记叙文 知识点题库

    I volunteered to work at my local Oxfam shop in North London in 2010 for nearly four months. It was a typical charity shop. I would go in a few times a week to work for a/an 1 of hours.

    My responsibility as a volunteer for Green Initiatives in Shanghai has been very different. I 2 to China in September 2014 to work as a teacher in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, a neighboring city of Shanghai. I also wanted to 3 my interest in the environmental sector.

    In early September, I met Nick and Nitin, founders of Green Initiatives, at one of their events and, in 4 of my teaching background, they decided that I would be a good fit for their student outreach program, an environmental education-training program for high school students in Shanghai.

    I was given the 5 of creating their student modules and since then I have put together four higher-level student modules, which introduce key environmental issues such as food waste, recycling and sustainable consumption. I am also currently working 6 another two modules focused on energy conservation.

    It involves a lot of research, and I usually end up 7 around 10 to 15 hours a week searching through science textbooks, online articles and government websites to find relevant and accurate 8.

    I find the research 9 because I get to find out about what new 10 and technologies are being developed to deal with environmental problems. 11 to working in a shop, I find this job is quite rewarding, since I am 12 something that can not be obtained from books.

    I also 13 many of the Green Initiatives events. These events are one of the best things about volunteering because I get the 14 to network and meet 15 people who have ideas about 16 to make Shanghai ‘greener.'

    When I am at the events, we often have Chinese speakers, and so the events have also been an interesting 17 experience for me.

    One of the biggest differences between my experience 18 at Oxfam and Green Initiatives is the motivations of the people you meet and work with. At Oxfam, the motivations were varied. People were there to ‘do their bit for charity,' to earn a living, or 19 because they could only afford the things we sold.

    Speaking to people in China, motivations are also varied but the main driver is the environmental degradation, such as air pollution, which affects, or at least concerns, many of these people in their everyday lives.

    As the student modules are coming to an end, I am looking forward to being involved in the upcoming projects in Shanghai, especially when the sun comes out and we can 20 more outdoor events.

The Fitting-in of Suzy Khan

    The first time I saw Suzy Khan, I knew I had to help her. She was really small for her age of 12. The boy in my class often 1 about her and laughed their heads off. She would open a book, pretending to read, with tears dropping on the open page.

    All I knew was that she was an orphan (孤儿) from Africa. She had just been adopted by a family in town who 2 that the best way for her to learn American ways of life was to be with American kids. I looked down at this 3 girl and promised myself that somehow I would help her.

    But how could I help her 4 in with us? There had to be a 5 .

    One day, when I went into the classroom, I saw that Suzy had 6 her geography book to a picture of a train, and in her notebook, she had made a(n) 7copy.

    I was surprised and thought that she could do something in the coming 8 show. So, I took her to see the art teacher, Miss Parker, and showed her what Suzy had 9. “Why, it's wonderful,” said Miss Parker, who then showed us a poster she had painted 10 the talent show. “I need more of these, but I just don't have enough  11. Could you help me, Suzy?”

On the day of the talent show, Suzy's 12 were everywhere —- all over the hall and all over the school, each one different.

     “And finally,” said Mr Brown, the schoolmaster, at the end of the show, “we have a (n) award. I'm sure you've all noticed the wonderful posters.” Everyone nodded. “One of our own students 13 them.”

    I could hear everyone whispering. “Who in our school could draw 14 well?”

    Mr. Brown waited a while before saying, “ 15 this student worked so hard on the posters, she deserves a 16 ,too. Our mystery(神秘) artist is our new student 17 Suzy Khan!”

    Mr. Brown thanked her for all the wonderful posters and gave her a professional artist's set. “Thank you,” she cried.

    I 18 , at that time when I was looking at her excited face, she'd probably never 19 anything in her whole life.

    Everyone started to 20 their hands. Suzy Khan gave them a shy smile and the applause was defining. I knew then Suzy was going to be all right.

    It was before Christmas. The spirit of the season had not yet caught up with me. Quickly, I filled my shopping cart with some things and went to the long checkout lines. I picked the 1 one, but it looked as if it would be2 a 20-minute wait.

    In front of me were 3 small children—a boy of five and a younger girl. The girl 4 a beautiful pair of shiny, golden shoes and5 them as though they were a treasure.

    The clerk showed them the 6 . “That will be $6.09,” she said. The boy7 some bills on the stand while he8 his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. “I guess we will come back some 9 time, maybe tomorrow.” With that10 the little girl began to cry. “But Jesus would have loved these11 ,” she cried. “Well, we’ll go home and work some more. Don’t cry. We’ll come 12 .”, he told her.

    Quickly I handed $3 to the 13 . These children had waited in line for a long time and,14  all, it was Christmas. Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small15 said,” Thank you, lady.” The girl said. “My Sunday teacher said that the streets in the heaven were made of shiny16 ，just like these shoes. Our mommy is sick and she is going to 17 . Daddy said that she might go before Christmas, to be with Jesus. I think my mom will be beautiful18 in those streets to 19 these shoes.”

    My eyes filled with tears. Silently I thanked God for using these children to 20 me of the true spirit of giving.

    Vandna loved sports and did well in her lessons at her high school in California. When a headache disturbed the 15-year-old girl's walk to class, she 1 it.

    “It was 2.” she thought, “Just a headache—harmless”

But when walking to her next class, she was 3 and collapsed to the floor. 4 she could hear other talking, she couldn't speak. She was 5 to the hospital in an ambulance. Tests indicated Vandna had a stroke affecting the right side of her brain, thus affecting the 6 side of her body.

    What was worse, the stroke caused her brain to began to swell, and she needed operation to 7 the pressure the swelling was putting 8 her brain. The doctors 9part of her skull（头骨）to make room for the swelling. 10 the swelling went down（消退）, her skull was placed back again.

    While the doctors predicted that she would never live a normal life, Vandna 11 improved. She was in a rehab center（康复中心）for about 3 months and began to realize how 12 her daily life might be. She had to wear a brace（支架）on her left leg to support her 13. Her left arm 14 lightly, and she often became tired. Though 15 on a campus wasn't easy, she finished high school and 16 a degree in speech therapy at University of Redlands.

    After the stroke, Vandna became 17 with the American Heart Association. She shared her 18 at public events and urged others to stay 19. She said if you 20 a tough time, remember tough times don't last, but tough people do.

    A couple of weeks ago, when we were leaving one of those horrible giant trampoline bouncy（弹跳床）places, my 11-year-old daughter said to me, “I don't think I'm very athletic, you know, like Rocket (her brother). He seems to be really good at1.”

    What came out my mouth2me: “No, you're kind of not.”

    Okay, let me3. As you may have guessed, this child has been with me for about 11 years, so I've had enough time to4her engaging in physical acts: jumping, climbing, running, and organized sports.

    And the kid is just5me: two left feet. If anybody was ever NOT a “natural”6, that person is me.

    But even7these facts, my first instinct（本能反应）was to show her with some8: “Oh, no honey. You're good at sports! You just have to keep 9!” But I decided to tell her the10, and I could see it hurt a bit.

    So I said more: “Ava, we all have things we are particularly,11good at. Like you and12. You're in the 5th grade and read Charles Dickens. That isn't13, but you've done it without even trying. But all of us also have things that we are14in. If we want to get good at those things, we have to put in twice the15of the people around us to get to a decent（相当的）point and even harder if we want to16.”

    She was nodding. She totally17it. Why? Because it's the truth. Sometimes I wonder why we run around talking nonsense（胡扯）to our kids when they can18the truth. And they can smell rubbish from a mile away. In other words, they can easily recognize you are19. In addition, if they don't know where they20now, they'll never know how to get somewhere new.

    A few years ago, I was with a close friend in a grocery store in California. As we walked along the aisle (过道), we became 1of a mother with a small boy going in the opposite direction. The woman don't notice us because she was so 2 with her child, who 3 to eagerly pull items off the lower shelves. As the mother became more and more annoyed, she started to 4 at her son and progressed to shaking him by the arm.

    At this point my friend spoke up. A wonderful mother of three, she had probably 5 in her life6 any child so harshly(严厉地). I 7 my friend would give this woman a serious8 about the effect of this kind of behavior on the boy. However to my 9, my friend said, "What a(n) 10 little boy. How old is he?" The woman answered, "He's three." My friend went on to say how 11 he seemed and how her own three children 12in the grocery store, pulling things off shelves. "He seems so bright," my friend said. A(n) 13smile came to the woman's face. She said, "Yes, he's very smart, 14 sometimes he wears me out." My friend responded, " They can do that; they're so 15."

    As we 16 away, I heard the mother speaking more17 to the boy about getting home and cooking his dinner. "We'll have your favorite foods," she told him.

    How 18my friend achieved harmony in the situation! Really  although sometimes it's necessary to 19someone physically from hurting another person, more often it is helpful that we show love and 20to those lost in anger, allowing them to remember their own tenderness(温柔).

Running for a Dream

    I will never forget that November day. It was hotter than normal. This was the1my father and I had waited so long for, because we had been working towards this race for three years. Dozens of familiar faces from church and school flashed across my view. They had come for me. I saw worry and excitement on my father's face. Then the race began!

    For the first two and a half miles, I felt2. I had never before been so ready for something. The weeks leading up to the race were filled with controlled3and a strict diet. My friends hadn't seen me in weeks, but they understood the4required to make my dream a reality. As in all of my races, I didn't5out in the front, I loved the pleasure of passing people as my strength overtook their premature speed.

    Then without warning, my strength began to decrease. Neck and neck with one of my greatest competitors, I could see the finish line. I had begun the final dash into6when my knees became weak and my legs gave way. Nothing I could do would make them7weight.

    I watched as runners rushed by me. Although I knew my dreams of victory were destroyed, I had to finish the race. However, my legs hurt badly. With all of the 8 left in me, I got on my hands and knees and crawled(爬), inch by inch, across the finish line. Voices, both9and familiar, cheered me on. They gave me the courage to keep10until the very end.

    The doctors were there in seconds, but my eyes searched the crowd for him. There was only one person I wanted to11to. I whispered, "I'm so sorry, Dad, I'm so sorry I12you." He looked at me, saying, "You could never disappoint me. Sometimes these things just happen. All that matters is that you did your best."

    "But we worked so13. What about our dream?" He reached over for my hand and said, "Don't you know that you are my dream and it has come true?"

    It wasn't long before my running shoes were back on, marking a14path for my journey, I learned that all of the miles, the tears, the sweat, and the pain my dad and I experienced together were not for a15. What I realized, though, was that to him, I was the greatest prize he had ever won.

    The letter below is from Antoine Leiris, whose wife Helen died in the terror attack in Paris on November 11th. He wrote the letter to her killers. It was 1 written as a Facebook post and has been 2 thousands of times on social media.

    On Friday night you 3 the life of an exceptional being, the love of my life, the4of my son, but you will not have my 5. I don't know who you are 6 I don't want to know -- you are dead souls. I will not give you the gift of hating you. You have obviously 7 it, but responding to it with anger would be to give in to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be 8, to cast a mistrusting eye on my fellow citizens, to 9 my freedom for security. You 10. I saw her this morning, finally after nights and days of waiting. My wife was 11 as beautiful as she was when she left on Friday evening, as beautiful as when I fell madly in love with her more than 12 12 ago. Of course, I am heart-broken with 13, but I know that she will join us every day and that we will find each other again in the paradise of free souls which you will never have 14 to. We are only 15, my son and I, but we are more 16 than all the world's armies. 17 any case, I have no time to waste on you. I need to go back to Melvil, who is 18 from his afternoon nap. He is just 17 months old. He will eat his snack like every day and we are going to play like we do every day. In every day of his life, the little boy will 19 you with his 20 and freedom, because you don't have his hatred either.

    I was living in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is a huge city, with more people living in it than in my whole 1. We rented a flat in a community, but there was a favela (贫民区) quite near. For several months I didn't have a 2, so I used public transportation to go to the city centre. During these 3, I would ride with the people who took the 4 bus from the favela to go to work.

    When I got on the bus, all the 5 were already taken. But when people saw that my bag was 6, they offered to hold it on their legs to make me lighter 7. At first, I was 8. Then I realized that these people certainly had no 9 to steal from me: they only wanted to 10.

    Once, on my way back, I had to wait for a long time at a bus stop. I was alone, except for a woman who was 11 very poor. She carried a small paper bag of popcorn (爆米花) and nothing else.

    While we were 12, she walked over and 13 me some popcorn. I thanked her, but didn't want to help myself to it. She then repeatedly 14 that I take from what was her only 15.

    That was the first time I thought about how people who have almost 16, are sometimes able to 17 the little they have so much more easily than those who 18 a lot.

    I was so moved by that woman s simple 19 that day. I clearly had more than she did, but she 20 and joyfully shared what little she had with me.

    On June 23, 1970, I had just left the Army after completing my one-year duty in Vietnam. I was on 1 returning home in Texas. I had been warned about the 2 of our fellow countrymen. There was no 3 welcome for us when we came home from that unpopular war.

    I sat, in uniform, in a window seat, 4 eye contact with my fellow passengers. No one was sitting next to me, which added to my 5. A little girl suddenly appeared in the passage. She 6 and, without saying a word, 7 handed me a magazine. I accepted her 8, her quiet "welcome home". All I could say was, "Thank you." Her small gesture of 9 was the first I had experienced in a long time.

    I always believe in the connection between 10 when they reach out to come another.

    That girl 11 has no memory of what happened years ago. She might have been told to do that by her mother. It doesn't matter 12 she gave me the magazine. The 13 thing is that she did.

    Since then, I have followed her 14 and tried in different ways for different people, to 15 for them. Like me on that plane ride long ago, they will 16 know why a stranger gave a hand. But I absolutely know that my 17 since then are all because of that little girl. Her kindness of offering a magazine to a 18, scared and lonely soldier has been 19 all through my life. I have to believe that my small20 have the same effect on others. And to that girl, now a woman, I would like to say again: thank you.

Be Happy

Twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. To my 1, I was driving a school bus to make ends meet although I had a Mater's degree (硕士学位). I had been through five interviews with a company and one day they called to say I did not 2 the job. I went to the bus barn like a zombie (僵尸) of 3.

Later that afternoon, I had an inner wave, like a scream, "why has my life become so 4?" Immediately after the scream I pulled the bus over to5 a little girl who 6me an earring, saying "Sir, you should keep it in case somebody got back for it. The earring was carved (雕刻) with7"BE HAPPY"

I got angry but then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right. I should be grateful (感激) for what I had. I decided to make a list of 50 things I was 8 for.

At first it was hard, then it 9. One night there was a phone call for me from a 10who was a manager at a large 11. She asked me if I would do a one-day lesson for her 200 hospital 12. I said yes and 13 the job.

My day with the hospital workers went very 14. I got a standing ovation (热烈鼓掌) and many 15 days of work. To this day I16 that it was because I changed attitude to gratitude (感激).

I spent the next year conducting training workshops and then 17 to go back to Scotland where I had lived 18. One month later I met my wonderful English 19. After 15 years, now we with our children live in a small beautiful cottage.

"The only attitude is gratitude" has been my motto for 20 now and yes, it completely changed my life.

When Heather McHugh, a poet, won a $500, 000"genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, she didn't buy a luxurious car or fly to Paris.1, she put the money in the bank and 2 writing poems.

In 2011, she finally 3 what to do with it. That year, Heather's godson and his wife 4 their first child, a beautiful baby girl but severely disabled." I saw how people's 5 can change overnight. I started thinking about people in a 6 situation." says Heather.

She 7 there were millions of caregivers taking care of the chronically(慢性地) ill or disabled. So in 2012, Heather 8 a nonprofit organization offering a seven day vacation, with all 9 paid, to people who have been caregivers for at least ten years.

Tricia was one of the first caregivers to go on vacation. When Tricia got a call saying she was offered a 10 vacation, she couldn't 11 it; disbelief even 12 her concern about leaving her two kids.

Tricia went, and her favorite parts of the trip were to enjoy the 13 things. "I got to eat hot food hot and cold food cold. I could go to bed when I wanted to and wake up whenever I chose to, "says Tricia. She was afraid the 14 would return when the 15 was over, but to her surprise, it hasn't been back since.

Heather says Tricia's 16 resembles those of the other ten caregivers she helps every year. "Before the vacation they are so 17, but the 18 is so amazing. They reflect and relax. It feels 19 like another world and gives them a chance to see their lives from another 20." she adds.

The True Story of Treasure Island

It was always thought that Treasure Island was the product of Robert Louis Stevenson's imagination. 1, recent research has found the true story of this exciting work.

Stevenson, a Scotsman, had lived 2 for many years. In 1881 he returned to Scotland for a 3.With him were his American wife Fanny and his son 4.

Each morning Stevenson would take them out for a long 5 over the hills. They had been 6 this for several days before the weather suddenly took a turn for the worse. Kept indoors by the heavy rain, Lloyd felt the days 7.To keep the boy happy, Robert asked the boy to do some 8.

One morning, the boy came to Robert with a beautiful map of an island, Robert 9that the boy had drawn a large cross in the middle of 10." What's that?" he asked." That's the 11 treasure," said the boy. Robert suddenly 12 something of an adventure story in the boy's 13.While the rain was pouring, Robert sat down by the fire to write a story. He would make the 14 a twelve-year-old boy, just like Lloyd. But who would be the pirate (海盗)？

Robert had a good friend named Henley, who walked around with the 15 of a wooden leg. Robert had always wanted to 16 such a man in a story. 17 Long John Silver, the pirate with a wooden leg, was 18.

So, thanks to a 19 September in Scotland, a friend with a wooden leg, and the imagination of a twelve-year-old boy, we have one of the greatest 20 stories in the English language.

If you have strong arms and feet, patience and a good temper, you might 1 a good waiter. You must start, 2, not in the restaurant, but in the kitchen, helping the chef, to learn how each dish is 3.

From this first step, you may enter the restaurant 4 a ''commis'' (厨助). But you won't be 5 to serve the customers yet. They will only let you do the bottomed jobs, 6the tables and carrying the plates. But all the time you must watch and learn with 7.

Later you may become ''chef de rang'' (a waiter in charge of a number of tables). You may even become a head waiter 8, if you have the right sort of personality and you are not 9 of hard work.

When Carlo Bianchi first arrived in London, he spoke only two words of English - ''please'' and ''Hello''. He 10 to get a job helping in the kitchen of a restaurant, and he spent what little 11 time he had learning English. He was a good worker and soon they 12 him a job in the restaurant as a waiter.

Every night, Carlo 13 to go home exhausted, but never too 14 to study the language for half an hour before going to sleep. And no matter how tired or ill he felt, he always wore a 15 for his customers. They liked him, and people came and asked to be 16 by Carlo.

Now, twenty-five years later, Carlo is in 17 of six restaurants, and he 18 to open a seventh shortly. So friends, in this world success never comes overnight. Start from the 19and make progress step by step with enough patience and 20 chances will fall upon you.

Mary uses a walking stick. Benjamin recently learned how to walk. Mary is 99.

Benjamin is 2. The neighbors may seem like1friends, but during the pandemic (疫情), they formed a unique2at the fence between their houses in Minneapolis.

"Benjamin just turned 2 years old. We've been 3with Mary long before he was born," Benjamin's mom, Sarah Olson said. They didn't see Mary much,4 last year when the COV1D-19 pandemic 5and the family had to stay home, Mary was someone they could 6一 outside.

During the pandemic, the Olsons7played in their yard, and Mary would be in hers. Benjamin would 8Mary when he saw her in the yard and they would play games. There's a 97-year9gap, but Benjamin doesn't see it.

"She's just Mary，or 'Mimi'," Sarah said. "We're inside and he'll go, 'Mimi? Mimi?' and we'll go outside and 10Mary. Then Mary will call out, 'Hey Benjamin!' How 11a scene it is!"

For Mary，who was completely 12during the pandemic, a friend was just what she needed. It seems Mary has 13a childlike spirit with Benjamin, playing with bubbles and even water guns.

More than a year after they first started 14together, Benjamin and Mary still 15each other's company. Benjamin and Mary's friendship has 16so many because people like to see relationships form so 17for young people and elderly people.  "We didn't have to work on it at all; it just 18," Sarah said.

"Friendship can be 19in so many different ways. I'm really happy they've developed this friendship," she said. "It is such a rewarding 20for both of them."

People hold general belief that birds will fly south in winter. But not all birds do so to escape the 1 and settle somewhere nice and warm. Many of our feathered friends actually 2 and try to live through the hard time.

They will face greater 3 when temperatures drop well beyond the freezing point. It was against this background that a 4 about rescuing a little sparrow took place.

The poor bird was caught off-guard by the freezing temperatures and had itself 5 on the metal piping next to a water heater.

6, a man by the name of Nelson Wilson 7 the frightened bird. When he hurried to see what was happening, he saw it 8 desperately and decided to do something to help it out.

“When I went over，I 9 the bird which was glued down to the pipe and couldn't fly away,” Wilson 10. “The little bird most likely 11 to drink some water because it is not 12 for birds to drink from the heated tank in winter. But unfortunately, its feet got 13 from the water and froze into the metal piping. So I 14 to warm the feet of the frightened bird by pressing my palm (手掌) against both the 15 and the bird's feet.”

But the 16 did not give him what he wanted. Then, Wilson started 17 blowing warm air on the bird to 18 its fragile feet and make them get warm earlier. After several minutes, his warming the bird's feet with his warm 19 brought success. The bird was finally able to 20 its previously frozen feet. It was saved!

British Cycling had recently hired Dave Brails ford as its new director. At the time, professional cyclists in Great Britain had1nearly one hundred years of mediocrity(平庸). In fact, their2 had been so poor that one of the top bike companies in Europe3to sell bikes to the team because they were afraid that it would hurt sales if other professionals saw the British people using their bikes.

What made Brails ford different from previous coaches was his4of searching for a tiny improvement in everything they do. The whole principle came from the idea that if you5everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, improve it by 1 percent and you will get a6 increase when you put them all together.

Brails ford and his coaches began by making small 7. They redesigned the bike seats to make them more8. They asked riders to wear electrically heated over-shorts to9ideal muscle temperature while riding and used biofeedback sensors to10how each athlete responded to a particular workout.

But they didn't stop there. They11to find 1 percent improvements in overlooked areas. They hired a(n) 12 to teach each rider the best way to wash their hands to reduce the13 of catching a cold. They even painted the14of the team truck white, which helped them15little bits of dust that would normally slip by16but could affect the performance of the 17tuned bikes.

As these and hundreds of other small improvements were 18, the results came faster than anyone could have19. Just five years after Brails ford took over, they20the road and track cycling events in all the important Games.

It was 4-year-old Darrin's first chiropractic adjustment（脊椎矫正术）.He was afraid, as most children are on their first visit to any1

But if you gain children's2 and take the time to develop good relationship, you can do anything with their complete3. One of the4I find most useful is to show an interest in a child's special toy. When you touch, hug and love their5toy, you open the door to their heart. 1 have given thousands of chiropractic adjustments to teddy bears, Barbie dolls and fire trucks-you name it, I've6it

Darrin's7, however, was different.

I had told Darrin's mother to8his favorite toy, but when I 9about it, she said, "Sorry, Dr. Stillwagon. Darrin's favorite play toy is our upright vacuum sweeper（立式吸尘器）, and I just couldn't feel10coming to the office with it. "

"Wait just a minute," I said. I went out, got our upright vacuum sweeper and11the adjusting room. I introduced him to our vacuum sweeper, 12him to play with it.

Our examination13involves the use of a hand-held scanner to monitor the patient's progress. I took the scanner and14it the full length of the upright vacuum sweeper. I then placed the sweeper on the adjusting table and15to adjust it.  Darrin watched my every16. I told him that the sweeper would soon feel17.

Darrin was next. Full of confidence, he sat on the chair for the scan, and then18sat on the adjusting table. We had become19,and I had adjusted my20upright vacuum sweeper!

空白处的最佳选项。

The last thing Kim Powell-Woods wanted for her birthday was a newspaper story. But her day on Wednesday was just too 1 to ignore. Instead of a traditional 2 with gifts and a birthday cake, the woman wanted 3. For her 35^th birthday, she planned to do 35 acts of kindness for 4.

"I thought of it a couple weeks ago, and I sat down one afternoon and 5 making a list of things I could do," she said. Her job as a 911 operator put her in touch with people who were having very 6 days. She wanted a day when she might help people have a good day.

She started at 5 am. At a 7 station, she helped a woman who was trying to 8 some household things. She needed money to buy gas to get to work. Kim 9that gas. The woman smiled at her with a look of 10. Kim had made some 11 the night before and packed lunches for other strangers. She 12 the lunches at the bus stop at noon. She 13 what it was like to ride the bus and had no plan for 14. It was a feeling of sadness.

She 15 some bus tokens(代币) for other people and 16 dropped off gifts at the

Salvation Army, Harbor house and some homeless shelters. "And my daughter told me about a(n) 17 who needed a gift at her school, 18 I took meals from McDonald's out there. I'll probably19this again, but I'll wait for a20day, like my 40th birthday."

Eight years ago, Al Nixon decided to work for the city's water department. From then on, he would 1 at 4:30 every morning, sitting for 2 hours on a bench with a good view of the waterfront of St.Petersburg, Florida. Nixon 2 it "life rising" because watching a 3 made him feel good before starting his day.

A year later, a woman stopped to say hello, and 4, "Seeing you sitting here every morning, I know everything is going to be OK." What she said changed Nixon's 5 on his daily routine. After that, instead of 6 straight ahead at the waterfront, Nixon started smiling at people and striking up 7 Pretty soon, many early risers began 8 him on the bench, telling him about their worries and asking him for 9 about relationships, careers, and personal problems.

"I was happy to listen," Nixon, 59, said. "I wanted them to walk away 10 they were not alone." Nixon lends a (n) 11 to whatever problem a person wants to share. A couple once  12  to talk about problems in their relationship. The husband was always working, rarely home, which was 13 their marriage. Nixon told him, "My friend, if you go on like this, you are 14 to lose your wife." The man 15 that Nixon was right and agreed that he needed to slow down.

His presence and his openness to listen have led some to nickname him the Sunshine Mayor.