【推荐2】One night, when I was eight, my mother told me that her company needed her to work in Brazil—a country far away from our home. In order to make us live a better life in the future, she decided to go. After my mother left, I ______ her very much. For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I'd ______ wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never take the place of her presence, so I still felt______ at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Brazil to visit her. Looking at her large empty ______ , I became aware of how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil, too. It was then that I started to______ the tough choices she had to make on balancing family and work. Faced with difficult decisions, she used to tell me that I must make the best out of the situation with a ______ attitude.

Back home, I reminded ______ that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she______ to live in Brazil all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent ( 独立的). I learned how to take care of myself and set high but achievable ______.

My mother is now back with us, but I will never______ what the experience has really taught me. The separation between us has proved to be good and helpful for me.

【推荐3】Have you ever thought about your 50th high school reunion? I thought I’d never go even if the opportunity came but now I feel ______for people who don’t go.

The ______of my high school was on a Saturday evening, and I am glad I did. It was a gift to recognize some ______classmates right away — and to be recognized. ________, we had name tags and our _____ photos on our clothing to help identify each other. I recognized one woman immediately!

The most special experience of the night was ______by a schoolmate and neighbor to whom I was once close. Unfortunately, we had a falling-out（吵架）in the high school. I never saw her after ______, but this time, I saw her   on _____ place setting. At first, I feared that I would ______her. But my better self won over, and I ____ her out. I kept looking until I got a(n) ______on my shoulder. There she was ____. We hugged as if nothing had ever ______and exchanged affectionate words. When the party ended, my old-new friend walked towards me, ______ me again and wished me well. I returned her good wishes. All the bad ______ melted into thin air.

I am grateful I had this ______to reunite with old classmates. After all, we are almost ______the final lap of our life journeys. Some classmates had already left this _______, and their names were deleted ______ the list. Sometimes we have to walk back into the past because time does heal old wounds. We’re not the ______ people. We are better people.

【推荐1】It was a warm Sunday. When Randy arrived to perform in the hospital room, Pam worried it was already too _________. Her 88-year-old stepfather, Strobel, had just been moved to the palliative (保守治疗) care unit. Pam could _________ that something had changed in him. A nurse told her Strobel's _________ was near.

''You're probably _________ your time, '' Pam told Randy. But Randy _________ with her what medical professionals had told him: _________ may be the last sense to go.

''Let me go in and _________'', Randy said. ''It's as much for you as it is for him.''

Randy is a country and folk musician. When he was in his childhood, his mother encouraged her young son's _________ talent. When she was dying of cancer, he put their _________ of songs to its greatest use. He __________ crawl into her hospital bed with his guitar and sing her favorites. His mother seemed to relax, a(n) __________ look crossing her face.

''That moment allowed her and me to __________ like we used to when I was singing as a kid,'' Randy recalled. It emphasized to him the __________ of music. When he __________ a non-profit organization called Swan Songs which arranged free musical last wishes, Randy __________ the program.

That was the case with Pam's stepfather who enjoyed __________ music, and Swan Songs sent Randy. That's __________ Randy arrived at the hospital that day, when Strobel seemed ready to say goodbye. Randy played some songs and after 45 minutes, Pam asked for just one more song. Randy __________ Love Me. He sang the last note and Strobel took his last __________.

''Oh my! We just experienced one of the most magical moments in our lives. It was a gift for us all. At a really sad time, it was __________,'' says Pam.

【推荐2】Saul and Keon have never felt bored with a day of work picking up trash in Miami Beach. They were especially ______ when they were covering their route this week as a beautiful ______ awaited them. When their   huge truck rolled down the street into the North Bay Road community, they found most residents (居民) lining the street with signs and balloons, all to ______ say “we love you”.

Jennifer Elegant wanted to show her family’s appreciation ______ she organized the socially-distancing surprise “thank you” ______ to honor the workers. Even the Miami Beach mayor, Dan Gelber showed up to ______ the two heroes-because Saul Scruggs and Keon Richardson do so much more than ______ trash. “They bring incredible energy to the ______ neighborhood,” Jennifer said. “In a word, they spread ______.”

What is ______ about the two men is the positive energy that they bring with them. They always have ______ on their faces and never ______ a chance to say hello and ______ someone’s day. They also go out of their way to help others and ______ nothing in return. One day, Saul spent 45 minutes helping a neighbor dig through her trash to ______ her lost wedding ring. He also waited for over an hour with another ______ who was having heart problems and needed a(n)______.

Jennifer has had “meaningful discussions” with the amazing workers about their inspiring levels of happiness and often shares their ______ with her students. “Every day we are ______ by heroes who bring us inspiration but too often we are unable to ______ these great people. I want Saul and Keon to know that we are thankful.”

【推荐3】I fell in love with Yosemite National Park the first time I saw it, when I was 13. My parents took us there for camping. On the way out, I asked them to wait while I ran up to E1 Capitan, a _______ rock of 3,300 feet straight up. I touched that giant rock and knew _______ I wanted to climb it. That has been my life’s passion (钟爱) ever since — _______ the rocks and mountains of Yosemite. I’ve long made Yosemite my _______

About 15 years ago I started seeing a lot of _______, like toilet paper, beer cans, and empty boxes, around the area. It’s _______ me why visitors started respecting the place less and treated such a _______ home-like place this way.

I tried _______ trash (垃圾) myself, but the job was too big. I would _______ an hour or two on the job, only to find the area trashed all over again weeks later. Finally, I got so ________ it that I decided something had to ________.

As a rock-climbing guide, I knew ________ about organizing any big event. But in 2004, together with some climbers, I set a date for a ________. On that day, more than 300 people ________. Over three days we collected about 6,000 pounds of trash. It was ________ how much we were able to accomplish. I couldn’t believe the ________ we made — the park looked clean!

Each year volunteers come for the cleanup from everywhere. In 2007 alone, 2,945 people picked up 42,330 pounds of trash and ________ 132 miles of roadway.

I often hear people ________ about their surroundings. If you are one of them, I would say the only way to change things is by ________ rather than complaining .We need to teach by ________. You can’t blame others unless you start with yourself.

【推荐2】The other day I was shopping at a local store and came upon a lady from India squatting (蹲)on the floor ___ a certain product on the bottom shelf. She ___when she saw me as if to get out of my way. ___ , she explained that she was a ___ and on her lunch break, trying to ____ a few needed items.

I told her, “I am in no hurry. ____and do what you need to do. ” While she searched for a particular brand, she said that sometimes customers were ___ to her and she really ____ my kindness. I told her that I had noticed cashiers being treated rudely by some people and they needed to be more ___.

It is stressful to the cashier when people are ____ at them when the cashier is doing the best they know how. I explained to her that I was a retired nurse and ____some of what she was saying. Sometimes patients or doctors could be very rude. But I ___ to understand why they were____ that way and let it go.

She thanked me for being so ____ and friendly. I told her, “The world would be a better place if we all acted ___ toward each other. Those who are rude may have bad karma (报应)coming after them ___ for treating people badly. She nodded and said it was ___ that I knew what karma was.

It felt so good that I may have helped her ___ the pressure for even a few seconds. In a brief ___ I showed her there are good and kind people in the world and may have boosted (增强)her faith in ___ .