【推荐1】In a class many years ago, the teacher gave us the “unpardonable”—the class homework! The _______ was to go to someone you love and tell them you love them. _______ it doesn’t sound like a very tough assignment, I realized that I was _______ the generation of men who were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho” (男子气概的).

You see, five years ago, my father and I had a _______ disagreement and we _______ seeing each other unless it was Christmas or other family _______. But by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him. It’s weird, but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load _______ my chest. So I rushed home to tell my wife my plan. When I told her, she hugged me, and for the first time in our married life she saw me cry.

The next morning, I went to the office early and _________ more in two hours than I had the whole day before. At 9:00 I called my dad, “Dad, can I _________ tonight?” My dad responded with a(n) __________ tone, “Now what?” At 5:30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell, __________ that Dad would answer the door. I was ________ if Mom answered that I would chicken out and tell her instead.

But luckily, Dad did answer the door. I took a deep breath to __________ myself and said, “Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.” It was as if a transformation came over my dad. His face ________, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he began to cry. He hugged me tightly and said, “I love you, too, son.”

Two days after that visit, my dad, who had heart problems, but didn’t tell me, had a heart attack and ________ in the hospital, unconscious. I don’t know if he’ll make it. So my message to all of you is this: Don’t wait to go to someone you love and tell them you love them and do it now!

【推荐1】Auri Katarina used to be a service manager at a cleaning company in Finland. In 2021, _________ to her family and friends, she quit her job. She decided to follow her unique passion.

Auri has always _________ cleaning things, and she began posting cleaning videos online two years ago. Then one day, a single mother asked her for help because she was _________ so much with three children always making a mess at home. Auri, who is “in heaven” whenever she is doing cleaning, was _________ to help. So she went on a weekend and _________ her home for two days. Auri didn’t ask for any _________ for her service; it was the _________ in the house and the family, which her work resulted in, that made her really happy.

Since then, Auri has gone as far as the USA and UK to help people in desperate need of cleaning. She gets _________ online but chooses only the _________ homes belonging to people most in need. For the first six months she __________ all travel and product expenses herself, about 300 euros per visit. __________ her popular videos of cleaning tips, a corporate sponsor has reached out to her. She still never __________ a penny.

Now, Auri goes to clean homes of __________ once a week, for two days, and creates __________ for her social media channels, including lists of some of her top tips. Her dream is to clean for free all over the world, helping people while doing something she absolutely __________.

【推荐3】Two years ago, I was sitting in my car waiting in a long line for a toll booth (收费站). When I ________ reached the booth, the toll operator told me that the person in front had paid for me and I was ________ to go. I was so ________. I didn’t ________ to save the 5 dollars. I would never know who it was. I was ________ by the traffic and the long line, and that gesture was surprising and unbelievable. It really ________ my heart. I ________ to pay the toll for the next car for life.

The first time I tried to pay forward the toll, I kept ________ my rear view mirror to see who I’d be paying for. In the mirror, I saw a tired looking Uber driver. I felt satisfied that my ________ would be going to a good place. But before we got to the ________, the Uber driver had ________ lanes (车道) and now there was someone else behind me. She looked ________ and was gesturing angrily in a ________ with her friend. I wasn’t thrilled to be paying for a woman like that and was ________ judging her by what I was seeing in the mirror. Anyway I paid the toll for both of us and left.

Thirty seconds later I was surprised to ________ a honk (汽笛声). It was the woman and her friend ________ at me from the next lane! She looked bright and ________ . She wasn’t what I thought she was like. This was a valuable ________ that I shouldn’t ________ people so quickly... I don’t know their ________.