I stole your dog. No, I didn"t set foot in your house, but from the condition of your dog, I can imagine what it looks like-the word "rubbish" comes to mind.
I found her along a road, with a heavy chain wrapped around her neck, still attached to rotten boards
from her doghouse. Not only did I know that most of the town"s people had already ignored her, judging
by the place where I found her, but I knew that if she had gotten into the woods, the "cross" that she
dragged behind her would have wrapped itself around a tree until starvation or thirst killed her.
She has a beautiful name now. Already in the first week she has come to look more like what she
should. Her eyes sparkle and she has learned to wag her tail in greeting. She has stopped flinching (畏缩) when I make a sudden movement, because she knows now that I won"t beat her. In fact, she rarely leaves my side. She"s even become brave enough to bark at a cat and today as I looked out of the window she
attempted to play with other dogs. No, it"s clear that she does not miss you or her former life on a chain.
It"s not clear yet whether she"ll remain here or whether I"ll find her a loving home where she can count
on more individual attention than I can give her, but one thing is certain, this is a bit of stolen "property"
which is never returning to you. So sue me, accuse me, and plead with the court that she is rightfully
yours... I"m convinced that this is the best "crime" I"ve ever committed. Hardly anything has pleased me
more than the day when I stole your dog. I need only look into her beautiful brown eyes to know that she"d defend my decision with her life. If we have one prayer, it is that you will not replace her, and if we have
one special day to celebrate together, it is the day I stole your dog and the day she stole my heart.
Tears clouded my eyes as I stood in our washing room, holding Brett"s jeans and shirt full of burn holes.
Tired and defeated, I __1__ to the floor. The clothes were just one more thing Brett had __2__.
He often got almost everything in the house out of __3__. Many windows in our house needed repair due to his breaking __4__ to steal money when he chose to live on the street. Yet none of this could
compare to the emotional __5__ Brett had done to our once quiet home.
Brett came to live with us when he was 12 years old. During the next few years I had dealt with Brett
as __6__ as possible, but inside I was shouting, "I don"t want him in my house another day, Lord! I just can"t __7__ him!" Having wiped my tears, I continued __8__ him as before.
When Brett was nearly 18, he landed again in Juvenile Hall (少管所). After that, my husband and I had to send Brett to a boarding school for helping __9__ teens.
At the __10__ ceremony, each graduate held a white rose to give to the person who had __11__
the most to him or her.
Brett spoke __12__ to his parents and then spoke to me, "You did so much. You were always
there, no matter __13__. My mom and dad, I am their kid. But you, __14__ troubled enough by me, always __15__ me such love. And I want you to know I love you for it."
__16__, I stood as Brett placed the white rose in my hand and hugged me __17__. At that moment,
tears __18__ in my eyes again, this time not for disappointment but for __19__. Although I had
struggled with silent __20__ toward my stepson, Brett had seen only my actions. Love is action. We
may not always have positive feelings about certain people in our life, but we can love them.
Albert Einstein is said to have been asked by a student, "what finding helped you most when you
were __1__ the theory of relativity?" Einstein replied without __2__ moment"s hesitation. "Finding
how to think about the problem."
The same __3__ is told about Sir Isaac Newton and __4__ other scientists. We have no proof
__5__ any of these well-known conversations __6__ took place, but we are prepared to believe
that they did, and, if so, that the __7__ was the same one Einstein gave, __8__ this is the "way
scientists work and science progresses."
Scientists usually work toward models of the process of structure they are studying. __9__ we
have models of the structure of the universe and of the atom, models of the process __10__ which
the genetic (遗传的) pattern is passed from one building block of life to _11__ models of the
economic system and __12__ on. Some models are mathematical, but a model does not have to
have equations (方程) or even diagrams; the __13__ requirement is no doubt that it _14__ an
insight (洞察) into the relationships that determine __15__ something works as it does or how it
is put together.