1 . When I was a child, I stayed with my grandmother a lot of the time while my mother was at work. One day some money problems started to arise for my grandmother and the family. They needed a little more income so she decided to sing at the nearby retirement home (养老院).

So I had to go with her. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but as soon as my grandmother actually persuaded me to get on stage and start singing, I loved it. I just loved seeing that sparkle (光亮) in those people’s eyes. They would stand up and dance and clap to the beat of the music. Eventually, we were singing at many of the homes in the surrounding area 5 out of 7 days a week.

Making other people happy has always made me happy. And during that experience I even discovered my gift, singing. My grandma still sings to those people 15 years later, only for no charge now. I moved to North Carolina when I was 13, leaving my grandma in Florida, but I still carry on her effort and try and go out of my way to do something kind, even if very small, for at least one person every day. There is no better feeling in the world than the one you get when you hear appreciation in someone’s voice.

2 . Back starting from my fourth grade, I was in low spirits for about four and a half years. I never really had any friends during that time. My only one had just _______ at the end of third grade. What was worse, I felt _______ as my dog and my cat had just died. It almost seemed as if my life was slowly _______ for me. I always felt _______, with no one and not even my family to talk to. I didn’t think they knew what I was _______. It was a really hard time for me. I’d always _______ my feelings and just put a nice, fake smile for them. That’s all they wanted, right?

During the end of my seventh-grade year, I started to make a friend or two. That’s when my depression (消沉) state started _______. But I was still _______ myself, calling myself fat or ugly, and my friends knew this. They tried their best to help and it did _______ in some ways but not fully. It was a ________ that I found what I was ________: music. I found this song called “Beautiful”. There was one line that said, “You are beautiful in every single way. Yes words can’t bring you down.” I now realize that we are all beautiful and no guy or girl can tell us otherwise. ________, some people can’t see that.

Now I ________ believe that even a song can ________ a person’s life just because of the lyrics (歌词) you hear. I just hope they find this song and listen to it. I also hope it has the same ________ it had on me when I was suffering.

3 . I received 3 missed calls from a number I didn’t recognize today. I assumed it was something to do with an accident I had recently. I was ready to answer _________ when the number called the 4th time. Instead, I was asked if I was Jessica and if I had _________ anything. I said I didn’t think so and _________ who it was.

It was a man called Darren who _________ he was behind me in the shop this morning. As I was leaving, my purse _________. He picked it up and looked around to see where I had gone but he couldn’t see me anymore. So he opened my purse and called the _________ inside it.

I have just been to meet him to get my purse back, only to find out Darren is _________ and lives rough in the streets of Cardiff. He even apologized as he said he had taken out some _________ to call me to return my purse. But _________ a few pounds used to contact me, everything was all still __________. I admit that I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d spent more of the __________.

I felt __________ that someone returned it, and that the person who returned it was someone who had __________. It made me realize not only was I lucky that my purse was found by someone __________, but that I was going to a warm home.

The __________ would be a much better place with more kind people like Darren in it.

4 . When 45-year-old Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic(胰腺) cancer, he chose to focus on living rather than dying. As a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Pausch was asked to deliver a “last lecture”. This well-known campus tradition allowed professors to share worldly wisdom with students as if they were dying and had one last lecture to give.

The only difference in Pausch’s case is that Pausch really was dying, but it only motivated him more. He delivered his last lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on Sept. 18, 2007.

Pausch began by sharing several of his boyhood dreams, some of which he had achieved and the others he hadn’t. He described the importance of having dreams and how anyone can still learn a lot by reaching for those dreams, even if they don’t always succeed. He shared the values(价值观) learned through experience, which he hoped to pass on to others hard work, laughter and gratitude, honesty, character.

Pausch’s last lecture received a great deal of praise and attention. It became a crazy YouTube hit, and in October 2007, he presented an abridged (删节的) version on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. He turned the lecture into a book by the same name, which quickly became a best-seller. Readers were deeply moved by the book’s representation of Pausch’s lifelong philosophy and the way it revealed the biggest source of his motivation—his three young children.

Pausch passed away on July 25, 2008, but his voice lives on in the recorded lecture and his book. He continues to motivate us all by encouraging us to never give up our childhood dreams—a source of inspiration that can never run dry.

5 . In a certain village lived a farmer and his only son. The son was a thief who always went about stealing from people’s homes. He continued this bad lifestyle till the day his cup got filled. He stole heavy sum of money from the richest man in their village, but that day he didn’t escape successfully as he used to. The rich man contacted the police immediately when he found out that his money was missing and the police started investigating, and finally they found out that the boy stole the money so they sent him to prison.

After some months, it was time for farming and the farmer was already old and weak and can’t dig the ground anymore, so the old farmer wrote this letter to his son in prison. “Son, this year I will not plant cassava and yam because I can’t dig the field, I know if you were here you would have helped me”. The son was really touched by his father’s letter so he thought a plan, and replied his father “Dad, don’t even think of digging the field because that’s where I buried the money I stole”.

On reading this letter, the policeman went early in the morning and dug the whole field in search of the money but nothing was found. The next day the son wrote his father again “Dad, you can now plant your cassava and yam. This is the best I can do from here. ”

Dad replied “My son, you are too powerful indeed, even in prison you still command policemen to work for me. I was so surprised to see the policeman and his team holding hoes and shovels, digging my farm. Next time I will write to you when I want to harvest.

6 . The Museum: The Charles Dickens Museum in London is the world’s most important collection of material relating to the great Victorian novelist and social commentator. The only surviving London home of Dickens (from 1837 until 1839) was opened as a museum in 1925 and is still welcoming visitors from all over the world. On the four floors, visitors can see paintings, rare editions, manuscripts, original furniture and many items relating to the life of one of the most popular and beloved personalities of the Victorian age.

Opening Hours: The Museum is open from Mondays to Saturdays 10: 00—17: 00; Sundays 11: 00—17: 00. Last admission (允许进入) is 30 minutes before closing time.

Special opening times can be arranged for groups, who may wish to book a private view.

Admission Charges: Adults: ￡5.00; Students: ￡4.00; Seniors: ￡4.00; Children: ￡3.00; Families: ￡14.00 (2 adults & up to five children).

Group Rates: For a group of 10 or more, a special group rate of ￡4.00 each applies. Children will still be admitted for ￡3.00 each.

Access: We are constantly working to improve access to the Museum. Our current projects involve the fitting of a wheelchair ramp(活动坡道) for better access and an audio tour for visitors with impaired (受损的) vision. Our Handling Sessions (亲身体验活动) are also suitable for the visually impaired. The Museum has developed an online virtual tour through the Museum. Click here to visit all the rooms in the Museum online.

Hire the Museum: The Museum can be hired for private functions, parties and many other social occasions.

Find Us: The Museum may be reached by using the following buses: 7, 17, 19, 38, 45, 46, 55, 243. And by these underground services: Piccadilly Line; Central Line. For a map, please click here. The British Museum and the Foundling Museum are within walking distance.