1 . In my early teens, I was once given a film camera as a gift . On receiving it, I jumped on my bike, headed to Wimbledon Common and took photos, just for me: photos of trees and wildlife. I was out all day. On my way home I spotted a tree lit up by street lighting and tried to capture its beauty. Rushing home, I put the spent film in a special little envelope and sent it off to a photography store, desperate to see how it would come out. I took many photos then and loved the fact that when you processed your film you got back colour photos which froze the precious moments, gently encouraging the hobby and the payments for processing.

As I grew into adulthood, that simple, deep happiness gradually faded away. One weekend when I was busy answering the work calls, my eyes caught a box in the corner of the room. I suddenly felt a sense of sadness. The stress growing over these years had pushed the camera from beside my pillow to the box in the corner. I thought I needed a change.

I took out the camera and dusted it down. It was a great joy that it still worked. I bought new film and took the camera everywhere I went. Now it is always on hand to accompany me on journeys, to allow me time to myself. Even if the day is full and busy, I can seize some moments for myself to take photos, to observe the world around me.

The wall of my room now holds all my camera equipment on display, along with photos I've taken. To me, the room represents how I’ve found happiness: by reconnecting to the younger part of myself I laid aside, by allowing room in my life for pleasure to exist, and by creating an environment that allows opportunities for delight.

5 . I work as a waiter at a hotel. Last night, an elderly white, seemingly _________ couple entered the restaurant. My co-worker greeted and seated them in a friendly way. We usually take charge of our own _________, but when we are busy, we help each other out.

I was _________ the customers at another table when the elderly husband _________ to me that they were ready to order. I usually find it _________ when people go out of their way to make their order, especially when we are super busy. But once I took the couple’s _________ I understood why.

The husband began ordering, stuttering (结巴) to a degree I’d never heard before. It was very clear that he had a _________ disorder. I could tell the wife had told her husband very extensively what she wanted, as a(n) _________ for him to practice ordering. It took him quite a while to order. Meanwhile, she was just sitting there, looking proud and _________ despite her husband’s endless stuttering.

Honestly, the whole thing just did something to me. It was beautiful and made me realize that a huge part of love is __________, patience and support. She could have made the order and made things a lot easier for her husband and avoided the __________ from other tables, but she didn’t. However, she supported him and was proud to see him __________ the order.

The whole thing also reminds me that life isn’t always __________ for everyone. These rich people seemed to have everything, but they also have __________ they have to face daily. But I’ve learnt that life isn’t about waiting for the storm to __________, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

7 . A teacher asked her students to play a game. The teacher told each child to bring a _______ with a few potatoes. Each potato was given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child would put into the bag would _______ the number of people the child hates. Some children had two potatoes; some had three and others _______ had up to five potatoes. The teacher then told them to carry the bag wherever they go for a week.

As the days went by, the children started to complain(抱怨) about the unpleasant _______ coming from the rotten(腐烂) potatoes. And the students with five potatoes also had to carry_______bags. After a week, the teacher asked, “_______did you feel?” The children started complaining about the _______ they had to go through, when they had to carry the heavy and smelly(难闻的) potatoes everywhere they went. Then the teacher said, “This is the_______ situation when you carry your hate for somebody inside your heart. The smell of hate will _______your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go.

__________you cannot stand the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what it is like to have the smell of hate in your heart for your lifetime?”