1 . I’d done it before, and so I had no reason to believe that this time would be any different. I was sure that when I returned home from my mission trip, as always, I’d bring back nothing more than some mud on my boots, a hole or two in my jeans and, of course, a lot of great memories.

The summer before my high school graduation, I went to West Virginia with others as volunteers to repair the homes of those in need. Arriving at our destination, my group was assigned the task of rebuilding sections of a home that had been damaged by fire. No sooner had we parked on the home’s dirt driveway than we saw an excited little girl, no more than six years old, standing in the doorway of the family’s temporary home. Shoeless and wearing dirty clothes and the biggest smile I’d ever seen, she yelled, “Ma, Ma, they really came!” I didn’t know it then, but her name was Dakota, and four more days would pass before she’d say another word near me.

Behind Dakota was a woman in a wheelchair — her grandmother, we’d soon learn. I also discovered that my job that week would be to help change a fire-damaged dining room into a bedroom for this little girl. Over the following days, I noticed Dakota peeking at us every now and then as we worked. A few times, I tried talking with her, but she remained shy and distant, always flying around us like a tiny butterfly but keeping to herself.

By our fifth and final day, however, this was about to change. Before I went to work on her home on that last morning, I spoke for a moment or two with the grandmother. I was especially pleased when she told me how much Dakota loved her new room — so much. As we talked, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before — Dakota was hiding behind her grandmother.

Cautiously, she stepped into view, and I could see that just like her clothes, her face was still dirty. But no amount of soil could hide those bright blue eyes and big smile. She was simply adorable. Slowly, she began walking toward me. It wasn’t until she was just inches away that I noticed the folded piece of paper in her tiny hand. Silently, she reached up and handed it to me. Once unfolded, I looked at the drawing she’d made with her broken crayons on the back of an old coloring book cover. It was of two girls — one much taller than the other — and they were holding hands. She told me it was supposed to be me and her, and on the bottom of the paper were three little words that instantly broke my heart: “Please don’t leave”. Now almost in tears, I couldn’t control myself anymore — I bent down and hugged her. She hugged me, too. And for the longest time, neither of us could let go.

I left for home early the next morning. I was returning with muddy boots and holes in my jeans. But because of Dakota, I brought back something else, too — a greater appreciation for all of the blessings of my life. I’ll never forget that barefoot little butterfly with the big smile and dirty face. I pray that she’ll never forget me either.

2 . How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments-mostly for entertainment purposes-is fair and respectful?

Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural zones.

Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behaviour , intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range(分布区). The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don't usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.

The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.

Furthermore ,most animals in zoos are not endangered. Captive breeding(圈养繁殖)of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild. Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?

Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.

3 . Future history books might record that we were robbed of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we fail to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s—eye view of the world—— or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train, you are moving so quickly that you do not see the countryside clearly. Car drivers are forever thinking about going on and on; they never want to stop. Is it the great motorways, that attract them, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song, “I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.” You mention the place names in the world like EI Dorado, Kabul and someone is sure to say “I’ve been there” meaning “I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else.”

When you travel at high speed, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other places. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend (中止) all experience; the present stops being a reality: you might just as well be dead.

The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.

8 . I sat and waited for Kathleen to speak. “Annie, ” she said, “A food bank that serves the elderly is asking for ________ . I’d like you to organize the event”. “Well, errr....sure.” As I stuttered through my ________ , all I could think was, “What? Why me?”

I walked back to my office wondering where to ________ . This was a time when the economy was ________ . The rise in unemployment forced many of my coworkers to ________ to survive. How could I ask them for more?

That evening I drove home with negativity. Then I remembered a time when my father was out of work. Mom wrote a note to Jim, the milkman, asking him not to ________ any more milk. Two days later Jim picked up the   ________ and left four liters of milk. He wrote his message, which read, “Kids need milk.” The milk delivery ________ as usual and Jim never collected a cent ________ us.

The memory of Jim’s kindness ________ my enthusiasm. Perhaps I’d be in for a pleasant surprise.

The next morning I ________ signs about our food drive all over the cafeteria and on every notice board I could find. Each sign said, “Food drive to support the poor elderly! ________ of non - perishable (不易腐的) foods are greatly needed.”

Within a few days I had to locate empty office space to ________ the massive number of contributions we had   ________ . One of my coworkers, Maggie, made the rounds with me every day from one department to another to pick up the canned goods and other ________ . Though over sixty, she pushed our food trolley around with the ________ of a woman half her age.

I asked her where she got all the enthusiasm. She said, “With the unemployment rate touching 10 percent, I can’t think of a better way to be ________ for keeping our jobs when so many have ________ theirs. Sure money is   ________ . But when isn’t it? People need food.”

As I listened to Maggie, the milkman’s words ________ in my ears, “Kids need milk.”

10 . Kids are natural scientists. That may be why they ask so many questions.

Younger kids take up science and math with amazing enthusiasm, yet as they get older they often lose their excitement. Children look on scientific exploration as play, but as they get older they start to connect it with big heavy books, long worksheets and a lot of really confusing words.

What a tragedy! We had their attention, they were listening, they were participating, they were learning and then we lost it to boredom.

We need our kids to play more. More play brings up basic scientific concept. Being familiar with basic scientific concepts brings about exploration which leads to research. Once they are researching, they are completely into the learning.

My boys built a small 9-hole golf course next to our driveway one day. It was a great product of science. They dug out the holes and channels to guide the golf ball. They played with architecture with a series of pipes they had found in the garage. They tested speed and momentum (动量)by creating one of the holes across the driveway. They experienced biology when deciding which front yard plants could be used as a part of the course and which needed to be pulled up.

If I had sent them out to the yard to build a 9-hole golf course, it would have never happened. It was because it was their idea that it worked. I try to tell them some of the concepts after the fact. When they ask about something, I try to relate it back to something they have built，experienced, or felt. I try to give them a vocabulary around what they already know.

An afternoon can change the way kids look at the world. Not bad for a day of play.