2 . It was a dark and cold night. The taxi driver didn’t have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, “ Where do you want to go, sir?”

“To the Star Hotel,” the young man answered. When the taxi driver heard that, he didn’t feel happy any more. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city.

After a long time, the car arrived at the hotel at last. “You should pay me fifteen dollars,” the car driver said to the young man. “What? Fifteen dollars! Do you think I’m a fool? Only last week, I took a taxi from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won’t pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other driver last week.

3 . There are always some persons in your life who touch your soft heart with kindness.

As a little girl, my favorite thing was _______. And when I thought about _______ I wanted to be when I grew up, I figured I’d be a librarian, just because the two librarians changed my life.

At that time, the town library limited the number of books a person borrowed _______ two once a week. I _______ the books in just three days. So to read more, I was _______ about what books to choose. The librarian, Mrs. Tonne, was a warm person. Every time I went into the library, she greeted me, _______. When learning about my trouble, she often _______ some better books. Thanks to her help, I _______ a lot from these books.

Gradually, I developed an interest in writing, _______ poems. When I was in fourth grade, our school librarian, Mrs. Ketelsen, encouraged me to write more. When my poem was not accepted, she ________ me with comfortable words. Once she helped ________ some poems I’d written about dinosaurs to Highlights magazine. It was my first published writing!

Later, at the University of Iowa, ________ I majored in journalism, my dream was different. I realized that I was shy about interviewing people, which made me ________. When I recalled Mrs. Tonne and Mrs. Ketelsen, I made a decision without ________ to be devoted to writing. And now I am an editor at Reader’s Digest.

Whenever I think of the help from them, how ________ I am. It is their kindness that makes me what I am.

4 . Safe and Easy Workouts for Seniors

As you get older, it’s important to remain active and not to forget your health. There are plenty of all-time best exercises for weight loss, but not all are perfect for older individuals hoping to break a sweat.     1    

You might believe that certain workouts, like pushups (俯卧撑), are only for the young. In fact, they can be changed to best suit someone’s desired difficulty level.     2     Keep your back straight and bend your elbows, bringing your chest toward the wall, and press back. Repeat as desired.

Overhead arm raises can benefit seniors with joint (关节) pain. Using a weighted object such as a bottle of water, position yourself shoulder-width apart. With your shoulders back and arms lifted to 90 degrees, breathe out as you lift the bottles over your head and breathe in as you lower your arms.     3    

Endurance workouts increase your breathing and get your heart pumping. Dancing can improve the health of your heart and lungs and keep you healthy as you perform daily tasks.     4     The goal is to build up to at least 150 minutes of activity a week that makes you breathe hard.

    5     Higher daily step counts have also been linked with lower all-cause mortality (死亡率). It can also keep you healthy as you observe nature in your own backyard. Schedule a daily walk into your everyday routine. This simple activity can keep your heart healthy, keep you energetic and improve your mood.

5 . My body hit the water with a pounding and I suddenly felt afraid that terrible things could happen. Water gushed（涌出）through my mouth and left its salty taste. My feet touched the ground as I attempted to float back up to the surface. I could see the speed boats in the distance and I started to panic.

I saw something gray from a distance coming closer and closer. As it approached me, I realized that it was not a good one-it was a SHARK! Its fin（鳍）was moving closer and I attempted to swim as fast and as far away from it as possible. My heart beat faster and faster as my body got all stiff（僵硬的）. I looked behind me and saw the huge sharp teeth pointing directly at me. As I turned away, I heard jaws shut with a mighty bite! The shark turned away and left me alone.

I looked at my feet and saw bright red blood flow into the water. I cleaned it with some water and a thought went into my mind-sharks love blood, and that was not good for me. I knew more fins were surrounding me from every direction. I was stuck in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by about ten sharks and they were all heading for me.

They all stared at me with their white sharp teeth sticking out, ready to attack. Slower and slower they got ready to bite. Just then I heard an engine heading my way and I saw a speed boat pushing some heavy waves away. As it came closer, I saw a tall man driving it. The engine roared in my ears and it began to scare the sharks away.

As they swam away, I began to make my way back to the shore. The boat sped towards me and I slowly climbed on it. With relief we headed back towards the shore.