Years ago, I celebrated my 40th with a large group of friends at a restaurant. As I stood on the sidewalk with my friends, a homeless man approached me and asked for money. I told him that I didn’t have any cash. He quietly smiled (56)_______ me, and moved on.
While (57)______ homeless man was still in earshot range, a friend who was just arriving called out, "Happy Birthday, Marc!" Upon (58)______ (hear) this, the man turned and asked, "Hey man, is it your Birthday?" "Yes, it is, " I said. He walked back to me, with a huge smile on his face, and said, ”Happy Birthday, man!”I was (59)______(co
mplete) unprepared for what happened next: the man reached into his pocket, pulled out a dollar bill, and gave it to me, saying, "Here man! Take this, Happy Birthday!"
Although I was deeply moved by this act of generosity, accepting money from a homeless man was not within my comfort zone, so my (60)______（respond）was, "Thanks! That's very nice of you, but that's OK. " The man looked directly into my eyes and said, "Please brother, please take this. I feel so good, (61)______ I always have a place (62)______(sleep) and enough food to eat." Finally, I reached out. He gave me the dollar, then held on for a moment and said," Thank you, brother!"
Needless to say, that experience (63)______（leave）me feeling like I had gained far more than $1! This was one of my (64)______(great）life lessons showing that the essence（本质）of who we are is never defined by our human circumstances, and no matter (65)______ bad we may feel, we always have something of value to share with others.