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.

One afternoon after school, Mary and her brother, Keith, were eating at a cafe near their home. That afternoon, they had to share their table with another person. That person was a young lady in her twenties. After eating, she went to the restroom. Without realizing, she had left her cellphone on the table. Five minutes later, she came out and walked out of the cafe without looking back.

Mary saw the cellphone on the table. She quickly told Keith, “Keith, the girl left behind her cellphone.”Keith looked at the cellphone. It took his breath away. It was one of the latest models on the market. Keith had always wanted a cellphone. But his parents had told him, “You don’t need one. You can always use the house phone.” He stared at it for some minutes. Then, he said slowly, pausing on every word, “I want to take the cellphone.” Mary could not believe her ears. She only stared at her brother, “You can’t! What if the owner comes to look for it?”

After making the decision, Keith quickly got the cellphone and put it in his schoolbag. Then, he took Mary’s hand and led her out of the cafe quickly.

Once back home, Keith locked his room door with trembling (颤抖的) hands. Inside his room, he took out the piece of beauty. Oh, he liked it so much. He had his own cellphone. Soon, he was polishing it happily. But Mary told him, “Keith, you cannot keep the cellphone. What will you tell our father about this? He will ask you how you got the cellphone.” Keith said quickly, “I will say a friend lent it to me.” Mary said, “Now you are lying too. Oh dear! When had Keith turned so dishonest?”

Then, Mary saw a house phone number on the cover of the cellphone. “This is the girl’s phone number. Why don’t we just call this number? We will talk to her and ask her to come and take back her cellphone,” she was trying to talk some sense into him.

That night, Keith turned over in bed from time to time.

Mary was very happy to hear that.

4 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus(马戏团). Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.

This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of twelve. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money.

Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly talking about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night with their brothers or sisters in a low voice.

One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It should be highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack, standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight in shining armor.”

He was smiling and responding in pride, looking back at her as if to say, “You got that right.” The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.”

The ticket lady gave the price. The man’s wife let go of his hand; her head dropped, and his lips began to shake. The father leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”

The ticket lady told the price to him again. The man didn’t have enough money. How could he turn and tell his eight children that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?

In fact, we were not rich. So I understand how the kids would feel. I felt sorry for them.

Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand in his pocket.

That day my father and I went back to our car and drove home without any tickets.

7 . When I was 12, I went on a 720-mile cycling trip with my brother and father. Before the trip, we ____ for the journey by having smaller rides. We were all ____ cyclists. When setting out, I ____for an adventure and wanted to see beautiful sights. But what I hadn’t expected was that trouble was ____ the corner.

One night, we were getting to a campsite and cycling down a large hill with ____ to take a rest from ____ up a mountain with aching legs. Suddenly, my brother’s front tyre slipped and he ____ into the middle of the road. My father and I stopped, asking if he was okay. Obviously, he was not hurt too much, but his leg was ____ the bike frame. From the top of the hill, we saw a light coming. Realizing a car was speeding, my father and I were in ____.

Instinctively, I rushed out in front of my brother in the middle of the road, and ____my hands wildly. The car rushed forward, but abruptly turned ____, bypassing my brother and me. My brother was saved from being run over by the car.

My father said I was ____ brave then, but for some reason, I didn’t think I was ____ my life because it seemed like the only thing to do. And I believe that in times of danger we should do what we know is right rather than consider ____ carefully. If I had thought about what I was doing that night, my brother might have been ____from this world.

The event that stands out in Tom’s memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old.He was at home with his elder sister Jane.Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices.At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud，but he soon realized this time it was different.

“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone shouted.Then a thick burning smell filled the air.When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate，a thick cloud of smoke greeted him.The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.

Jane，who had been playing the violin in her room，hurried to the living room.They rushed out of the door and along the corridor (走廊) through the smoke.

They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane suddenly stopped in her track.She turned around and headed back the way they came.Tom had no idea what she was doing，but he followed her.

Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them，who they called Makcik.Jane began banging on Makcik’s door，but got no answer.As the smoke thickened around them，Tom could see many of their neighbors—some still in their pajamas (睡衣)—running for safety.The thought of fear crossed his mind.

“She would have run for safety like everyone else!” Tom cried.However，Jane refused to give up.“I know Makcik’s still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik’s daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping.She pounded against the door.“Go downstairs.Go now! Go!”

Tom noticed the flame (火焰) was reaching up.

Luckily，some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.