  to  Estonia,  the  tiny  Baltic  country bordering Russia. In the 14 of advance plans as guidebooks would suggest, I had no choice but to turn to some friendly faces for advice. I 15 myself first and then asked them what was happening around the town. When this 16 an invitation to a beautiful Estonian home by a river where I 17 a 110-degree wood-stove sauna(桑拿浴), 18 picked forest-mushrooms and the good 19 of our five newly-found Estonian friends, I was most glad that I had left my “bossy 20” at home.