The idea of helping people comes naturally to most of us. If we see a blind person getting off     1     bus, we watch to make sure that he is in no danger of     2     (fall).     3    , there are many people who have nobody near to see their need for help even when the need is known. The old, the handicapped (disabled), and the homeless — these are the people for     4     help may not come, because nobody sees. Organizations exist which try to make sure that someone sees when help     5     (need) and does something about it. Volunteers give up a little of their spare time     6     (lend) a hand.

If you wish to take part in this worthwhile activity, think of the people most in need of help and the ways in which help can be given. Old people cannot always redecorate     7     (they) homes. Household repairs, cleaning, preparing food or taking care of the garden may all prove difficult. Elderly people with failing eyesight are     8     (delight) if a friend comes in to read or to write letters for them.

People confined to wheelchairs cannot go out     9     somebody takes them. Blind children may love swimming but they need a sighted     10     (swim) to go with them.

What do you do if you want to help?

Herman Travis, 55, lives in Holly Courts, a low-income neighborhood in San Francisco and he has not so many     1     (possess). Every Tuesday, Travis fills a shopping cart (购物车) with groceries from a local food bank Then he makes home deliveries to his elderly and disabled neighbors. He began doing it in 2007 and when he first started, people were doubtful. They didn’t welcome it as he had expected. “At first people were     2     (caution). They didn’t let me in.”

“However, only after they     3    (get) to really know me were they pleased to see me eventually. But I wish that I had started doing it earlier.” Travis once told me I am one of Travis’ neighbors     4     receive deliveries from him. To some degree, I depend on him to live my life. Like everyone else, on the one hand, I sincerely appreciate his help, and on the other hand, I expect     5     (see) the joy Travis gets out of making     6     (he) rounds. If he didn’t come to see me, I should miss him very much now. When we meet with each other on the way, he may stop to chat with me for some time so I know much about him. He often says it is not so stressful a job. Having kept doing such a thing for about fifteen years already, he is admired and respected by everybody. Some people once asked him,

“Do you think it is worth doing such kinds of things?” He nodded his head, saying, “I think so. ” He’s so kind and warm, always     7     (smile), as if he were doing     8     favor for his own family.

What he does always appeals     9     other people in nearby neighborhoods that have been trying to poach (挖走)Travis for years. They suggest paying him to go and deliver food for them when they run out of food. But he simply wouldn’t do it for money.

It might be a small thing that Travis is doing so, but he does that with big love. It’s     10     (spiritual) rewarding for himself.

Once upon a time there was a woman     1     had been lost in the desert for three days without water. Just as she was about to break down, she saw there appeared to be a lake just a few hundred meters in front of her. “Is it just a mirage(幻觉)?” she thought to     2     （she）.

With the last bit of strength, she walked slowly toward the lake and quickly     3     （learn）that it was no mirage-it was a large lake full of fresh water.     4     she was dying of thirst, she didn’t drink the water at once. She just stood by the water and looked down at it.

There was a person     5     （ride）on a camel from a nearby desert town, who was watching the woman. He got     6     his camel, walked up to the     7     （thirst）woman and asked with a     8     （confuse）expression, “Why don’t you have a drink, madam?”

She looked up at the man with tears in her eyes. “I am dying of thirst,” she said, “But there is too much water in this lake. No matter what I do, I have no ability     9     （finish）it all.”

The person smiled and said, “Madam, it is your chance right now and you must understand that you don’t have to drink the whole lake. You can     10     （simple）take one little mouthful and focus only on the mouthful in front of you.