As a secretary at an international airport, my sister has a office next to the room in which Security holds suspects. One day, security officers are questioning a man when they were suddenly called away by an emergency. To the surprising of my sister and her colleagues, the man was left lonely in the unlocked room. After a few minute, the door opened, and he walked out. Summoning up his courage, my sister barked, “get back in there, but don’t come out until you told!” The man hurried back inside and shut the door. When the security people returned back, my sister reported that had happened. With a word, an officer walked into the room and told the very frightened telephone repairman that he could go.

I live in a city where jobs are difficult to get and if you want to find a well-paid job, it will be even harder. Therefore, it is not surprising for you to see many people in our city walk a long way because they can’t even afford an old used car.

It was a cold windy day. I saw one of these people who often have to walk from and to work every day, when I was driving after work. A middle-aged man wearing only a thin overcoat was walking down the road and trying to ask for a ride from the passing cars. Unluckily, there was no driver willing to stop their cars. When I saw two cars in front of me pass him by, I wanted to do the same. But the sight of that poor man remained in my mind for quite a moment. I felt as if a big hand was dragging me and forcing me not to leave. Finally I drew back and gave him a ride.

As I drove along, we had a conversation, during which he told me something about himself and his family. I learnt that the man was doing everything he could to support his family using the limited salary from several part-time jobs. As you could imagine, every coin he earned was going to be used to pay for the house and food.

It was a long drive before we got to his home. All the way, I could feel his hardship and tiredness. But as we came close to the house where he was living, I saw his tired eyes grow bright and the whole body was lit up. His lovely girl was playing in the front yard. Seeing her father was out of the car, she ran to him as quickly as possible, reaching out her two small hands. He held the girl with his two strong hands, laughing and kissing her cheeks. I was lost in that happy moment. I smiled, said goodbye to them, wished them the future happiness and then drove off.

On my way home, something came into my mind.

Half an hour later, I got home.

It was a privilege for Eloise to have her grandson Josh living with her while he was attending college away from home. Eloise had struggled to keep herself busy since her husband’s death three years ago. But having Josh around was motivation for Eloise to stay active. Now most of her days were spent baking bread and cookies or with friends and neighbors.

When Eloise returned from a get-together with her friends one evening, Josh pointed to a black-and-white picture lying on the table, and said, “Hi, Grandma. 1 found this in my closet (壁橱)，Is that you and Granddad?” Eloise looked at the picture and laughed quietly. “Oh, that was a long time ago. I must have overlooked it when I was cleaning to make room for your things.”

“That’s your granddad and me before we were married. We met at a party. I loved to dance, and he was a good dancer,” Eloise smiled, enjoying the memories that came flooding back.

“After we got married, we rarely had time to go dancing. But every once in a while, after the children went to bed, we’d pull out the record player and dance in the backyard under the stars.”

Leaning back in his chair, Josh appeared to be enjoying the story. “Wow, Granddad was quite a romantic guy!”

“Yeah. He was very romantic. I still miss him dearly.” Eloise shook her head, attempting to get rid of the lonely feeling that was beginning to form.“Well, it’s getting late now. Let’s get some sleep.” “I’ve really enjoyed hearing the story about you and Granddad,” Josh hugged his grandma. Then he went back to his room.

Two hours ago, Mom called to tell him that the next day would be Grandma’s birthday. He eagerly wanted to give a special present to Grandma, but he was short of money. After hearing Grandma’s words and knowing their story, he got a brilliant idea in his mind.

The next morning, Josh started to prepare his “present from the past” secretly.

After finishing dinner that night, Josh invited and led his grandma to the backyard.

A GIFT FOR GRANDPA

Summer vacation was coming. Jack and his brother Berlin were filled with excitement as they thought of visiting their grandparents again.

The big day came at last. After the happy family got ready, they set out for the grandparents’ eagerly. On the way, the brothers were excitedly talking about the fun they had with grandparents.

A little blue house with a tall white chimney finally appeared. Behind the property was the forest carrying their good memories with Grandpa. They arrived at the driveway, at the end of which Grandma was waiting for them joyfully.

Jack and Berlin each gave Grandma a big hug and then swept to the living room, shouting excitedly “Grandpa, we are back!”

Seeing his grandsons, Grandpa was wild with joy and tried to get up with all his strength from the chair but in vain. A helpless expression flashed on his face. Grandma explained that his health was declining rapidly and maybe couldn’t stand up on his own forever. But Grandpa declared stubbornly (倔强地), “I can!” Certainly, he was stuck in his boyish way. Mum and grandparents were happy to meet again after a long time. They sat together and chatted about what happened recently.

The brothers were soon bored with adult conversation, went out and wandered into the forest. Tall trees stretched up to the heavens with large branches crossing each other, while young ones rose straight like soldiers. Grandpa was once a great explorer full of wisdom. He could tell where the birds came from only by their calls and songs. The trees, birds, lizards, lots of bugs...How many merry moments they spent with Grandpa in the kingdom!

But now Grandpa couldn't get up. This made them worried. “We’d think out a way to cheer him up.” Jack said. “Grandpa is a bird lover, and we can catch him a bird.” Berlin suggested. “But he hates birds being caged!” Jack shook his head.

Then a bright idea came to Jack’s mind. “Why not make a cane (拐杖) out of a young tree!”

Berlin thought it was a good idea.

Jack and Berlin handed the cane to Grandpa.

9 . It is indeed true that age is not a barrier (障碍) to learning. Priscilla Sitienei, a 90-year-old woman, has ________ it and is an inspiration to all of us who tend to give up so ________.

Priscilla, as a young girl, did not have the ________ to read and write. What she could not do then did not stop her from dreaming and ________ making those dreams come true. She has ________ Leaders Vision Preparatory School in her village in Kenya for the past five years. What is even more ________ is that she goes to school with her great-grandchildren! She says that she has big________ and that she'd like to be able to ________ the Bible (圣经). She also wants to ________ children to receive schooling and to follow their ________.

Her day at school is the same as any other student's. She wears her ________ to school and attends English, Maths, Drama, Singing, Physical Education, and Dance classes. Above that, she lives in one of the school dormitories, where she________ the room with her great-great-grandchild. All pupils ________ her and want to play with her. She sets an example to those who have ________ and think they are too old to get ________. She says, "Well, I am at school, and so should you!"

10 . My interviews with all those famous people are significant to me, but another personal interview meant even more.

I _______ not learning more about the childhood of my parents and their siblings (兄弟姐妹), so a few years ago, I _______ my only living uncle, 80-year-old Uncle Joe. He sat in his living room chair, and I _______ my equipment, asking questions like “What was it like _______ in the Great Depression?” and “What did you do for fun as a boy?”

I learned that my father, who was 17 years older than Uncle Joe,   _______ a job after high school in order to help _______ his parents and younger brothers when they couldn’t make ends meet. I knew he did not go to _______ but I did not fully understand why _______ my discussion with Uncle Joe. A reason for this, he told me, was that my _______ was a stonecutter and it was ________ to find work during winter months. He also told me that John Smith, the owner of a general store, would carry them ________ through the winter. Grandpa would pay him back during the ________ seasons when he could find work more easily.

Not only do I have these narratives on record for my children to learn about their ________ , but also, I have a unique ________ of the childhood background of my father that I would have never found in a(n) ________ book.