I have always considered myself a positive optimist, trying to find the best in every situation. Iˈve recently become aware of how two little  (1)   have had a great impact on people.

My son  (2)  to tell me about a house he was interested in.I said, "Honey, I am glad that youˈve found something you like,   (3)  …"There, I continued, "Donˈt you think,with the gas prices, you might want to buy one  (4)  to your work?" As he told me all about the possible house, I could hear the  (5)  in his voice. The moment I spoke the word, BUT, it was  (6)   I pricked a balloon with a needle（针）.I could hear him slowly deflate（泄气）. I  (7)  that if I had used the word AND—"Honey, Iˈm glad you found a house in your  (8)  range, AND Iˈm happy for you."—he wouldnˈt have been  (9)  , and weˈd have both hung up feel better.

My daughter  (10)  at my door dressed like a princess on her way to the prom. I told her how graceful looked and I was  (11)  of the young lady she has become, and I said, "Sweetheart, you  (12)  having a great time, but please donˈt drink tonight." I know she doesnˈt engage in  (13)  behavior; sheˈs responsible and sensible. She looked as though Iˈd snatched her crown. "Mom!" The tone of her voice indicated how Iˈd  (14)  her feel. How I wish Iˈd said, "I want you to have a great time, AND I   (15)  you."

My husband helps around the house. I was  (16)  he had lightened my work load. I told him how wonderful he is, and I used that naughty word again."BUT,why did you  (17)  crumbs（面包屑）all over the counter? "Why?Why?Why didnˈt I say," Thank you, AND I am  (18)  or all you do around the house."

Iˈve been doing some  (19)  . I am going to remove that naughty little word from my  (20)  and replace it with the word AND. This is a decision I intend to keep!

We should show respect to everybody, especially our elders because they are ahead of us – in age, in wisdom and maturity, in experience and education. Our   (1)  have done a lot for us, directly or indirectly and most of us  (2)   everything to their kindness and love.

When we   (3)  them respect, whether it is by bowing to them, or  (4)  them with a smile, or offering them any help they need, it is one way of   (5)  our own love and gratitude to them.   (6)   , elders have also been through all the years you are  (7)   and know a little more about the world than you do.

It is  (8)   that you do not agree with the belief of your elders, but this is nothing new. All younger generations have always  (9)  with their elders and it is these differences that bring changes  in human  (10)  . However much you disagree with them, give them credit for their    (11)    .

With changing times and  (11)   influences, youngsters no longer know what is interpreted as disrespect to elders. Youngsters should   (12)   express their views and if there are arguments, they should not   (13)  their voices.

If there is no space on sofas or chairs, children will immediately  (14)   their places, and sit on the carpet. In buses and trains, youngsters are  (15)   to give up their places to older people. This is not a   (16)  of who has more rights. It is simply that those who are younger have the strength to bear   (17)   , or tolerate unpleasantness, so it is natural to show consideration to those who are older and perhaps at a   (18)  disadvantage.

When you do simple things as a mark of respect, elders become   (19)   that youngsters care for them, and they respond with affection and kindness.

One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Sweetie, my company wants to   (1)   me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you’ve done   (2)   and allowing you to skip a grade(跳级), but you’ll have to  (3)   your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me   (4)   for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the   (5)  decisions adults had to make.

For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I’d   (6)   wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her   (7)   and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large   (8)   apartment, I became   (9)   how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then   (10)   I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on   (11)   family and work.   (12)   difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn’t know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion and a   (13)   attitude.

Back home, I   (14)   myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she   (15)   to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be   (16)  . I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable   (17)  .

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the  (18)   has really taught me. Sacrifices  (19)   in the end. The separation between us has proved to be a   (20)   for me.

 It was Easter 1990, and my family was on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Solomon Islands for my sister's wedding.

   I was traveling with my husband, my four-year-old son and my daughter, who was nearly two. We'd been ____  (1)  ____ that it was very hot in the Solomon, so we ____  (2)  ____ lots of light cotton clothes and were wearing the same as it was summer. The only problem was that we had to catch an overnight bus that ____  (3)  ____ at midnight for the airport so we could make our early morning ____  (4)  ____ to Honiara. It was cold on the bus! My husband and I were snuggling (依偎) our children as close as we could, trying to keep them ____  (5)  ____. The bus stopped many times as passengers got on and off, and we didn't take much ____  (6)  ____. The little ones were ____  (7)  ____, unable to sleep for the biting cold. Then at one stop, an older lady came forward from the back of the bus and paused by our seat. I sat forward to see what she wanted and she ____  (8)  ____ a small blanket. My little girl reached ____  (9)  ____ for it and pulled it tight around her. The lady said she'd made the blanket herself and, seeing that we were cold, she wanted us to use it. After she went back to her seat, our now-warm children ____  (10)  ____ off, and they slept comfortably all the way to the airport. Just a stop or two ____  (11)  ____ we arrived, the lady made her way to the door to get off. I tried to ____  (12)  ____ the children to return her blanket, but she protested. “No,” she said, “____  (13)  ____ it. I can always make another one!” Over the years, that little blanket became a ____  (14)  ____ to me and to my children of the kindness of strangers. I told the story to the children over and over and hung the blanket on the end of my daughter's bed so we would see it ____  (15)  ____. That blanket was handmade with the colors carefully chosen. Yet its maker ____  (16)  ____ with it to keep my family warm for a night. If ever people were bad or ____  (17)  ____, it served as a reminder that there is goodness in the world.

   I am forever ____  (18)  ____, not just for the warmth that night, but for the lifelong reminder of the ____  (19)  ____ of people. That blanket has warmed my ____  (20)  ____.

Five years ago I was in what I considered the best years of my life: a solid marriage with my love, two beautiful young daughters and a (n)   (1)  woman having an admiring job! I was  (2)   asked, “How do you do it?” It was  (3)  a compliment in today’s pressure-filled world. Yet, something began to  (4)  me. I was busier than I had ever been, but was I   (5)  ? Wasn’t I supposed to be enjoying this time with my children?

This increasingly   (6)   feeling led me to think hard about the question that had once given me a huge source of  (7)  . “How do I do it all?” It was difficult to acknowledge the answer that I could no longer   (8)   in my head. Well, I missed out. And it got worse. I missed out on life. And since I was being totally   (9)  with myself, I acknowledged the （  (10)  , hard truth: I missed out on what really matters in life.

But it didn’t have to be this way.   (11)  , the power of living “Hands Free” changed my   (12)   to life. In the same situation as a driver uses handsfree equipment to   (13)   driving, I decided to go “Hands Free” on life. For the past four years, I have taken small steps to   (14)  “daily distraction” and place my attention on someone or something   (15)  . The results have been profound(影响深刻的). In fact, for the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I am constantly trying to   (16)  . I don’t feel anxious or   (17)  . I am more patient, and more connected with my   (18)  than I have ever been. I am witnessing and  (19)  the simple, joyful things around me that I was too busy to   (20)  before. I am now free to grasp what really matters. And this experience has been too good not to share.