【推荐2】For many years, I was so wrapped up in my kids and my family that I ignored how I looked. The words “________maintenance” described my approach to beauty perfectly.

It wasn’t until recently, when I had my picture taken for a work ID, that I ________ the “Youth Train” had left the station, and I was no longer on it. The woman in the ID picture looked ________ and definitely middle-aged.

For a few days, I was a little ________ by the fact that I was no longer the sweet, young thing I thought I was. For those few days, I tried a little harder to ________ younger, brighter and tighter. I ________ with my hair and added extra eyeliner.

I thought I was ________ in my seeking for a youthful glow until one of my new co-workers ________ asked me a question that told me I was ________ only myself. “I don’t suppose you know what beauty is, do you?” she asked.

That simple question opened my weary eyes once and for all. My family ________ me not for my no-longer-shiny hair but because the ________ I’m playing, that is my husband’s wife and my kids’ mom.

Someone once said that ________ is the first gift given and the first one taken away. I agree but only when it comes to ________ beauty. When it comes to staying young, a mind-lift ________ a face-lift any day. The ________ beauty, the stuff inside that all of us have, lasts a lifetime.

【推荐2】Timothy White from Harrisburg often dresses up as a superhero for events and is called Captain Harrisburg. However, when he spotted the ________, he couldn’t fall back on any super powers.

White was driving home when he noticed a pickup on the opposite side of the street. It was hard to ________, since it ran into the curb (路缘) several times. As the pickup was ________, White got a good look: The driver appeared to be ________. This guy was going to ________ himself or somebody else, White thought.

While many would keep on driving, that was not how White ________. He had to stop the vehicle. White made a U-turn and faced the same ________ as the pickup, but cars separated them. Trapped, White ________, and ran to the passenger side. Then incredibly, he ________ the window frame and jumped in.

The driver, 64-year-old DeAngelis, was just conscious enough to be shocked by the ________ of a stranger. “I’d thought he slept poorly. In fact, he ________ had dangerously low blood sugar,” White recalls. He worked quickly, ________ the pickup.

“He’s a real Captain Harrisburg,” DeAngelis says after recovery, who’s felt ________ for a couple of days. White’s actions that day weren’t out of ________. He once built animal shelters and broke into a smoking house. But jumping into a moving vehicle? “This was new ________,” White admits. “It also took me days to calm down.”

【推荐3】It s funny how a small corner of the earth can have outsized relevance in life. For me, it’s a swing set on a playground.

I decided to take my six year old son Joe on a weekend trip to the University of Virginia, my alma mater (母校). I planned out every detail _________ and wanted my son to become familiar with something dear to me, _________ he did not fully understand. I took Joe to my favorite breakfast spot. I _________ him my dorm and fraternity (兄弟会) house, and then the bar where I’d worked in college. We even went to a lacrosse (长曲棍球) game. All of this registered with my son, but without the _________ I expected. _________, we were running out of things to do. I asked Joe what he wanted to see. I would never _________ his response: “I would not mind finding a swing set.” That’s when it hit me. For a guy who thought he _________ every inch of his college town, the question caught me flat-footed: I had no idea where to look. _________, I remembered the Venable Elementary School, something I’d _________ countless times but never really noticed. We parked in the lot, empty on a Saturday, and I __________ my son and watched him delightedly swing back and forth. It was the joy I had sought for him on my terms, __________ he only found on his.

What did I learn on that trip? First, travel is great fun and often leads to __________. But our world will always assure us greater happiness which is just around the corner. Second, do not rely too much on your __________. Do your best but stay __________, and always remember what John Lennon said: Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. Third, there is always a new way to __________ things, no matter how much you think you know. I’m sure I would have missed the lesson if Joe hadn’t made his old man stop at the swings in Charlottesville. For that, I will always be grateful.