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　　Our plan was to drive into Cambridge, catch the 7：34 train to Liverpool Street Station, then to separate and meet again for lunch．Although we arrived at Liverpool Street Station at 10∶30, Joan 　　1　　 that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London 　　2　　 we went shopping．It was only after her sister had 　　3　　 into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should 　　4　　 her for lunch．　　5　　 I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a 　　6　　．There seemed to be nothing we could do but take a taxi to the Tower of London．However, we didn’t find her．

　　It was now one o’clock, and the concert would begin at 2：30．“Perhaps she’ll 　　7　　 waiting outside the concert hall,” my wife said hopefully．By this time the fog was so thick that the road traffic had to 　　8　　, and the only way to get there was 　　9　　 underground railway．Hand in hand we 　　10　　 our way along the road to where we thought the 　　11　　 station should be．An hour later we found Tower Hill Station．

　　By now it was far 　　12　　 late even to try to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2∶30．So we decided to 　　13　　 to Cambridge．It took seven long hours instead of two as usual to 　　14　　 that journey．　　15　　 were we able to get any food and drink on the train．Tired and hungry we finally reached home at ten．　　16　　 the door, we heard the sound of the telephone bell．It was Joan．She had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for the concert, and had had a wonderful 　　17　　 at a restaurant near the hotel where she had decided to stay at night．Now she was 　　18　　 us to discover 　　19　　 we had an equally 　　20　　 day．

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　　The first person I saw as soon as I returned from my holidays was my grandfather．He 　　1　　 the front door for me and stood there, 　　2　　 me up and down in great surprise．

　　“What’s the 　　3　　 with you?” he asked．

　　I was pale, dirty and tired 　　4　　 my journey, “I have been 　　5　　 on the Balkan Express, ” I replied weakly, “and I haven’t 　　6　　 a thing for over eighteen hours．As I didn’t get a seat, I 　　7　　 most of my time in the corridor 　　8　　 I was nearly trampled to death．”

　　“The Balkan Express!” my grandfather got 　　9　　．“When I was a young man, that was a 　　10　　 train．There was a dining-car and you could 　　11　　 some of the best 　　12　　 and wines in Europe, I can even remember a time 　　13　　 a band played during 　　14　　．” He paused, then added, “The 　　15　　 Balkan Express was the very best!”

　　“Times have changed, grandfather,” I said 　　16　　．“Judging from your 　　17　　, my boy,” he answered．“They’ve changed for the 　　18　　．Now you go and have a nice hot 　　19　　, and I’ll get you 　　20　　 warm to drink．”

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　　The annual marathon in my town usually occurs during a heat wave．My job was to follow behind the runners in an ambulance 　　1　　 any of them needed medical attention．

　　“We are supposed to stay behind the 　　2　　 runner, so take it slowly,” I said to the driver, Doug, as the race started．

　　The front-runners started to 　　3　　 and then my eyes were 　　4　　 to the woman in blue silk running shorts and a loose white T-shirt．

　　We knew we were already watching our “last runner”．Her 　　5　　 were so crippled that it seemed almost impossible for her to be able to walk, 　　6　　 alone run a marathon．

　　Doug and I 　　7　　 in silence as she slowly moved forward．　　8　　, she was the only runner left in sight．Tears streamed down my face when I watched with awe(敬畏)　　9　　 she pushed forward with great 　　10　　 through the last mile．

　　When the finish line came into sight, rubbish lay everywhere and the 　　11　　 crowds had long gone home．　　12　　, standing straight and ever so proud 　　13　　 a lone man．He was 　　14　　 one end of a ribbon of crepe paper(皱纹纸)　　15　　 to a post．She slowly crossed though, leaving both ends of the paper fluttering(飘扬)behind her．

　　I do not know this woman’s name, but that day she became a part of my 　　16　　－a part I often depend on．For her, it wasn’t about 　　17　　 the other runners or winning a prize, it was about 　　18　　 what she had set out to do, no matter 　　19　　．When I think things are too difficult or I get those “I-just-can’t-do-it”, I think of the last runner．Then I realize how 　　20　　 the task before me really is．

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　　It’s fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA．A month ago, while on summer vacation back in my motherland, I learned a lesson from mosquito(蚊子)bites．Right before 　　1　　 Kennedy Airport in New York, my grandma 　　2　　 me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the 　　3　　 like me．She said, “There’s an old saying－the 　　4　　 you stay away from the motherland, the sweeter your blood 　　5　　 to the mosquitoes．“Not 　　6　　 it,” I replied, “Grandmaaaa, that’s just an old wives’ tale!”

　　Well, less than a week 　　7　　 my arrival in Manila, I was already carpeted with a 　　8　　 of mosquito bites．I took many measures to keep myself from being 　　9　　, but they all proved useless．

　　Late one 　　10　　 in my cousin’s home, I couldn’t bear the 　　11　　 of the bites．Hoping to find some comfort, I 　　12　　 my cousin, who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine．Unhappy for being 　　13　　she said, “There is nothing you can do．Go back to sleep．” With a few turns, she slept again．Enviously(妒忌地)　　14　　 her sleep, I hoped a big mosquito would 　　15　　 on her face．However, the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly, never biting her．Amazed(惊奇的), I ran to others’ 　　16　　, only to find they were all sleeping 　　17　　 as the same thing occurred again and again．

　　From those bites, I came to 　　18　　 my grandma’s silly tale．From then on, I’ve always tried to keep a(n)　　19　　 mind about those strange old wives’ tales 　　20　　 they do have some truth to them．

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　　Mr．Gray traveled a lot on business．He sold machines of various kinds to farmers．It was not really a very 　　1　　 job, but Mr．Gray had always been interested in 　　2　　, and he was quite satisfied with his life．

　　He had a big car, and usually 　　3　　 driving it long distances, but he was also quite 　　4　　 to go by train sometimes too－especially when the weather was 　　5　　．He was a little frightened of driving in rain or snow, and it was less tiring to 　　6　　 comfortably in a train and look out of the windows without being worried about 　　7　　 one was going to get to the next place．

　　One of Mr．Gray’s problems was often where to 　　8　　 when he reached some small place in the country．He did not expect much 　　9　　, but he found it annoying when he was given a cold room 　　10　　 a long and tiring day．

　　One winter evening, Mr．Gray arrived at a 　　11　　 railway station．The journey by train that day had not been at all 　　12　　, and Mr．Gray was cold and tired and 　　13　　．He was looking forward to a simple but satisfying meal by a brightly burning 　　14　　, and then a hot bath and a bed．

　　While he was walking to the taxi stand, he said to a local man, “　　15　　 this is my first visit here and I was in too much of a 　　16　　 to find out about hotels before I left home, I would very much like to know 　　17　　 you have here．

　　The local man answered, “We have two．”

　　“And which of the two would you 　　18　　 me to go to?” Mr．Gray asked then．

　　The local man thought for a few moments and then answered．“Well, it’s 　　19　　 this; whichever one you go to, you’ll be 　　20　　 you didn’t go to the other．”

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　　Life is filled with challenges．As we get older we 　　1　　 realize that those challenges to the very things that 　　2　　 us and make us who we are．It is the same with the challenges that come with 　　3　　．

　　When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two 　　4　　．We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing 　　5　　 the challenge isn’t worth the 　　6　　 and call it quits．Although there are certainly 　　7　　 when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most 　　8　　 all that is needed is 　　9　　and communication．

　　When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how 　　10　　 or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to 　　11　　 it and work it through instead of running away from it．Communication is making a 　　12　　 for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong．　　13　　 you can say to a friend, “I got my feelings hurt．” 　　14　　“You hurt my feelings,” you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster．

　　In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for 　　15　　 they are：small hurdles you need to jump or 　　16　　 on your way through life．Nothing is so big that it is 　　17　　 to get over, and hurt only 　　18　　 to make us stronger．It is all part of growing up, it 　　19　　 to everyone, and some day you will 　　20　　 all of this and say, “Hard as it was, it made me who I am today．And that’s a good thing．”

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　　This week a housewife brought a case(诉状)against the travel agency(旅行社)where she had worked, 　　1　　 that she had been wrongly dismissed．She suddenly became an unsatisfactory employee－because she 　　2　　 that she was 　　3　　 to marry the assistant manager! She was sacked(解雇)　　4　　 her wedding(婚礼)．

　　Instead of disapproving of 　　5　　 the travel agents had done, the press has, 　　6　　, taken a surprised, even sympathetic(同情的)attitude towards them．They seem to suppose that there is a real dilemma(左右为难)．And 　　7　　 many companies．A spokesman for one big firm declared, “Many couples are in the same department, but we 　　8　　 discourage them from working side by side．”

　　When I first joined BBC Radio 　　9　　 a studio(演播室)manager, I 　　10　　 not to work in the Drama Department, where my husband already had an established position．I asked 　　11　　, and was told it would be unfortunate if a wife were promoted over a husband! Times has changed－but 　　12　　．Today I think it would be felt that colleagues might not like it in case the couple plotted(密谋)together in some way, or caused people to feel uncomfortably with their family quarrels．

　　　　13　　 point of view is ridiculous．Husbands and wives who work together have a real contribution to make．They can take work home more happily, work overtime, and support and encourage 　　14　　 in their careers．　　15　　 the fear of their plotting together, this sort of thing is already common in most places where people work．

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　　One man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her．He waited 　　1　　 for 15 minutes．Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more．After that, he became 　　2　　．When he saw a photograph booth(照相亭)nearby, he had 　　3　　．He wore the most unhappy expression he could manage, which was not 　　4　　 in the situation．In a few moments, he was holding four small prints that 　　5　　 even him．

　　He wrote his wife’s name on the back of the photos and handed them to a 　　6　　 behind the desk in the booth．“　　7　　 you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, obviously 　　8　　 someone, would you please give her this?” he said．He then 　　9　　 his office in Morrison Building, 　　10　　 that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then the four photos must be a good 　　11　　! He sat down with a smile．

　　His wife 　　12　　 those pictures．She carries them in her purse now and shows them to anyone who asks if she is married…

　　How are you with 　　13　　?One person calls it “wait training．” It seems that there is always something we are 　　14　　．We wait on traffic and we wait in lines．We wait to hear about a new job．We wait to complete school．We wait for someone to change his or her mind．

　　Patience is an important 　　15　　 of a happy and rewarding life．　　16　　, some things are worth waiting for．　　17　　 presents many opportunities for wait training．

　　We can hate waiting, 　　18　　 it or even get good at it! But one thing is 　　19　　－we cannot avoid it．How is your 　　20　　 coming along?

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　　One night I was sitting in my kitchen half-listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy antagonized(招惹)my 12-year-old brother Kevin．I didn’t pay attention when Kevin 　　1　　 up the stairs with the hurt on his face．

　　About 20 minutes later, I heard Kevin crying inside the 　　2　　．I knocked on the door and asked, “Hey, Kev, do you want a talk?” No response．So, I grabbed some index(索引)cards and a pencil and wrote, “If you don’t want to 　　3　　, we can write notes to each other．”

　　An hour later I was still 　　4　　 on the floor outside the bathroom with two piles of index cards in front of me．One was 　　5　　 and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his unpleasant feelings into words．　　6　　 I read one Kevin’s notes, tears came to my eyes．It said, “　　7　　 in this family cares about me．I’m not the youngest, and I’m not the oldest, and I’m not 　　8　　．Tommy thinks I can do nothing and Dad 　　9　　 he had the other Kevin as a(n)　　10　　 because he’s better at basketball．And you’re never around to even 　　11　　 me．”

　　It was 　　12　　 what he had said about me．I wrote back “I really do love you and I’m　　13　　 I don’t always show it．I am here for you and you are 　　14　　 in this family．”

　　There was no 　　15　　 for a while, but then I heard a 　　16　　 sound coming from inside the bathroom．Kevin, who had 　　17　　 cards wrote on a torn-up paper cup, “Thanks．”

　　Since then, I try my best to never 　　18　　 half-notice my family members anymore．Kevin and I have a closer 　　19　　 now, and sometimes when one of us notices that the other is 　　20　　，we’ll smile and say “Write it on a paper cup．”

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　　I did very badly at school．My headmaster thought I was 　　1　　 and when I was 14 he said, “You’re never going to be 　　2　　 but a failure．”

　　After five years of 　　3　　 jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl．It was the best 　　4　　 that could have happened to me．I 　　5　　 I wanted to do something positive with my life because I wanted to prove to 　　6　　 that what people said about me was 　　7　　．Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let’s 　　8　　 it, you’ve failed at everything you’ve done．” So I tried hard with my 　　9　　 and went to college．My first novel 　　10　　 while I was at college．

　　After college I taught during the 　　11　　 in high schools and attended evening class at London University, where I got a 　　12　　 in history．I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of 　　13　　 that job to write full time when I was 　　14　　 a part-time job at Leeds University．I began to feel 　　15　　 of myself－here was a working-class boy who’d 　　16　　 school early, now teaching at the university．

　　My writing career 　　17　　 when I discovered my own style．Now I’m rich and 　　18　　, have been on TV, and met lots of film stars．But what does it mean? I 　　19　　 wish all the people that have put me down had 　　20　　, “I believe in you．You’ll succeed．”