Like most people these days，I can't imagine life without e-mail. But there's something about a letter，something more personal，more meaningful.

During my freshman year of college I was _____ . I loved to sing，and I was cast as the lead in the fresh play. The _____ didn't allow much time for studying，and then there were _____ to make and parties to go to. _____ my straight A average in high school，I didn't have good study habits. My first college report card _____ it. I sat on my dorm-room bed，staring at C's and D's.

I knew my parents had gotten a copy of my _____. My mother was an advocate for women's education. My dad ran his own business and was a leader of the community. They'd been so _____ I was following in their footsteps. I could have called home，but long-distance calls were expensive then. _____ ，telling my parents“I'm so sorry I've disappointed you”hardly seemed _____ .

I got two letters from the student union. My dad's letter was typed on his business paper. I could hear his voice，quiet，______ and kind.“I understand you are struggling. We have all been there. We all fail sometimes. We ______ ourselves and our family. ______ those who deserve to be at the top, when they fail, get right back up to the top again. And I know you will.”Dad wasn't ______ of me. He believed I could succeed. If only I had believed in myself as he did!

Then I opened the envelope from Mom. As I read, the miles between us disappeared and her words went straight to my _____ “I suspect you are ______ burdens. Perhaps you feel guilty about ______ that you are not proud of. This is the time when everything we' ve taught you — persistence, forgiveness and diligence — will ______ .”

I did, often. College got much better. My grades ______ . I joined a group that sang at dinners and concerts.

A letter can change the ______ . The message is simple and true: letters can touch our lives mysteriously and ______ .

Six-year-old Ismail Zulfic was born with no arms and used to be scary of going into the water after incident in a pool. So that changed when the little boy met Amel Kapo. He set up a local swimming club after noticing what disabled kids struggled to swim in pools for lack of special equipments for them. Kapo taught Zulfic to swim. Zulfic was able to swim well after a little months of practice. He even won for a gold medal in a local swimming competition for disabled people，finish well ahead of other swimmers.

This butterfly without wings showed that desire, will and perseverance are things that real pay off.

Mike is a specialist in algebra and geometry. His only recreation is 【小题1】 (science) and technical inventions. He has published many articles in many famous journals and won several patents.

One day, he was invited to a seminar held by 【小题2】 enterprise. The participants were from all walks of life, 【小题3】 (include) officials, software programmers and futurologists.

Shortly after the seminar began, many issues were put forward, such as 【小题4】 (starve) in African countries, race discrimination in America and the conflicts in the Mid East. Permanent peace, 【小题5】 (equal) and happiness were what all the people wished for. Meanwhile, some digital 【小题6】 electronic products were presented.

Finally, Mike declared that he brought two new inventions. One was a kind of liquid 【小题7】 could remove stains on garments quickly; the other was a kind of material that could deal with poisonous chemicals in rivers. He was very outspoken. He said that pollution was very serious worldwide and that if we permitted the situation to go on, the outcome 【小题8】 (be) hard to imagine.

The organisation also encouraged people 【小题9】 (invest) money in poor countries. After the seminar, all the participants got some beautiful 【小题10】 (souvenir).

   When my son Rob came home from school in tears，he told us two older kids had beaten him up. Rob wanted to stay home from school so he wouldn't have to meet the boys in the future.

We called the school. “We'll be happy to call the boys' parents,”we were told.“And you should call the police.”

The next day was Saturday. Rob happened to look out the window and said in alarm,“There are the boys who beat me up!”Two older boys were standing in front of our house, as if they were waiting for Rob to step outside.

I immediately began to think of what I wanted to say to them, but my wife Bev acted first. She opened the door and said with a smile,“Hi, guys. Would you like some ice cream?”

They looked at each other in puzzlement. But they were children, after all, so they shrugged their shoulders and one of them said,“Sure. Why not?”

They followed her indoors and Bev introduced herself, Rob's younger brother Tony and me. She even introduced the dog Rusty. “And I think you already know Rob,”she said, pointing to our son. Her idea was to help them to see that Rob was a person, not a target. He had a family, he lived in a neighborhood and he even owned a friendly dog.

Bev drew the boys into a conversation while we ate ice cream. She said,“I know there's been some trouble. I think there may be a misunderstanding.”They nodded.

“Rob wants to be your friend,”she continued.“Maybe we can talk about the misunderstanding so you can all be friends.”

They nodded their heads in agreement and we talked. Eventually the boys apologized and said there would be no more trouble.

The headmaster of the school called back the following week and asked about the fighting. “Did you call the police?”he asked.

“No, but we've taken care of it,”I said.

“What did you do?”he wondered.

“We fed them ice cream.”