My wife Laura and I were on the beach, with three of our children, taking pictures of shore birds near our home in Alaska when we spotted a bear. The bear was thin and small, moving aimlessly.

Just a few minutes later, I heard my daughter shouting, "Dad! The bear is right behind us!" An aggressive bear will usually rush forward to frighten away its enemy but would suddenly stop at the last minute. This one was silent and its ears pinned back — the sign (迹象) of an animal that is going in for the kill. And it was a cold April day. The bear behaved abnormally, probably because of hunger.

I held my camera tripod (三脚架) in both hands to form a barrier as the bear rushed into me. Its huge head was level with my chest and shoulders, and the tripod stuck across its mouth. It bit down and I found myself supporting its weight. I knew I would not be able to hold it for long.

Even so, this was a fight I had to win: I was all that stood between the bear and my family, who would stand little chance of running faster than a brown bear.

The bear hit at the camera, cutting it off the tripod. I raised my left arm to protect my face; the beast held tightly on the tripod and pressed it into my side. My arm could not move, and I sensed that my bones were going to break.

Drawing back my free hand, I struck the bear as hard as I could for five or six times. The bear opened its mouth and I grasped its fur, trying to push it away. I was actually wrestling (扭打) with the bear at this point. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the fight ended. The bear moved back towards the forest, before returning for another attack — the first time I felt panic.

Apparently satisfied that we caused no further threat, the bear moved off, destroying a fence as it went. My arm was injured, but the outcome for us could hardly have been better. I'm proud that my family remained clear-headed when panic could have led to a very different outcome.

Challenges of life are of great important in our growth. It reminds me of my days which I joined in the military training after I entered senior high school. It was the first time I have lived away from my home, so I found difficult to fit in. And the training officer was strict on me. I once thought I couldn’t stick to the end. But final, I made it. The training made it much easy for me to adapt to my future life. And the difficulties I came across have now became a precious memory in my life.

In a short, it’s better to learning to regard the challenges of life as the stepping stone to future success and make the best of them.

   It was a Sunday morning. I got out of bed as quick as a bunny _____ it was the final of my soccer tournament. I got _____, ate the breakfast my mom had made for me and headed to the car. On my way, I wondered what it would be like to _____ the shiny gold medal in my hands. As I got closer, I saw my team _____ on the field, so once I finally got there, I started rushing towards them.

When the _____ was about to begin, I was already sweating like a pig because it was so _____. When both teams were on the field, the referee blew the whistle which was a _____ of the start of the game. As my teammates passed the _____ down the field, I heard the cheers from the parents in the bleachers (露天看台) _____. The score was zero to zero at half-time and I had a rest by drinking water to get ready for the second half. We ______ the second half but still couldn’t put the ball in the net. The game score was ______ at the end of the second half which meant that we had to go to extra time. Towards the end of extra time, the other team’s defender ______ one of my teammates, which ______ a free kick (任意球). I went up to take the kick. I shook with ______ as the ball went out of the net. It was the end of ______ time, which meant that we had to go to penalties (点球).

I went up to take the first penalty. I was ______ I would miss again, but once I ______ it, I was relaxed as I made it in the top left corner. The final ______ was 4-3 on penalties but we ______. After they gave me the silver medal, I went home and was happy that it was all over and that second place wasn’t that ______.

   Some years ago, I was hired by an American bank. I received a letter from the head of the Personnel Department that _______. "Dear John, I am quite pleased that you have decided to join us." That "quite" _______ me. I thought he was saying" We're _______ pleased you decided to join us although I _______ we had hired someone else. "Then I discovered that in American English "quite" sometimes means "very", _______ in British English it means "fairly".

So the _______ lesson about working in other countries is to _______ the language and by that I don't just _______ the words people speak. It contains _______ language, dress, manners, ideas and so on. The way people do things ________ many of the differences we see between cultures.

Some of these differences may be only on the surface-dress, food and hours of work-while ________ may be deeper and take longer to deal with. Mostly, it is just a question of getting used to the ________ and accepting them, like the climate, while we're getting on with business.

Some of the differences may be a（n）________. People are ________ polite; the service is better; you ask something to be done and it happens without having to ask again.________, other differences can be ________ punctuality（准时）.If you invite people to a party at 7 o'clock, your guests will consider it polite to ________ exactly on time in Germany, five minutes early in the American Midwest, an hour early in Japan, 15 minutes afterwards in the UK, up to an hour afterwards in Italy and some in the evening in Greece. I ________ not to use the word "late" because there is nothing wrong with the ________ people base their behavior on. It is simply ________ in their own country.

   I once stopped behind several cars，waiting at the red light. The wind blew fiercely. Ahead of me stood a young woman alongside the street rubbing her bare hands together and dancing to keep _______. Beside her rested a sign that read，“I have a baby and no _______.”

Homeless and unemployed people are a _______ sight in many of our large cities，and most people drive by without _______ assistance. No doubt they have been _______ that giving them money develops a dependent _______，or that the cash may be used to buy alcohol _______ the food it was intended for. Like me，they may have been taught that one should give money to a local charity，as these organizations can _______ those in need far more effectively.

As I waited for the light to tum green，I felt _______ about that woman. She was ________ in need. And whether or not she actually had a baby really didn't ________. What should I do？

Should I give her money？As I ________，the window of the car in front of me was ________ down and a hand reached out holding a pair of warm gloves. The driver ________ her own gloves and gave them to the woman. I saw the young woman ________ the words“Thank you”and a broad smile lit up her face.

As I hesitated，somebody else ________. As I tried to decide the best way to help，somebody else just did what she could. I made myself a（n）________ that day to always do something. Whether it is big or small，just do something.

Something is almost always better than nothing！Too often we underestimate（低估）the ________ of a touch，a smile，a kind word，a listening ear，or the smallest act of ________，all of which have the ________ to turn a life around.