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　　School was over and I was mentally and physically tired．I sat at the very front of the bus because of my 　　1　　 to get home．Sitting at the front makes you 　　2　　 out like a shiny coin in a pile of dull pennies．

　　Janie, the driver, tried to break the 　　3　　 atmosphere by striking the match of 　　4　　．I tried to mind my manners and 　　5　　 listen, but usually I was too busy thinking about my day．On this day, 　　6　　, her conversation was worth listening to．

　　“My father's sick”, she said to no one in 　　7　　．I could see the anxiety and fear in her eyes．With a sudden change of attitude and interest, I asked,“What's wrong with him?”

　　With her eyes wet and her voice tight from 　　8　　 the tears, she responded,“Heart trouble…”Her eyes lowered as she 　　9　　．“I've already lost my mum, so I don't think I can stand losing him．”

　　I couldn't respond．I was 　　10　　．My heart ached for her．I sat on the old, smelly seat thinking of the great 　　11　　 my own mother was thrown into when my father died．I saw how hard it was, 　　12　　 still is, for her, I wouldn't like anyone to go 　　13　　 that．

　　Suddenly I realized Janie wasn't only a bus driver．That was 　　14　　 her job．She had a whole world of family and concerns too．I had never thought of her as 　　15　　 but a driver．

　　I suddenly felt very 　　16　　．I realized I had only thought of people as 　　17　　 as what their purposes were in my life．I paid no attention to Janie because she was a bus driver．I had judged her by her job and brushed her off as 　　18　　．

　　For all I know, I'm just another person in 　　19　　 else's world, and may not even be important．I 　　20　　 not have been so selfish and self-centered．Everyone has places to go, people to see and appointments to keep．Understanding people is an art．

　　After the First World War, a small group of old soldiers returned to their village in Britain．Most of them managed to 　　1　　 fairly well, but one-Francis Binstering, who had been wounded and never recovered his 　　2　　－was unable to work regularly．　　3　　 he became very poor．Yet he was too 　　4　　 to accept anything from the people in the village．

　　Once these old soldiers held a reunion dinner in the home of Jules Grandin, who had made 　　5　　 money．Grandin produced a curiosity(稀奇的东西)－a large old 　　6　　 coin．Each man examined it with 　　7　　 as it passed around the long table．All, 　　8　　, had drunk wine freely and the room was full of noisy talk, 　　9　　 the gold piece was soon forgotten．Later, when Grandin 　　10　　 it and asked for it, the coin was gone．

　　One of them suggested everyone be searched, 　　11　　 which all agreed, except Blustering．“You 　　12　　, then?” asked Grandin．Blustering said with a red face, “Yes, I cannot allow it．”

　　One by one, the others turned out their pockets．When the coin was 　　13　　 to appear, attention was ?focused? on poor Blustering．Under the 　　14　　 stares of his friends, he walked out and returned to his home．

　　A few years later, Grandin had his house repaired．A workman found the gold coin．　　15　　 in dirt between planks(板)of the floor．Hurrying to Blustering’s home, Grandin apologized to him．

　　“But why didn’t you allow yourself to be 　　16　　?” Grandin asked．

　　“Because I was a 　　17　　,” Blustering said brokenly．“For weeks we had not enough to eat and my pockets were full of 　　18　　, that I had taken from the table to 　　19　　 home to my wife and 　　20　　 children．”

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　　When I was a teenager, my dad did everything he could do to advise me against becoming a brewer(造酒人)．He’d 　　1　　 his life brewing beer for local breweries only to make a living, 　　2　　 had his father and grandfather before him．He didn’t want me 　　3　　 near a vat(酿酒用的桶)of beer．So I did as he asked．I got good 　　4　　, went to Harvard and in 1971 was accepted into a graduate program there that 　　5　　 me to study law and business at the same time．

　　In my second year of graduate school, I began to realize that I’d 　　6　　 done anything but go to school．So, at 24 I decided to drop out．　　7　　, my parents didn’t think this was a great idea．But I felt strongly that you can’t 　　8　　 till you’re 65 to do what you want in life．

　　I packed my stuff into a bus and headed for Colorado to become an instructor at Outward Bound．Three years later, I was ready to go back to 　　9　　．I finished Harvard and got a highly-paid job at the Boston Consulting Group Still, after working there five years, I 　　10　　, “Is this what I want to be doing when I’m 50?” At that time, Americans spent good money on beer in 　　11　　 quality．Why not make good beer for 　　12　　? I thought．

　　I decided to give up my job to become 　　13　　．When I told Dad, he was 　　14　　, but in the end he 　　15　　 me．I called my beer Samuel Adams, 　　16　　 the brewer and patriot(爱国者)who helped to start the Boston Tea Party．　　17　　 I sold the beer direct to beer drinkers to get the 　　18　　 out．Six weeks later, at the Great American Beer Festival, Sam Adams Boston Lager(淡啤酒)won the top prize for American beer．In the end I was destined(注定)to be a brewer．My 　　19　　 to the young is simple：Life is very 　　20　　, so don’t rush to make decisions．Life doesn’t let you plan．