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to West Street. I called my wife and told her not to 7 me, and that I would stay in 8 with her. I took the subway. It stopped at West Fourth Street, so I had to 9 the rest of the way. And somewhere in there I became 10 that I was going into something I 11 . I once worked there in 1966 for the 12 of the World Trade Centre. On halfway on September 12, I was frightened to see the World Trade Centre was a huge pile, maybe ten 13 tall. And it was burning. I started to ask 14 in which my crane might be 15 a whistle blew suddenly warning us of some danger. I saw people running away and I really didn't know what to do. So I did the same, too. It was as if they had 16 the bulls go in Spain and we were running through the street. People falling down, people 17 them up as they came by, and carrying them, just to get them out of the way, because something was extremely 18 . I didn't even look back. We stopped running when we got to the Battery Tunnel, and I caught my 19 and said, "Oh, my God, I'm going to 20 ." Then I settled down a little bit, thinking about what we should do next. As we started again we knocked into a fire chief officer and we asked, "What can we do to help you?" | ||||
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| One Saturday, I got a phone call about electrical problems. Since I am not an electrician, I quickly 1 that the woman on the line had the wrong number. The woman on the phone sounded extremely 2 as her electricity wasn't working. Her husband tried to replace a wall 3 , but now some of their lights wouldn't turn on, and the heat had 4 . The woman thought she was 5 an electrician who had done work for her in the past. I had just recently changed my 6 and she got me instead. I'm not an electrician but I do work with 7 . I 8 her that she had the wrong number, and I didn't know what her old electrician changed his number to. She 9 , and we said goodbye. After I hung up the phone I thought 10 I could help her so I dialed back and found out she was just one town over. When I got to her house, I told her I would help her, but I would not 11 any money. This confused her and she asked 12 I would bother if I wasn't getting paid. I told her it was an act of 13 and to "pay it forward." Dorothy and Jacob, who were both retired, seemed 14 and said they never met anyone like me. Her husband had installed the 15 switch which was causing a short. After I was done, they thanked me and tried to give me some 16 . I told them I wouldn't accept anything, and that the best 17 would be to find someone else to help out. I 8 said if you can't find someone else to repay then just be extra nice to each other. They were both incredibly happy that I 9 to solve their electrical problems quickly, but I think I was even 10 at the opportunity to help them. | ||||
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| Last weekend, I helped my friend Alex get money for poor children at Crossroads Mall. He 1 needed volunteers, especially of the female. I decided that this was a pretty good 2 , so the next day I got ready to go. I arrived at Crossroads about five minutes 3 , and helped Alex and 4 of the volunteers. There were only three 5 at first, and we figured we might as well get started 6 just waiting for more to arrive. I held the 7 , and suddenly felt extremely shy. I did not 8 asking people for donations. In fact, I'm usually one of those people who try to 9 those boring stands and ask you for a little contribution. For heaven's sake, I can contribute to a few, 10 I cannot alone 11 every single cause in the world! I really didn't like the idea of asking anyone for donations to our cause. 12 , I watched my friends speak to the strangers, and noticed that they were extra polite to everyone-no matter whether they 13 . I realized that 14 I wasn't pushy (强求的), it would be okay, and my conscience could be 15 . I pasted on a large smile, and started asking people passing by. My mouth tripped over words, and I continually said"um" while I thought of the correct terms. 16 I talked to more and more people. Not only improved, but also started noticing small 17 . Instead of saying "donate", which made most people walk away 18 . I started suing the word "contribute". I added the phrase "every little bit counts", and people started to donate small amounts in larger quantities. As the day went on, I learned how to pull on the hearts of the 19 , and I became a successful fundraiser. At the end of the day, we all gathered at Alex's house and 20 how much money we raised. I was so surprised: we raised over $300! We celebrated, and went home tired, but satisfied that we helped a great cause. | ||||
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| One day, when I was in high school, I saw a kid named Kyle from my class walking home from school with all his books, I thought to myself, " 1 would anyone bring home all his books for the weekend? He must really be 2 ." As I was walking, I saw several kids running toward him. They ran at him, 3 all his books out of his arms and he fell down in the dirt. His glasses went 4 and landed in the grass. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My 5 went out to him. So, I ran over to him. 6 I handed him his glasses, he looked at me and said, "Hey, thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it 7 , he lived near me. We talked all the way home. I didn't see him before as he had gone to a private school. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. Kyle was the 8 student of our class, one of those guys that really found themselves during high school. Therefore he had the 9 to prepare a 10 speech. On the graduation day, I could see that he was 11 . So, I patted him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be 12 !" He looked at me and smiled. He cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to 13 those who helped you make it through those 14 years. Your parents, your teachers… but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best 15 you can give him." I just looked at my friend with 16 as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to 17 himself over the weekend and was carrying his books home. "Thankfully, nothing happened. My friend 18 me from doing the unspeakable." Not until that moment did I realize that you should never underestimate (低估) the 19 of your actions. With one small gesture you can 20 a person's life. For better or for worse. | ||||
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| When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000m race. My job was to 1 water to the runners. I remember being so 2 to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! So the next year I 3 up for the race. That first 10,000m race was quite an 4 . I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked. 5 , I didn't know if I could finish. Then came a defining (决定性) 6 . At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me, very, very fast, and I felt 7 because I was 50 years younger than he but I couldn't even keep up with him. I felt 8 for a second. But then I 9 something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had 10 abilities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my 11 was only to finish. After a minute, it 12 me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into 13 . I 14 that I would not give up on running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare 15 and one day I would be one of those 70-year-old persons who were still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my 16 . In life we all have those moments where we 17 ourselves to others. It's only 18 . Don't allow those moments to 19 you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. With the proper preparation and training, you can improve your result to 20 anything you want in life. | ||||
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| A month after Hurricane Katrina, I returned home in New Orleans. There lay my house, 1 to waist-high ruins, smelly and dirty. Before the trip, I'd had my car 2 . When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill, she 3 my Louisiana license plate. "You from New Orleans?" she asked. I said I was. "No 4 ," she said, and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet. The next day I went for a haircut, and the same thing 5 . As my wife was studying in Florida, we decided to 6 there and tried to find a rental house that we could 7 while also paying off a mortgage (抵押贷款) on our 8 house. We looked at many places, but none was 9 . We'd begun to accept that we'd have to live in extremely reduced circumstances 10 , when I got a very 11 e-mail from a James Kemmedy in California. He'd read some pieces I'd written about our 12 for Slate, the online magazine and wanted to give us ("no conditions attached") a new house 13 the lake from New Orleans. It sounded too good to be 14 , but I replied, thanking him for his exceptional 15 , that we had no plans to go back. Then a poet at the University of Florida 16 to rent his house to me while he went to England on his one-year paid leave. The rent was rather 17 . I mentioned the poet's offer to James Kemmedy, and the next day he sent a check 18 our entire rent for eight months. Throughout this painful experience, the 19 of strangers has done much to bring back my faith in humanity. It's almost worth 20 your worldly possessions to be reminded that people are really nice when given half a chance. | ||||
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