3 . It was Thanksgiving morning and in the crowded kitchen of my small home I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together.

“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.

I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals (凉鞋), wet with heavy snow.

“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”

They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread with jam to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.

The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”

“Am I rich? Pity, no!” I looked at my shabby slipcovers (沙发套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers (茶碟).” Her voice was hungry with a need that no amount of food could supply. They left after that, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said “Thank you.” They didn’t need to. In a special way they had reminded me that I had already had so much for which I should be grateful.

Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they did match.

I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job—these matched, too.

I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should forget how rich I was.

4 . There once was an ordinary street in the suburbs where no one cared much for their gardens. The lawns were overgrown, the weeds were_______and the hedges (树篱) desperately needed to be cut back. It looked very_______. But when the neighbors saw their gardens, they just looked at each other and went away with_______.

It seemed too hard to_______all the gardens and no one could be bothered to make them better because everyone's garden was_______terrible. No one felt it was urgent for a_______. Then a man named Bill moved in. Bill was a_______, hard-working and patient man who started working in the garden as soon as he_______in the street. He took his lawn mower (割草机) out to cut back the grass and pulled out all of the_______. Finally, he took up his gardening and started________his hedges, making them look like flowers, plants, stones, balls, etc.

Attracted by the hard-working________, the neighbors walked by and admired the newly manicured (修整的) garden. Over some time, something interesting happened. One by one, the neighbors started to put in more________in their own gardens and the sounds of lawn mowers could be heard again. After a few months, the street was________from a dirty, unappealing collection of houses to a beautiful avenue that wouldn’t be out of place in a stylish magazine.

One person’s action showed everyone what could be achieved with a little hard work. It’s easy for us to________the environment around us because no one else cares about it. Remember what you positively do not only brings________to yourself, but also results in a change to the whole world.

5 . Almost everything was fantastic in the nature camp except for a girl, Elizabeth. When I saw her ______ alone in the hot sun at lunch, I asked her to eat with us under a shady (阴凉的) tree. However, Elizabeth refused my kind ______. When we invited her to play volleyball with us, Elizabeth ______ our invitation, too. After a few more unfriendly refusals like that, I decided to stay away from Elizabeth.

It ______ that we were going on a nature ______ and that our instructor paired everyone up with a partner. Guess who my partner turned out to be? It was Elizabeth!

“What do you like to do ______?” I asked, trying to make small ______ as we started out. “I like to walk in peace and quiet,” Elizabeth replied. So we had the quietest and most peaceful hike in the world ______ we saw a bird. “I think his wing is hurt. Poor little bird,” Elizabeth said ______. “He might be taking a rest over there,” I said. Elizabeth nodded. Then she whispered, “But what if he’s in ______, like my granddad?” “Your granddad?” I said. “He fell and broke his leg the day the camp started. He’s ______ in hospital and is in so much pain,” Elizabeth explained. I noticed she was ______. “I’m sorry for what I have done. For some reason, whenever I get really sad, I act ______ and want to be alone,” she added.

“I get it,” I said. “I don’t always know how to ______ it when I’m feeling down, either.” “Thanks,” she said, wiping off her tears.

After that, Elizabeth seemed to get along well with us, and I think she actually ______ the last days of the camp.

Next time, if someone is unfriendly, give him a second chance. Maybe he’s going through a difficult time.

6 . In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is ______ oneself that one has the least understanding of. When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your ______. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a realist-aware of both one’s strengths and shortages. You may ______ hopefully to the future but be sure not to ______ too much, for ideals can never be fully realized. You may be ______ to meet challenges but it should be clear to you ______ to direct your efforts. That’s to say, so long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself, there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs self-appreciation. Whether you think you are a towering tree or a blade of grass, a high mountain or a small stone, you ______ a state of nature that has its own reason of existence. If you ______ admire yourself you’ll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. ______ you gain full confidence in yourself, you’ll be ______ to fight and overcome any difficulty.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of anger, do yourself a favor by giving an ______ to it in a quiet place so that you won’t be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep or taking some stimulant. Show yourself loving concern about your health and daily life. ______ you know perfectly well when and how to do yourself a favor, you won’t be confident and ready enough to ______ the attack of illness. As you are aware, what a person physically has is but a human body that’s vulnerable when ______ to the elements. So if you fall ill, it’s up to you to take a good care of yourself.

In a word, to get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full ______ of one’s life. Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.

8 . One of the improv (即兴表演) classes I attended regularly was taught by Jim Cranna every Saturday afternoon. Sometimes, as many as twenty-five to sixty-plus folks showed up. Jim made sure to fit everyone in so they could improve their skills. The class lasted for three hours. The usual cast of comic actors played improv comedy games. And we would go to the nearest mini market located in the building and get a snack or coffee during breaks.

One day, three of us were standing outside the building, when Robin Williams - an internationally famous actor and comic walked by, enjoying the fresh bay air. Completely frozen, my fellow comics couldn’t summon up the courage to just say “hi” to Robin, who was with a friend. I froze for a moment, but then I composed myself.

I told them, “Hey, if you guys can’t handle it, then I will ask him to come and join us for the second half of class.” I could hear them mumble under their breath, “Yeah, sure, right. You’re going to ask Robin Williams to come to our comedy class. Good luck with that one!”

So I went up to Robin and his friend and asked him to join us. “We’ re having an improv comedy class. We’re on break now, but we would be most humbled and honored if you would join us for the second half of the class. “Robin looked directly in my eyes and said with little hesitation, “Okay.” It was like a grown-up child being asked to come and play. With that, he and his friend followed me up to the class.

When he saw Robin, Jim said, “Oh my goodness, look who Micheline is bringing to class.“ Jim’s eyes were all in astonishment and delight. “Why, it’s Robin Williams!”“ Robin and his friend stayed the rest of the class and at the end of the class, Robin and Jim performed a skit(滑稽短剧). We actually watched him shape-shift as he prepared physically and mentally for his made-up character. He gave it his all. It was truly magical.

What a delight for all of us that Saturday afternoon! All I know is that if I hadn’t mustered up the courage to ask Robin to join us, none of us would have had that experience.

10 . I’ve had a string of bad luck lately. Last week, my washing machine broke. I planned to _________ it myself but soon found the repairs would cost more than a new one would. Then this week the _________ thing happened to my daughter’s washing machine! This time I _________ called a friend to help. Once again, however, it was broken beyond _________. I ended up having to _________ two. While both the new machines got delivered quickly, I still _________ about what I was going through in my heart.

The moment I did, my _________ traveled back to the days when I was a child. I saw my grandma _________ an old-fashioned washing machine with my jeans and shirts. It didn’t have a spin dryer (甩干机) inside so she had to put each item through a pair of rollers to _________ the water. When the washing was done, she’d often pat the machine __________. She had grown up hand-washing clothes and was __________ for the machine that did so much of the work for her.

Remembering this helped me realize that I was looking at things in the __________ way. I was getting __________ in the inconveniences of modern life instead of being thankful for all I have. The good old days had their share of __________ and joys. And so do the good new days. What __________ is how we live them and what we can learn from them.