【推荐1】Third Culture Kids

As more cities and companies become increasingly international， there is a growing number of children that are creating their own sub-culture. Often ________ to as TCKs (Third Culture Kids) or Global Nomads, these students have a(n) ________ impact on the global community.

So who are these Third Culture Kids? They are not a new phenomenon. As one looks ________ history, there is a realization that certain groups of people have led highly ________ lives, a key ________ in describing TCKs. They often ________ their parents into another country and spend a significant part of his or her development years outside the parents’ culture. They are ________ to new cultures and to other people in the community who ________ move constantly. Their numbers ________ into the hundreds of thousands and are increasing. Ease of ________ and constant relocation of people through multinational companies and global business links contribute to this ________.

The question “Who am I?” is frequently asked by TCKs. They have ________ a host of cultural identities, and have butt relationships to all the cultures, ________ not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are absorbed into TCK’s life experience, the sense of ________ is in relationship to others of a similar background.

As you enter into the world of TCKs, one might suspect they are not ________. But it is ________, after spending only a short time with them, that they bring a deep knowledge from inside and a special ability to compare ________ and local issues. They represent many countries and cultures. They are the future cross-culturalists and ________ future politicians, diplomats, government employees and educators.

They certainly experience a different lifestyle compared to their mono-cultural (单一文化的) peers but we can benefit from their global and ________ lives. So, whatever one chooses to label the international students as— TCKs, Global Nomads, or Global Souls— we will gain unbelievable ________.

【推荐2】There is one word that is often on the lips of Americans: “Sorry”.

Once as I was walking a young man ran by _________ , brushing against my handbag. Even as he _________ on his way, he turned back and said “sorry" to me. Even in a rush, he didn't forget to apologize.

One day, after I bought a mango, the salesman was giving me the change, but I wasn't ready for it, and a coin _________ on the ground. “I'm sorry,” he said while bending down to pick it up. I was puzzled—why would he apologize when it is my _________ ?

_________ time, I stepped on a man's foot in an elevator, and at the same time, we both said “sorry". I thought it interesting—was it really _________ for him to apologize?

Later on, an American friend _________ to me that according to the American mentality, the elevator is a public place and everyone should be able to stand in it. After someone _________ a position in it, making it difficult for someone else to find a place to stand in, isn't it necessary to express an _________ ?

If you go to the movies and the tickets happen to be __________ , the ticket seller will say "Sorry." Whenever one of your hopes goes unrealized, an American will say "sorry" as a sign of __________ .

During my stay in America, I gradually __________ that when friction（摩擦）appears in daily life, Americans don't care much about who is __________ . If someone is __________ , a “sorry” is always necessary. When this happens, even if the other person is hurt, the “sorry” cools tempers and human kindness is shown. Perhaps this is why I __________ saw anyone quarreling on the buses, subways or streets in America.

【推荐3】Family meals are an important part of living with a family. A recent survey shows that most American children and their family _____ a meal at least four times a week. This is a(n) _____ sign, in my view. It is _____ dining together is able to benefit family members.

Firstly, having a meal together can help a family stick together, which helps strengthen each family member’s sense of _____. Family meals can teach younger people about their _____ by eating traditional foods. Family members can also relax together during this time, temporarily leaving the worries behind, and enjoy each other’s _____. Routine socializing helps family members show each other’s _____ which cannot only be expressed on Thanksgiving Day.

Secondly, family meals also play an important part in a child’s growth. For example, parents are able to _____ their children’s psychology(心理) at this time based on their deeds and expressions. If parents _____ to lead kids to tell something about it, they can eventually figure out what their psychology looks like. If there is something wrong with it, parents and kids can discuss about it and find the ______. Studies show eating together means that kids were not likely to have ______ to smoke, get into fights, or commit suicide. Children who eat with their families are more likely to ______ high grades in the end than those who do not eat family meals. And such kids are probably to be more ______, and make more friends.

Through family meals, parents can also ensure that their children are eating ______ foods to have strong bodies. It’s because children who eat together with their families can be taught to be not particular about meals.

These families ______ to eat more fruit and vegetables, instead of often eating at fast food restaurants like the others.

【推荐1】There was a boy who was sent by his parents to a boarding school（寄宿学校）.Before being sent away, this boy was the _________ student in his class. He was at the top in every _________ , always with high marks.

But the boy changed after _________ home and attending the boarding school. His grades started _________ . He hated being in a group. He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he _________ committing suicide（自杀）. All of this was because he felt worthless and no one loved him.

His parents started _________ about the boy. But they even did not know what was _________ with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and talk with him.

They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him some casual questions about his classes, teachers and _________ . After some time his dad said, "Do you know, son, why I am here today?"

The boy answered back, "To _________ my grades?"

"No, no," his dad replied. "I am here to tell you that you are the most __________ person for me. I want to see you __________ . I don't care about grades. I care about you. I care about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE."

These words __________   the boy's eyes to be filled with tears. He __________ his dad. They didn't say anything to each other for a long time.

Now the boy had everything he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He __________ the whole world to someone. And today this young man is in college at the top of his class and no one has ever seen him __________ !

【推荐3】Right after World War II, a U.S. army officer lived in Japan. That country had been destroyed by the war. Many people _______ their jobs, so they came to the officer’s door every day _______ to get employed (雇佣). One man told the officer that he could create _______ for his garden if he could give him a(n) _______. For the first time in his life, this army officer _______ a gardener. The man spoke no English, so the officer could _______ communicate with him through body language.

As the man had promised, the garden soon became the _______ in the neighborhood. One day the gardener came with an interpreter (口译员) who expressed the _______ but the pity of the gardener. “He will no longer be able to _______ your garden. He must leave.”

The officer _______ his pity and thanked him through the interpreter for making him such a fine garden. Out of _______, he asked the interpreter, “Where is he going?”

The interpreter replied that the gardener was going to _______ his old job as the Professor of Horticulture (园艺学) at the University of Tokyo.

The officer was greatly _______. No wonder he _______ so much about gardening! Imagine having someone at your garden with that amount of _______. What a beautiful garden you could have!

【推荐1】Jason Warnock, then 29, is a high school teacher. He was driving along the hillside road in Lewiston, Idaho, in April 2023 when he came upon a ________ tree in the middle of the road. Being _________, Warnock looked up at the side of a cliff (悬崖). At the very _________, where the tree should have been, was a ________ rocking on the edge, held back from falling to the road by a heavily damaged chain link fence. Looking inside the car, Warnock could see a ________ man beating on the passenger side window.

That’s when Warnock took ________ action. He crossed a nearby footbridge and climbed up the cliff to get to the vehicle. When Warnock got to the car, he tried ________ the window with a tool he had on him, only to ________ that it was shaking the car and might cause it to slip down the hill. He stopped to ________ the driver enough to get him to open the window. “Give me your hand,” Warnock said. “If the car falls, I want to have a hold of you so I can ________ get you out of there.” Before reaching for Warnock’s hand, the driver made one _________, “Can I grab my iPod?” Soon enough, Warnock had ________ both the man and his machine.

The accident was caused when Sitko, the driver, who suffered only small injuries, lost ________ of his car. For his part, Warnock ________ he came to Sitko’s aid for one simple _________: “I just did what I teach my students to do.”

【推荐3】“Just sign here, sir,” the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

The package consisted of a long, narrow box ____ wrapped in brown paper. ____ the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside—a very old one with a beautifully carved wooden handle. ____ he had not seen it in more than 20 years, he recognised it immediately.

Oscar was 16 when he first saw the____ umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its beauty, Oscar felt a strong desire to find its ____.

Oscar ____ the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat ____ Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O’Brien.

Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O’Brien’s house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I ____ you?” she asked.

“I’d like to return it if it’s yours,” Oscar said, ____ the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for.

“Why, yes! It’s mine,” replied Mrs. O’Brien with a ____ smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your ____?”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “My grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.”

“Well, that’s ____ what my father used to say. What is your name, young man?”

Years later Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O’Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how ____ it was. Why had it arrived here today?

As if ____, a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, ____ gesture long ago.