【推荐1】It was quite a bad time for me. I was in low ________ and felt tired physically. Probably     ________ this I hadn't shaved (剃须) for a few days ________ because I had been doing some repairs at my daughter's house, I was ________ quite scruffily (邋遢的). Boarding the ________ to go home,I saw it was almost ________ so I found a rail to rest against.

That was when a young woman, siting with her child, stood up and ________ me her seat. “Wow !” I thought, surprised. Out loud I said, “Do I look that old and tired?” She ________ to me with; a smile, You look like you've had a tough day." I thanked her sincerely and stayed where I was standing.

A moment later a man ________ from his seat at the back of the bus and made his way ________ towards me, walking past several people on the way. He told me that he had a serious alcohol addiction ________ and wanted to ask my advice. We ________ about life for a few minutes and then he went back to his seat.

_____ him go, I also looked at the bus-load of people ________ me and his seat. He hadn't ________ to talk to those strangers. He chose to talk to this stranger for whatever it ________ to him and whatever comfort it brought him. Why?

That's when it ________ to me that he must have thought that I had been where he was. I probably ________ a man who would understand a difficult life. I was a little sad at first, but then I was inspired by the ________ that even when we are at our lowest we can still ________ others if we look like we might be able to meet them where they live or walk a while in their world.

【推荐2】A research shows two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of a cultural or political issue, not heated debates about a film or a book, but plain and simple ___ . Language is our greatest treasure and what do we ___ do with it? We gossip(闲聊). About others' behavior and private lives; how to deal with difficult ___ situations involving children, lovers, and colleagues.

So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural ____, of both time and words? Or do we talk a lot about ___ in particular simply to avoid facing up to the really important issues of life? It’s not the case according to Professor Robin Dunbar, who says gossip is one of these really ___ issues.

Dunbar ___ the traditional view that language was developed by the men at the early stage of social development in order to organize their manly bunting activities more effectively. ____. he suggests that language evolved among women. We don't spend two-thirds of our time griping just ___ we can talk, argues Dunbar--- ___ he goes on to say, language evolved specifically to allow us to gossip.

Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the___ of the higher primates(灵长类动物)like monkeys. By means of grooming leaning the fur by brushing it monkeys form groups with other individuals on whom they can rely for support ___some kind of conflict within the group or ___from outside it.

As we human beings evolve from in a particular branch of the primate family. Dunbar __ that at one time in our history we did much the same. ___together made sense because the bigger the group the greater the ___it provided, on the other hand, the bigger the group, the greater the ___of living close to others. Grooming helped to ease the pressure and calm everybody down.

But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be ____ to maintain its effectiveness. Clearly, a more ____ kind of grooming was needed, and thus language evolved as a kind of vocal grooming which allowed humans to develop relationship with ever-larger groups by exchanging information over a wider network of individuals than would be possible by one-to-one _____contact.

【推荐3】“My wallet! Where is it? ” were my first words when I found out my wallet was lost. I searched my memory for a few good seconds, and then________that I had left my precious wallet in the library. To be________, it was in the public toilet of the library!

_____the library was then closed, I had to wait until the next morning to begin my________. When I got there early the next day, all I found was a______bathroom.

At that time, all I could________was that the person who cleaned the restroom had________my wallet. So I________approached an old lady at the front desk. “Excuse me, is there a wallet found in the restroom yesterday? ” She walked through a door and________for a moment. Then she came back to the desk. “No, ” she said. I quickly thanked her and walked off,________.

Finally, I painfully________the fact that my wallet had gone.

A week later, I received a mysterious________in the mail. Sure enough, it was my________! And most surprisingly,________in it was missing! And there was a little yellow piece of paper folded up inside. I slowly unfolded it and a little medal of Christ fell off. The paper________like this:

Always________this medal with you, whatever your religion is, so the angel that was watching over you last________will always be close.

This person didn’t even leave a return________, so I couldn’t thank whoever it was.

From that day on, I promised myself to follow this example when I was in a________situation. I will make others as________as I was when I opened that package!

【推荐1】Each year her husband sent her valentine roses, tied with pretty bows, and a card. The card would ________say，“I love you even more than last year on this day.”

The year he________， the roses were delivered to her door as usual. The card said，“Be my valentine. My love for you will always________with every passing year.” She thought this was the________ time that the roses would appear. She________he ordered roses________without knowing that he would________.He always liked to do things ahead. Then, if he got busy, everything would work out ________.She put ________ in a very special vase, and then placed the vase beside the portrait of his smiling face. She would sit for hours, staring at his picture and the roses.

A year went by，________it was tough to live without him. Then, on Valentine’s Day, the doorbell rang, and she saw roses sitting _______ her door. She brought the roses in, and then looked at them in surprise. Later she ________ the flower­ shop and asked them to explain ________valentine roses were sent to her.

The owner replied，“I know your husband passed away a year ago. The flowers you________today were paid for two years ago. Your husband always planned ahead. Here is ________ of many years. You’ll get them every year till... and he also wrote a special little________for you...he did this years ago. He said, ‘If you find out that I’m no longer here, the card should be sent to my wife the following year.’”

She thanked him and hung up the phone, her tears ________ her face. She found a card among the roses and read it slowly，“Hello，my love. I know it’s been a year since I was gone. I hope it’s not too hard for you to overcome. I know you must be ________ and the pain is real. The _______ we shared made everything so beautiful in life. I loved you more than________can say. Please try not to be too sad. That is why the roses will be sent to you for years.”

【推荐2】Watson entered Mr. Smith’s office. The boss was a (an) ________man. He fired people who didn’t do well without giving them a second chance.

“Watson,” said Mr. Smith, “this past year your department(部门) hasn’t earned money. We’re going to ________that department. It’s finished. I’m sorry, —but you’ll have to   ________ ” “But, sir — if I just had a little more time. For the moment I need the________ to keep my________at Riverside School.”

“What’s that!” said the boss. “Riverside! I didn’t know you had a boy there. That’s a(an) ________ school for a man with your salary.”

“I know, sir. But he likes it there so much! He’s a star athlete and the best boxer in the school. The boys call him________ here.”

The boss sat perfectly   ________ for a long time — a faraway (恍惚的) look in his eyes. Then, suddenly, he said, “We’ve got to close your department, Watson. But you’ll   ________a new job in another department. It means longer hours—maybe more ________ Now get out. You’re here for life.”

Watson got out, with ________   on his face. Then the boss________a letter from the top drawer of his desk. It was Herbie’s   ________letter from Riverside School —written a few days before he died. He had read it over and over again with sick pain. The letter ________: I can’t say the boys here are any________   than the others were. I guess it’s the same everywhere________ you’re a cripple (跛脚的人). But don’t worry about me, Dad. They’ve got a good ________ department here. And there’s one boy here who is really________ He’s a track star and boxing champ (冠军) and just tops in chemistry. The boys call him Champ. He________them stop throwing my books around. And he knocked a boy down who hit me. He is the best________ I ever had. Dad, when I grow up, I want to do something for Champ. Something big — that he won’t even know about.

Your son,

Herbie

【推荐3】Milo is a dog, adopted by 20-year-old Makayla Swift from an animal shelter. One morning in November 2021, Swift opened her front door in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Milo immediately_______to the house across the street. Milo seemed _______, so he ran to the one next door, Swift on his tail. “He started scratching (抓) the front door,” Swift says. “I’m thinking, why is he insistently trying to_______her house?” She was embarrassed for not everyone wants a(n)_______dog on their property. But as she tried to drag Milo away, she could hear a voice yelling “help” coming through an open upstairs window. Hours_______, around 4 a.m., Sherry Starr had risen from her bed. “All of a sudden, standing there between the toilet and the tub, I_______,” she says. “I slumped on the floor.” Starr is 85. “I could not move at all”, says Starr, who was_______between the toilet and the tub. Starr was scared and thought she was going to die there. Her best_______, she decided, was to listen for the letter carrier in the afternoon and scream. For the next few hours, Starr practiced yelling: “Help! Help! Helllp!” “Her voice was very_______,” says Swift. “You had to be right at the front door to hear Mrs. Starr yell for help________you were Milo, the dog.” It________heard Starr the instant Swift opened her own front door. Swift called 911. Rescuers thought they’d have to break down the toilet to________Starr, but they gave one last pull — and out she popped. Though injured, Starr________a trip to the hospital.

Swift has known her share of________. Two years ago, her mother died. She says Milo has helped her with her grief too. “That dog is a________,” she says.