Two weeks earlier, my son, Ben, had got in touch. He’d moved to England with his mum when he was three and it had been 13 years since I’d   (1)    seen him. So imagine my  (2)    when he emailed me saying he wanted to come to visit me.

I was  (3)   ! I arrived early at Byron Bay where we were supposed to  (4)    . The bay was   (5)    in sunshine, and there was a group of kayakers around 150m off the shore. Getting a little  (6)   , I realized one kayak (皮划艇) was in  (7)   . “Something’s not   (8)   !” I took off my T-shirt and   (9)    into the water. I saw there were two instructors on board and a man lying across the middle. He was   (10)    violently. Linking arms with one of the instructors, I helped   (11)   the young man out of the water. He was unconscious and as I looked at his face, something   (12)    to me. Those brown eyes were very  (13)   . “What’s his name?” I asked the instructor. “Ben,” he replied, and immediately I  (14)   . That stranger was my son!

The instructors called for an ambulance.   (15)   , after a brief stay in hospital, Ben was well enough to be allowed to   (16)    and later the family met up for dinner. We chatted about everything and then Ben   (17)   to me. “I just want to say thank you,” he said. “You  (18)    my life!”

I still can’t believe what a   (19)    it was. I’m just so glad I was there   (20)    to help my son.

The Two-Dollar Bill

Returning from a trip to Washington D. C., I arrived in Anchorage at about 2: 00 A. M. At 9：00 A.M., I was   (1)   to talk at local high school to students in a   (2)   designed to educate the troubled kids in school.

The school is well   (3)   because most of the kids are troublemakers who become involved with the law. I found it very   (4)   to deliver a speech to the multi-cultural   (5)   and talk about things that could stimulate them for their   (6)  . I wasn’t making any headway   (7)   I started talking about what I do so well, helping people with money.

I   (8)   a stack (堆) of $2 bills and started giving them out. The kids started to   (9)   because it was free money. The   (10)   thing I asked them was to spend it on   (11)   people. Some of them asked me for my signature. I think I   (12)   some of them with my honesty. I started   (13)  a copy of the book I had written for the dollar bills. Then I told them that my grandfather’s care had always   (14)   me to go forward.   (15)   I closed with telling them no matter what happens, someone out there   (16)   cares about them and is pulling for their   (17)  .

This is not the   (18)   of the story. When I left the classroom, I told them to call me   (19)   they ever had problems.

Three days later, I received a thank-you letter with a new $2 bill in it   (20)   by a girl who heard my talk.

I got aboard and sat down in my seat. It was going to be a long flight.

Around me were some  (1)  "Where are you headed?" I asked．

       "Lakes Air Base. Weˈll be there for special training, and then to the front."

       After about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were  (2)  for five dollars. The journey would be several hours, and I decided to buy one．

       As I   (3)  for my wallet, I heard a soldier ask his buddy if he would buy lunch. "No, that seems a lot of money for just a box lunch." I looked around at the other soldiers.  (4)   were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and   (5)  the flight attendant a fifty-dollar bill. "Take box lunches to all those soldiers." I said．She seized my arms tightly．Her eyes wet with tears, she  (6)  me, " My son is a soldier in the front．．．itˈs almost like you are doing it for him."

       Picking up ten boxes, she headed to the soldiers．

       After eating, on my way to the restroom I was   (7)  by a man. "I saw what you did and I want to be   (8)  of it." With this, he handed me twenty-five dollars．

       Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming, looking at the seat numbers   (9)   he walked．When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his   (10)  , and said, "I want to  (11)  your hand." I stood and took his hand．With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier．  (12)  , someone bought me a lunch．It was such an act of   (13)   that I never forgot." I was a little bit  (14)   when applause rang out from all of the passengers．These soldiers were giving their all for our country．I could only give them a couple of meals．

       Later, when I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs, a man  (15)   another twenty-five dollars in my hand．

       When we  (16)   I gathered my belongings and started to leave．A man stopped me, put something in my pocket, and walked away  (17)  a word．Another twenty-five dollars!

Seeing the soldiers   (18)  at the terminal, I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars．As I walked  (19)  to my car, I prayed for their safe  (20)  

It is a blue, cotton shirt. The shirt belonged to my 　(1)　 David. On his birthday before he left college, his mother bought him the shirt. 　(2)　 I gave him free use of my bike, he let me wear the shirt, occasionally. 

We shared the shirt, and as days 　(3)　, we shared more of our 　(4)　. David was in school by scholarships and grants (助学金). He 　(5)　 to keep his scholarships, because without even one of them, he would have to 　(6)　 and back on the farm. And in David's home, there was always only enough money to cover the expense. His father died when he was twelve. 

　(7) David also talked about his father. Usually it was late at night, in the dorm just before bed, and the 　(8)　 always ended with tears that flowed from a river of memories and 　(9)　: memories of a father suffering from 　(10)　 at a time when his son was just a teenager; longings for opportunities to cure his father's disease. Because disease does not understand the 　(11)　 between father and son. Nor does(do) 　(12)　 care. 

Time passed and we had to say 　(13)　 to each other. After lots of hugging, and words of thanks, we eventually 　(14)　. It was on my 　(15)　 trip upstairs to our dorm that I saw a package on my bed. I 　(16)　 the wrapping paper. It was the blue cotton shirt in a box with a card 　(17)　 to it, reading: 

Thomas, I can't thank you enough for your 　(18)　. This has been tough years and you have been 　(19)　 a friend. Thank you for listening. Thanks for everything. 

David

I pushed aside the note, with 　(20)　 tears dropping on the shirt. 

I still have the shirt today, though it has faded and wrinkled with age.

It was at a concert that I happened to find David.He was holding his head at a strange __  (1)  __as if he were staring down at something.Then the truth struck me.He was blind.The last thing he remembers __  (2)  __was his daughter being born.Then the world went __  (3)  __.

Bad luck is no stranger to this 44-year-old man.His mother died of cancer，and his weak father had to __  (4)  __11-year-old David to the care of the state.

Things seemed always to go from bad to __  (5)  __.Two years ago，his beloved guide dog pulled him out of the __  (6)  __of a truck.David was not hurt.The dog __  (7)  __.

But David does not feel sorry for himself.“These are just little obstacles (障碍)you have to __  (8)  __in your life，”he said.

He has to make a daily two-hour trip to his working place—the X-ray department of an__  (9)  __ room.

It was a hard job to __  (10)  __.Before he got it，David was determined to escape the workshop run by the Lighthouse，an organization __  (11)  __ to help blind people.He wanted a job of developing X-ray film，something __  (12)  __，not just he，must do in the dark，including people with __  (13)  __eyesight.The Lighthouse called many hospitals，with no result，__  (14)  __they offered to pay his first three monthsˈ salary.

David works alone in a dark room that __  (15)  __ of chemicals.He cannot wear gloves.__  (16)  __，he could not feel.Since this is an emergency room，lives can be put __  (17)  __or out of danger.His directress says she trusts him 100 percent.

He makes $ 20,000 a year.But his motivation(动机)goes __  (18)  __money.“By working，I can actualize my own __  (19)  __.Thatˈs the most important！”he said.

What a shining example for us to __  (20)  __！

Raynor Winn and her husband Moth became homeless due to their wrong investment. Their savings had been  (1)   to pay lawyers’ fees. To make matters worse, Moth was diagnosed（诊断）with a   (2)   disease. There was no   (3)  , only pain relief.

Failing to find any other way out, they decided to make a   (4)  journey, as they caught sight of an old hikers’(徒步旅行者）guide.

This was a long journey of unaccustomed hardship and   (5)   recovery. When leaving home, Raynor and Moth had just ￡320 in the bank. They planned to keep the  (6)   low by living on boiled noodles, with the  (7)   hamburger shop treat.

Wild camping is   (8)   in England. To avoid being caught, the Winns had to get their tent up  (9)  and packed it away early in the morning. The Winns soon discovered that daily hiking in their 50s is a lot   (10)   than they remember it was in their 20s. Raynor  (11)   all over and desired a bath. Moth, meanwhile, after an initial   (12)  , found his symptoms were strangely  (13)   by their daily tiring journey.

  (14)  , the couple found that their bodies turned for the better, with re-found strong muscles that they thought had  (15)   forever. "Our hair was fried and falling out, nails broken, clothes  (16)  to a thread, but we were alive."

During the journey, Raynor began a career as a nature writer. She writes, "  (17)   had taken every material thing from me and left me torn bare, an empty page at the end of a(n)   (18)   written book. It had also given me a  (19)  , either to leave that page   (20)   or to keep writing the story with hope. I chose hope.”