Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.

One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.

Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.

The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.

Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.

Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.

4 . My family is big on baseball. Grandpa _______ coached his team to two national games. Father was even asked to try out for the Los Angeles, one of the top teams in the USA. Minutes before I was born, my _______ were watching a live baseball match on TV. You could say I was _______ to play the game, but frankly, I hated it at first. I spent most days at the baseball park. I really should have been _______ at baseball, for I practiced almost every day, but I was not.

The same old routine continued for years. My dad and grandpa would make me practice and I would put no _______ into it, until around Grade 10. I was older and _______ than ever before. I finally _______ their true motivation: they wanted to _______ time with me. They were just trying to share a _______ part of their life with me and ________ me in something that had been in the family forever. ________ I got this, I stopped treating it as a burden and ________ it as a bonding experience.

Now, I often ________ to play baseball with my dad or grandpa.The ________ practices and tough love I got from my ________ taught me a useful life lesson: Find out why someone does something before jumping to conclusions.

5 . I have been looking forward to visiting Paris since I was young. When my daily life in New Jersey seemed boring, I _______ about walking around the streets of Paris. With our financial situation _______, European travel became a _______. 

Travelling to France with my _______ was exciting, but it would not be _______ without facing problems and figuring them out. 

We had just started to get _______ with the Paris subway system. Thus using it was very difficult. We were walking at a slow pace _______ we realised the subway was about to leave. As soon as I _______ the subway, the doors shut with my mom on the other side. I did not have my cellphone, neither of us spoke a word of _______ and we had no idea how to ________ each other. My mom and I, who were both ________, began to pound on the doors. Suddenly, a man with a puzzled look on his face walked over to the doors and simply ________ them. My mom stepped on and we hugged as if we ________ for the first time in years. A huge sense of ________ washed over us, followed by embarrassment. 

________, my mom and I were able to celebrate the victories of finding destinations.

It was Christmas Day. Pappy was working alone fixing an old lantern in the backroom when he heard the ringing of his bell on the shop door. The bell, which produced a uniquely pleasant sound, had been in Pappy’s family for over a hundred years. He valued it dearly and enjoyed sharing its song with all who came to his shop. Although the bell hung on the inside of the main door, Pappy had tied a wire to the screen door so that it would ring whether the inner door was open or not. Hearing the bell, he left the backroom to greet his customer.

“And how can I help you, little lady?” Pappy’s voice was joyful.

“Hello, sir.” The little girl spoke almost in a whisper. She looked at Pappy with her big brown eyes, and then slowly scanned the room in search of something special. Shyly she told him, “I’d like to buy a present, sir.”

“Well, let’s see,” Pappy said, “who is this present for?”

“My grandpa. It’s for my grandpa. But I don’t know what to get.”

Pappy began to make suggestions. “How about a pocket watch? It’s in good condition.” The little girl didn’t answer. She had walked to the doorway and put her small hand on the door. She shook the door gently to ring the bell. Pappy’s face seemed to glow as he saw her smiling with excitement.

“This is just right,” the little girl said. “Momma says grandpa loves music.”

Just then, Pappy’s expression changed. Fearful of breaking the little girl’s heart, he told her, “I’m sorry, Missy. That’s not for sale. Maybe your grandpa would like this little radio.”

The girl looked at the radio, bowed her head, and sadly sighed, “No, I don’t think so.”

In an effort to help her understand, Pappy told her that the bell had been his only companion, for the rest of his family were all gone now, except for his estranged daughter whom he had not seen for nearly a decade.

With a giant tear in her eye, the little girl looked up at him.

Later that evening when Pappy was closing up the shop, he heard a familiar ringing.

10 . Who needs friends? According to most psychologists (心理学家) we all do, especially nowadays when so many other aspects (方面) of modern life are changing. It seems that having friends keeps us both healthy and happy.

The number of TV series about groups of friends shows just how important friendship is to us. Psychologist Dorothy Rowe says that many of us now turn to our friends, instead of our families, for advice, comfort and security. One woman named Rebecca she interviewed even told her that if she had got to choose between her husband and her friend, she would choose her friend.

Since our friends mean so much to us, it is not surprising that the happiest marriages are also friendships. “Once the romantic stage of a relationship has passed, it is friendship that holds people together,” says Rowe. If the couple do not make some change, they will either get tired of each other and break up or stay together and seek friendship with others.

But is friendship equally important to women and men? According to author Rhonda Pritchard, women are more likely than men to have close friends. “ You tell a friend things that you’d never tell a partner”，says one woman she interviewed. For men, friendship is usually based on doing things together rather than the private conversations that are typical of women friend. Men share time and activities like building a fence or a business, running, riding a bike, fishing or watching football, but they don’t often share their feelings.

Although many women find their relationships with a husband or boyfriend is not enough, many men say that their partner is their best friend. Even women who are very happily married are likely to become very unhappy without a close friend and can even find the breakup of a close friend as painful as the end of a marriage.

Lasting friendships can provide a lot of the same support that families provided in the past, but the perfect situation is to have your family there for as well. Friendships and family relationships can both change, but a friend will not consider you when making really important decisions in the same way that a family member will.