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.

In our life, everyone is surely to have difficulties. It is the same with me. I still remember how worried I am about my English learning three years ago. I had difficulty follow my teacher in the English class. With my classmates often laughing at me because of my poor English, I decided to do anything. Firstly, I took a part in the English Corner that I met many friends. They shared their methods of learning English with me. Beside, I also found it useful keep English diaries. What’s more, I talked with friends on the Internet and exchanged emails with English. As a result, I made great progresses in learning English.

   I was a paperboy — well actually, the first papergirl in Seattle. When I was 12, I took my way into a job delivering (投递) The Seattle Times. I remember the boss looking this _______ girl over and telling me I had a week to _______ I could do it.

So after school, I would _______ over to the hut down the street, pick up my bundles, lift them onto the back of my _______ and ride my route. Sunday morning papers were too _______ for me to carry. I tried, and it took me three hours to _______ them as I had to keep coming back to reload. So, my mother volunteered to get up at 5:30 am and drive me around. She _______ herself to my employment.

What I learned as a _______ was to find out where each of my customers wanted their papers. I didn’t just throw them on their lawn (草评)._______ they wanted papers on their porch, or mailbox or inside the gate, that was where they got them. When a ________ went out of town, he would tell me and I would make sure that the papers didn’t ________ up to attract thieves. In return, I got big ________.

Somewhere the paperboys are ________ by modern services. We put our orders into online forms that then tell a service that ________ a guy in a truck to throw the papers onto the lawn.

The people that run and own newspapers have the ________ to deliver news to us in a large number of forms, and we should be able to get it any way we want. We should be able to ________ for the form we want it ________, including how it is distributed. I would ________ pay to have a papergirl or paperboy deliver the ________ on the right day in the right way, and I would tip for that privilege.

Let’s bring back the paperboy and with it ________ employment for our children.

   I was one of the young US soldiers in Saudi Arabia. At one time before the Internet，our only lifeline to friends and family was the mail we sent and received.

One evening the mail soldier called my name and，instead of a letter，handed me a large box from my grandmother in Oklahoma. One of the great hardships of the war for me was the absence of my grandmother's cooking—her fried chicken and onion，corn bread，and，most of all，her desserts. But on that evening I was about to take a gastronomic（美食的） journey home: I opened the box and found two dozen pies made by my grandmother.

A man from New York approached and asked me what I had received. I couldn't answer；my mouth was full of pie. So I just offered him one. “So nice！”he said. “What are they？”He had to wait a few moments for an answer，but eventually I explained. As insurance，I offered him another pie to keep him quiet.

Once a day for the next three weeks，I imagined returning home to my grandmother's kitchen，if only I had had a few sweet bites at a time.

Some of my earliest memories are associated with my grandmother's pies. She had been baking pies since before the Great Depression. She would have astonished the judges on today's TV cooking challenges. I remember coming across a persimmon（柿子）tree once while out hiking. It was autumn，and the fruit was soft and sweet. I picked a few dozen and brought them to Grandma. Guess what！The next day I walked into her kitchen to find a persimmon pie waiting for me.