I was travelling on an overnight bus. The bus — an ordinary, non-air-conditioned one — was more than packed. The passengers seated comfortably by the windows wore happy expressions as they 1 outside world. The people seated by the aisle (过道) cursed (诅咒) the standing ones, who 2 leaned on the seat corners.
After around two very long hours, I was so 3 that I kept shifting my body weight from one leg to the other to manage the 4 . I suddenly sensed soft hand tapping my arm, asking for attention. Turning around, I found middle-aged man with a kind smile looking 5 at me. He suddenly stood up and said I could take his seat for some time. I was pleasantly surprised and 6 accepted his offer. After about 20 minutes, I 7 him to take back his space. A man, who was sitting by the window on the other side of the bus, had 8 our exchange.
Just then, something 9 happened. Our observer voluntarily stood up and offered his seat to another standing man. Out of expectation, this 10 of seat-sharing spread through the bus like wildfire and, before long, almost all the 11 got a chance to be seated. People 12 started chatting with each other while exchanging positions, and soon began sharing jokes and singing. Needless to say, the rest of the journey was quite 13 .
This extraordinary experience has stayed with me even after all these years. It showed to me an important 14 that we can all share what we have, 15 our pressure, and help our co-passengers in this journey called life.
