Do you hate to get your hands dirty? When I see my 10-year-old son1the dirty plates  in the sink or my 8 year-old daughter cringing(畏缩) at the wet sand clinging(黏住) to her hands, I am reminded of a time when I was 2to get my hands a little dirty.

    My parents owned a 500-acre 3 n Montana when I was young. I'd often come home from school to find a/an 4lamb or a calf being bottle-fed in the basement.One exceptionally cold day, I was the5sheep with my mother in the ranch when she spied a ewe(母羊)6.The poor thing was trying to7 her baby lamb and needed our help.My mother calmly held the ewe's head and8 me to grab hold of the two protruding(突出的) legs.

I hesitated, and must have had quite a look of 9 on my young face.The slimy little things were 10not something I wanted to touch.But I worked up my 11and wrapped my fingers around them.I can still recall the feel of 12the delicate legs and their sharp little hooves(蹄子) as of it happened yesterday.

    My heart beat in fear and excitement as I 13with all my strength.The lamb was delivered with an outpouring, and I'd never seen14so beautiful.I was no 15to see ranch animals being born, but to have a hand16it was something I cherished then and will cherish forever.

    Looking back, I'm so glad that I didn't 17to get my hands dirty.18I had, the miraculous moment and the precious memory would have been lost.These days I try to instill(灌输) that life lesson into my own 19 .Sometimes you need to get your hands a little dirty to experience something 20 and pure.

    Scott and his companions were terribly disappointed. When they got to the South Pole, they found the Norwegians（挪威人）had 1 them in the race to be the first ever to reach it. After2the British flag at the Pole, they took a photograph of themselves 3 they started the 950-mile journey back.

    The journey was unexpectedly4and the joy and excitement about the Pole had gone out of them. The sun hardly5. The snow storms always made it impossible to sight the stones they had 6 to mark their way home. To make things7. Evans, whom they had all thought of 8the strongest of the five, fell badly into a deep hole in the ice. Having9 along for several days, he suddenly fell down and died.

    The four who were 10 pushed on at the best speed they could 11. Captain Oates had been suffering for some time from his 12 fact; at night his feet swelled（肿胀） so large that he could 13 put his boots on the next morning, and he walked bravely although he was in great 14 . He knew his slowness was making it less likely that 15 could save themselves. He asked them to leave him behind in his sleeping-bag, but they refused, and helped him 16 a few more miles, until it was time to put up the 17 for another night.

    The following morning, 18 the other three were still in their sleeping-bags, he said. “I am just going outside and may be19some time.” He was never seen again. He had walked out 20 into the snow storm, hoping that his death would help his companions.

    My son Kevin loved wrestling when he was growing up. When he 1  high school, he was blessed with a lot of 2 ability. Even as a freshman wrestler he showed promise, and he continued to 3 each year. As a senior, he was captain of a team that set a(n)4 record, and he went into the state tournament ranked number one. He had 5 four matches. Here we were, in the finals of the state tournament, ready to claim our championship. 6, his last match didn't go well, and we didn't have a state championship7 his high school career was over. I felt 8, and I was unwilling to9 what had just happened, and unable to believe it. I painfully 10 Kevin as he shook hands with his opponent (对手), and stood calmly as the referee(裁判员) 11 his opponent's hand in victory. Then he quietly walked out of the gymnasium.

    A few weeks later I received a 12 from Kevin's school's principal. In the long letter, the principal 13 Kevin's respectful approach to peers, his devotion to his friends, his 14 manners and his spirit of cooperation. After I read this, I cried. For years, I had watched every single match Kevin had wrestled in high school,15 I hadn't noticed all the outstanding 16 that his principal recognized. I 17 the wins. And when he didn't get that final win, I was especially hurt and disappointed. I'd failed to18 that Kevin was working hard to achieve victories ,but always performing with character in spite of 19 he won or lost. At that moment, my son became my mentor (导师). He 20 me that the pursuit(追求) of victory is a noble goal, but that winners in life appreciate the pursuit more than the victory itself.

    Were you happy and a little worried at the time? I thought so. Soon it would be the holidays, but before that, there were year exams. All the1had been working hard for some time, reviewing their lessons for the exams. If they didn't 2, they would have to retake them in September. There were usually a few who 3, but Jane didn't want to be one of them. She had worked hard all year, 4 just before the exams she was working so hard that her sister Barbara was 5about her. She went to bed too 6. The night before the first exam, Barbara 7 that she have an early night and take a 8pill. She promised to wake 9 up in the morning.

    She was not relaxed. As she was falling asleep, Jane was afraid that she might oversleep. Her 10 kept jumping from subject to subject. At last, with the help of 11, she went to sleep. In no time（不久）at all, she was sitting in the examination hall, looking at the examination 12 , but she couldn't answer any of the questions. 13 around her was writing pages and gages. 14she thought hard, she couldn't find anything to write 15. She kept looking at her 16. Time was running out. There was only an hour to go. She started one question, wrote two sentences, 17 and tried another one. With only half an hour left she wrote another two sentences. By this time she was so worried that she started 18. Her whole body shook. It shook so much that she 19 up. She was still in bed and it had all been a 20 dream. A minute later, Barbara called her name.

    My husband and I have little money lately. We haven't 1 out for a while, so we went to a 2 last night.

    When we saw the 3, we knew we could only afford to get a small pizza, so we would have enough money left for 4. Before long our pizza that was cut to 4 pieces arrived. My husband wanted to act like a 5, so he would like to put a piece of 6 on my plate. Unluckily it dropped onto the 7. I knew he would be 8 about others' opinions on him. I told him, "Honey, don't let other people 9 us. We still have three pieces left."

    The manager 10 this and came over with a broom (扫帚). He 11 the pizza and said he was 12 that the oven (烤箱) had been turned off, or he would have 13 another pizza for us. At the end of our meal he 14 to our table again to thank us for being here. Then he 15 us one coupon (优惠券) for a free small pizza. We were 16because he could have chosen a 17 attitude (态度) when he saw the pizza we dropped during their closing time. Instead he chose to make sure we could left 18. My husband was going to give him tips for our meal that we had prepared, 19 the manager didn't take them. To some people it might not be important, but to us it meant a lot. Our rare treat of enjoying a night out was made more 20.

    "Smile!" I shouted, flashing a bright yellow poster at a crowd of people in Seattle.

    We were 3,000 miles away from home on a Random Acts of Kindness road trip. Our1was to try out our new "Smile!" signs and see how much kindness and joy we could2

    We weren't sure how people would3our signs. It's so easy to walk past a busy crowd, lost in your own world,4to make eye contact with strangers and feeling5while surrounded by hundreds of people. I6raised up a sign and shouted, "Hi there!" to a young couple. They looked over,7, then read my sign and broke into smiles. They even nudged (轻推) a person beside them, gesturing to our sign so their friend could8, too.

    This might9, I thought.

    Before long, our signs were10. Tourists wanted photos with us. Strangers stopped to ask us about our11and we told them the story of our Acts of Kindness road trip. The famous fish vendors (小贩) changed their12from "FISH! FRESH FISH"' to "HEY! SMILE, EVERYONE."

    Sometimes I'd see a(n)13face and feel nervous to show my sign, but I tried not to judge. I'd14be rewarded with a big grin (咧嘴笑),as suddenly a frowning elderly woman turned into my15old grandmother.

    Some people16if they could have a "Smile!" sign to take with them. One bus driver put a sign in his window; a bicyclist that17one of our signs emailed us several years later to say he still uses it whenever he races.

    The signs are more than a(n)18to smile — they're an excuse to connect with19and to remember we're not alone. This world is full of20people we just don't know yet.