【推荐2】When I was growing up,I was ashamed to be seen with my father.He was severely disabled and very_______. When we would walk together,he put his hand on my arm for_______,and people would stare.I would be afraid of the unwanted_______.If he ever noticed or was bothered,he never let_______his feelings.It was_______to coordinate（使协调）our steps,and because of that,we didn't_______much as we went along.But as we started out,he always said,“You set the _______.I will try to follow you.”Our usual walk was to or from the subway,which was_______he got to work. He went to work,despite sickness or bad weather.He almost never missed a day,and would_______it to the office even if others could not.

He never talked about himself as an object of________.Nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or ________. What he looked for________others was a “good heart”,and if he found one,the________was good enough for him.Now that I am older,I believe that is a proper________by which to judge people,though I________don't know exactly what a “good heart” is.

He has been gone many years now,________I think of him often.I wonder if he________I was unwilling to be seen with him during our________.If he did,I am sorry for my feeling________to be with him in public and how I regretted it.I think of him when I complain about trifles（琐事）,when I am envious of another's good fortune,and when I don't have a “good heart”.

At such times I put my hand on his arm to________my balance,and say,“You set the pace,and I will try to follow you.”

【推荐3】What is a family? Why does it_________? These questions seem_________important in the_______ season when it is often our tradition to celebrate together.

My mother was one of twelve_______. As they grew up, married and had kids of their own, most of them lived_______ enough in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina so that they didn’t need to travel a long way to see each other in the holidays.

I can’t recall getting many gifts from them._______, I remember the sense of being part of something that told me I was loved. The time we spent together was always filled with happiness.

I_______the laughing, playing and fighting with my crazy cousins.

I watched my granddad and uncles sit_______the door arguing about politics and trying to _______the problems of the world as if they were working in the White House. I listened to my grandmother, mother and aunts chat about their lives, hopes and dreams and gossip about any sister who failed to________so that we wouldn’t forget about them in their absence.

The food was always plentiful and delicious. But for me, the food was ________the highlight (亮点). The highlight was________being together.

However, they're all gone now. My parents and grandparents, my aunts and uncles have________ this world. My cousins are scattered (分散) here and there. And yet the memories________, along with the love that we shared.

I________ those memories as well as the things they taught me. They told me that families aren't________, but they prepare us to find our way in this imperfect world.

My husband and I are growing a________ family, while keeping close to our old families. Our life is a beautiful________ of kindness, traditions, nurturing and friendships, which grows year after year.

I hope this holiday season will fill you with lovely memories of the family that ________you, and surround you with all the people who ________“family” to you now.

【推荐1】At the age of 53, Dr. Holden, a college president, decided to escape from university life for some time. “After being the president for too long,” he later explained, “you begin to _________ yourself and assume you have the power that you don’t.” He especially wanted to learn about people who do _________ work. “I wanted to relearn things I’d forgotten.”

Dr. Holden started his leave on a farm, _________ thirteen hours a day. After that, he planted trees in Atlanta, washed dishes in a restaurant and during the last ten days _________ a garbage collector. This unusual leave was conducted _________. Holden only telephoned his family once a week, informing them that he was healthy.

He did have trouble seeking _________, though. He had been on the job washing dishes at the restaurant exactly one hour _________ the boss came over and said, “I’m afraid you won’t do. It’s not your work. Sorry”. Then he _________ him two dollars. That was the first time in more than thirty years as a job _________ that Holden had heard such words. It helped him understand how a man of his age might feel when he suddenly __________ he had lost his job.

Holden had some things to say. “A lot of my co-workers would complain when the work was too heavy,” he said, “but they’d complain __________ when there was nothing to do.” He found pride and satisfaction came __________ in the form of praise from co-workers. While pay __________, what brought the greatest satisfaction was knowing that your effort had been noticed.

Dr. Holden returned to his post after two months of working with his hands, __________that every young person should be required to spend at least half a year in the world of __________ before starting university studies.

【推荐2】Kindness can really make you pause and be thankful during a stressful time.

Cassandra Warren was in a ______ and was feeling a little overwhelmed(使应接不暇)by work and planning her wedding. After she got her wedding. After she got her wedding invitations ready one day, she hurriedly ______ one to her aunt and uncle. A week later, the invitation came back. She had written down the ______ address. A handwritten note was ______ the returned envelop, which read. “I wish I ______ you-this is going to be an enjoyable experience. Congratulations-go to have dinner ______ me. I’ve been married for 40 years-it gets better with age.” A $20 bill was inside.

Cassandra was at a bit of a professional crossroads and had been having a ______ day. In fact, she’d nearly broken down, telling her ______ to her husband-to-he Jesse Jones just as she opened the ______ envelop. Then she read the note. “It was kind of perfect timing.” said Cassandra Warren. “We are ______ who the mysterious note writer is. But I really ______ it.”

Cassandra and Jesse ______ with a friend who was going overseas the following night. They happily put the $20 towards their ______ . Then Cassandra stopped by a store and bought a thank-you card. She ______ wrote her aunt’s address on the envelop again-this time ______ -and addressed it to “Kind Stranger” ______ by the following words inside, “Thank you for the ______ and taking ______ to send it. Not so many people would have done that. It was a big ______ after the day I was having. I am ______ people like you still being int he world.”

One night I decided to spend some time building a happier and closer relationship with my daughter. For several weeks she had been_______me to play chess (棋) with her, so I suggested a game and she eagerly _______. It was a school night, however, and at nine o'clock my daughter asked if I could _______ my moves, because she _______to go to bed; she had to get up at six in the morning. I_______she had strict sleeping habits, _______I thought she ought to be able to_______some of this strictness. I said to her, “_______, you can stay up late for once. We’re having _______. ” We played on for another fifteen minutes, during which time she looked ________ Finally she said, “Please, Daddy, do it quickly.” “No,” I replied. “If you’re going to play it ________, you’re going to play it slowly.” And so we ________ for another ten minutes, until ________my daughter burst into tears, and________that she was beaten.

Clearly I had made________ I had started the evening wanting to have a ________time with my daughter but had ________my desire to win to become more________than my relationship with my daughter. When I was a child, my desire to win________me well. As a parent, I________that it got in my way. So I had to change.

【推荐1】“I guess I’m never going to see Hawaii before I die.” My mother said these words many times during the last years of her life. Her father, a soldier from World War II, was one of the ______ of the Pearl Harbor, who had passed away shortly before I was born, and it had always been a ______ for her to visit the place which ______ such a historical and emotional meaning for her.

In fact, my mother was lucky enough to travel all over the world during her marriage to my father and she saw many places we would be ______ of. She once lived in Dubai with my father, and they spent some amazing time visiting that beautiful city.

______, she never got to Hawaii. As my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary ______, my sister and I decided that ______ was going to be a better gift than ______ our parents were in Hawaii for their golden celebration. So finally, after years of ______ my father took her there, and completely ______ everyone by reviewing their vows of love in their youth on a beautiful beach. I think it was one of the happiest ______ in her life, and one of the most unforgettable moments I carry with was that my sister and I ______ our father to make that trip happen. But the good time was short, because my mother’s health ______ became worse after she came back and she passed away the next year.

I’ll forever be ______ that my mom had that time with my father in Hawaii before she left us. My father had a chain that he had bought for my mother as a ______ of that trip, and now he wears it every day. My mother will stay in our mind forever.