I do voluntary work for an organization that helps the people in need in Haiti. Recently I took my son Barrett there for a week, hoping to   (1)   him.

Before setting out, I told Barrett this trip would be tiring and   (2)  . For the first two days, he said almost nothing. I worried the trip was too   (3)   for a 17-year-old. Then on day three, as we were   (4)   over high rocky mountains, he turned to me and grinned（咧嘴笑）,“Pretty hard.”

After that there was no turning back. A five-year-old girl, wearing a dress several sizes   (5)   large and broken shoes, followed Barrett around, mesmerized（着迷）. He couldn’t stop   (6)  . Later he said   (7)  . “I wish I could speak French.” I was   (8)  －this from a boy who hated and   (9)   French classes throughout school.

Usually silent, he   (10)   Gaby, our host, and kept asking questions about the country and its people. He blossomed（活泼起来）.

  (11)   , the moment that really took   (12)   breath away occurred in a village deep in the mountains. I was   (13)   a woman villager for an article. 135 centimeters tall, she was small in figure but strong in   (14)  . Through determination, she had learned to read and write and   (15)   to become part of the leadership of the   (16)  .

Learning her story, Barrett was as   (17)   as I by this tiny woman’s achievements. His eyes were wet and there was a   (18)   of love and respect on his face. He had finally understood the importance of my work.

When leaving for home, Barrett even offered to stay   (19)   as a volunteer. My insides suddenly felt struck. This   (20)   achieved all I’d expected. Soon he will celebrate his 18th birthday. He’ll be a man.

In 1952, my daddy traveled with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This meant he would  (1)  a lot of time away from home.

As  (2)  came near，he called my mother and   (3)   why he would not be celebrating the holiday with us. Money was tight and he didn't have a way to get back to his  (4)   Though she was   (5)  , Mother knew he was right. When she told us the news, it really  (6)   me, and I went to bed on Christmas Eve with a  (7)   heart.

When we  (8)   up on Christmas morning, Santa had conic. I still remember what gift we   (9)   that year. We were all happy with our gifts, so we went outside to play. As we were   (10)   I looked up and thought I saw my daddy in the distance I ran inside to tell Mother. She did not  (11)  me and told me not to make up stories. My mother  (12)  it just wasn't possible.  (13)   I was sure it was Daddy！I turned to go back outside when I heard familiar footsteps. Daddy was home！As I   (14)   into his arms, Daddy explained that he had tried   (15)   to get home for Christmas, but without success. At last, a group of the workers had decided to drive. But the  (16)   guy lived miles away. So Daddy started   (17)   on Christmas Eve until he arrived home. He had walked all night！

Though the  (18)  that year were wonderful, tile best gift was not found under the  (19)  . Daddy's special surprise made this my most  (20)   Christmas.

I went out to breakfast this morning to meet a friend. It was lovely. But what wasnˈt so lovely was the lady who took our_(1)__.She spoke in a way that was frustrated, unhappy, _(2)__not friendly, and sort of rude.

When it came to my___(3)___to approach her and order, I thought to myself, “What can I do here to make her day, to__(4)___her, and to make her smile？”

I had nothing. Surely there must be something I can__(5)__praise her. Then there it was and I knew immediately. It was her__(6)__.She had the most extremely well spoken and clear voice. It was so good. Professionally good. I had it. That was it. That was what I would__(7)___her up.

So after she took my order and gave me the same unfriendly___(8)_, I told her, “I must say you have the most___(9)__voice. Itˈs so clear, well spoken and sounds so___(10)__.”I told her how she honestly had one of those voices that would be perfect for announcements or__(11)___radio broadcasts.

I saw her whole face__(12)__, she smiled(the first time I had seen her do so)and as I__(13)__and walked away, I noticed her whole attitude change.The__(14)__behind me received a totally___(15)__kind of service. A happier one. And all was ___(16)___ what I did. Something so simple!

There was a time when this sort of thing would have__(17)__me. Or Iˈd have been shy and___(18)_to say such a thing. Not now. Now I must！Why？Because I have the power. The power to___(19)_change someoneˈs day by something as simple as a few kind__(20)__and being kind. And you have this power too. We all do.

Life in the Slow Lane

I always seemed to be rushing through my life. I’d  (1)   my seat belt and slam(猛踩)the accelerator to get where I wanted to go. Or, at the mall, I’d  (2)  the stores like a runner in the hundred-meter dash. There just weren’t enough hours in the day and I was afraid I might  (3)  something if I didn’t hurry up.

And then one day, as fate would have it, I ran out of  (4)  . As my car coasted off the road, I looked at my watch and hit the steering wheel  (5)  . I had a meeting in fifteen minutes and I hadn’t even finished  (6)  for it.

But as I got out of my car, a(n)  (7)  thing happened. I looked out towards the east, and the  (8)  was just beginning to shine over the horizon. There was a low misty  (9)  hanging over the river, and some ducks were cutting thick, smooth trails(痕迹)across the otherwise glass-like surface of the water. A few sailboats  (10)  at anchor, their mirror images extending out before them.

I was shocked. This  (11)  scene had been going on right outside my car every morning and I had never  (12)  time appreciating it. I had been rushing around in such a  (13)  that I had been missing everything!

I was quietly,   (14)  ， patiently watching as the sun painted a brand new day when a co-worker finally  (15)  my car and stopped for me. I had somehow been transformed. Life went from a fast break dance into a slow waltz. I began taking long, slow walks  (16)  my yard and neighborhood, noticing for the first time all the neighbors, mysteries and wonders  (17)  were right there for me to see all the time. Not only were there sights that I had been missing, but I began to hear entire  (18)  all around me：birds singing, wind blowing and leaves rustling.

  (19)  one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass，it becomes a mysterious, beautiful and indescribably magnificent  (20)  in itself.

The family had just moved. The young woman was feeling a little   (1)  . It was Mother’s Day－－and 800 miles separated her from her parents.

She had called them that morning, and her mother had   (2)   how colorful their backyard was   (3)   spring had arrived. Later, she told her husband how she   (4)   those lilacs (丁香花) in her parents’ yard. “I know where we can find some,” he said. “Get the   (5)   and come on.” So off they went.

Some time later, they stopped at a hill and there were lilacs all round. The young woman rushed up to the nearest   (6)   and buried her face in the flowers. Carefully, she   (7)   some. Finally, they returned to their car for the   (8)   home. The woman sat smiling, surrounded by her   (9)  .

When they were near home, she shouted “Stop,” got out quickly and   (10)   to a nearby nursing home. She went to the end of the porch (门廊), where a(n)   (11)   patient was sitting in her wheelchair, and put the flowers into her lap. The two   (12)  , bursting into laughter now and then. Later the young woman turned and ran back to her   (13)  . As the car pulled away, the woman in the wheelchair   (14)   with a smile, and held the lilacs   (15)  .

“Mom,” the kids asked, “  (16)   did you give her our flowers?” “It is Mother’s Day, and she seems so   (17)  while I have all of you. And anyone would be  (18)   by flowers.”

This satisfied the kids, but not the husband. The next day he   (19)   some young lilacs around their yard. I was the husband. Now, every May, our yard is full of lilacs. Every Mother’s Day our kids   (20)   purple lilacs. And every year I remember that smile of the lonely old woman. And that has become a lasting touching memory of my life.

I am so grateful for the 21-Day Eco challenge hosted by Kindspring. Taking care of our sweet Mother Earth has always been __(1)____ to me in my life and I have taken __(2)____  in my everyday life to recycle, reuse, think about ways to protect our Mother Earth, etc. However, this __(3)____  awoke me even more.

Our Scholars Together community has taken on more than we have before __(4)____  recycling ,using our own china cups and metal water bottles when we go out ,not buying things in __(5)____  containers and having green lunches more consistently, not__(6)____  ,but the biggest change we made was setting a goal of Zero Waste.

We set up more boxes and bins for paper that we could __(7)____  again, recycled every sheet of use-on-both-side paper, plastics, cans ,etc. We also __(8)____  all of our food we cooked or bought ,instead of throwing some away. We really __(9)____  it a challenge. Each day we all saw how little __(10)____ could be in our dustbins. I realized that I had been throwing paper away that could be used on the other __(11)____ or could be recycled, and now I am looking everywhere for __(12)____  that can be used more __(13)____  until recycling time.

The videos offered by Kindspring have been so__(14)____  and useful to us all that I don’t want the Eco challenge to __(15)____ . We will continue to do our part and __(16)____  the news to our family and friends. Next week we are trying some __(17)____  in our local sandwich and sub shops where the kids like to go to see that we can bring our own __(18)____  in, rather than having them put in bags. It is cool to see how the __(19)____  spreads. Thank you Kindspring for __(20)____  the community with daily support and great researched videos and information.

Some years ago when I was in my first year in college, I heard Salome Bey sing for the first time. The moment was exciting. Salome’s  (1)   filled the room and brought the theater to life. I was so  (2)     that I decided to write an article about her.

    I  (3)   Salome Bey, telling her I was from Essence magazine, and that I wanted to meet her to talk about her career. She  (4)    and told me to come to her studio next Tuesday. When I hung up, I was scared out of my mind. I  (5)    I was lying. I was not a writer at all and hadn’t even written a grocery list.

    I interviewed Salome Bey the next Tuesday. I sat there  (6)   ,taking notes and asking questions that all began with, “Can you tell me…” I soon realized that  (7)    Salome Bey was one thing, but writing a story for a national magazine was just impossible. The   (8)    was almost unbearable. I struggled for days   (9)   draft(草稿) after draft. Finally I put my manuscript (手稿) into a large envelope and dropped it into a mailbox.

It didn’t take long. My manuscript  (10)    . How stupid of me! I thought. How could I  (11)   in a world of professional writers? Knowing I couldn’t  (12)    the rejection letter, I threw the unopened envelope into a drawer.

Five years later, I was moving to California. While  (13)    my apartment, I came across the unopened envelope. This time I opened it and read the editor’s letter in   (14)   .

Ms Profit,

Your story on Salome Bey is fantastic. Yet we need some  (15)   materials. Please add those and return the article immediately. We would like to  (16)    your story soon.

Shocked, it took me a long time to  (17)   . Fear of rejection cost me greatly. I lost at least five hundred dollars and having my article appear in a major magazine. More importantly, I lost years of  (18)   writing. Today, I have become a full – time writer. Looking back on this  (19)   , I learned a very important lesson: You can’t  (20)   to doubt yourself.

The journey my daughter Cathy has had with her swimming is as long as it is beautiful.

    Cathy suffered some terrible   (1)  in her early childhood. After years of regular treatment, she  (2)  became healthy.

    Two years ago, while Cathy was watching the Olympics, a dream came into her sweet little head—to be a swimmer. Last summer, she wanted to   (3)  our local swim team. She practiced hard and finally   (4)  it. The team practice,   (5)  , was a rough start. She coughed and choked and could hardly   (6)  her first few weeks. Hearing her coughing bitterly one night, I decided to  (7)  her from it all. But Cathy woke me up early next morning, wearing her swimsuit   (8)  to go! I told her she shouldn’t swim after a whole night’s coughing, but she refused to   (9)  and insisted she go.

   From that day on, Cathy kept swimming and didn’t   (10)  a single practice. She had a  (11)  intention within herself to be the best she could be. My ten—year—old was growing and changing right before my eyes, into this   (12)  human being with a passion and a mission. There were moments of   (13)  of course: often she would be the last swimmer in the race. It was difficult for Cathy to accept that she wasn’t a  (14)  ---ever. But that didn’t stop her from trying.

   Then came the final awards ceremony at the end of the year. Cathy didn’t expect any award but was still there to  (15)  her friends and praise their accomplishments. As the ceremony was nearing the end, I suddenly heard the head coach  (16)  , “The highest honor goes to Cathy!” Looking around, he continued, “Cathy has inspired us with her    (17)  and enthusiasm.  (18)  skills and talents bring great success, the most valuable asset(财富)one can hold is the heart.”

   It was the greatest   (19)  of my daughter’s life. With all she had been  (20)  in her ten years, this was the hour of true triumph(成功).

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment－to draw a picture of something for which they were   (1)  .

Most of the class might be considered economically   (2)  ，but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These，the teacher thought，would be the   (3)  of most of her students’art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of   (4)  .Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’ s true child of misery，weak and   (5)  .As other children played at break，Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the   (6)   Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes，his picture was   (7)  . When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful，he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an   (8)  hand. His abstract image   (9)   the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer，because farmers   (10)   turkeys. Another suggested a police officer，because the police protect and   (11)  people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God，for God feeds us. And so the   (12)  went－until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments，she   (13)  at Douglas’desk，bent down，and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and   (14)  ，“It’s yours，Madam.” She   (15)   the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there，  (16)  she had the other students. How often had she said，“Take my hand，Douglas，we’ll go outside.” Or，“Let me show you how to   (17)  your pencil.” Or，“Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’ s hand.

Brushing aside a tear，she went on with her work.

The story speaks of   (18)  thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing   (19)  ，and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks，but they’ll remember the hand that   (20)  .