【推荐1】It was November 21 when we were told Mom had a malignant tumor(严重恶性肿瘤)in her stomach. Having a ________ that she was not sick, Mom got ________ and went home with my step-dad at about 2 a. m. that night.

The next morning we ________ doctors how serious it was and how long she could survive by ________ treatment. They said 15 days or maybe less. I was extremely ________ . I couldn't accept losing my ________ parent since Dad died when I was five. My step-dad was even not ________ in our lives. However, Mom had her own ________ . What I could do was to ________ to beg, to stay with her.

I insisted my Mom had the right to decide what she wanted, but my siblings(兄弟姐妹)didn't ________ it that way. I begged everyone I knew to say good luck to my Mom. The day came and ________ . Mom did sleep a lot and was paid close ________ to during that time.

About seven months later she ________ back in hospital because her stomach hurt. I ________ her doing crossword puzzle with her granddaughter when the doctor walked in and asked Mom how she felt. She said, "I feel ________ . Can I go home now?" Surprisingly, the doctor smiled and looked.

Mom straight in her ________ and said, "I'm a cancer doctor. You're no more my patient since all your ________ cane back to normal." I tuned to see my Mom's reaction. She picked up the crossword puzzle and said ________ . "See, I told you I wasn't sick!"

That was two and a half years ago. I went and thanked ________ I begged afterwards because I truly witnessed a ________ first hand.

【推荐3】I'm sitting at the airport watching people in the last minutes before their loved ones arrive or depart．

A woman is running in circles trying to gather family members together for a ______ ．When the final moment comes before ______，she wraps her arms around her son，giving him a ______ hug that should protect him until she ______．

I sit with a book in my hands，waiting for my turn to leave，______ because the ones I love have a different ______ from mine．

I think of other departures and arrivals．I ______ seeing my daughter．I wrapped myself around her as if she'd been ______．That year she was in her first year at university，coming home for the first time．

Today my flight is two hours late．When my flight is ______ called，I gather my book and luggage．______ there is no one to see me off，I do not ______ to see where I have come from．______，I think of my husband at work ______ if I have left yet．

As I head towards the plane，I find myself ______ yet another arrival and departure．That year，my 91﹣year﹣old grandfather died．After returning from his funeral，I arrived at the airport ______．My husband of only a year was waiting at the gate to take me in his arms．Because of my tears，______ was looking at us，but I didn't ______．

Life needs the important ______ all the time．I wish that all the people who went on a ______ could come back to find someone ______ them．I also wish they could leave with someone to see them off．

【推荐2】In my 20s, my left arm became ______ paralyzed (瘫痪的) in a traffic accident. Going from two fully functional arms to one meant I had to ______ everything I used to do with two hands. And as a person who’d sooner get lost than ask for directions, asking for ______ was difficult for me. I just wanted to swim; in the water I felt ______ because it removed gravity’s limitations. It was the only place I couldn’t feel the ______ of my arm.

After college, I met Coach Alan through the Challenged Athletes Foundation. He was the reason why I ______ to train for the Paralympics. I took part in my first Paralympic Games just two months after we met.

In swimming, a racing suit is called a tech suit, or a second skin. For tech suits, I aimed to go two or three sizes smaller than my ______ size. It had taken me 15 minutes to put a tech suit on that day, but after the swimming event, with only one hand, I couldn’t take it off. I was ______. I was prepared to reach for the knife in my bag and cut my way out of this expensive new ______. A girl sitting on the bench near me, her prosthetic legs beside her, saw me ______. “Come here!” she said, grabbing me with her knees to pull me closer. We both pulled the hopeless suit for a while. Then she called for ______. A visually-challenged swimmer rushed over and managed to free me with her in ______ a minute.

That locker room ______ became the new normal for me. And finally, I got to be on the helping end as well. Asking for help is quite normal for anyone who lives with a ______. “Can you pass me my leg?” “Could you tie my shoe laces?” Helping others and accepting help is a way of life in the Paralympics.

Learning to ask for what I needed was the win I hadn’t initially set my sights on, but ______ wanting the most.

【推荐1】Making a family

For years, Dad had avoided getting a dog. Whenever the _______ came up, Dad complained: “Dogs are a pain. I don’t want to be _______” Despite his strong opposition, Mom brought home a puppy named Chip, a cute ball that _______ us all.

For me, at age thirteen, Chip brought out my _______ side. I fed, brushed and walked him every day. I also learned that when we _______ what is important to us, we harvest the benefits. For me, this meant a loyal (忠诚的) companion, someone to _______ me at the door when I returned, and someone to kiss my face when I was sad. And this _______ stayed with me as I grew.

Chip even _______ Dad. It was nearly a month before Chip’s _______ personality won him over. Dad was the first to ________ him to sit on the sofa. He even made chew toys for Chip to play with.

Most importantly, Chip brought us together as a ________ . After dinner, instead of escaping to our bedrooms as before, we’d review ________ tricks or teach him new ones in the family room. We’d ________ funny stories of the cute things he’d done that day. The important thing is that we’d do this together.

People who are not dog lovers sometimes complain about those who treat their pets too much like ________ . What they don’t understand is that it is the pets that stimulate the ________ of their humanity.

【推荐3】I remember the night, some years ago, my wife and I were going to dinner at a fiend’s house in New York city. As we hurried toward the house, with its welcoming ______ , I noticed a car pulling out from the sidewalk. Just ahead, another car was waiting to ______ into the parking space. But before he could do so another car came up from behind, and sneaked into the ______ .

“That’s a(n) ______ trick.” I thought. While my wife went ahead into our friend’s house, I stepped into the street to give the ______ driver a piece of my mind. A man in work clothes ______ the window.

“Hey,” I said, “this parking space belongs to that guy.” I ______ toward the man ahead, feeling pretty manly in my new coat.

“Must you get ______?” the driver yelled, “None of your business!”

“No,” I said. “You don’t understand. That fellow was waiting for this space.” Things quickly became ______ , until finally he leaped out of the car. The huge man ______ me and bent me back over the hood (引擎盖) of his car. I was ______ . I scrambled (跌跌撞撞) to my friend’s front door. Seeing that I was   ______ , my wife and friends asked me what had happened. All I could say was that I had had a(n) ______ about a parking space. They had the thoughtfulness to let it go at that.

Perhaps half an hour later, the ______ rang. I was sure the guy had returned for me. My hostess got up to answer it, but I stopped her. I was morally, ______ to answer it myself.

I walked down the halfway with ______ . Yet I knew I had to face up to my fear. I opened the door. There he stood, ______ yet murmuring. “I came back to apologize,” he said in a low voice. “The Brooklyn Navy Yard is closing. I’ve worked there for years. And today I got. ______ . I hope you’ll accept my apology.”

I often remember that big man. I think of the efforts and_______ it took for him to come back. He was man at his ______.