1 . About one year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to me. I never heard any noise from the children. Instead, I often heard he parents yelling angrily at the kids, not in a nice tone, but in a ________ one.

We often ________ in the hallway. I always greeted them, but the only ________ I ever got was a “hello” from the eight-year-old girl. I usually went out to see my doctor and one day when-I returned, they were just ________ their apartment and the little girl was ________ the outside door open for the others. I remained in the car doing ________ things because I wasn’t eager to be snubbed(冷落) again. Finally, I got out of my car and walked towards the door. The parents were telling their daughter to hurry and get into the car, but the little girl was holding the door, ________ me! I hurried although I was still in pain from my injury.

I forgot to tell her how grateful I was for her kindness. Later I wrote a note saying how much her act of kindness had ________ an old man’s heart.

The next day there was a/an ________ on my door and it was the little girl and her father. She said she was grateful to me for my note. Then I ________ her mother standing there, too. Her parents ________ me. From then on when we met in the hallway we always greeted each other, in a friendly ________.

Last night there was a heavy snow. I looked out at my car and ________ how I was going to keep my doctor’s appointment because I could not walk for a short time. This morning when I opened the front door, all the snow was ________. Isn’t it ________ that the small kind act of an 8-year-old girl can change so many things for the better? It is said that good things come from small acts.

4 . I was five years old when my little brother, Mark, was born. On the photos, I appeared so thrilled that he had finally arrived. I held and bathed him, smiling from cheek to cheek. I do not remember that feeling now.

Being the first child in the family, I was the one my parents tested their new parenting techniques on. I was their guinea pig. Mark was always the happy one, the joker, the one who won because of my battles with my parents. After too many fights, I declared war on Mark. We were now enemies. All I remember is being jealous of and angry with my innocent little brother.

Thus, I made his life a suffering. I fooled, embarrassed, and fought with him, often leaving him in floods of tears.

Our little sister was born when I was 11 and instantly she and Mark could not be separated. They pushed me aside. Did I grow into an uglier green-eyed monster because they loved each other so much?

Thankfully, Mark quickly grew tall and strong, and our conflict looked more like a cold war than bloodshed. It all ended suddenly when I went to study abroad. The hatred (仇恨) disappeared and love climbed in.

Despite all the abuse Mark suffered he has implied that he has forgiven me, or even that there is nothing to forgive, although I have never brought up the subject in too much detail. I would like to; however, it would be a selfish move to look for more forgiveness. But I prefer to remember the hurt. During all those wasted years, I should have been the loving sister defending instead of attacking.

5 . I have received many gifts in my life. I’ve never been the kind of person to say “it’s the thought that _______” when it comes to gifts. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when my kids gave me a present that _______ me away.

For years, I’ve been wanting to _______ our house, the place where my husband and I raised our kids. But to me, this house is much _______ just a building. In the front room, there’s a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines, marking the _______ of my children’s growth. Every growth stage is marked in grey, with each child’s name and the date when they were _______. Over the years, I’ve talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, even though the _______ marks were made 10 years ago when my kids stopped growing.

So one day, while I was at work, my children _______ a professional photographer whose work is about _______ the beautiful things in life, from clear lakes and skies to diamonds and ball gowns. She came to our house and over several hours, took photos of the hundreds of drawings, ________ and little grey fingerprints. Somehow, she managed to photograph all those years of memories ________. Afterwards, she put all the ________ together into one image, transforming them into a beautiful ________ of my family.

Three weeks later, my children’s ________ gift made its way to me — a life­size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents the lifetime of all my family members, especially of my children’s love and ________.

7 . In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have a good time together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fair weather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities of character, especially understanding, honesty and reliability.

Among these qualities, I think understanding is the most important. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person’s place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need help, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I’ve found a friend!

8 . My parents ran the Pagonis restaurant, a small eatery in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, and my first real job, when I was six years old, was shining diners’ shoes. My duties increased as I grew older. By the age of ten I was clearing tables and working as the janitor(清洁工). Dad beamed when he told me that I was the best “mop guy” he’d ever had.

Working in the restaurant was a source of great pride because I was pitching in for the good of the whole family. But my father made it clear. I had to meet certain standards to be part of the team. I had to be responsible, hard-working and polite to the customers.

Except for the shoeshine job, I was never paid for any work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of telling Dad I thought he ‘should give me $10 a week. He said, “Okay, then how about you paying me for the three meals a day you eat here? And for the times you bring in your buddies for free sodas?” He figured I owed him about $40 a week. This taught me that when you negotiate, you’d better know the other side’s arguments as well as your own.

I remember coming home to Charleroi after being away in the Army about two years. I had just been promoted to captain and was full of pride as I walked into my parents’ restaurant. The first thing Dad said was, “It’s the janitor’s day off. How about you cleaning up tonight?”“I can’t believe this!” I thought. “I’m an officer in the United States Army!” But it didn’t matter. As far as Dad was concerned, I was just another member of the team. I reached for the mop.

Working for Dad had taught me that loyalty to a team comes first. It doesn’t matter whether that team is involved in a family restaurant or in the Army.

Jenny was the only child in her home. She had a quarrel with her mother that afternoon and she ran out of the house angrily. She couldn’t help crying when she thought of the scolding (责骂) from her mother. Having wandered (徘徊) in the street for hours, she felt a little hungry and wished for something to eat. She stood beside a shop for a while, watching the middle-aged seller busy cooking noodles. However, she had no money.

The seller in the shop noticed the young girl and asked, “Hey, girl, you want to have the noodles?”

“Oh, yes...but I don’t have money on me,” she replied.

“That’s nothing. I’ll treat you today,” said the man.

“Come in.”

The seller brought her a bowl of noodles, whose smell was so attractive. As she was eating, Jenny cried silently.

“What is it?” asked the man kindly.

“Nothing, actually I was just touched by your kindness!” said Jenny.“Even a stranger on the street will give me a bowl of noodles, while my mother didn’t care for me. A stranger is much better than her!”

Hearing the words, the seller smiled, “Girl, do you really think so? I only gave you a bowl of noodles and you thanked me a lot. But it is your mother who has raised you since you were a baby. Can you count the times she cooked for you? Have you ever said “Thanks” to her?”

Jenny sat there, speechless and numb with shock. she remembered her mother’s familiar face and weathered (沧桑的) hands.“Why did I not think of that? A bowl of noodles from a stranger made me feel thankful, but I have never thanked my mum for what she has done for me.”

On the way home, Jenny decided to say sorry to her mother for her rudeness as soon as she arrived home.

At the door, Jenny met her father, who just came back from work.

At last, her mother came back home.

10 . When Tony took up running as a hobby, he was 42 years old. Now 42 years later he’s a national champion and a world record holder.

He never imagined at the age of 84 this is where he’d be, but then he doesn’t meet many people in their 80s who are out training four times a week.

“I can see it’s a bit unusual, yes. But it’s been my life, ” he told the reporter.

The retired officer runs at a track near his home in Leeds.

At an event in Italy last month he set a world record in the 80 metres hurdles (跨栏) with a time of under 17 seconds. But he sees no reason to slow down and his ambition is still to be competing when he passes a hundred.

“I probably won’t be doing a crouch start (蹲式起跑), but it’s only 16 years away,” he joked. Like anyone his age, he’s had health problems. He’s had a string of severe heart attacks, but doctors have told him as long as it makes him feel good, he should carry on running.

“I can’t let my heart get in the way of my training. When I am sprinting, I have to give it my absolute all. My heart is the last thing on my mind.” he said.

He trains every other day, dances and plays hockey and he recently cuts down on alcohol and chocolate. He said, “I’ve heard alcohol can lead to dementia and I don’t want that. I’ve cut down to one glass of wine every other day. I now have to stay as fit as I can be to keep up my lifestyle.”

Tony’s next birthday is next September. And the first thing he wants to do is to become the world’s fastest 85-year-old.