1 . One day, a college student was taking a walk with a professor. As they went along, they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path. They supposed the shoes belonged to a poor man who was employed in a field close by and who had nearly finished his day’s work.

The student turned to the professor, saying, “Let’s play a trick on him: we can hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his confusion when he cannot find them”.

“My young friend,” answered the professor, “we should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself much greater pleasure by helping the poor man. Put a coin into each shoe, and then we hide ourselves and watch how the discovery will affect him.”

The student did so, and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and walked across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, feeling something hard. He bent down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen on his face.

He fixed his eyes on the coin, turned it round, and looked at it again and again. He then looked on all sides, but no person was seen. He put the money into his pocket, and continued to put on the other shoe, but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him. He fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and cried a sincere thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread. He said the timely help, from some unknown hand, would save them from dying.

The student stood there, deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears. “Now,” said the professor, “aren’t you much more pleased to do that than to play your intended trick?”

The student replied, “You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget.”

2 . It was a need that he first _____ back in 1906 when young Dale was a junior at State Teachers College in Warrensburg. To get an education, he was struggling against many difficulties. His family was poor. His dad couldn’t afford the _____ at college, so Dale had’ to ride horseback 12 miles to attend classes. Study had to be done between his farm-work routines. He stopped taking part in many school activities because he didn’t have the time or the _____. He had only one good suit. He tried for the football team, but the coach turned him down for being too light. During this period, Dale was slowly _____ an inferiority complex (自卑感) which his mother knew could _____ him from achieving his real potential. She suggested that Dale join the debating team, believing that _____ in speaking could give him the confidence and recognition that he needed.

Dale took his mother’s advice, tried desperately and after several attempts_____ made it. This proved to be a _____ point in his life. Speaking before groups did help him gain the confidence he needed. And his hard work paid off. By the time Dale was a senior, he had won every top _____ in speech. Now other students were coming to him for coaching and later they, in turn, were winning contests.

Out of this early struggle to overcome his feelings of inferiority, Dale came to understand that the ability to ______ an idea to an audience builds a person’s confidence. And, with it, Dale knew he could do anything he wanted to do and so could others.

3 . It’s said that you don’t know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes. And you also don’t know what it’s like for older people to travel until you accompany one on a trip.

After flying with my elderly father from Washington, D.C., to L.A. in July, I began to realize that a companion has important tasks that can make a journey easier for older people. Most of the tips have to do with flying, such as packing snacks, putting medicines in carry-ons and taking a light blanket, which was invaluable to my father because he tended to get cold.

I booked nonstop tickets on JetBlue to avoid tiring, confusing connections, and we flew directly into small, manageable Long Beach Airport. Even though my father could walk, I arranged with the airline for wheelchair assistance, which meant we got on board first.

When I took him back to the airport for his return flight to Washington, I got permission from JetBlue to wait with him at the gate instead of saying goodbye at the security checkpoint. I wished he’d had a first-class seat and access to a comfortable airline club. Better yet, I wish I had flown with him both ways. As I watched the attendant wheel him to the lift that took him from the tarmac (飞机跑道) to the plane, I felt like an anxious mom sending her child to school for the first time.

Things can go wrong on a plane trip. And then there is the horrifying story about Joe and Margie Dabney, who flew from Indianapolis to LAX in December. When they landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a wheelchair attendant met them to help with a connection. But somehow Margie, who had Alzheimer’s disease, disappeared.

I didn’t need to worry about my father wandering away; at 82, his mind was sharper than mine. But his hearing was poor, so I worried about what would happen if he missed an important announcement. Fortunately, everything went just fine. Careful planning made the trip successful.

Next time I travel with a senior, I’ll know better. I hope there will be a next time.

6 . The Boy Made it!

One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept in to the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn’t have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.

Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all of the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.

He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter from the freezing wind and snow. If he didn’t, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.

Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.

By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn’t lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could — he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.

The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn’t find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out again to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.

Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls’ survival show Man vs. Wild. That’s where he learned the tips that saved his life, In each episode (一期节目) of Man vs. Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.

When Grylls heard about Nichola’s amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.

Tanni was born with an illness,     1     made her unable to move her muscles normally. Tanni was interested     2     sports, but when she was growing up she didn’t see many disabled athletes on television. Then several years later, while watching the London wheelchair marathon, she saw an athlete she knew. She dreamed that she would be on the starting line, competing in the marathon too. Finally, her dream     3     (come) true. She was not only on the starting line, but also the winner at the finish line. Tanni believes you’ll never know     4     you can do unless you try.

9 . Table Talk

As we got out of the car, our son announced, “Phones stay in the car.”

“Why do you always have to tell us that?” complained our fifteen-year-old grandson.

Our son’s wife winked at us and then explained, “We have a family _______ that no one may bring anything electronic to the table.”

We _______ our phones in the car. Even though the restaurant was filled with families, there was little noise. All I heard were a few quiet conversations and the ding of forks on plates. The _______ unnerved me. I looked around. Everyone, even the young kids, was _______ at some kind of screen.

The silence was broken when the six of us sat down, and started talking. The waitress stood patiently and waited for our orders. When our food came, we continued to chat.

An elderly couple at the next table were finishing their dinners and conversing quietly. I noticed that they shot us a few glances, and wondered if our constant chatter was annoying them.

After the dessert, my son signaled the waitress for the check. She hesitated when she brought the black folder to our table. My son opened the black folder — it was _______ . “You forgot the check,” he told her.

“There isn’t one. Someone else _______ your bill — and the tip too.” she said with a giggle (咯咯笑).

“Why?” asked our son, his wife and myself at once.

“They loved it that no one was connected.” she continued. “They loved watching you guys _______ . The old lady went on and on about how nice it was to see a family eating and talking instead of looking at ‘electric games’.”

For a moment, everyone at our table was at a loss for _______ . Then we all started talking at once. My son's voice rose above the others. “Where are they? We want to thank them.”

“They left after you ordered dessert,” the waitress replied.

We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing this goodness and camp up with a _______ . Next time we see a family eating at a restaurant ________ looking at anything electronic, we'll pay it forward, just like what happened to us.