The Meredith family lived in a small community. As the economy was in decline, some people in the town had lost their jobs. Many of their families were struggling to make ends meet. People were trying to help each other meet the challenges.

Mrs. Meredith was a most kind and thoughtful woman. She spent a great deal of time visiting the poor. She knew they had problems, and they needed all kinds of help. When she had time, she would bring food and medicine to them.

One morning she told her children about a family she had visited the day before. There was a man sick in bed, his wife, who took care of him and could not go out to work, and their little boy. The little boy -his name was Bernard-had interested her very much.

“I wish you could see him,” she said to her own children, John, Harry, and Clara. “He is such a help to his mother. He wants very much to earn some money, but I don't see what he can do.”

After their mother left the room, the children sat thinking about Bernard. “I wish we could help him to earn money,” said Clara. “His family is suffering so much.”

“So do I,” said Harry. “We really should do something to assist them.”

For some moments, John said nothing, but, suddenly, he sprang to his feet and cried, “I have a great idea! I have a solution that we can all help accomplish(完成).”

The other children also jumped up all attention. When John had an idea, it was sure to be a good one. “I tell you what we can do,” said John. “You know that big box of corn Uncle John sent us? Well, we can make popcorn(爆米花), and put it into paper bags, and Bernard can take it around to the houses and sell it.”

It was one of those days when nothing seemed to go right. I dragged myself out of the bed and all of the routines began early. I dropped my two older children at school with relief and unwillingly headed to the supermarket to buy groceries with my youngest. I wasn't feeling any sense of appreciation for my comfortable home or lovely family.

I was getting mad with this early day, and my son, just four years old at that time, was being difficult. I raced around to pick the items with no regard to cost, while trying to control my naughty child whose behavior had now added to my complete displeasure. Yes, I was that mother, threatening, and roaring at a small child.

We eventually made it to the checkout and stood in the queue waiting for our turn. After a short time, I noticed that someone had joined the line behind us. I turned and saw an old man. He wore a dirty overcoat. His shoes were worn out, and his trousers tapped around sockless ankles on this cold, wet day. In his hands he just carried a small box of long-life milk.

I had too many groceries. I asked him if he'd like to go ahead of me. It wasn't an act of kindness on my part, also not my automatic reaction. Perhaps I just did out of a sense of guilt, or I just wanted him gone. After all, his presence made me uncomfortable. In the same way, I felt uncomfortable and avoided my eyes when passing a homeless person.

He didn't respond to me as if I had said nothing to him. I looked at him and repeated my words. This time, I was sure that he had heard what I said.

A little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin. The child climbed up on Santa Claus's lap holding a picture of a little girl.

"Who is this?" asked Santa, smiling. "Your friend? Your sister?"

"Yes, Santa," he replied.

"My sister, Sarah, who is very sick," the boy said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby and saw her wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"She wanted to come with me to see you very much, Santa!" the child shouted.

"She misses you," he added softly.

Santa tried to cheer the boy up, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas.

When they finished their talk, the grandmother came over to help the child get off his lap， and started to say something to Santa, but halted （停顿）.

"What is it?" Santa asked warmly.

"Well, I know it's really too much to ask you, Santa, but..." The girl in the photograph is my granddaughter. You see... she has leukemia（白血病）and isn't expected to make it even through the holidays," she said through tear-filled eyes.

"Is there any way, Santa, any possible way that you could come to see Sarah?

All she's asked for. for Christmas. is to see Santa.

Santa blinked. swallowed hard and told to the woman to leave information with his elves（小精灵）as to where Sarah was，saying he would see what he could do. Santa thought of nothing else for the rest of that afternoon. "What if it were MY child lying in that hospital bed, dying?" he thought with a sinking heart.

7 . In January this year, a fire destroyed the building that housed Yossi Heiman’s Fish Market in Borough Park, Brooklyn: The _______ made Yossi Heiman have no place to operate his business and no ability to get _______ .

The merchant Shea Langsam owns a(n) _______ store, just few blocks away. One would have thought that sympathetic as he may be to his competitor’s bad luck, he would welcome this opportunity to _______ new customers and increase his business. _______ Shea did something truly excellent. When he learned of the fire, he _______ the phone and called Yossi Heiman. Not only did he _______ him but when he heard Yossi say he would need a facility and deliver _______ to his customers, he said, “Don’t worry! Why not _______ me in my store before your store could be rebuilt? As fellow community members we all should try to help each other. ” Shea did as he promised and Yossi ________ his losses.

The story is wonderful and it’s a(n) ________ of seeing fellow community members as part of one family, putting needs of others ________ their own needs. Businessmen usually want to make more money or grow their ________ but the story is ________ : It’s a truly sincere display of true faith and great kindness. Real faith means ________ others and having a heart of sympathy and mercy like Shea.

9 . My husband Adlai and I often went camping to celebrate special occasions. In fact, our anniversary (周年纪念日) was coming up. But this time I felt a sense of _________ . I couldn’t help thinking about my journal (日记本).

For birthdays and anniversaries, _________ giving each other cards that we were not interested in, Adlai and I wrote letters. For nine years, I’d written almost all of mine in a journal. For our eighteenth anniversary, we had gone camping. After a hike, we returned to _________ our letters. But the campsite was _________ by a bear. Our tent fell down. Worst of all, my journal was _________. We searched for hours, but it was _________.

I never _________ . I always wanted to have back those nine years of letters! One day, I came home to find a car in our driveway. Two _________ stood in the yard with Adlai. Adlai held up a weather-beaten book. My journal! The woman and her husband had _________ it weeks earlier in the underbrush. She was __________ when reading my love letters. “We only have your first names, so it is a bit __________ to find you. Luckily, we make it,” the woman said.

As a result of their their__________, I could hug my journal again. I just couldn’t thank them more. There are always people in the world who show__________ to others. What the couple did doesn’t __________ change our lives, but it can certainly change the way we __________ about life.