In this modern world, we rush around all day, doing things, talking, emailing, sending and reading messages. We are always on, always connected, always thinking, always talking. There is no ___1___ for stillness.
And when we are ___2 ___to be still because we’re in line for something, or waiting at a doctor’s appointment, or on a bus or train, we often ___3 ___something to do. Some will play with mobile devices, others will read something. Being still isn’t something we’re ___4___.
This comes at a ___ 5___: we lose that time for ___6__, for observing and listening. We lose peace.
And ___7___ yet: sometimes too much action is worse than no action at all. You can run around crazily, but get ___ 8___done.
Take a moment to think about ___9__ you spend your days. Are you constantly rushing around? Are you constantly reading and answering ___10 ___, checking on the news and the latest stream of information? Are you always ___11___through your schedule?
Is this how you want to spend your ___12___? If so, peace be with you. If not, take a moment to be ___13___. Don’t think about what you have to do, or what you’ve done already. ___14___be in the moment.
Then after a minute or two of doing that, consider your life, and how you’d ___15___ it to be. See your life with less movement, less doing, less rushing. See it with more stillness, more consideration, more ___16___.
Then be that vision.
It’s pretty simple: all you have to do is sit still for a little bit each day. ___17___you’ve gotten used to that, try doing less each day. Breathe when you feel yourself moving too___18___. Slow down. Be present. Find happiness now, in this moment, instead of ___19___ for it.
___20 ___ the stillness. It’s a treasure, and it’s available to us, always.

Surfing: It’s Not Just for Boys Anymore
If you asked high school girls to name their favorite sports, most would probably say basketball or volleyball. I happen to be one of the few girls who would   36 : surfing. But isn’t that a boy thing? Some people   37 . Most certainly not.
I started surfing about five years ago and fell in love with the sport on the  38  first day. Riding that first   39  was the best feeling I had ever experienced.
When I try to   40  surfing with other things, I find it very difficult because, in my   41 , there’s nothing like it. It involves body,   42 , and soul. There’s sand between my toes and cool, salt water all   43  us. The feeling I get when I’m surfing across that   44 , becoming one with the   45 , is like I’m weightless.
The one thing I can   46  from surfing and not any other sport is endless challenge. You can never be the “best surfer” because the ocean   47  an uncountable variety of waves that nobody can ever master. The variations of surfing styles are wonderful. Some surfers are free and lowing; others are very aggressive (活跃有力的) and   48 . All of these things attract me to surfing and make it   49  from any other sport.
I’ve   50  to tell every girl I know to do something that people don’t think girls can do. It’s part of being human to advance to new   51 , so shouldn’t it be expected that girls should step up and start   52  the limits of things boys and men used to dominate (主宰)?
There’re women   53  side by side with the President of our country, so why not side by side with the boys   54  the football team or out in the water surfing? Give girls a chance to   55  , and they will.

I’d been proud that I’d never lost my cellphone until my husband Jack got a call one evening.
We went to visit a friend in hospital last year. When Jack’s  36  rang, it was my mother calling from my  37 .  She asked if I had 38  my mobile. I checked my purse. It was  39 !
I used Jack’s phone to call my number. Then a boy, whom I’ll call Rhys,  40  it. “I found your phone!” he said, excitedly. “I have been trying to find you, but  41  it was getting late, I decided to leave.”  He gave me the address of a  42  near his home.
Later that evening, I went to  43  him there. I didn’t dare to go  44  , worrying this was some cheater. So Jack came along. After 45  10 km, we got to the coffee shop which Rhys  46 .
My 47 were gone. Rhys was just a young boy. “How did you  48  my mum?” I asked. He  49 that when he found my mobile by the roadside, he started calling people in my list of contacts (联系人）. But all they  50  was my mobile phone number----- which didn’t _51.  He’d called many names, starting with the letter A. Finally he got Adam, one of my friends, who 52 my house.
I was  53  to get my phone back with all the contacts, messages and photos I could have lost for ever. I was so 54  to Rhys and offered him some money, but he  55  .
As we drove back, we praised Rhys for his honesty.

I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13 . My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to EL Capitan, a  36  rock of 3,300 feet straight up. I touched that giant rock and knew  37  I wanted to climb it. That has been my life’s passion ever since— 38  the rocks and mountains of Yosemite. I’ve long made Yosemite my  39 .
About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of  40 , like toilet paper, beer cans, and empty boxes, around the area. It’s  41  me why visitors started respecting the place 42  and treated such a beautiful home-like place this way.
I tried  43 trash myself, but the job was too big. I would  44  an hour or two on the job, only to find the area trashed all over again weeks later. Finally, I got so  45  it that I decided something had to change.
As a rock-climbing guide, I knew  46  about organizing any big event. But in 2004, together with some climbers, I set a date for a  47 . On that day, more than 300 people  48 . Over three days we collected about 6,000 pounds of trash. It was amazing how much we were able to  49 . I couldn’t believe the  50  we made —the park looked clean!
Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and  51  132 miles of roadway.
I often hear people  52  about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I would say the only way to change things is by  53  rather than complaining. We need to teach by  54 . You can’t blame others  55  you start with yourself.

Good afternoon, everyone,
I’d like to introduce my friend Christy to you all. Christy is a great example of how one person with 1   can make her dream a reality, so she should win the Student of the Year Award.
Christy loves to ride bikes. She does not just ride along city streets, 2   . She is interested in 3    trail (小路) rides. 4    Christy knew that people who love riding had to travel 5   the city to locate good bike trails, so she 6   to do something.
Christy knew that Roosevelt Park had a clean, lively creek（小溪）7   through it. 12 miles of land around the creek was 8   used. Christy decided to get together with other trail9  to ask the city council to 10  a bike path along the unused land. Christy   11  a petition (请愿书). She and other riders asked all of their biking friends if they would12   the list, and they gathered 300 signatures. The city council evaluated the 13   and, more 14  , agreed to allow the bike trail.
The 15   took two months of work, and now Roosevelt Park has a 16   bike trail. It has many ups and downs; it is a great ride. This trail is becoming one of the community’s important 17   spots. I can’t 18   with Christy when we ride together, but I am glad that she decided to work hard to begin the 19     of the Roosevelt Park bike path. Christy 20   this award because she acted on her dream, causing a community to come together.
Thank you!

Perhaps what we like most about the successful man who has a sense of humor is that he doesn't seem to take himself too 36 . The average person expects the man in a powerful   37  to be too vain and self-centered. “Walt Dizzy is just a plain, ordinary guy. It's absolutely amazing,” Harvey tells his friends, “He's really not different from any one of us. Boy, I'll tell you, success didn't spoil him.”   38 it was Walt Dizzy's aptitude for making the people around him feel 39  that relaxed everyone who met him and gave people the impression that he’s “one of the boys’’.
It's always a surprise and a   40  when people discover that successful individuals are basically not different from anyone else. The majority of people   41   highly successful men and women to be very solemn and earnest because they   42 such big decisions. An executive who has a relaxed   43   and good sense of humor leaves a favorable impression. You've undoubtedly often heard someone say,  44   discussing one of these tycoons(大人物), “I can identify with him.” The party who makes the remark has absolutely    45  in common with the tycoons, but the    46  atmosphere, not the man himself, becomes the means of identification.
Greeting someone  47   whom you are about to do business with a warm smile is the best way to introduce yourself. People can't  48   immediately liking such an individual. He seems humble, and they're impressed with his informal manner. They notice his “human side,” and he   49   them over at once. People want to cooperate with this kind of man. A   50   first meeting sets the stage beautifully for the formal discussions.
On the other hand, there's the humorless, dull type who turns you completely   51   .Stanley Shtick, president of a large food company, is a good   52 . “He is the coldest fish I’ve  53    met,” says Zelda Zoftik, “You would think he was the King of England, the way he acts,” she  54  . “The longer it is before I meet with him again, the   55  .”

I was sitting in the surgical waiting area at the hospital waiting for word of my wife's operation. The small room was filled with other families and friends, who were ___36___ waiting to hear how their loved ones were doing.
There was a young boy sitting quietly in the ___37___ . He held a small box of ___38___ in one hand and a tablet(写字板) in the other. Every so often he'd place the tablet on his lap and draw something. As the hours passed I began to see the room almost ___39___ . And there was a strange silence.
"Daddy, when is Mommy going home?" the young boy asked, breaking the ___40___.
"Tomorrow." his father replied. The boy picked up his crayons and ___41___ something on the tablet.
I ___42___ him as he moved his feet back and forth, looking up at the ceiling and then toward the sunshine-filled window. "When's ___43___, Daddy?" he asked. His father ___44___ him over to sit by him. "Come, ___45___ here next to me," he said with a gentle tone in his voice.
___46___ his things, the little boy walked slowly to his father's side from the corner.The man ___47___ out and held his son by his shoulder.
"There are three days in life. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. One is over and done, one we live in, the other we ___48___ . We can't live in yesterday, but if we are happy enough today, we will be even happier tomorrow," he said in an attempt to ___49___ the boy.
The little boy looked at him for a moment and said, "If Mommy is going home tomorrow, I'll be ___50___. So, I want it to be tomorrow already, Daddy."
Now hanging on every word of this ___51___ , I leaned forward to hear his response. It was ___52___.
"Son, the one great thing about today is once it ___53___, it is already almost tomorrow."
I thought about how ___54___ it was. Even in my adult life, I still live waiting for what tomorrow may ___55___. Now I know that it is already "almost tomorrow".

One year ago, I traveled 15,000 kilometers from Australia to the US. I am from a beachside town in the   16  of Sydney, and thought there would be almost no   17  differences between my home country and my 18  . I was surprised at how wrong I was, and at  19  different the two countries could be.
The United States is   20  in almost every aspect. The buildings are gigantic (巨大的) and so are the people who   21  and work in them. At mealtimes, the portions (份额) often   22  to me to be big enough for three or four people. I once   23  a baked potato which turned out to be bigger than my head! This was a big   24  for me.
The longer I spent in the US, the more I started to   25  smaller differences like the culture of   26  in restaurants. In Australia we don’t tend to give a tip   27  the service has been really excellent. In the US you tip for   28  everything, even at the hairdresser. Waiters and shop assistants   29  to be given 15 percent of the bill, although in places   30 New York or Washington DC, a tip can be as much as 20 percent.
  31 , I also became more wary (谨慎的) of believing the stereotypes (成见) I had heard at home as I traveled. Not all Americans are ignorant of geography, for example.
Despite this, certain stereotypes about places did seem to   32  true for me. There is an immense (强烈的) sense of speed in New York. Everyone   33  to and fro, and very seldom takes time to   34  the moment. This is very different from the Australian lifestyle. Australians are laid back. Even in a major city like Sydney, we “Aussies” take time to “stop and smell the roses”---very different from our American counterparts.
Navigating (驾驭) the culture divide between Australia and the US was challenging at times. But I took up that   35  and learned a lot from it. It was an adventure.

I grew up in a small town and the main entertainment was Friday night high school football. It was just a sleepy little town where parents wanted to raise their children away from  36_  and danger of a big city, and where teenagers like me _37_ leaving to find something bigger and better.
All that  38 _ one summer night. My friend Lisa, Kim and Tyler held a party for my eighteenth birthday at Lisa’s house. As they kept  _39_ alcohol to me, I was pretty drunk. I asked Tyler to take me home. With some 40 _ , we made it out to his car and drove home. News came next morning. Kim, my friend   41__ we were five years old, was killed in a car accident. That night after Tyler and I left, Kim, who was _42__ more drunk than me, got into her car and  43_  towards the highway to go home, She was driving on the wrong side of the road and never saw the truck coming. The driver didn’t see her  _44_ to avoid the car. They hit head on. Kim died immediately, and the driver was thrown  45_ the truck windshield(挡风玻璃)and died a week later.
Whenever I  46_ back on that day, I can’t help thinking that it was my  47 to drink so much that night, otherwise things would be different. I know Kim  48_ the choice to drink and drive that night , but a part of me will always feel  49 _for what happened.
I may not change the  50_ with my story, but I do hope that I can make people 51 the responsibility that they have to themselves and others by  52 it. Don’t ever think that your choices are yours  __53 .Every choice is like a stone dropped into  54  water-each ripple(波纹)represents someone who your choice  55 . That’s quite an influence, isn’t it?

Most people have no idea of the hard work and worry that go into the collecting of those interesting birds and animals that they pay to see in the zoo. One of the questions that is always asked of me is 36  I became an animal collector in the first 37  .The answer is that I have always been interested in animals and zoos. According to my parents, the first word I was able to say with any 38    was not the traditional “mamma” or “daddy”,39   the word “zoo”, which I would 40  over and over again with a exciting 41   until someone, in groups to 42  me up, would take me to the zoo. When I 43  a little older, we lived in Greece and I had a great 44 of pets, ranging from owls(鹰) to seahorses, and I spent all my spare time 45the countryside in search of fresh specimens to 46  to my collection of pets.
47 on I went for a year to the City Zoo, as a student 48  , to get experience of the large animals, such as lions, bears, bison and ostriches,49  were not easy to keep at home. When I left, I 50  had enough money of my own to be able to 51  my first trip and I have been going 52  ever since then. Though a collector's job is not an easy one and is full of  53  ,it is certainly a job which will appeal 54  all those who love animals and 55 .