My kids and I were heading into the supermarket over the weekend. On the way ,we spotted a man holding a piece of paper that said, “   (1)    my job. Family to Feed.”

      At this store, a    (2)   like this is not normal. My 10-year-old noticed him and made a      (3)   on how bad it must be to have to stand    (4)   in the cold wind.

       In the store, I asked each of my kids to     (5)    something they thought our “friend” there would    (6)     . They got apples, a sandwich and a bottle of juice. Then my 17-year-old suggested giving him a     (7)   . I thought about it. We were     (8)      on cash ourselves, but… well, sometimes   (9)   from our need instead of our abundance is   (10)    what we need to do! All the kids   (11)    something they could do away with for the week.

       When we handed him the bag of    (12)   , he lit up and thanked us with   (13)     eyes. When I handed him the gift card, saying he could use it for    (14)    his family might need, he burst into tears.

         This has been a wonderful      (15)    for our family. For days the kids have been looking for others we can     (16)    ! Things would have played out so    (17)   if I had simply said, “No, we really don’t have   (18)   to give more.” Stepping out not only helped a brother in   (19)    , it also gave my kids the     (20)    taste of helping others. It’ll go a long way with them.

 A Heroic Driver

Larry works with Transport Drivers. Inc. One morning in 2009. Larry was   (1)   along 165 north after delivering to one of his   (2)  . suddenly, he saw a car with its bright lights on.   (3)   he got closer, he found   (4)   vehicle upside down on the road. One more look and he noticed   (5)   shooting out from under the   (6)   vehicle. Larry pulled over, set the brake and   (7)   the fire extinguisher (灭火器). Two good bursts from the extinguisher and the fire was put out.

The man who had his bright lights on   (8)   and told Larry he had   (9)   an emergency call. They   (10)   heard a woman’s voice coming from the wrecked (毁坏的) vehicle.   (11)   the vehicle, they saw that a woman was trying to get out of the broken window. They told her to stay   (12)   until the emergency personnel arrived,   (13)   she thought the car was going to   (14)  . Larry told her that he had already put out the fire and she should not move   (15)   she injured her neck.

Once fire and emergency people arrive, Larry and the other man   (16)   and let them go to work. Then, Larry asked the   (17)   if he was needed or   (18)   to go. They let him and the other man go.

One thing is   (19)  —Larry went above and beyond the call of duty by getting so close to the burning vehicle! His   (20)   most likely saved the woman’s life.

I met Billy the last summer before college. He was handsome and his irreverence(玩世不恭) was (1)to me. We liked each other the first instant we met.  (1)   , I was a straight A student and my parents had high hopes for me to  (2)   an Ivy League (常春藤联盟) school. Billy did not concentrate all his attention  (3)  his study and school life. However, we were in love --- so  (4)  teenager love. I still remember we had a plan for prom(舞会). It was understood that we had  (5)  about where we would dance and drink and party together.

This meant one thing to my parents---panic. And it grew as the  (6)  letters began to roll in. Of the eleven schools I applied to, nine accepted me. And one of them was Brown University---the Ivy League  (7)  in 1770 in historic Providence, Rhode Island.

There was no  (8)   that I was drawn to Brown, but Billy (who had joined the army) was  (9)  down south and I had offers  (10)   for me there, too. I was torn between my love for him and my family  (11)  .

One week  (12)   the start of school, my mother had a talk with me. She said I was eighteen years old and I had a  (13)  to make--- one that went  (14)   beyond the choice of  (15)  to attend university.

In August, I  (16)   and drove north to Providence. It took several months to  (17)  that my life was moving on in a way that was completely different from Billy’s. Brown changed my life, opening doors and giving me the  (18)  I now use to think, to learn and to write. Life is always about  (19)  it seems, and the older I get, the more I understand this. Still, there are times when I think of Billy because he taught me about love.

At my heaviest I weighed 370 pounds. I had a very poor relationship with food: I used it to   (1)   bad feelings, to make myself feel better, and to celebrate. Worried about my health, I tried many different kinds of   (2)   but nothing worked. I came to believe that I could do nothing about my    (3)  .

       When I was 50, my weight problem began to affect me   (3)   . I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with this   (4)   weight any more.

       That year, I  (5)   a seminar where we were asked to create a project that would touch the world. A seminar leader shared her   (6)   story —she had not only 125 pounds, but also raised $25,000 for homeless children.

         (7)   by her story, I created the As We Heal (痊愈), the World Heals   (8)  . My goal was to lose 150 pounds in one year and raise $50,000  (9)   a movement founded 30 years ago to end hunger. This combination of healing myself and healing the world  (10)   me as the perfect solution.

         (11)  I began my own personal weight program, I was filled with the fear that I would __  (12)   the same difficulties that beat me before. While the   (13)   hung over my head, there were also signs that I was headed down the right   (14)  . I sent letters to everyone I knew, telling them about my project. It worked perfectly. Donations began   (15)  in from hundreds of people.

       Of course, I also took some practical steps to lose weight. I consulted with a physician（内科医生）, I hired a fitness coach, and I began to eat small and   (16)   meals. My fund-raising focus also gave me new motivation to exercise   (17)  .

       A year later, I  (18)   my goal: I lost 150 pounds and raised $50,000! I feel that I’ve been given a second life to devote to something that is   (19)   and enormous.

Hundreds of people have formed impressions of you through that little device(装置)on your desk. And they’ve never actually   (1)  you. Everything they know about you   (2)  through this device, sometimes from hundreds of miles away.   (3)  they feel they can know you   (4)  from the sound of your voice. That’s how powerful the   (5)  is.

  Powerful, yes, but not always   (6)  . For years I dealt with my travel agent only by phone. Rani, my faceless agent whom I’d never met   (7)  , got me rock-bottom prices on airfares, cars, and hotels. But her cold voice really    (8)  me. I sometimes wished to  (9)  another agent.

  One morning, I had to   (10)  an immediate flight home for a family emergency. I ran into Rani’s office   (11)  . The woman sitting at the desk,   (12)  my madness, sympathetically jumped up. She gave me a   (13)  smile, nodded while listening patiently, and then printed out the   (14)  immediately. “What a wonderful lady!” I thought.

  Rushing out   (15)  I called out over my shoulder, “By the way, what’s your name?” “I’m Rani,” she said. I turned around and saw a   (16)  woman with a big smile on her face waving to wish me a safe trip. I was   (17)  ! Why had I thought she was cold? Rani was, well, so  (18)  .

  Sitting back in the car on the way to the airport, I figured it all out. Rani’s   (19)  ---her warm smile, her nods, her ‘I’m here for you’   (20)  ---were all silent signals that didn’t travel through wires.

A pastor (牧师) had been on a long flight between church conferences. After a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the drinks at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence (漩涡). Please be   (1)   your seat belt is fastened.”

As the pastor looked   (2)   the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming a bit   (3)  . Later, the voice said, “We are so sorry that we are unable to   (4)   the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.”

Lightning   (5)   the darkening skies, and within moments that great   (6)   was like a cork (软木塞) moving around   (7)   an ocean. One moment the airplane was   (8)  on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. All the passengers were upset and scared. Some were praying. The   (9)   seemed terrible and many were wondering if they would   (10)   it through the storm.

Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant   (11)   to her. She was reading a book and everything within her small world was   (12)   and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would   (13)   again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her   (14)  . All the adults were scared half to   (15)  , but the great child wasn’t afraid at all.

The pastor could hardly believe his eyes. When the plane finally   (16)   its destination, he asked why she had not been afraid. The child replied, “Because my Daddy’s the   (17)  , and he’s flying the plane to take me home.”

There are many kinds of storms that   (18)   us, such as physical, mental, financial, … Many storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and   (19)  our plane into uncontrollable movement.

Let us   (20)  : Our Father is the pilot. He is in control and taking us home. So don’t worry!

I decided to ski to the North Pole. It was after I saw a(n)   (1)   in a newspaper looking for people to join a team that would   (2)   350 miles to the magnetic North Pole. Back in 1996, a woman from the UK had never   (3)   this challenge. I wondered what it would be like to   (4)   in temperatures that cold, so I sent off for the application form.

When the application form   (5)   it said “Are You Man Enough for the Ultimate Challenge?” and it was full of pictures of   (6)   explorers. I was angry and decided that women could do it too, so it made me even more   (7)   to get on the team.

Over 500 individuals   (8)   for a place in the team, and the selection process included physical and psychological tests designed to   (9)   the best group. Our test was to complete the Sandhurst military assault course, where the UK’s best officers are trained, and it’s not  for   (10)  We had to climb a huge rope ladder, and I stopped at the top because I have a fear of   (11)  . I thought all hope was   (12)   But two others helped me over, and later I found out that the organizers were not looking for amazing   (13)   but great team players, and this moment had shown them who would   (14)   others in the team.

I had also shown my real self, and in a place like the Arctic, you have to be      yourself,   (15)   there is nowhere to hide. These   (16)   of asking for help and showing your real self are necessary for women to master.   

I realized that by being myself, I could   (17)   I was chosen for the team, and as a result became the   (18)   British woman to ski to the Magnetic North Pole. I realized that I could achieve more than I ever   (19)   was possible—but more importantly, by sharing my story with others, I could   (20)   them to take a step into the unknown.