【推荐1】Wanda Smith always wanted to be a school teacher, but sometimes meeting life’s demanding realities can mean a dream delayed. A mother of three, Smith also needed to_______her mom. Squarely shouldering her family_______, she took jobs as bus monitor for a school in Texas.

The hours were_______, but rather than let her dream die. At age 37, with the support and_______ of her husband, she added night classes to her_______. Nine years on, she finally graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University and became a_______teacher.

During the pandemic, as some of her students_______to meet the demands of distance learning, Smith stepped up to the_______. Noting that many of the kids she teaches come from single-parent families, she began_______packets of schoolwork to them.   It’s   no__________Smith’s kids adore her. In a special surprise__________, they shouted their praise and held up big colorful signs__________their devotion.

The passion was responded by Brenham’s mayor, Milton Tate Jr, who—using one of Smith’s own signature lines—__________declared May 4, 2021 as ―Be the Best You Can Be！Wanda Smith Day.

Smith’s life is an example as well as an__________. By always striving to be the best she could be, with heart and devotion, she graduated from cleaning classrooms to__________classrooms—and that certainly puts her on our honor roll.

【推荐2】When we think of a grocery store, we usually picture aisles of food and everyday necessities. But sometimes, it’s also where unexpected ________ are formed, turning a simple store into a backdrop for heartwarming human connections.

Ellie Walker, ________ at a British grocery store, was known for her friendly demeanor. Ellie enjoyed the daily chat with customers but never ________ how deeply these interactions could impact her life.

It was during one of these ________ conversations that Ellie encountered Edwin Holmes, an elderly regular customer, who ________ that he had no one to spend Christmas with.

This revelation ________ a chord in Ellie’s heart, as she couldn’t bear the thought of Edwin spending the festive season alone.

Edwin had lost his wife in 2006 after 45 years of marriage. His family, including a daughter and grandchildren, lived in Australia, making it ________ for them to be together during the holidays. This left Edwin facing the prospect of a ________ Christmas.

Upset about Edwin’s situation. Ellie decided to ________ a gesture of kindness. She invited him to join her for a Christmas meal, hoping to ________ a memorable and joyous experience for both of them.

“I thought, if it was my granddad and he was alone, I would want someone to talk to him.” Ellie’s invitation to Edwin was more than just a kind ________ it was a start of their friendship.

From that memorable Christmas dinner, a beautiful friendship ________. Ellie and Edwin began meeting regularly for coffee, sharing stories and enjoying each other’s ________.

Their relationship, which started with ________ conversations in a grocery store, had ________ a meaningful and enduring friendship.

【推荐3】“I'll be back in three hours, ”Dad said as he hurried out for a meeting that late afternoon. “Three hours, ”I told myself. “You can do this. ”I took a _________ breath and turned to Mom. Through her vision problems, at least, she couldn't see the _________ in my face. If she had an Alzheimer's （阿尔茨海默症） attack, I didn't know if I could handle it _________, especially at the end of the day.

I _________ Mom to her chair. “Turn a little more. ”Mom moved her feet slowly while I helped her get into a good position. Once she was _________ with a blanket on her lap, I sat next to her in Dad's chair and hoped she could _________ now. As she fell asleep, I opened a book, and time passed _________ as I became fully absorbed in the words. Then Mom cried, “I'm scared. ” _________ drew lines across her face. “The snow's getting on me. I'm cold, so cold. ”

“Mom, you're safe. You're here at home. ”

“Help me!” She grabbed _________ to my hand.

“I won't __________ you. ” As much as I tried to promise her, I knew she could hear the __________ in my voice. I prayed for Dad to hurry home.

Maybe words weren't the __________. I did the only thing I could think of. I rubbed（揉） her forehead and hummed （哼曲子）, which __________ her. This was what she'd done for me as a child when I had a bad headache.

As the minutes __________, the tension left her face. She began to hum along. It was the __________ sound I'd ever heard.

【推荐2】Jerry, a restaurant manager, lived optimistically in his life. Besides, he was a(n) _________ motivator who had many followers. Whatever happened, he was willing to tell his employees to look on the positive side of the situation.

Curiosity _________ me to ask him about how he kept positive all the time. Jerry replied, “It is all about the _________ you should hold firmly. It’s your choice how you live life. You can choose to be happy or unhappy. Each time something bad happens, you can choose to be a _________ or learn from it. I _________ choose the positive side of life.”

One morning, Jerry left the back door of his restaurant open and was _________ at gunpoint by three armed robbers. His hand, _________ from nervousness, slipped off the combination while opening the _________. The robbers panicked and shot him. He was badly wounded, falling down on the floor. Thankfully, Jerry was found relatively quickly and _________ to the local hospital. After treatment, Jerry was finally __________ from the hospital.

I visited Jerry after the accident. I __________ to see his wounds, but did ask him what had __________ his mind when lying on the floor. “Well, I have just two choices: to live or to die. And I chose to live.” Jerry replied.

“Weren’t you frightened? Did you lose __________?” I asked. Jerry continued. “The paramedics (护理人员) were great. They kept telling me I would be fine. But when they __________ me into the emergency room, I got really __________. Because in their eyes, I read. ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, there was a nurse __________ questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was __________ to any medicine.” “Yes,” I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, “Bullets!” __________ their laughter, I told them, “I am choosing to live. Operate on me __________ I am alive, not dead.”

Jerry survived eventually. As you can see, __________ is everything!

【推荐3】The tech industry created many wonders. However, when it comes to how they are used by kids, they usually bring a _________ influence on them.

My kids________ iPhones very early by playing with the old models my husband and I ________ after we got new ones. As a little girl, my daughter learned the English words on her own from an iPhone app. Besides, she was_________ by simple apps that could repeat her facial expressions and read children’s stories to her. At that time, I considered iPhones quite _______ and usually permit her to use iPhone as a reward.

Things were good for a few years ________she discovered YouTube. I   was_________the first time I caught her watching YouTube videos at midnight. The YouTube videos were so ________ to her that she could not resist watching them even at midnight. It should not have surprised me how ________ YouTube would be. After all, I have spent a good part of my career predicting (预测) users’ needs to _______ users’ stickiness (黏着度). We do not want our users to _________ our product. But at no time did we realize that those users might be our ________ one day. Their immature brains and low self-control ability _________ to avoid the influence of those advanced tech products.

After seeing how my kids got lost in YouTube, I ________ my attitude towards iPhones. I took away their iPhones because they stand little chance of disentangling (使解脱) themselves from the _______ tech products.