1 . It was Christmas Eve when my elder sister and I decided to open our presents before our mom got home from work. She usually came home about an hour after we got home from school, which we thought was plenty of time to sneak a look (偷看) at the gifts under the tree.

My elder sister opened present after present while I was ordered to stand guard at the big window in our front room. Finally, when my sister’s curiosity was satisfied, we changed places.

After opening a few presents, I found it faster to open one end of a present and look inside. “Cool! Mom and Dad got me headphones!” I pulled the headphones out of the box and was about to put them on when my sister shouted, “Quick! Wrap (包裹) it back up! Mom’s coming!”

I put the headphones back in the box but my hands were shaking. My heart beat faster as I tried to get the tape to stick. I had just finished burying the package with my headphones in it when my mother came into the front room. I jumped up and said, “Hi, Mom!” She smiled at me and said “Hi” back, but didn’t appear to suspect (怀疑) anything. My heart began to slow as I took a deep breath.

On Christmas morning, my sister and I smiled, and gave award-winning performances when we opened our presents—again. “Headphones!” I shouted. “Thanks, it’s just what I wanted.” After everything had been opened, my sister and I looked at each other, and our eyes met. Our secret was safe, but somehow Christmas morning didn’t feel the same.

My sister and I never opened our Christmas presents early again. I don’t know if it was that opening our gifts for the second time just wasn’t as much fun as the first time, or if we came too close to getting caught and didn’t want to think about what our mother would have done to us.

In 1989, fresh out of high school, I had the difficult task of choosing a career path before college started in three months. In those days in Pakistan, there were limited choices: becoming a doctor or an engineer, or entering the financial world after getting a business degree. I wasn’t interested in engineering, so that I was left with medicine or business. I couldn’t decide.

My uncle suggested that I do a work placement(实习) to experience it for a month in an international company followed by a month in a hospital. After that, I could make a decision. It seemed like a good idea.

I was accepted for a month’s placement at a foreign bank in Karachi. I got a feel of how the world of finance functioned, made new friends, and generally enjoyed the mostly easy­going work surroundings.

The month passed rapidly, and soon I began working at a leading hospital in Karachi. The experience couldn’t have been more different. The hospital had a stressful environment. The days started early (at 7 am, compared to 9 am at the bank), and were filled with endless duties. And the night calls! This was crazy, working all day, through the night, and again the next day.

I began thinking about my two experiences. The bank had offered a more relaxing atmosphere, better working hours and less stress. The hospital was full of excitement, but studying and training were difficult. It seemed that the business choice was going to win out.

Near the end of my month at the hospital, I was driving home after an especially busy night call. In front of me was a public bus, with college students sitting on the top. As the driver weaved through (穿梭) traffic, I could see the boys shaking from side to side.

Suddenly, a boy fell off the back of the bus.

The next day, when I went to the hospital to see the boy, all his family got up, with grateful smiles on their faces.

3 . “Just sign here, sir,” the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

The package consisted of a long, narrow box ____ wrapped in brown paper. ____ the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside—a very old one with a beautifully carved wooden handle. ____ he had not seen it in more than 20 years, he recognised it immediately.

Oscar was 16 when he first saw the____ umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its beauty, Oscar felt a strong desire to find its ____.

Oscar ____ the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat ____ Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O’Brien.

Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O’Brien’s house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I ____ you?” she asked.

“I’d like to return it if it’s yours,” Oscar said, ____ the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for.

“Why, yes! It’s mine,” replied Mrs. O’Brien with a ____ smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your ____?”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “My grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.”

“Well, that’s ____ what my father used to say. What is your name, young man?”

Years later Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O’Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how ____ it was. Why had it arrived here today?

As if ____, a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, ____ gesture long ago.

Lily has finally become a good dancer now, all thanks to Shanda’s presence. Of all the people in Lily’s life, Shanda in particular stands out. As Lily thinks of Shanda, a smile spreads across her face, She feels loved and grateful more than ever that she has such a teacher and friend.

Eleven years of dance and going on twelve that year, she doubted it would end up like any other year. She might be stuck in any empty spot and didn’t know what to do with her next dance move. Little did she know that year would change her completely.

That year, Lily felt lucky that Shanda would choreograph (编舞) for her dance, Lily expected to work with Shanda, a young talented dancer, to have an okay dance, but she never expected she would have such an impressive impact on her way to dance.

The moment Lily walked into the marble floored, wall-to-wall mirrored rooms, she already felt like Shanda had faith in her. Shanda smiled at her with appreciative eyes. In the following days, Shanda always encouraged her, “Work to the best of your ability and keep going.” When she wanted to give up, Shanda told her that the real importance of dance was to love it.

Throughout their hard work and devotion, not only did Lily’s ability to dance grow, but also their friendship grew. Shanda became more than a teacher to Lily. She was also a close friend that Lily could turn to for anything. Shanda gave her encouragenent when Lily needed edit the most, and Shanda was always there to cheer Lily up when she felt down.

As the year quickly came to an end, it was high time for Lily to show her dance to the audience. As she walked to the backstage filled with other dancers warming up and expecting their performance, she prayed for a good performance that would convey her improvement. The rhythmic music before her rang in her ears. She waited anxiously for her turn. Finally, after what seemed like days, the hostess announced “Lily”.

Lily had butterflies in her stomach as she stepped onto the big stage.

Lily felt very excited when the hostess asked her to make a speech.

5 . Staff at the Thai Dynasty restaurant in Singapore never thought they’d receive such a huge tip during the COVID-19 pandemic(流行病), when economic condition seemed hard, let alone one as big as $600. But believe it or not, they did.

What was more surprising, however, was the person who left that massive tip for them. It wasn’t from a customer who was feeling extra generous that day. No, it was Jesse, a food delivery rider who came by to pick up an online order.

Being a familiar face among the staff due to frequent orders from the restaurant, the delivery rider wanted to show his best appreciation for their hard work in ensuring orders are prepared on time every time he comes by to pick something up. Along with the tip, he also left a heartfelt written note.

“Hello! I am writing to you all because I am very happy with your food and friendly customer service,” the note starts. “I want to say that your food is really delicious. You know, every day when I’m working, I see you all working so hard, which makes me feel proud of you all. Working is not easy, and I understand that because I am also working. Therefore, I want to thank you all for the good food and I want to help you all. Here inside is $600, for all of you. Share it among yourselves. Thank you once again!”

Speaking to Shin Min Daily, Thai Dynasty director Jason Pay said he never expected such a thing from a delivery rider, despite Jesse being a familiar face. “Employees are allowed to keep the tips for their good service, but they chose to return it, which I’m touched by,” Pay said.

Yes, they managed to return the super generous tip when Jesse swung by a few hours later to pick up another order. But seeing the hard work that the delivery rider highlighted in his staff, Pay decided to reward them the next day with pizza and other dishes for lunch.

6 . Shark attacks in the screen are amazing. That’s because your actual chances of ever being attacked by a shark are mere one in 11.5 million. That’s roughly the same as your chances of winning an Oscar, which makes shark attack survivor, Mike Coots both incredibly unlucky and lucky: When Mike was 18, he lost his leg to a shark bite.

“I was attacked by a tiger shark in late October 1997. It was near my home on the island of Kauai — a typical fall morning with friends. The waves were really good, so nothing was stopping us.” That is until a large shark came right up under Mike and sank his teeth into Mike’s lower leg. As he tried to free himself, the shark bit down harder, shaking its head back and forth and tossing Mike around like a rag doll. Mike followed his instinct (本能): He struck the shark in the face, again and again until the shark released him. As Mike swam back into shore, he realized his lower right leg was gone. Mike’s friends rushed to his aid, and sent him to the hospital.

As soon as Mike was well, he did what many of us might consider unthinkable: he started riding the waves again, in fact, his first time back was near the site of his attack. But Mike was unshaken. Instead, he was curious — why was he attacked? His curiosity led him to research sharks, and Mike did learn something that would change his life: Humans are far more dangerous to sharks than the other way around.

His situation as a shark survivor empowered him to give sharks a voice, Mike says. He began working with the Hawaii state authorities (当局) to help pass a ban (禁令) on shark-derived products. “I partnered with other like-minded shark attack survivors and marine biologists, and we headed to Washington to urge (敦促) senators to create a nationwide bit! protecting sharks.”

7 . Hitting the road early, I stopped by MeDonald’s. I picked up my order at the drive-through window and _________ into the parking spot to eat.

“Mommy!” a little girl screamed, standing next to an old car. “Mommy! The door won’t open!” she screamed again with _________ in her voice. Minutes later, I saw Mommy and Daddy _________. Then Daddy tried with a long stick. No _________.

I opened my trunk and got a hanger (衣架). I heard a _________ sound, but in a hurry, I paid no attention and shut the trunk. Daddy’s eyes _________ as I approached with the hanger. Afterwards Daddy began his attempts to put it into the window. Pop! The lock broke open. Mommy and Daddy thanked me _________. Daddy joked, saying worst of all, his coffee was cold. I waved as they drove off. Bang! Bang! Their old car backfired (逆火) twice, maybe for _________.

Heading back to my car, I reached into my pocket for the _________. It wasn’t in. I suddenly __________ what that strange sound was. The car was locked. It was still early and no one was around. Unsure of how long it would take to wait, I __________ against the door and shook my head.

Bang! Bang! There came the old car. As it turned out, Daddy couldn’t stand cold coffee, so he circled back for a __________ cup. By the look on his face, I could __________ he knew what had happened. He stood beside my car, a hanger in hand, and set to work. He __________ a bit. My car gave him more trouble. But __________, he made it. I smiled my thanks and waved them goodbye!

As Mom and I stood in line waiting to cash out at the store, I studied the customer in front of us who was reading the magazines to our left. She was young, maybe early twenties, but she already had a tired look with a slight stoop (驼背).

The items in her cart included the cheapest cuts of meat and meal like pasta, rice, and potatoes. Day-old bread, bargain soap, and inexpensive shampoo completed her purchases, well, almost. In the corner sat a toy car and a pretty dress that was 50 percent off. She continued to look at the magazines as we waited, and more people lined up behind us. She turned around and asked Mom for help.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she began shyly. “But can you tell me how much this is? I forgot my glasses at home.”

“Of course,” Mom said.

When Mom finally found the small print and told her, she sighed quietly and put it back.

“They’ve become so expensive, haven’t they?” Mom said in a low voice.

“Next!” The cashier called and she moved forward.

When the store employee finally added up everything and told her the cost, the woman’s face paled. It was obvious that she didn’t have enough money, and she scanned her items to see what she could do without.

One by one, she removed things, but she still came up short. She continued to take much-needed goods out while the cashier patiently deducted (扣除) things with a pleasant smile.

The child’s items remained in the cart, however. In fact, the palm of her other hand lay protectively across them, as if she didn’t want to give in.

The woman finally paid, and moved down to bag them.

When our turn came, Mom pointed to the pile of items the woman had taken out, added all our meat and fresh milk, and whispered “Separate bags, same bill please” to the cashier. She nodded, even though it was a “pack your own” kind of store.

The cashier went on with her work and Mom moved next to the woman.

When she turned back and was about to leave, she found the extra bag in her cart.

It rained and rained, as if it would never stop. Ben was playing basketball in the living room, when he accidentally threw the ball at a vase (花瓶) sitting on the shelf. The vase dropped to the floor and a large piece broke off. What made Ben more upset was that the vase was not a common decoration but an antique, which was handed down through generations from the 18th century. It was also his mother’s favourite possession. To cover his terrible action, the terrified boy glued the pieces together hastily and put the vase back to its place.

The following day, when the mother herself dusted the vase as usual, she naturally noticed the cracks that evening. To her surprise, the repair work was actually very good. At dinner time, she asked her boy if he broke the vase. Fearing punishment, the suddenly inspired boy said that a neighbour’s cat jumped in from the window and he couldn’t drive it away no matter how hard he tried. It raced around the living room and finally knocked the vase off its shelf. Calm as the boy appeared, he felt very uneasy (不安). The mother was quite clear that her son was lying, for all the windows were closed before she left for work each morning and opened after she returned. However, in the face of her son’s nervous eyes and the suspicious looks of the other family members, Ben’s mother remained calm. She realized she shouldn’t just simply blame and punish her son for lying. She came up with another idea.

Before going to bed, the boy found a note from his mother in his room, asking him to go to the study at once. The boy thought he would now be punished but, as he had already lied, he was determined to deny everything to the end, no matter how angry his mum became.

In the study, calmly bathed in the light, his mother’s face showed no sign of anger. On seeing her son push open the door and cautiously enter, she took a chocolate box out of a drawer and gave him one.

The mother said, “This chocolate is a reward for your imagination: a window-opening cat!”

Now with more chocolates in hand, the boy felt even uneasier.