I watched from a distance as the homeless man quarreled with those who did not leave money for him – the majority.I walked up to him and right on queue he asked me for a quarter. “I’ll give you a quarter if you tell me your story.” He laughed, “You’ll give me a quarter for my story?” I lay the quarter in front of him and corrected myself – “Nah, here’s the quarter but it would be nice to hear your story.” I followed his eyes to the quarter and for a brief moment I saw a glimmer of reflection. I sat down next to him and waited.

    “I was in the army,” he said. “I was a sniper(狙击手)and was supposed to shoot down the enemy from the distance.” I listened carefully to his grizzly voice as he went deeper into the story. He wore dirty old torn clothes and smelled like a dead rat left in a mouse trap. He told me how he used to hunt with his family and was really good at it. He had his own way of respecting animals by not wasting what he killed for food and not killing more than he needed. When the army came knocking on his door, he felt pride and joined up. All those years of polishing his hunting skills could now serve a larger purpose—to defend us from the bad guys. He set out to fight in Iraq.
    It wasn’t long before he realized his ideals and expectations were just a shadow of the truth. He became disillusioned with the killings, which he felt were of innocent people. “I was a sniper but I never really killed anyone,” he said. “One day I had to do it. They asked me to shoot this lady from the distance. I saw kids near that lady and my hands were on the trigger (扳机). Man, I was tearing up ... I couldn’t do it. She wasn’t doing anything to anyone and she was with the kids—I couldn’t see through my tears. It just didn’t make any sense to me.”

The story goes on as he describes eventually being put into prison for 180 days for refusing to follow orders. He told me how he was black listed so that he couldn’t get a job. All the rights we take for granted were taken away from him. Why? Here was a man who was being punished—and for what? For refusing to kill the lady?  For being a hero?  “I have no regrets,” the homeless man said. “I may be homeless now, but I never killed that lady. I never killed anyone in the army. It didn’t feel right. I didn’t go there to do that. I went there to save people.” He continued, “I can live with being homeless—that’s okay. But I wouldn’t be able to live with killing innocent people.”

On that lonely Friday night, I met a hero. It just never occurred to me that a hero could be a smelly old man left on streets.

The popular TV program Readers has prompted more people in China to practice reading aloud in booths(亭) set up in big cities across the country.

As the latest TV show to help peopleˈs love for literature recover, CCTV program Readers invites people from all walks of life to read aloud their favorite poems, essays and books, or even personal letters they wrote to their loved ones. Just as the weekly show has been well-received, its reading booths, equipped with professional recording devices and cameras, have become instant hits.

A crowd of more than 200 people were pictured lining up outside the Shanghai Library at 11 am on March 4 – the first day of the boothˈs opening to the public in Shanghai. The deadline for registrations was brought forward to 2 pm instead of the scheduled 5:30 pm, as the number of waiting readers continued to grow. Some waited more than nine hours for a try-out in the booth, according to library management.

"There is an old photo in the late 1970s capturing people lining up outside the Shanghai Library before it opens. If that was a spring of reading in Shanghai, now I think another spring has arrived again," library manager Zhou Deming, told the Shanghai-based The Paper.

The reading booth is the only one of its kind in the city of economic center at the moment, but more are expected to be put into use in the coming months, according to the libraryˈs website.

The Readers program has also led to booths in other cities including Beijing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Xiˈan to appeal to more people to read and share their life stories.

With the recent boom of culture-themed TV shows such as Readers and Chinese Poetry Competition, some are optimistic that this will help the country love literature and reading again in general.

Many years ago, three soldiers, hungry and tired of battle, arrived at a small village. The villagers, suffering a poor harvest and years of war, quickly   (1)  the food they owned. They met the three at the village square.   (2)   about the lack of food.

The first soldier then approached the village elders, "Your tired fields have left you   (3)   to share, so we shall share what we have: the  (4)   of how to make soup from   (5)   ."

Naturally the villagers became   (6)   and soon a fire was put to the village's greatest pot as the soldiers carefully   (7)   three stones. "Now this will be a fine soup," said the second soldier,"   (8)   some salt and parsley(西芹) would make it more wonderful!"A woman   (9)   , crying "What luck! I remember I've got some at home!" Off she ran,    (10)   with a handful of parsley. As the pot boiled on, carrots, beef and cream had soon   (11)  their way into the pot before everyone set out to   (12)   .

The soldiers ate and danced and sang well into the night,   (13)   by the meal and their  (14)   friends. The next morning, they awoke to  (15)   the entire village standing before them with their best bread and cheese. "You have given us the greatest    (16)   ," said an elder,"and we shall never forget it. "The third soldier turned to the    (17)   and said,"There is no secret but one thing is   (18)   : it is only by   (19)   that we may make a feast. "And off the   (20)  wandered, down the road to their next destination.

        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.

When my kids were small, I started a tradition in our house of giving eight gifts over the course of the eight days of Hanukkah(光明节). I liked the idea of   (1)   a candle every night and giving my children a gift to unwrap to  (2)  . It was easy to go into a toy store and pick up something   (3)   less than $10 each, or even $1 each (at the Dollar Store). My children didn't ask for anything much in particular and they   (4)   whatever they got.

    As the years progressed, I  (5)   the tradition of eight gifts for each night of Hanukkah.

    But this year, Hanukkah   (6)   something else. My special -needs son decided that he wanted to  (7)   a computer, and it was up to me to buy all the parts of it. When I wouldn't   (8)   that, he decided he wanted a PlayStation. Then Amazon gift cards. Then money. And it became clear that it wasn't going to happen, he got   (9)  .

    I keep   (10)   him that Hanukkah isn't about greed or materialism. It's about the miracle of an oil lamp that   (11)   for eight days. It's about being   (12)  of our heritage. It's about freedom.

    But he   (13)  . I know deep down that his obsessions(迷恋) are out of his  (14)   , and definitely out of mine. Having a special -needs child is as  (15)   as it gets. Some days are better than others and not all holidays  (16)  the way I hope. But despite his unrealistic requests, he's a(n)   (17)   child who is showing me the true meaning of life.

    And as we enter a new year and light the  (18)   approaching the time, I welcome his differences  (19)   I learn how to turn negative requests into  (20)  ones.

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a famous concert. After they were seated, the mother       (1)       a friend and walked over to greet her. Seizing the        (2)       to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy got up and explored his way       (3)       a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE（禁止进入）”. When the lights became less bright and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her     (4)      and discovered that the child was missing.

Suddenly, the curtains      (5)      and the lights focused on the stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard,    (6)       Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

At that moment, the great piano master, Paderewski,     (7)       on the stage, quickly went to the piano and     (8)      in the boy’s ear, “Don’t     (9)      Keep playing.”

   Then, leaning(倾斜) over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began    (10)        in a bass (低音的) part. Soon his right arm reached       (11)        to the other side of the child and he added a beautiful piece of music.     (12)      , the old master and the boy     (13)       a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative      (14)       

   That’s the way it is in life.     (15)      we can complete on our own is    (16)        noteworthy(值得注目的). We try our best, but the    (17)      aren’t exactly graceful or flowing music.    (18)       when we put our trust in the hands of greater power, our life can be truly beautiful.

The next time you set     (19)       to create great performances, listen carefully. You can hear the   (20)   of the master whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”

I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬) under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, ‘Thanks.’

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

 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.