I was at the post office early that morning, hoping to be in and out in a short while. Yet, I _____ myself standing in a queue that went all the way into the hallway. I had never seen so many people there on a weekday. It seemed someone might have made an announcement, _____ customers to carry as many packages as they could and bring them in when I needed to have my own package _____. The queue moved very slowly. My patience ran out and I got _____. The longer it took, the angrier I became. When I got to the counter finally, I finished my _____ quickly and briefly, and then walked past the queue that was then extending past the front door.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying not to be too pushy. Several people had to move _____ to make room for me to get to the _____.

I stepped out, complaining about the _____ conditions. Thinking I was going to be late for my dentist appointment, I headed into the parking lot.

A woman was coming across the parking lot in my direction. She was walking with determination, and each step sounded very heavy. I _____ that she looked as if she breathed fire. It stopped me in my tracks. I ______ myself and it wasn’t pretty. Had I looked like that? Her body language said that she was having a ______ day. My anger melted away. I wished I could wrap her in a hug but I was a ______. So I did what I could in a minute ______ she hurried past me — I smiled. In a second everything changed. She was astonished, then somewhat ______. Then her face softened and her shoulders ______. I saw her take a deep breath. Her pace slowed and she ______ back at me as we passed each other.

I continued to smile all the way to my ______. Wow, it’s amazing what a simple smile can do.

From then on, I became aware of people’s ______ and my own, the way we show our feelings. Now I use that ______ every day to make me ______ that when facing the world, I can try a smile.

   Mary Verdi-Fletcher was born with spina bifida (脊柱裂), a disease that causes weakness in the legs and spine. Undiscouraged, she was not about to be told what she could or could not do. She believes that someone who is an artist is an artist from the day he or she is born. She dreamed of dancing and made up her mind to make her dream a reality. While still young, Verdi-Fletcher — dancing in her wheelchair — entered a dance competition with a friend. They won first prize. Later she won more competitions, refusing to listen to people who said to her “ You can’t dance if you’re in a wheelchair” or “ Dancing in a chair is not really dancing”.

However, Verdi-Fletcher was not pleased with personal success alone. She wanted to make dance available to others with disabilities. In 1980, she founded a dance company called Dancing Wheels Company. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Dancing Wheels Company performs all over the world. In productions like “ The Snowman”, sit-down dancers perform with stand-up dancers. Modern lighting designs, attractive sets (布景), wonderful music, and festive costuming draw audience into fairy tales and other stories.

In one show, a young stand-up dancer named Devin played “The Brother Who Cannot See” while a young sit-down dancer named Jenny performed the role of “ The Sister Who Cannot Walk” . It was a lovely way to express a theme Verdi-Fletcher has represented all through her life: We all have disabilities. Some disabilities may be more noticeable, but hard work and devotion to our dreams can make the seemingly impossible become a reality.

   A beautiful，young girl is smiling at me from a picture frame on my desk as I write this. She is my sponsored child from the Philippines and even though I have never met her _________ she has found a special place in my heart. It doesn't _________ me much to help her，about a dollar a day. _________，millions of people in this world live on _________. The joy that helping her gives me，however，is _________ price，which I never experienced in my life. It _________ me to her，to life，and to love.

I can _________ remember the first time that I decided to help a child _________. It was many years ago. I was only a teenager myself and for the first time in my life I had a little extra money each month. I didn't feel like _________ anything，though. We lost everything we had in a house fire a few years ago and going through that had __________ me a lot. I had learned that I didn't need a lot of "stuff" to be __________. I had also read a lot about the __________ of children in poor countries around the world. It seemed like a far better thing then to __________ what I could to help them. With my mom's love and support I soon found a few __________ like Children International that were serving others around the world. It felt so good being able to __________ and help another in need. It felt so good being able to make even one life better. I could feel the mercy and empathy（共鸣）growing within me and beginning to __________ me.

Empathy does change us. It makes us into better people with bigger __________ and a clearer view of life. It shows us that we truly are one __________ on Earth. It helps us to love, to be kind, and to make this world a __________ place.

Let your empathy grow then. Let your love grow. Let your heart grow bigger and bigger every __________ day.

   Hundreds of people have formed impressions of you through that little device (装置) on your desk. And they’ve never actually ____ you. Everything they know about you ____ through this device, sometimes from hundreds of miles away. ____ they feel they can know you ____ from the sound of your voice. That’s how powerful the ____ is.

Powerful, yes, but not always ____. For years I dealt with my travel agent only by phone. Rani, my faceless agent whom I’d never met ____, got me rock-bottom prices on airfares, cars, and hotels. But her cold voice really ____ me. I sometimes wished to ____ another agent.

Rushing out ____ I called out over my shoulder, ＂By the way, what’s your name?＂ ＂I’m Rani,＂ she said.  I turned around and saw a ____ woman with a big smile on her face waving to wish me a safe trip. I was ____! Why had I thought she was cold? Rani was, well, so ____.

Sitting back in the car on the way to the airport, I figured it all out. Rani’s ____ — her warm smile, her nods, her ‘I’m here for you’ ____ — were all silent signals that didn’t travel through wires.

   Two old beggars（乞丐）were sitting on a busy street corner of a big city. They watched _______ as a lot of people walked by without looking at them. Sometimes, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would _______ a few coins in the hats in front of them.

Today was not a _______ day for begging. The men were able to _______ enough for a big meal. As it was getting dark, they started to _______ their things.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, they _______ a man walking toward them. He was a _______ man—they could tell that from his fine clothes. The first beggar said to the second with _______, "He's coming our way！"The man stopped, _______ into his pocket and took something out. What looked like a piece of hard ________, wrapped（裹）in white paper, hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and ________ his way.

"He could have easily left us a few ________ or a bill, but he laughed at us with a piece of rock candy, " said the first beggar. He looked at the offering ________. "There's no way we can ________ this-we have no teeth. "With these words, he picked up the thing and threw it away. Then he collected his things and ________.

The second beggar wanted to do the same, ________ a second thought made him change his ________. "I haven't had anything like this for ages, "he thought. " How ________ of that man to offer me something so sweet！" With that, he opened the white paper. To his ________ there was no hard rock candy inside. ________, a shiny white pearl（珍珠）worth thousands of dollars fell into his hand.