【推荐2】Many years ago, I saw a homeless woman, who was wearing only thin clothes, coming in when I was working at a college. She started coughing as she sat down on a sofa in the student public room.___________, she wasn’t well. Without_________too much about it, I went to the Student Affairs Office where I knew I could find clothes in the “Lost and Found” box. I gathered her up all clothes and made my way___________. A co-worker told me I should not help this person_________it would only lead to her wanting_________help. I ignored (忽视) her and carried on, in spite of the warnings.

Two weeks later a lovely elderly man came to my office and asked to speak with me in private. Curious, I gave him my full_________. He went on to tell me that he had overheard (无意听到) the___________with the co-worker about helping the_________woman. He wanted me to know that it was always okay to help people, and that was_________he wanted to give me a check for $1000! I burst into tears, because I really____________the money at the time, but also because I had____________been recognized in such a way for helping someone! We became good friends and, twenty years later, he called me up____________and told me he wanted to help me buy my first home! He gave me $ 120,000 to buy my____________house in my home town.

I asked him why he wanted to give me such a large____________. And he said it was because I was a “giver” and that I deserved it. I was able to own the perfect little home for me, all because one day I______________a homeless woman without hesitation.

【推荐1】When Ariel rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge(保护区)in Queens, New York, last November, she planned to go hiking and bird-watching. Bingo! A mile into her walk, she _________ a gorgeous female mute swan near the water’s edge. Ariel, 30, who had worked at the Wild Bird Fund rehabilitation(康复)center in Manhattan, knew that mute swans can be _________. But it didn’t move as she _________ this one.

She was certain that the bird needed _________ attention. Then Ariel _________ her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, _________ picked it up, and cradled it in her arms. And then an idea _________ her: What do I do now?

Her best choice was the rehabilitation center. _________, that was across the East River and on the other side of town. How was she going to _________ a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? Luckily, some strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a __________ to a nearby subway station. And no one seemed particularly __________ by the feathered passenger on the subway. One guy, says Ariel, was “sitting right in front of me on his phone. I don’t know if he noticed there was a swan in front of him.”

Ariel __________ the rehabilitation center, and Higginbotham, an animal-care manager, __________ her up at the subway station and drove bird, bike, and __________ to the center. There, staff members __________ that the swan might have lead(铅)poisoning, caused by swallowing weights used on fishing lines.

The staff did all they could to help her. __________, even with all the thoughtful care, the swan caught a serious disease due to bacterial infection. Two months after Ariel came to her rescue, she __________.

It’s a(n)__________ ending, but the real story is just __________ some people are willing to go to save a swan in the big city. In all, Ariel traveled two hours by foot, car, and subway while dragging her bike. “That’s the perfect __________ of who she is,” says Higginbotham.

【推荐2】In 2023, just before my 32^nd birthday was approaching, the Singapore-based sister insisted my mother and I join her for a holiday. My mum, regarded as a fearless woman, would get strangely nervous and confused by the complex on-boarding ________. Perhaps the only thing that convinced her to overcome her ________ was the fact that it would give us a chance to ________ our weakening relationship full of a great deal of differences.

There was another ________ to the trip for my mom—a return to the place where she spent her honeymoon in 1989. Back then she was four months ________ with me. Growing up, I remembered the days when she would always ________ me hot milk in the cold winter. Looking back, the motherly ________ actually displayed the love in the blood.

Those sweet moments gradually ________ as I grew older and moved away from home. Soon, our relationship became tense. Weekly phone calls were too ________ and careless to ever mature into real talk. The ________ led to arguments instead. To me, her old-fashioned advice annoyed me, forcing me to ________ information or even lie intentionally. Perhaps Singapore would give us a chance to bring our ________ back to life.

Looking for something to ________ ourselves, we signed up for a joint painting activity. To our joy, our faded connection began to take on the ________ of something truthful and beautiful. This makes a landmark in a daughter’s journey in ________ with her long-cherished past.