1 . Italy’s one-euro-home sales have been attracting a lot of interest over the past few years. Some towns like Mussomeli in Sicily and Zungoli in Campania have managed to _________ abandoned properties to foreigners pursuing the Italian dream. However, some have _________ to sell their empty homes. Among them is Patrica, a remote village of barely 3,000 residents located south of Rome, where more than 40 properties deserted in the early 1900s have been left _________.

In an attempt to breathe new life into the dying village, the town’s mayor Lucio Fiordaliso has been trying to _________ the success of other Italian villages who’ve put their empty homes up for sale for one euro, or just over a dollar. “The process is not _________. We first mapped out all abandoned houses and contacted the original owners to ask for permission. Only then can we place these properties up for sale with their _________, which makes the process very complicated.” However, the permission from one owner of the house sometimes is not enough for the sale of potential one euro homes. That is because most relatives sharing the same property often _________ one another for personal reasons or some hardly speak or know each other.

Another reason that the one euro plan never really started in Patrica could be due to the _________of its homes. Some of the houses are simply too neglected to sell, even if the owners were willing to agree to it. _________, Patric a local Gianni Valleco and his two brothers decided to place their parents’ abandoned home on the market to see what would happen. But they soon disappointedly found that the house was far from __________.

In the meantime, Fiordalis o has been coming up with new ways to __________ newcomers. He prompted several locals to entirely restyle their old family homes and put them to use after decades of neglect. “The mayor’s move finally gave us a good excuse to fully restore the property which had been sitting there __________,” says the locals. The mayor also decided to start operating some commercial activities like an B&B or a restaurant or a shopping center.

“There is __________, but then when many foreigners actually see the bad shape of the old homes they’d prefer to opt for turn-key apartments that are already restyled or in need of just __________ fixes,” says Fiordaliso. “So it’s much more convenient to buy one of these newer ones than __________ an old building in need of major reconstruction, where the final cost would end up being much higher.” Despite these challenges, Fiordalis o hasn’t given up on selling the town’s long forgotten homes.

2 . Some of the classrooms at Taft Elementary in Santa Clara, California, have one flaw (缺陷) in common: They don’t have _________.

“Most of the day, the students are _________. And they don’t really get to see any trees, or the blue sky,” said Ernesto Rodriguez, a school psychologist with a _________ for landscape photography. “The lack of windows does affect kids, making it _________ to concentrate. Being in and around nature _________ anxiety and has benefits for students. Kids who have _________ out of windows do better academically, emotionally and creatively.”

He had an _________ to bring nature into rooms by developing hospital curtains that he could print landscapes onto as a _________ to brighten dull rooms. Then, he brought landscapes into classrooms—via the ceiling.

Rodriguez uses his photography skills to take 360 degree shots of tree canopies (树冠). Then he _________ them and fits them onto the ceiling, so when you __________, it feels like you’re sitting under a tree. “It has all those elements of the science that help calm you down, help you __________ and communicate. Kids will want to come in more __________,” he said.

“It’s surprising to __________ that there are trees here,” one student said as she entered the room and saw the __________ addition. “I would say that it’s pretty great and beautiful. Trees bring me peace.”

“This is a __________ of both my careers as a school psychologist and a photographer,” said Rodriguez.

3 . There is a saying that “It takes a village to raise a kid”. There’s no better _________ than Hobart, New York, with its eight used bookstores. Not _________ for a community of 351. Gathered on Main Street, the shops form a _________ literary path in the northern Catskills.

Retired piano teacher Don Dales moved and _________ there in 1999. He bought empty storefronts and offered merchants a year of free _________ . In 2001, Bill Adams and his wife, Diana drove through the town. They needed somewhere to _________ their hundreds of books. That summer, they opened Adams’ Antiquarian Books, showcasing classics and _________ , collectable first editions. Their first book sold was on the Celts. “We didn’t have another sale for months,” Diana recalls.

Don, meanwhile, was doing no better. In _________ with Bill and Diana, he worried that he couldn’t rent his buildings. The couple _________ Hay-on-Wye, a village in Wales famous for its 19 bookshops. Don, inspired, became a __________. He ran Quarry Books,__________ mysteries and science fiction.

Liberty Rock Books, named for a Revolutionary War lookout,__________ in 2013. Owners John and James Mahoney possessed thousands of __________, including religious texts. For transportation or sports titles, try More Good Books. History fans love New York Books & Ephemera, which also __________ souvenirs relating to the Empire State Building.

“Everyone has a specialty,” Diana says. “But we work together. Booksellers have keys to each other’s shops, and have made Hobart a travel __________. No wonder people call Hobart the village that books built.”

7 . After my parents had passed away, I took over their old house. At first, I would go there ________ to ensure everything was okay. But years passed and my ________ grew infrequent. One day, my wife declared the house a hidden ________ for kids in the neighborhood and was considering tearing it down. I thought it ________ to check it out first, so that nothing ________ would be left behind.

Time had ________ the house. The door was so out of ________ that it couldn’t be ________, so I entered through an open window. There lay the ________ of my parents’ lives: some old clothes, cards from old friends, etc. ________ started to emerge in my head.

As I entered their ________, a letter on the bedside table drew my eyes, yellowed with age. I picked it up ________ and started reading. It was ________ by my dad when he served during wartime. From the ________ handwriting I’d read many times, I learned how much he ________ the house and his family. There he was, a homesick young man ________ on the sea. At the bottom of the page, Dad passed on another ________. Tears burned my eyes as I read those words: “All is well here. Don’t worry.”

________ hit me at not taking good care of a place that my parents once ________. At that moment, I decided to ________ the house and care for it the way it deserves.

9 . When it comes to building a life together, putting down roots is an important step. For many _______, a home that belongs to both partners — whether it’s a house, townhouse or flat — is a special part of the _______.

Annie and Abby, a couple living in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, wanted to find a house where they could _______ a big garden together. They now live happily in a _______ 1940s bungalow (平房) on a quiet, tree-lined street. The home they’ve lovingly _______ and renewed has polished hardwood floors, a bay window, sunroom and, of course, the garden where Abby spends most of her time during _______ weathers.   

Much like the couple’s five-year relationship, the house has _______ bones and lots of potential for beauty, but it’s been a process to get there. In 2019, the pair was living in a two-bedroom flat that Abby _______ from her grandfather near Bde Maka Ska, on the chain of lakes in Minneapolis.   

While _______ their wedding, they realized they didn’t want to continue living in a walk-up building with no reserved parking and a laundry room shared________ their fellow residents. So, while they dreamed about saying “I do” in front of treasured friends and family members, they also ________ themselves to dream about buying a home.

________, they ran into their realtor (房地产经纪人) at a festival celebration that spring. And, with historically low interest ________, they started shopping for a mortgage preapproval. It ________ that those were the easy elements. Finding a house, however, proved more ________.

10 . Linda from Florida was setting up her new home. She badly needed furniture (家具) but couldn’t _________ to buy anything new or used. So she decided to look for free furniture on the website Craigslist.

She was _________ to find a lovely furniture set that was being _________ for free. It looked _________ used and Linda knew she could make a comfortable home for her family with the furniture.

Linda then contacted the owners of the free furniture. _________ she got it home, she began to set up the house as all mothers do. But she noticed something a little _________ about one of the chairs. It looked like something big was under its cover.

To her _________, she found some envelopes full of money! Instead of keeping it, she _________ right away she needed to contact the owners of the furniture set and give the money back. She didn’t even bother to _________ it. Even though it was a(n) __________ to make ends meet, Linda never thought once about __________ it.

Much to her surprise, she later __________ there was over $36,000 in cash. The owners of the furniture had no idea! In fact, they didn’t know why their parents __________ money by hiding envelopes of money in furniture.

Linda’s __________ turned into a double blessing (好事). Not only did she find free furniture, but she also got a(n) __________ from the owners of the furniture as well! They gave her $2,200 in cash to help her buy a new fridge that she badly needed.