【推荐2】For my 8^th birthday my ________ was a shiny blue bike. My older sisters decided to teach me to ride. We lived on Edgewood Avenue at the top of a steep hill. My ________, Agnes and Christina, put me on my bike and ________ me hard, yelling instructions, “Peddle! Steer! Use the brakes!” Needless to say, I was rushing down the street ________ trying to hold on.

I bumped into the curb (路缘), ________ over the handlebars onto the sidewalk, skinning my knees, hurting my hands and crying loudly. Instead of offering ________, my sisters yelled at me ________ I hadn’t listened to their instructions. Weeks ________ before I tried again. This time I walked my bike to the ________ parking lot behind the schoolyard. I kept repeating the instructions to myself and after a few awkward ________ and even more painful spills I learned to ride a bike.

Learning life lesson is ________ like learning to ride a bike. Some life lessons are ________ to learn. We don’t always get to choose where we learn them; we don’t always have good teachers and we are not always ________. Sometimes we find ourselves madly trying to hold on.

But things are different now.

My husband, Rich, ________ my sons to ride a bike. First he raised their training wheels a little and they rode around the block getting used to the unstable ________. After he removed the training wheels he would run along the side of the bike holding on to the seat to ________ them. Up and down our street they would go with Rich calling out, “You ________ have it! You’re doing great!” until my son would call out “Let go”. Rich would let go but still run along, just ________. It was a happy day in the neighborhood.

When the life lessons come along in this New Year you may ________ them from a patient and kind teacher; you may have them surrounded by ________ and encouragement. And you may have someone stay by your side until you have found victory.

【推荐3】Head to Flint, Michigan, on a Wednesday night, and you’ll see a blinding display of lights near the river.

The tradition _________ on a whim in 2010 with Daniel Riddick, a doctor in Hurley Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. His patient, a teenager, had been in the hospital long-term. During his stay, Daniel had _________ with the kid so deeply that he decided that on the boy’s _________ night there, he would do something _________ for the final parting.

As he left, Daniel told the boy to _________ the corner near the bus stop from his window. Daniel _________ to that spot, turned around, and flickered (闪烁) his bike light up toward the hospital. To his surprise, the teen flickered his own room lights to _________. “From a quarter mile away it was very _________ where the kid was,” says Daniel. “I figured if it _________ once I could do it again.” And so he did.

Daniel made it a __________ to ficker his bike lights to kids as he left for the night as a __________ way to say goodbye. The nightly tradition became such a __________ that customers started joining in with flashlights and cell phones too.

The tradition has __________ inspired those beyond Michigan and Daniel hopes it __________ even more. “It could happen anywhere if someone is willing to give it a try with one __________,” he says.

【推荐2】Most days we don’t think twice about the sound of our loved ones’ voices. But when our loved ones _________ us, that sound could be the most precious thing on Earth. That’s why 19-year-old Taylor McCormack was so moved by the Christmas _________ her sister gave her.

Her sister Maddie gave her a teddy bear that contained a voice recording of her friend Rodney Zinoro who _________ in May 2020 after drowning in a Manchester _________. McCormack and Zinoro had been best friends for several years, which left McCormack in deep _________ when he was gone. In McCormack’s eyes, he was such a(n) _________ person that his shine would actually light up a room as soon as he walked in. He was always there if you _________ him. So when she heard his _________ again after squeezing her Build-a-Bear’s hand, she was _________. She thought that was the most thoughtful gift anyone had ever given her. As soon as McCormack heard the sound of her friend, she broke down in __________.

Not only was she surprised by the act of ________ and love that went into the gift, but she knew that this gift would come in handy. Her sister Maddie took the audio from a saved video and __________ it to the recording device in the bear. While the Christmas present won’t bring her friend __________, it will help ease the pain of his loss. This shows that no one is truly dead when their voice, face, and ideas of the future have been __________. The best way to live on is to be with your best friend till the __________, even if it means to be a fluffy(毛绒) teddy bear.

【推荐3】Granny fell ill before Valentine’s Day. She had to ______ our planned zoo trip, which she had been ______.

“Remember to say hi to the monkeys for me,” Granny ______ us up before we left. We did go and have fun, but I kept ______ Granny could have been with us.

Tex spotted some ______ and suggested taking a picture in front of them. While we said, “Cheese,” Indi accidentally said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Granny!” This slip of the tongue (舌头) reminded me. I ______ taking pictures of different animals and ______ them into a zoo valentine for Granny. Everyone loved that.

At home, we ______ out the printed pictures on the table. Since it was ______ to fit so many pictures onto a heart-shaped card, we ______ to create a whole bunch of valentines, each card representing an animal.

______, our print didn’t have color ink, so we ______ the black-and-white pictures with markers and made speech balloons for the animals. When we were done, I made a couple of ______ on the cards and tied them together to make a book. It took forever to finish, but it turned out ______.

“Oh, you little sweet potatoes!” Granny smiled when we gave her our ______. “You sure did turn this lady’s frown (眉头) upside down! I love you so much.”