【推荐1】My wife Pat and I were having drinks outside our home, the weather was unusually_______for March in Mississippi, There was barely any breeze, after we finished the second cup, flashes of_______danced across the sky. When the first drops of rain drove us_______, the phone rang. Pat’s face_______on that gray and hot day. It was our son, David, a helicopter pilot who_______in the US Air Force in South Korea. David intended to sound_______, but we recognized the sign of homesickness from his voice._______, the power of conversation made us feel_______,until a crash shook the windows.

David wondered what it was, “Just thunder, “Pat said.

There were several seconds of silence,“David”,I asked, “are you_______there?”

“Yes…apart from the two of you, do you know what else I________most? Thunder, We have rain, wind, and________here, but it never thunders, Remember? Dad, when I was a kid, you laughed me out of fear of thunder? I wish I were there to________with you now.”

“Yes…”I said, trying to________my tears, On hanging up the phone, I told Pat, “I’m going to record our son some ________.”“Bob, the neighbors will think you’re crazy.”

“David won’t,” I said and went outside with a recorder, Later I ________the tape to David with a single line: A ________gift.

David called again, “Dad, “he said, “You won’t believe that some friends and I had a thunder party where we realized we were listening to the sounds of ________, Thanks, Dad! It was really a special present,” While David was in Korea, we found ourselves ________thunderstorms. ________feeling blue, we regarded the thunder as special which let us know that wherever we might be, we were ________together as a family.

【推荐2】The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.- Eleanor Roosevelt.

My home is a place of great beauty and agricultural richness, as well as of war and natural disasters. When I was only fourteen years old, I was filled with ____ in spite of the terrible surroundings. The families living here, who tried to make their living from the land,____ great losses.

I felt sorry especially for the children , but I ____ to be hopeless, I decided that where I was, I could do ____ to help them. I began knocking on every door and saying to each person who ____ my knock, "I know that you are ____ and give the birds that come to your yard a little ____. Please consider me your bird. Give me only a handful of rice each week when I come to your ____ . I will take it to the temple where it can be given to the   ___ children."

No one seemed to mind giving me a handful of rice, even ____ they had little themselves. On Sunday, I would go to the ____ and give my handfuls of rice to the monks to give away to the children.

One day, I came to a house that had ____ kinds to give. I told my story and asked if I could be their bird. The woman called her daughters, and ____ gave me fifty cents, as well as the handful of rice! I began to ask for change and rice from the other "bird feeders", and they gave them to me. Everyone was happy to help those who were suffering, even ___ only this small way. The temple was soon able to help everyone who came to them for food and clothing. "Consider me your bird." My childish idea had not stopped the war, but anyway, it was ____ some peace.

【推荐3】When things went wrong, Ittleby Fein always had something nice to say.

When Dad forgot about the pizza and it burned, Ittleby said, “Don’t _______. It’ll still taste good.” And he was _______. The pizza edges were dark, _______ the middle wasn’t bad.

Ittleby looked on the _______ side. And everyone, except Hazel, _______ that about him.

Hazel was the _______ student in class. On her first day, Ittleby said, “Nice to meet you, Hazel. I think you’ll like it here.” Hazel looked at him, “I _______ it.” Ittleby didn’t know what to do. He’d never _______ anyone like Hazel.

_______ Mr. D. said they’d have recess (休息) inside ________ the rain, Hazel said, “Bad things come in threes. No outdoor recess is number one. What will the ________ thing be?”

The class didn’t have to ________ long to find out. Greta was carrying a box of paints during art class. She ________, and paint went flying. Hazel turned to Ittleby, “That was the second ________ thing. What will the third be?”

Ittleby didn’t know what to say. Hazel seemed so ________ about the Rule of Three Bad Things.

Emma came to look at Ittleby’s ________. She picked it up, not realizing she had paint on her fingers. Hazel pointed, “Ittleby’s picture is ruined (破坏)! There’s number three.” Emma looked ________. “I’m sorry, Ittleby.” “It’s OK, Emma. If I add wings, the fingerprint (指纹) could look like butterflies,” said Ittleby.

So Ittleby added wings. ________ he said, “Everyone, let’s make a field of butterflies.”

Everyone put a fingerprint on Ittleby’s paper. Only Hazel didn’t.

“Want to add one?” Ittleby asked her. Hazel thought about it, and she carefully added wings.

“It looks ________. I like it very much,” said Ittleby. Hazel ________, “You know, I don’t really think there’s a Rule of Three Bad Things.” Ittleby nodded, “Bad things happen. But good things happen, too. And sometimes, there are good things hiding where you don’t expect them.”

【推荐1】As a teacher, my daily activity includes driving to a new school almost every day.

On one particular day, I was teaching in a very ________ classroom. I was managing behavior all morning, and by lunch time I knew I needed a coffee to ________ the afternoon. So during my lunch break, I drove to a nearby square to get a coffee. Upon returning to the ________, I realized I have locked my phone and my ________ inside! I had about 15 minutes to get back to the ________, which was a good five-minute drive. If I ran back really quickly, I could ________ it. But it was winter, and a sudden fall on the ice would only make the situation much ________.

So I hurried into a McDonald’s in the same square, and ________ the man at the counter, who happened to be the ________ to call a taxi for me. After I ________ explained my situation to him, he rushed inside to make the phone ________ I waited anxiously in the restaurant. I had less than 10 minutes to ________ to my school at this point.

A moment later, the manager ________ only to tell me that the line was ________ and that he had not been able to ________ the taxi yet. I think both ________ and fear could be seen in my face.

Without a thought, he grabbed his coat and ________ to drive me to the school. Without hesitation, I followed him into his car and got back to the classroom with two minutes to ________before the bell rang!

This experience made me ________ that out of every seemingly hopeless situation, there is the opportunity for acts of kindness to happen, which has a(n) ________ influence on those who receive them.

【推荐2】My mother was a nurse and often took me along to visit the families she was caring for. Among them was a woman who had a _______ disease and was always lying on the bed.

One afternoon, my mom told me that we needed to visit the woman at her home, and that we needed to be there to _______ treatment, and we would stop at a store on the way. I thought we would stop at a _______ store, where we can buy some pills, but we pulled up to a _______. My mom headed to the make-up area and bought the most expensive bottle of perfume they _______. To my surprise, she also bought a _______ nightdress. When I asked my mom who these things were for, she said they were for her patient. My mom further explained that although this woman was older and unable to _______ her bed, she was still a lady, and she still _______ dignity (尊严) and beauty. She _______ to me that when we care for someone, we should look past the ________ or the illness and we look into the soul of the human so we can connect with them with sympathy.

I ________ realized that my mother’s great strengths and abilities were ________ the very young and the very old, those who can not ________ out their needs and hope for themselves, and need trustworthy and loving care providers. Under the influence of my mother, I knew in the 9^th grade I would become a ________. Today, my dream has come true. I work as a clinical psychologist, working hard and remembering what my mom taught me, and I’m not ________ that I find my work filled with patients who are very and very old.

【推荐3】I will never forget the darkness, the pain and strong desire to escape.

November _______ grey and busy, and going into an even more stressful December, I was filled with _______ thoughts.

On Saturday, I watched a TV program teaching _______ , and then I started to learn. By the end of the weekend, I had a dining room table covered with sweet treats. I packaged them up in tins, attached a label to each of them _______ "winter love" on it, and dropped them off on a few of my _______ porches(门廊)before work. It shocked me _______ it lightened my mood, seeing a small _______ lost on a porch.

The thanks I received later from the neighbors made me light up. It felt so good, and it distracted me from my dark _______ .

By January I had _______ a routine: On Sunday I'd bake cookies and package them up, and on Monday I'd deliver them. Every week I ________ a few different people to my delivery route, baked a few different kinds of cookies.

Then things started ________ on my doorstep—a homemade cup, a pair of socks with tiny cookies and ________ a gift certificate(礼券)from the local bookstore. Every single one warmed my heart. ________ what I really appreciated was how people began to share their own stories of mental health with me. There is no greater ________ than to be trusted with another's life. I was overwhelmed by the love and care of my community. It humbled(使感到卑微)me that something so ________ had created such incredible kindness. It ________ me that there was good in me, in my neighbors, in the world.

I was shifting into a new season of light, while letting go of a season of darkness. What had begun ________ an attempt to bring light into my own darkness had been transformed into a story more beautiful than I could have ________ dreamed. It reminded me that there is ________ being kind and that life is hard, but there is a quiet strength in knowing you are not ________.