One day, a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor  (1)  the question papers, with the text facing down as usual.  (2)  he handed them all out, he asked his students to  (3)  the page and begin. To everyone's surprise, there were no  (4)  , just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone's face, told them the following:

“I want you to write what you  (5)  there. “

The students,   (6)  , got started on the inexplicable (费解的) task.

At the end of the class, the professor  (7)  all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them, with no  (8)  , described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. etc. etc. After all had been  (9)  , the classroom silent, the professor began to explain:

“I'm not going to grade (打分)this. I  (10)  wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the  (11)  part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our  (12)  . We have a white paper to observe and  (13)  , but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a  (14)  given to us with love and care, and we always have  (15)  to celebrate: nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that  (16)  our livelihood and the miracles we see every day.

  (17)  , we insist on focusing only on the dark spots: the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the  (18)  relationship with colleagues, the  (19)  with a friend, and etc.

The dark spots are very  (20)  compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. ”

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular  (1)  she had made breakfast after a long,  (2)  day at work.

On that  (3)  so long ago, my mom  (4)  a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely  (5)  biscuits in front of my dad. I remember  (6)  to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was  (7)  for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. . . I don’t  (8)  what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him  (9)  biscuits happily!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom  (10)  to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I’ll never  (11)  what he said: “Honey, I love burned biscuits. ”

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy  (12)  night and I asked him if he  (13)  liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s really  (14)  . And besides, a burned biscuit never  (15)  anyone! ”

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the  (16)  at hardly anything, but what I’ve  (17)  over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults, which is one of the most important keys to  (18)  a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, as  (19)  is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

God Bless You. . . Now, and always. . .

So please  (20)  me a biscuit, and yes, a burned one will be fine!

 Although it was only autumn, everything outside was covered in white. Unexpectedly, we were hit with a big   (1)  . storm and no one was prepared.

   We have two apple trees in our backyard. Prana, our dog, loves.  (2)  . When she goes outside, she usually grabs a dirty apple from the ground to eat later on. Prana knows that when she brings her treasure into the house, I am not always   (3)   , so she tries to hide it from me. It is our little game.

   On the day that it snowed too   (4)  in the season, Prana went outside and I  (5)   her from the window. I noticed that she was(  (6)   lots of holes and bringing out the apples buried beneath the snow. She seemed to be   (7)  to dig up as many apples as she could.

   But when she came back inside, she brought back only one. About five minutes later, I looked outside. The yard was completely   (8)  with birds. Prana had dug up all those apples for her bird friends to eat. She knew that they hadn't prepared   (9)  food for the early winter.

   This beautiful act of unconditional love from a (an)  (10)  taught me what real kindness was.

A Very Special Special Olympian

The professor was searching for student volunteers in the lecture room for a Special Olympics event. As the sign-up sheet went up and down the rows, I started to come up with my  (1)  . Maybe it was the distance to the college where the event was to take place, or the early hour that   (2)   had to report for duty. Whatever the reasons that made me hesitate, I am thankful to this day that I   (3)   up volunteering. If I had missed the event, I would have missed one of the most unforgettable moments that I have ever   (4)  .

   I arrived at the volunteer tent bright and early. My task was   (5)  . I was to stand at the finish line only and wait until the event was over and then take the   (6)   to the announcing booth(公告处). Standing at the finish line, I was able to witness many amazing efforts and close races. I was most impressed by the effort each athlete put into his or her   (7)  . What also impressed me was the sincere   (8)   each athlete expressed while participating though sometimes the joy of participating in a sporting event can get   (9)  inthe fierce competition of winning and losing.

Then an amazing moment happened right before my eyes. A group of athletes were   (10)   up to run a short race. One of them was in a wheelchair, a little girl with a   (11)   smile, wearing bright bows in her hair. Her smile filled the stadium that day. I couldn’t help but smile back at her.

   The gun sounded. They were off. Runners sped upinthe   (12)   with all their might. My eye  (13)   for the little girl with the bright bows. There she was, pumping her arms with all the   (14)   she had. Her efforts were getting little result, but that did not stop her. I noticed as she got closer that she also had an injured arm. But that did not stop this bright star. The race was long over   (15)   the young athlete kept pumping her arms. As she finally   (16)   the finish line, the noise of the crowd was thunderous. There I stood  (17)  , with tears falling down my cheeks.

After all these years, I can still hear those cheers. I wish I could thank that remarkable athlete for what her efforts   (18)   this unmotivated college guy. I grew up a lot that day because of the   (19)   of that little girl in the wheelchair. I was   (20)   that day of a poem from a book that states, “Whatever you do, do it with all your might.”

When my sister Martie told me she had put out tomato plants last summer, I was quite impressed.

   She was a garden-beginner. Once they were planted, she tended to water them daily, anxiously awaiting the juicy tomatoes to appear. But, day after day, her plants were tomato-less while all of her neighbors who had also put out tomato plants were already enjoying the fruit of their labor.

   Frustrated, Martie gave in and went to the market to search fresh tomatoes. While paying, Martie told the farmer her troubles. The farmer paused to think for a moment and then asked, "Well, what kind of tomatoes did you plant?"

   "I think they were called Big Boy," Martie remembered.

   "Well there's your problem," the farmer explained. "Big Boy and Better Boy tomatoes have a 95-day gestation (孕育) period whereas regular tomato plants produce fruit in as little as 70 days...you just have to wait a little longer for the Big Boys."

   With that new knowledge, Martie went home with excitement, knowing they would be worth the wait.

   Thinking about my sister's gardening experience, I had to smile. She just didn't know that Big Boy tomatoes took longer--neither did I--but once she discovered that information, she was no longer discouraged and upset about the lack of tomatoes on her plants. Instead, she was encouraged and excited to

see them a few weeks later.

   It makes me wonder how many of us have "Big Boy' dreams in our hearts, yet we just don't realize that they are of the "Big Boy" variety so we are discouraged and worn out with the waiting process. Instead of waiting with excitement, we give up on our dreams and figure we must have done something wrong to stop them from coming to pass. Frustrated, we see other people's dreams coming true, and we wonder why ours haven't yet been achieved.

Do you need friends? Iˈm sure your answer is "Yes, of course. Everybody does! "You need friends when you play and when you work. If you have friends, you will feel happy. If you have no friends. you will feel lonely.

Do you know how to make friends? There is only one good way―You make friends by being friendly.

A friendly person is interested in other people. He is always helpful If you want to make friends with a new classmate, you can talk with him, tell him about the other classmates in your class and try your best to be helpful to him.

The more you give to others, the more you reap yourself. When you share what you know, you will find that you grow according to the number of seeds that you sow. Such is the one secret to be happier in life.

Spread cheer and teach others to do the same. People will gather around you to hear your wisdom, and feel your love. They will come to receive your sharing of what is inside you, all around you, and the messages coming from above.

Life is all about giving back. It is not about heartache or lack. Count your blessings every day. Put them in a stack（干草堆） that grows higher and higher, till it sets your spirit on fire with joy.

Life is good when you stand up for what you believe. When you enrich the world with your truth, then you will receive all that is good and wonderful. All that is grand will come to you, too. All it takes is living from your heart to understand how the cycle of giving and receiving works. Ah yes! You will discover endless perks!

For many people today, especially women who are socialized to give and give of themselves, and told they are selfish if they want to do something for themselves, the cycle of giving and receiving gets blocked. When a person gives and does not receive, then the energy flow gets cut off.

Every person must receive, as well as give. Nature intended for that balance in creating that particular flow. Now why would that giving and receiving be a natural law? Because all people need to open themselves to receiving. In receiving you tell yourself you are worthy and deserving of what life has to offer.

My friend Karen and I were always together. Karen was only a few months older than I. I always thought she was so beautiful, with long hair and blue eyes. I loved Karen so much because she loved me for being the way I was. I could be myself and share my secrets with her and I never felt like I was being judged.

We had so much fun and were really quite silly. One time I asked my mom to make us the same dresses so we could pretend we were twins.

We continued as best friends throughout grade school. One day, Karen was going to another friend’s place and asked me to come along, but I couldn’t go because I had a babysitting job that afternoon. We walked together to the Becker’s home where I was to babysit and then she continued on her way without me. We had agreed that I would meet her at the corner when she returned and I finished my job.

At four o’clock I rushed to the corner so I wouldn’t be late for meeting Karen. Just as I arrived at the corner, I saw Karen crossing the street. In a second it happened. I saw Karen’s body fly up in the sky; a car had hit her！

Karen was on life support for a week before it was decided that they would allow her to go in peace. Karen’s parents wanted to donate her organs(器官)to the hospital, but there was nothing left healthy enough to be used because she was hit so hard.

I have never got so close to another person since Karen died. I do miss her! Do you cherish(珍惜)your friends? If you don’t, please do, as you may lose them one day.