A couple of years ago I graduated from art school. After graduation I was unsure of what to do with my degree. I had majored in Illustration（插画专业）and loved it，but didn't really feel interested in doing illustrations for any companies. This left me with few options other than freelance（自由职业的）jobs and nannying.

I spent two years working as a nanny doing freelance illustrations on the side. It just wasn't quite enough to pay rent, but I loved it, so I worked well over 50 hours a week, trying to keep up with both.

Just under a year ago I went to a friend's wedding. I couldn't think of a gift for them and really didn't have a lot of money to spare so I used my talents to create a portrait for them. It wasn't much, but I hoped it would be a good gift. When I handed the portrait to them and they unwrapped it, the looks on their faces were something I did not expect. There were joyful tears in their eyes as they cried, "That's us! This is so beautiful!"

It's funny because when I was in art school portraits were always my least favourite assignment. I hated drawing people and was always so much more interested in drawing little furry creatures. Once I saw the looks on my friends' faces after giving them their portrait, it was all over. I suddenly loved portraits and wanted to do more.

I now take portraits to every wedding I go to and have given them as gifts to the families I nannied for. Every time the reaction makes all of the hard work and time I put into them so worth it.

I' ve just started offering couple, family and pet portraits as an item on my Etsy shop.

   Marvin, a friend of mine, was the kind of guy who was always happy and had something positive to say. Being a natural motivator, Marvin was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation whenever he or she was having a bad day.

Several months ago in his restaurant, Marvin was held at gunpoint by four armed robbers. They panicked and shot him. Luckily, Marvin was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local hospital. After 18 hours of the operation and weeks of medical care, Marvin recovered with pieces of the bullets（子弹）still in his body.

It is really a miracle（奇迹）for Marvin's surviving the robbery. When I met Marvin after the terrifying accident, I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. Marvin replied,“As I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices:I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I refused to choose to die. ”Marvin continued,“The nurses kept telling me that I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and from the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses,I read,‘He's a dead man. 'I knew I needed to take action. ”“What did you do?”I asked. “Well,there was a big nurse shouting questions at me ,”said Marvin. “She asked if I was allergic（过敏的）to anything. ‘Yes,’I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,‘Bullets. ’Over their laughter I told them,‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as  if I am alive,not dead. ?’”

“Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining,I can choose to accept their complaining or to point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life,”Marvin concluded.

Smith lived above the McKays. Being a keen gardener and a fish collector，Smith sent water over his 【小题1】 every day. He used too much water，which 【小题2】 on the McKay's.

One Saturday evening，when the McKays were celebrating James McKay's birthday on the balcony，Smith 【小题3】 his tank over his balcony and both the McKays and the cake were wet through. James Mckay，who was a retired 【小题4】，was so angry that he went up 【小题5】 After hitting Smith over the head，he 【小题6】 Luckily，Smith promised to change his ways. And 【小题7】，James enjoyed the most exciting birthday 【小题8】 by a crowd of supporters as he left the police station.

   Even though we are probably not aware of it， on our path. through life， we are setting goals all the time. However， many things will not only depend on how firmly we set a' goal， but how _______ we act in achieving it.

A story shows how smart acting can turn a seemingly _______ crisis （危机） into a（n）_______ . During Roosevelt's third campaign for president ，millions of leaflets （传单） with the president's campaign speech were _______ . People who had no chance to see and hear Roosevelt live would be able to _______ it， hopefully like it and _______ him. Of course，his picture was on the front page. Too _______ no one had noticed that under the picture was a tiny but _______  name， George Moffet， who had taken the picture.

By law， Moffet would have had to be. asked for the right to _______ this picture. As the campaign managers

had. ________ to do so， the choices looked hard：either burn the millions of leaflets，________ losing the campaign and pay the high price to print new leaflets with a ________ picture， or ask Moffet's permission（许可）. Both choices seemed ________. What could they do?

It was the campaign boss George Pekins who ________ the tables. He sent a telegram to Moffet with a great ________ telling him that Mr. Roosevelt's campaign team was planning to print millions of leaflets with Mr. Roosevelt's ________ . It would for sure be a great ________ for the photo studio. How much would he bewilling to ________ for using it?

Moffet said he would pay $ 210. Roosevelt's campaign boss ________ . So， a hard problem was solved wisely. The ________ ? Think of things in different ways.