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 lost my flat by accident, and then I discovered my car needed a new engine. That meant I would have to spend ￡ 1，000 to get the car back on the  (1)  . I suddenly found that I needed, first, somewhere to  (2)  and second, something to travel around  (3)  ．

I was trying to decide what to do when I  (4)  the advertisement on a board: Converted(改装过的) ambulance  (5)  ， ￡ 1，600. So I rang the number in the ad and  (6)  to go and see it. It was love at first sight! I made a   (7)  straight away. Two days later I was the   (8)  owner of a converted camper van(野营车)．

At first I was  (9)  . I wasn’t sure whether I could handle it.   (10)  ， gradually I’ve had feelings that I haven’t  (11)  before. Living in my van is just the  (12)  of waking up in the morning, and, for the first few seconds, not knowing   (13)  you are. Then you look out of the window; some strange trees  (14)  you, and some beautiful scenery makes your heart beat  (15)  . Living in a flat in the city I missed all that.

Now I begin to   (16)  what the travelers have been telling us. Living in a van is cheap. No rent. What’s more, there’s the sense of   (17)  my new lifestyle has given me. I love being able to go where I want and when I want. It’s  (18)  to feel that the whole world is your home. It is no  (19)  that so many people are  (20)  their houses and going on the road.

When most of us get a text message on our cell phone from an unknown person, we usually say ＂sorry,  (1)  number!＂ and move on. But when Dennis Williams  (2)   a text that clearly wasn’t intended for him, he did something   (3)  .

   On March 19, Dennis got a group text  (4)   him that a couple he didn’t know were at the hospital, waiting for the  (5)   of a baby.

   ＂Congratulations! But I think someone was mistaken,＂ Dennis  (6)  . The baby was born and update texts were  (7)  quickly from the overjoyed grandmother, Teresa. In her  (8)  , she didn’t seem to realize that she was  (9)   the baby’s photos with a complete stranger. ＂Well, I don’t   (10)   you all but I will get there to take pictures with the baby,＂ replied Dennis before asking which room the new   (11)  were in.

   Much to the family’s surprise, Dennis stuck to his   (12)  ! He turned up at the hospital   (13)   gifts for the new mother Lindsey and her baby boy. Lindsey’s husband was totally   (14)   by the unexpected visit. ＂I don’t think we would have randomly invited him over but we  (15)   it and the gifts.＂

   Teresa  (16)   a photo of the chance meeting on a social networking website  (17)   by the touching words: ＂What a   (18)   this young man was to our family! He was so  (19)  and kind to do this.＂ The post has since gained the  (20)  of social media users all over the world, receiving more than 184,000 shares and 61,500 likes in just three days.

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.

I felt gloomy (沮丧的)the other day.The weather had been dark and rainy，and I just didnˈt feel so __  (1)  __.

As I was sitting at my desk，I __  (2)  __it was the birthday of a dear long-time friend—a single，middle-aged woman who has devoted the past 30 years to nursing and loves her __  (3)  __.Knowing that she doesnˈt have family in town，I __  (4)  __to give her a call.Sure enough，she was on B-shift，__  (5)  __to work late into the evening，and wouldnˈt have much of a birthday this year.As always，__  (6)  __，she sounded cheerful and was happy that I __  (7)  __.

After I hung up，I couldnˈt __  (8)  __ the feeling that she would really appreciate a little attention on her special day.__  (9)  __feeling a little gloomy myself，I tried to put it out of my __  (10)  __，but as the day passed I couldnˈt shake the thought.I __  (11)  __gave in，and that evening set off to the hospital with a card，a cheese cake，and some balloons.My friendˈs grateful smile and joyful surprise __  (12)  __me Iˈd done the right thing and were a generous __  (13)  __ for the little effort it had taken.

When I got home，I realized that not only had I cheered up a __  (14)  __friend on her birthday，but my own gloomy feelings had also __  (15)  __.Making her day had made my own!

Thatˈs true __  (16)  __we take the time and make the effort to do something for someone else.Itˈs like the little saying，“Loving kindness is twice blessed；it blesses him who gives，and him who __  (17)  __.”

Cheering up people on their birthdays isnˈt the only thing we can do to make their day.Life constantly presents us with __  (18)  __to take an extra step or do a kind deed that will make a __  (19)  __to someone.And the __  (20)  __thing is that as we do，it changes things for the better for us too.

  No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own  (1)  

I learned this lesson from a(n)   (2)   many years ago. I took the head  (3)  job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

It was a tradition for the schoolˈs old team to play against the  (4)   team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didnˈt even practice to   (5)  the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldnˈt   (6)  I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to  (7)  that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were  (8)  me. I had to change my  (9)  about their ability and potential.

I started doing anything I could to help them build a little  (10)  .Most important, I began to treat them like   (11)  .That summer, When the other teams enjoyed their  (12)  ,we met every day and  (13)  passing and kicking the football.

Six months after suffering our  (14)  on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to  (15)  .Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a  (16)  for us even if we lost the game. But that wasnˈt what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest  (17)  of my life！

From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can  (18)  the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and  (19)  them. I helped them to see themselves  (20)  ,and they built themselves into winners.

Winners are made, but born.

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)  __！