2 . It was Christmas morning. The ground was white with _________. The birds could not get anything to _________.

Bessie looked out of the window and saw them jumping about the street. They were _________ food. Bessie was a kind little girl. She felt _________ for the poor birds. She wanted to ask them to come into her warm home. _________ she knew that they were afraid to come in. At last she thought of a good idea. She decided to make a Christmas _________ for the birds. Bessie put a little tree outside the window. Then she hung on it little baskets full of _________ and small pieces of bread.

_________ the birds did not come to the tree. But by and by two or three came near and looked at it. They ate some of the seeds and bread. Then they flew _________ to tell the other birds about it. Soon many birds flew here to get their __________. They liked them as much as Bessie liked her Christmas presents. They sang songs to give their __________ to her.

Being __________, Bessie told her parents that she would give some of her bread to the birds every cold day. But her father said that she could not feed all the hungry birds even if she gave __________ of their bread. Thinking for a while, she said that all the birds would be fed __________ other children did the same.

4 . It was January, the first day of the year. I decided to get the bank work out of the _________. The bank clerk, an elderly gentleman, was _________ curt(简短而失礼的) to my polite “Happy New Year” _________. He nodded and I sat in front of him. Minutes passed and nothing happened. Then very _________ I put my form in front of him. He was busy _________ entries in his register. I sat there wondering why we had _________banking if we were still filling in registers. While waiting I showed all _________ of being impatient, I asked him _________ my work was done. The moment I uttered the words, he shouted, “Nothing is done, it will take time!”

Just then I saw his morning tea lying there, _________. It had turned almost cold. Suddenly I sensed how he feels when customers come who are __________ hurried to get their work done and __________ him for doing their work first. We don’t even feel the __________ to thank him. Then I told him, “Sir, please have your tea, I am not hurried.” This man suddenly __________ me and for the first time we had eye contact.

I realized he was also missing the __________ things in life just like a hot cup of tea. He gave me a rare smile and said, "It is an everyday __________ with me." His wise words really __________ me. I felt that we all had put shields (盾牌) on our __________, and that we were scared to show our hearts and __________ too much of ourselves. From then on, I __________ to be more friendly to others and be __________ that they are there for me.

5 . On my way back home, I waited at the crosswalk for the traffic light to change colours. A man dressed in a UCLA shirt stood next to me. We exchanged friendly smiles. His friend came by and commented that he was excited that it was Friday. The man replied that he had to work on the weekend. He shared, “I have two little kids at home. I am thankful for any work that I can get. ”

I smiled, as the man's words made me happy in a dark week of midterm exams and job interviews. As we made our way across the street, he told me he had been shot and had seven surgeries in the past couple of years. He called getting better a “vacation” because in that kind of situation, that was the only way he could deal with what had happened.

At the end of the crosswalk, before we left each other, he said, “Through life's terrible moments, you find life's greatest gifts.” I took a left. He and his friend took a right to the parking lot. I looked back at him, thankful that our short conversation had made my day. He looked at my way. We exchanged nods and smiles, the same exchange we first made when we stood by the crosswalk moments ago.

Though we never shared names, I will forever remember his story and his inspiring life. When people ask me what I love most about my university, I tell them about the creative professors and excited students. UCLA supports its students to follow their dreams, whatever that path may be. As a college senior, I am incredibly grateful for my college experience.

What I remember most about my university life are memories of smiles and life lessons. There was that night when a group of us watched the waves and waited for the sunrise, the time my professor and I discussed equal rights, the class in which my group members and I danced to our textbook reading. These are life stories that make me smile and teach me lessons.

You never know who may inspire you next. It may be the person standing next to you at the crosswalk or the student sitting next to you in class. Simple life stories and beautiful exchanges come with just a nod, a smile, and a crosswalk. You never know what you can learn from them, from courage to positive attitudes towards life.

7 . Check out these stories of some animals.

The cat Homer

Homer the blind cat weighs only four pounds. Gwen Cooper adopted him when he was three weeks old. One night his growling (狂吠) wakes up Cooper, He’s never growled before. Surprised, Cooper opens her eyes. A burglar is standing at the foot of her bed! Cooper reaches for her phone to call 911.

“Don’t do that!” the burglar says. The sound of his voice shows his exact location, and blind Homer leaps. No match for a cat with sharp claws, the would-be robber flees.

The dog Geo

Geo follows 10-year-old Charlie Rilcy everywhere. One day Charlie, his mom, and two younger brothers are standing at a street corner. Geo is sitting at Charlie’s side. Suddenly, an out-of-control truck is heading straight for Charlie!

But Geo makes a flying leap. “He hits me so hard that I fall over,” Charlie says. The speeding truck hits Geo instead. Geo is rushed to the animal hospital.

The dog Teddy

It’s 3 a.m. in West Jordan, Utah. A mother and two children stand outside as firefighters hose (用软管浇) water on their burning house. “Is anybody inside?” the firemen ask.

The mom says no, because she feels certain that her older son escaped out the back. But just to be sure, Don Chase and his partner plunge (冲入) through the flames to look.

And what do they find? Teddy the pet dog standing by the door. Chase reaches for him, but Teddy runs down the basement stairs. Midway down, he stops and waits. But just as the firemen reach him, he takes off again. “I’m really maddened.”Chase says. “We’re wasting time chasing a dog when we should be searching for human victims.”

Then they see him — the older son, unconscious on a basement couch. Grabbing his legs and chest, the astonished firemen move him to safety, as Teddy runs behind.

10 . In the eighth grade, I was student-body president of Erwin Middle School in Asheville. I considered this quite an ________ since there were over 1,000 students in the school. At the end of the year, I was asked to make a speech at the ceremony where my class was ________ to high school. I knew this had to be more than just the brief comments a   student might ________ give. We're the class of Millennium , ________ I wanted my speech to be as special as we were.

I spent several nights lying in bed, ________ about what to say. Many things crossed my mind, but none of them ________ all my classmates. Then one night, it ________ me.   Erwin High School has the highest ________ rate of any high school in our country. What better goal could we have than for every single one of us to ________ ?

The speech I gave on graduation day was only 12 minutes long, but what it started was ________ . When I announced the challenge to my classmates, the entire audience, including the parents and teachers, broke into applause. As I showed the personalized certificates and signs each student would get, I could ________ they were really excited. I'd had no idea my challenge would bring this kind of ________.

Throughout the summer, I worked on developing a program to carry our ________ into high school. I gave speeches to local clubs and groups. I also ________ a “Dropout Patrol”, made up of students who would be willing to help and support other students during bad times.

Then word began to ________ about our challenge. I appeared on local television, and calls started coming in from everywhere. Businesses are throwing their ________ behind us. We have banks, furniture stores, restaurants and more where we can get discounts for our entire family when we show our “Dropout Patrol” ID cards.

All this was ________ , because we are just starting a difficult four-year journey, but we have already made a significant ________. Last year, 13 kids dropped out of the freshman class. So far this year, not a single person who signed the commitment has ________, and the “Dropout Patrol” has become the largest organized group in the school.

The Erwin High “Committed Class of Millennium” would like to encourage your class to start a ________ like ours. Wouldn't it be great if the entire class of Millennium, nationwide, had a 100 percent graduation rate?