Aryan worked for a well-known film and he had a loving and caring family. Aryan’s parents considered themselves to be the luckiest, to be blessed with such a wonderful child. But on the other hand, Aryan was not happy with himself, since he thought himself to be an ugly, unconfident and unattractive person.

One evening, while returning home from work, he, along with many people, was waiting for the bus. On arrival of the bus, Aryan somehow made his way into the bus and managed to find a seat.

After sitting, he looked around the bus and noticed a handsome and charming man sitting opposite him. On looking towards the man, Aryan became sad once again regarding his looks and personality. All types of bad thoughts started coming in his mind that he was not worth this beautiful world. He thought that lucky man, with such a beautiful and attractive face, must always be the center of attraction.

Aryan became jealous of that man and could not bear him in front of him. So he changed his seat to avoid him. On the way all the negative feelings kept coming to his mind, imagining how his life would have been only if he were more handsome and good looking.

Finally on reaching the destination he came out of the bus. As he was walking, a person suddenly pushed Aryan from back. Aryan angrily turned around and what he saw brought tears in Aryan’s eyes.

The same “fortunate” man he had been envying all his way had difficulty in walking, since his one leg was shorter than the other. The “fortunate” man apologized to Aryan, but Aryan couldn’t say a word and walked away with tears in his eyes and guilt in his heart.

While walking, he realized that we must be satisfied and happy with what we are and even the basic qualities that we have might be a dream to someone else. So we should be grateful with what we have.

Before leaving his job in Brooklyn, Brian Peter had one thing he wanted to do on his last day-say thank you to the city he loves. Peter decided to use the money he made for a day's work, as well as the $10 per year he earned for his service, to give back to his community. "I've got nothing but good things from the city and the citizens, "Peter said. "I take what I make in a day and add that $120 that the police association was going to give me, and I'll just add it up to $500 and get some gift cards for people. "

So after fourteen years' serving as a police officer, Peter spent his last day doing that. Using his own money, Peter purchased five gift cards from Target and five gift cards from the grocery chain Cub Foods worth $50 each and handed them out to strangers in Brooklyn Center.

It took him about two hours to give away the cards and that he could put smiles on a lot of people's faces, including one woman he stopped after noticing the condition of her car. "Her car was really old and really damaged. I saw her windshield wipers were stuck in the up position, "Peter recalled. "I explained what I was doing and gave her a gift card, and immediately, she lit up with a smile. "

Once people overcame the initial shock of what he was doing, Peter said he received a lot more hugs that day. Monique Drier, who stayed with Peter, said Peter has always wanted to give back and didn't really want the attention. "He didn't even have a going-away party, "Drier said.

Peter, who started his new job three days ago, said he still wanted to continue giving back to the community. "Community service is extremely important, and when you're fortunate in life, you should give back to others who aren't as fortunate as you, "Peter said. "That's what makes the world go round. "

Dad was always full of advice, but one of the biggest lessons he taught me one summer was about having a strong work ethic(道德). When my brother and I were growing up, we mowed(修剪) yards during the summer to earn pocket change. Dad was our salesman. He told our neighbors about our service and offered a price they could not refuse. My brother and I got $ 10 per yard. I later found out that our friends were charging $ 20 or more for the same amount of work.

Every time we headed out to mow lawns(草坪), Dad was there to watch. I used to wonder why he came with us. He stood monitoring our work in the heat when he could have been inside relaxing with air conditioning and an icy drink.

One day we were cutting our next-door neighbor’s yard, he always waited until the grass was knee-high to call us over. To make matters worse, we had an old lawn mower. This particular afternoon, I was finishing up and was tired and sweaty.

I was just about to cut off the lawn mower when I saw Dad pointing to one piece of grass. He yelled, “You missed a piece.”

I frowned, hoping he would let it slide and let me go home. He kept pointing. So, tired and disappointed, I went back to cut that piece of grass. I said to myself, “That one piece isn’t hurting anyone. Why won’t he just let it go?”

But when I reached adulthood, I understood his message ---When you’re running a business, the work you do says a great deal about you. If you want to be seen as a businessman with honesty, you must deliver a quality product. That single blade of grass meant the job was not done.

Other neighbors took notice of the good work we did and we soon got more business. We started out with one client, but by the end of the summer we had five.

The US will seek to expand its own oil production in an attempt to reduce dependence on imported oil and bring down fuel prices, President Obama says. New contracts for exploration will be signed in non-protected areas of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico.

       In his weekly speech, the President insisted the US could reduce its need for imported oil and improve safety. Using his speech to tell Americans that he understood their concerns about rising prices, President Obama focused particularly on the price of fuel, which has risen in recent months.

      US consumers have historically enjoyed cheap fuel, but have seen prices rise in recent months even though US oil production in 2010 reached its highest level for seven years.

       Although the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was serious, Mr. Obama said the Gulf remained a key part of the country’s future energy supply.

       The President’s proposals (议案) come after Republicans (共和党人) introduced a series of proposals that would expand and speed up oil and gas production.

       The White House has criticized the Republican proposals for safety reasons, but Mr. Obama was clear in his speech that he felt safety and environmental standards could be maintained even though production might rise.

       “I believe that we should continue to expand oil production in America— even as we increase safety and environmental standards,” he said.

       “As a nation, we should be investing in the clean, renewable sources of energy that are the solution to high gas prices.”

       Mr. Obama has previously called for a step-change in energy policy, saying the US must move towards getting 80% of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.

Lisa was running late. Lisa，25，had a lot to do at work，plus visitors on the way: her parents were coming in for Thanksgiving from her hometown. But as she hurried down the subway stairs， she started to feel uncomfortably warm. By the time she got to the platform，Lisa felt weak and tired--maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give blood the night before，she thought. She rested herself against a post(柱子) close to the tracks.

Several yards away，Frank，43，and his girlfriend，Jennifer，found a spot close to where the front of the train would stop. They were deep in discussion about a house they were thinking of buying.

But when he heard the scream，followed by someone yelling，“Oh，my God，she fell in!” Frank didn’t hesitate. He jumped down to the tracks(铁轨) and ran some 40 feet toward the body lying on the rails. “No! Not you! ”his girlfriend screamed after him.

She was right to be alarmed. By the time Frank reached Lisa，he could feel the tracks shaking and see the light coming. The train was about 20 seconds from the station.

It was hard to lift her. She was just out(昏迷的). But he managed to raise her the four feet to the platform so that bystanders could hold her by the arms and drag her away from the edge. That was where Lisa briefly regained consciousness(知觉)，felt herself being pulled along the ground，and saw someone else holding her purse.

Lisa thought she’d been robbed. A woman held her hand and a man gave his shirt to help stop the blood pouring from her head. And she tried to talk but she couldn’t，and that was when she realized how much pain she was in.

Police and fire officials soon arrived，and Frank told the story to an officer. Jennifer said her boyfriend was calm on their 40-minute train ride downtown——just as he had been seconds after the rescue，which made her think about her reaction at the time. “I saw the train coming and 1 was thinking he was going to die，”she explained.

When memory began for me, my grandfather (“Gramp”) was past sixty. The little marks of laughter at the corners of his eyes were the product of a kindly and humorous nature. The years of work which had bent his shoulders had never reduced his humor or his love of a joke. Everywhere he went, Gramp made friends easily. At the end of half an hour you felt you had known him all your life. I soon learned that he hated to give orders, but that when he had to, he tried to make his orders sound like suggestions.

One July morning, as he was leaving to go to the cornfield, he said: “Edwin, you can pick up the potatoes in the field today if you want to do that.” Then he drove away with his horses. The day passed, and I did not have any desire to pick up potatoes. Evening came and the potatoes were still in the field. Gramp, dusty and tired, led the horses to get their drink.

“How many potatoes did you pick up?”Gramp inquired.“I didn’t pick any.” “Not any! Why?” “You said I could pick them up if I wanted to. You didn’t say I had to.” In the next few minutes, I learned a lesson I will not forget: when Gramp said I could if I wanted to, he meant that I should want to.

My grandmother (“Gram”) worked hard all day, washing clothes, cleaning the house, making butter, and even working in the field when help was scarce. In the evening, though, she was not too tired to read books from the community library. For more than forty years, Gram read aloud to Gramp almost every evening. In this way, she and Gramp learned about all the great battles of history and became familiar with the works of great authors and the lives of famous men.

She also had a deep love of beauty. When she was almost seventy-five and had gone to live with one of her daughters, she spent a delightful morning washing dishes because, as she said, the beautiful pattern on the dishes gave her pleasure. The birds, the flowers, the clouds –– all that was beautiful around her –– pleased her. She was like the father of the French painter, Millet, who used to gather grass and show it to his son, saying, “See how beautiful this is!”

In a pioneer society it is the harder qualities of mind and character that are of value. The softer virtues are considered unnecessary. Men and women struggling daily to earn a living are unable, even for a moment, to forget the business of preserving their lives. Only unusual people, like my grandparents, managed to keep thesofter qualitiesin a world of daily struggle.

“It’s OK if you have to go, buddy,” I said, looking into those eyes that showed love, devotion and friendship.

But he wasn’t coming home.

Scout was taking his last ride from a specialist in Dallas back to our vet (兽医). He started out on the floor in the back. When we got close to home he jumped up and leaned against me. Then he crawled, obviously hurting, into the passenger seat where he always rode. For a minute he looked out the window and then back at me.

My first memory of Scout was as a 6-week-old pup, sat on the edge of the seat, front paws on the window, looking back at Twin Pines Farm as he left. You might have expected him to act nervous, but he just smiled and watched.

He smiled all the time – we called him the world’s happiest dog. He graciously put up with new dogs and puppies. He wasn’t what you’d call a devoted father, but he would play with the puppies if nobody was looking.

He was all business when there was work to do. Most of his duties were riding in the truck, playing Frisbee or lounging (闲逛). But when needed, he was always there to load a cranky (暴躁的) cow, to keep coyotes (丛林狼) away, to make me feel OK when I was miles away, knowing he would protect his family with every last breath.

How do these four-legged fur balls get so deep in our hearts? It hurts when they go. But when you ask yourself: Would I give up having known him to make the pain go away? The answer is, of course, no.

I think Scout was probably a once-in-a-lifetime dog. But his son Gus is playing around in our backyard right now, and he had his first ride in the truck yesterday. He has the same way of looking out the window and then back at me with a smile on his face.

Scout, however your son turns out, we’ll always remember you. In time, it won’t hurt so much, and we’ll get by. It’s OK, buddy. You had to go.

B

    Pennsylvania—When Connie Beck and her husband awoke to strange noises last weekend, they thought high winds were rattling (使……发出响声) their home.
    What they found was even more unexpected: A deer was taking a bubble (泡沫) bath in their bathtub（浴缸）.
    “I wasn’t exactly dressed for company,” Mrs. Beck said. “We were just waking up.”
    The deer burst through the front door early on Saturday, ran past the couple’s bedroom and into the bathroom.
     Somehow he managed to turn on the water in the bathtub and knock over踢翻 a bottle of bubble bath into the bathtub. He then got himself into the bubbly water.
    “You could hear the water running over the kicking,” Beck said.
    The Becks called State Game Commission officials, who arrived with tranquilizers (镇静剂) and a lot of laughter.
     “A guy said, ‘There's nothing wrong… he's just in there taking a bubble bath,' ” Mrs. Beck said.
     The animal was soon brought under control, removed from the house and released.
     “He was unharmed except for a little cut above the eye,” said Mrs. Beck. “We were also fortunate. There wasn't much damage, except for the front door, some marks on the tub, and a few hoof (蹄) prints on the floor.”

 When my friend Lesa was diagnosed(诊断) with cancer, another friend and I went to the hospital to spend some time with her. We bought her a small toy and named him Lemon－Aide. We gave Lemon－Aide to Lesa and told her he was to go with her to all of her treatments to remind her that we were thinking of her and caring about her even though we could not always be with her. When the treatments were completed, she said when someone else needed him she would pass him along.

   A few months later，much to my surprise, it was me that she passed him to. Lemon－Aide went with me to all of my treatments.

   One day while waiting for my doctor I decided we could market the idea to fight cancer. Lesa thought it was a great idea so we founded the organization that came to be known as Lemon－Aideˈ s Friends, Inc. We designed our organization to remind people fighting cancer that there are people who love and care about them all the time. Today we have totally 5013 volunteers. The money raised is donated to cancer patients who do not have insurance. The Physicians on our Board of Advisors determine how and where our money is donated.

Lemon－Aide is for men, women, and children of all ages and to date has been sent to 34 states and 33 countries to provide smiling support for people fighting cancer. When life gave us lemons we made Lemon－Aide, a soft smiling toy that represents love, support, and encouragement.

B

The week I turned 50，my marriage came to a sudden end .My house，furniture and everything I'd owned were sold to pay debts that I didn't even know I had .In a week I had lost my husband，my home and my parents who had refused to accept a divorce（离婚）in the family. I'd lost everything except my four teenage children .I used every penny I had to buy five plane tickets from Missouri to Hawaii. Everyone said I was crazy to think I could just run off to an island and survive .I was afraid they were right.

     Knowing that no one in the world was going to help us，I rented a cheap apartment .I worked 18 hours a day and lost 30 pounds because I lived on one meal a day. One night as I walked alone on the beach，I saw the red orange glow of the lava（火山岩）pouring out of Kilauea Volcano in the distance .It was time to live my imagination!

     The next day，I quit my job and invested my last paycheck in art supplies and began doing what I loved .I hadn't painted a picture in 15 years .I wondered if I could still paint. My hands trembled the first time I picked up a brush．But before an hour had passed，I was lost in the colors spreading across the canvas（画布）in front of me．And as soon as I started believing in myself，other people started believing in me，too. The first painting sold $1,500 before I even had time to frame it.

     The past six years have been filled with adventures. My children and I have gone swimming with dolphins，watched whales and hiked around the volcano. We wake up every morning with the ocean in front of us and the volcano behind us. The dream had more than 40 years ago is now reality.I'm living freely and happily ever after.