Last Saturday, David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yell. “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs Brown in middle school. After he entered a middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David behaved. But one day it all changed.

One day, in an English writing class, Mrs Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day, to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Mrs Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He never expected to be praised one day. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote a short story and gave it to Mrs Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short stories and asked Mrs Brown to read them improve writing skills. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He was no longer that boy who lacked self-confidence. He gained his confidence, and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering a college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published. With some more books coming out, he became famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

2 . I was talking to my friend Sandy about our children. Sandy had recently moved into the neighborhood with her four kids: Jane, Joe, Christopher, and her youngest, eighteen-month-old Kim. She seemed happy to have kids nearby, until she saw our dog, Sam.

Sam, our shiny black dog, loved to play with the kids and protect them. But Sandy had a fear of dogs, and she started to back away as Sam approached. I grabbed Sam’s collar and made him sit, trying to ease Sandy’s discomfort.

Sandy mentioned that she needed to get her kids ready to go to their grandmother’s house. Just then, her door opened and her kids rushed out. Sandy shouted at them to stay away from Sam.

The kids huddled (蜷缩) around their mom, looking at Sam cautiously (谨慎地). Emma, my daughter, showed the kids how to approach a dog slowly and properly. The kids were won over by Sam’s friendly nature, but I knew it would take some time for Sandy to change her viewpoint.

After that incident, we made sure that Sam didn’t go near our neighbors without me present. One day, when the kids were playing across the street, I noticed the eighteen-month-old baby heading towards a small hill. I saw a car approaching and shouted to everyone to watch the baby. Without hesitation, Sam rushed out the door and ran across the street towards the baby. He ran to the boy in time to gently push the baby away from the oncoming car. The kids cheered, completely unaware of the danger. They thought Sam had come to play.

Within a year, Sam had made friends with all the neighbors. Even Sandy started to warm up to Sam and would occasionally come over to give him a hug.

3 . Donnie Wiseman was worn out after work. But his son was _________ on going to a reptile show at Scales and Tails, Utah. So, after a short rest, he _________ his son to the show.

Inside viewing windows was the show’s star attraction, a huge alligator (短吻鳄). It swam around the pool before _________ its head on a two-foot-wide platform. It was feeding time, and the _________ alligator was staring expectantly at its trainer, Lindsay Bull.

For the sake of _________, Bull wanted the alligator off the platform before beginning the show. Entering the enclosure, she held out one arm and shouted “Back!” — a(n) _________ that usually worked. _________, this time the alligator responded by opening the jaw and _________ her into the pool of water.

Outside the enclosure, some _________ if this was part of the show. Not Wiseman. Sensing something was __________, he threw open the glass door and climbed inside. “Jump on its back and push your fists into the top of its nose!” shouted Bull. Wiseman did as he was __________, pressing down with all of his 180-pound body weight. Time seemed to stand __________ for a while. Finally, the alligator eased its __________ and Bull was quickly helped out of the enclosure. Meanwhile, Wiseman __________ a chance to jump off the alligator.

Apart from minor wounds, Wiseman was more __________ than injured. “One mistake and I’ll be a statistic, but still, I’m just glad I was there,” he said.

6 . About a decade ago, my grandpa who was suffering from Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆症) got into my car and drove off. Angel and I ______ the police, but before they could find him, two ______ kids pulled into our driveway with my grandpa.

They said they overheard him crying about being ______ at an empty gas station 10 miles away. My grandpa couldn’t remember our address, but gave the kids his first and last name. They looked him up online, found our address, and ______ him home.

I was ______ on that incident today while sitting near the edge of a beautiful ocean-side cliff. I am suddenly _____ of footsteps behind me. I ______ around to see a young lady who was almost in ______ slowly walking to where I was sitting. I walked up to her and ______, “What’s wrong?” She told me she was ______ afraid of heights, but was worried about my safety and wanted to get over her fear. Her braveness and kindness truly warmed my heart.

I’ve spent the rest of the day thinking about what an extraordinary person she is, and about those amazing college kids who helped my ______, and about what it means to be a kind and ______ person. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile, or face your biggest ______, or stand up against your own negative tendencies to make a (n) ______ difference in someone else’s life. It’s ______ to start doing the hard things-the right things-for others.

I had stopped at the Swindon services (服务区) while on my way back to London. As I drove up the slip road, I spotted a man with a backpack and his thumb (拇指) out. I pulled over and lowered the window.

“Which way are you heading?” I asked. “I’m going back to London.”

“Ah, that would be grand,” came his immediate reply. He opened the door and lifted his backpack on to the back seat. “I’m Brendan,” he said with an easy smile and a rich Irish tongue. “I was getting a bit desperate. I've had my thumb out for a day and half. Nobody seems to stop these days.”

“I haven’t eaten in days,” said Brendan. “I’m trying to get home.”

I’ve always enjoyed picking up hitchhikers (搭便车的人). I used to be a motoring journalist and crossed the country in various test cars. Picking up a hiker always made me feel a little less guilty about all the miles I was doing.

As we headed cast along the motorway, Brendan told me how he came to be waiting for a lift on that particular evening, and also about the two recent family tragedies that had ruined him and pushed him out of his old life and on to the road.

Brendan told me that he was 52. He laughed a lot and enjoyed his off-grid (不入网的) lifestyle. Until last week, that is, when he’d been mugged (抢劫).

“Three young men in Birmingham took my other pack and it had all my money in it. I’ve been sleeping out since then. I haven’t eaten in days. I’m hoping to get some casual work in London, so I can then get myself home to Ireland.”

It must have been the concept of home that got me, and helping a man who'd clearly had a tough time seemed like the right thing to do.

Para.1:

As we were approaching the Heathrow turn-off (希思罗机场岔道), I had an idea.

Para.2:

Before he left to buy his air ticket, he gave me a huge hug.

10 . Last week, I had a wisdom tooth (智齿) pulled, leaving me swollen and unable to speak. It was very strange spending a few days in this _______ but judging from other people’s responses, not as strange as it was for them.

I thought my husband would be the first to feel upset. I tried to imagine how _______ it must be to have half of the house go silent. _______, when I found him in the kitchen at midnight, cooking potatoes for my _______ and singing “your lovely swollen face” to the tune of My Humps, I was surprised but also _______.

Later, I went to my local shop. It still _______ when I moved my face, so when I _______ a friend, I couldn’t say anything. The friend wanted my _______ on a Twitter disagreement. I didn’t seem bothered and it felt good to remember that.

Soon after, I visited my mom, who chatted away normally. She didn’t even _______ my silence, making me certainly believe that my family role is part ________, part listener.

People say ________ is golden and that sometimes it is wise to say nothing and to let people reveal themselves. Perhaps that is the ________ of the wisdom tooth. Maybe when they arrive with pain, forcing us — even just for a while — to move our ________ a little less, they give a lesson for living well: Listen, ________ and try being quiet now and then. Then maybe adulthood won’t be quite like ________ teeth.