Grandma Moses is among the most famous twentieth-century painters of the United States, yet she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said, " I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me."

She was born on a farm in New York State. At twelve she left home and was in service until, at twenty-seven, she married Thomas, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives. She had ten children, of whom five survived (幸存). Her husband died in 1937.

Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery (刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in her old age because her hands had become too stiff (僵硬) to sew and she wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at at an exhibition, and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought everything she painted. Three of the pictures were shown in the Museum of Modern Art and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930s and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures, careful and lively pictures of the country life she had known, with a wonderful sense of color and form.

It amazed me—every time I saw Joe, he was smiling. It didn't matter whether he had to stop at a stop light, or if he was the seventh person in line at the bank, and the teller ended her job just before he got there. Joe always smiled. It made me wonder why he always seemed so happy.

Having observed Joe with other people, I noticed something else too. Joe asked people how they were doing, and really seemed to listen to their answers. He showed pity to someone who was hurting, and had kind words, and offered to help in any way he could.

It made me think. What if I tried to smile more? An experiment began when I went to the supermarket. I smiled as I went up and down the supermarket and people I didn't even know smiled back at me. Some even spoke! The little kid in the cart who was giving his mother a hard time saw me smile, he stopped talking and then made a shy attempt at a smile. The man in the cart for the disabled needed help to reach for something, and I got it for him. The smile even transferred over to him, and he thanked me.

As I drove home, I was smiling. Now I know a smile is a small thing, but what if we all tried to smile a few more times each day? I couldn't believe how great I felt. Nothing in my life had changed, but maybe it had. What I had learned was that such a small thing could lift not only my spirits, but also the spirits of those around me. So smile!

People all need friends because nobody wants to be lonely and a friend can help you in good and bad times.     16     Here are some tips to tell you if your friend is a true friend.

Always There for You

There are always periods in your life when you have problems or difficulties.     17     Sometimes, she or he may not be able to offer an immediate solution to your problems but the fact that your friend makes time to listen is a sign he/she cares for you.

    18    

Honest is important to keep a relationship alive. A true friend always tells you the truth. It may be hard sometimes but lying can destroy a friendship. It is important that your friend speaks honestly and never makes up stories.

Always Respectful

    19     Your true friend may disagree but never insists that he/she is correct.

Always Understanding

    20     A true friend will always be forgiving（原谅）and understanding, even if it isn't his/her fault（错误）. We are all different people and we all make mistakes. A true friend will always be forgiving and understanding because he/she doesn't take the risk of losing his/her best friend.

It was Mother’s Day and I was shopping at the local supermarket with my five-year old son, Tenyson. As we were _______, we realized that only minutes earlier an _______ woman had fallen over at the entrance and hit her head on the ground. _______ was with her, but there was blood everywhere and the woman was embarrassed and clearly in shock. _________, a lot of people stopped to help out._______we were walking towards the scene (现场), Tenyson became very_______about what had happened to the old couple. He_______to me, “Mom，it’s not much fun falling over in front of _______.” Seeing that there was a flower stall(摊位) at the front of the supermarket, he added(补充说), “Why shouldn’t we _______the lady a flower？It will make her feel better.” I was ________ that he’d come up with this ________idea. So we went over and told the flower seller ________we wanted. “Just take it,” she replied, “I________ take your money for such a wonderful ________.”

By now medical staff had arrived, and were________the injured woman.We gave the flower to the woman’s husband and I told him it was__________my son. At that, the old man started crying and said, “Thank you very much.” He then turned to me，“You have a________son. Happy Mother’s Day to you.”

The man bent down and gave his wife the flower, telling her who it was from.________being badly hurt, the old lady looked up at Tenyson with ________in her eyes and gave him a little________.

After camping in the Redwood Forest and visiting the wine country of Napa Valley, I was back in San Francisco. I have to admit that it     41     (definite) feels good to be back in the city again. It is a city that     42     (rebuild) itself after the earthquake that     43     (occur) in 1906. Today there are so many beautiful old     44     (build), many of which sit on top of big hills. My hotel is near downtown, located in the Mission District, one of the oldest parts of the city. This district used to be a poor area of town,     45    now it is a centre for art, music, and food. In fact, an art movement     46     (call) the “Mission School” started here. It is     47     (influence) by graffiti art and comic art. First I walked around looking at the street art for a few hours. Afterwards, I ate some delicious noodles from a food truck. In the afternoon, I headed     48     a local museum that showed the historical changes in California. In 1848, gold was discovered near San Francisco,     49     started a gold rush. Over 300,000 people came to seek their fortune, and San Francisco quickly became a big city.     50     (earn) a living, some Chinese opened up shops and restaurants in Chinatown. In the evening, I went to Chinatown to enjoy delicious food. Tomorrow evening I will visit a jazz bar.