【推荐3】Those who have children will know that it’s incredibly important to celebrate their children’s birthdays -especially when they’re younger. However, this year children have to experience a birthday in lockdown. Elizabeth Guthrie’s parents were ______ about the fact that her third birthday was coming up pretty fast, but any party planning had to be toned down due to lockdown measures and social distancing ______ . They tried hard to work out a way to celebrate her birthday ______ , and then they came up with the perfect ______.

Like many people across the globe, Elizabeth loves dogs, so her parents wanted to do something that would ______ the youngster to celebrate her birthday with some four-legged friends in tow(牵着). They ______ a sign in their backyard asking for dog ______ in the area to take their dogs on a walk at a ______ time on Elizabeth’s birthday, and they hoped that their neighbors would ______ them to celebrate.

In the end, the whole community ______ together to wish Elizabeth a happy birthday with their pups in tow. Many of them walked by her house. others drove by, and there were ______ some who made their own banners to celebrate Elizabeth’s ______ day. She loved every second of it, and there was no ______ about the fact that it was a birthday to ______ .

Isn’t it ______ to see so many people working together for such a great cause?

【推荐1】The winter skies are grey and it’s cold outside. The nights come early and we spend a lot more time _______ and alone. Many people _______ winter: so cold, so dark, so boring. But I like winter because I have more time to read.

For many students reading means school; it means _______. Reading is something your teacher assigns and it’s something you’re _______. Reading is something you have to do, not something you want to do. But for me and many other people, reading is the most _______ thing we can imagine. Getting lost in a good book can _______ a cold winter evening disappear. Dull grey skies are no _______ for the fantastic adventures of Frodo in The Lord of the Rings (《指环王》), or for romantic trouble-making of Jane Austen’s Emma (《爱玛》), or for the youthful problems of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye (《麦田守望者》).

All of those books are studied in North American high schools. They are interesting and well written books that _______ young people. _______, even there, many high school students don’t enjoy reading the books because they are ________ their school work: “Oh, my God! Two hundred pages! I’ll never be able to read ________ much.” But sometimes a funny thing happens. They begin to read and they begin to follow the ________. Suddenly, the world inside the book becomes more exciting and more wonderful than the world they ________. At the moment the thought ________ reading is work disappears and reading becomes ________.

Reading anything is ________ but reading good books is a terrific way to improve your English. Good writers write English very well and ________ you with good examples to follow. And good books will tell you more about English ________: what people think, how they talk, how they interact with each other. But don’t let me ________ it by telling you that reading is good for you. Just think of it as a good way to ________ on a cold winter evening.

【推荐2】Hardship comes in different shapes and sizes. But few things in life are as _______ as feeling cut off from the people we love.

Recently, while _______ against the COVID-19, my grandkids and I have to stay indoors and started _______ via Wechat. Mostly, I read to them because I love doing it, but I also do it for their parents' mental health. Besides having to stay indoors, they are _______ to homeschool their kids, who can't go to school or play with their friends.

Reading to each other is an age-old practice to me. It has _______ and healing (治愈的) power especially in current situation. When we read, we see the words with our eyes. But hearing them read is a different _______, we just need to be quiet and listen. Sometimes, the voice and the love it_______ mean far more than the words. Today, I wechatted with my grandkids, Ran and Wey, and read them a book my kids loved long ago, and they thought it _______, frequently bursting out laughing.

Now more than ever, while keeping a safe distance, we all need to _______ each other. Sometimes the words we read are so powerful that they will never be ________.

【推荐2】A man was driving when he found a lady needed help. So he stopped. When he was coming up to her, she was worried______nobody had stopped for hours. Besides, he didn’t look safe as his appearance was so ugly and ______. He could see how scared she was, so he tried to ______ her, “I am here to help you. Don’t worry. My name is Bryan Anderson.”

The car______, so he had to crawl(爬)under the car to repair it. When the job was done, she asked how much she should ______him for his help. Bryan smiled, “If you______want to pay me back, the next time you see someone who needs help, ______the person help. And think of me.”

Several days later in a small ______, the lady saw a waitress nearly eight months pregnant(怀孕的). The waitress gave her a friendly smile although she was______after spending the whole day on her feet. Then the lady______Bryan. The lady paid for her meal with a﹩100 bill. When the waitress got______and came back, the lady had gone. She______a note on the napkin(餐巾纸), “You don’t owe me______. Somebody once helped me, ______like now I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, don’t let this chain of______end.” The waitress found four more﹩100 bills under the napkin.

That night the waitress came home earlier, ______ how the lady could know how much she and her husband needed money when the ______would soon arrive. She knew her husband worried about that, so she was very ______to tell him the news. Then she kissed him and______, “Now everything will be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

The help you give to others shall always get back to you, so please don’t______to offer a helping hand whenever someone needs help.

【推荐3】Having a positive attitude can mean the difference between living a life full of joy and happiness and living a life full of depression and misery. Your ________ determines what you will experience in life ________ what the actual circumstances are.

Reality can be a difficult concept to grasp. How is it that two people can have the ________ experience yet one person comes out of it loving life while the other comes out of it hating life? There was a story of two brothers who were ________ in a home with a father who drank all the time. It would be no ________ if both of the boys grew up to be alcoholics themselves with a hatred for life. One of the two brothers did just that. He followed his father’s footsteps. However, the other brother grew up ________ the opposite. Having experienced that _______, he made up his mind to be a ________ and loving father because he didn’t want his kids to go through what he was forced to go through.

So what made the difference in the ________ of these two men’s lives? You see, it’s not what happens to you that ________ how your life will turn out; it’s what you do about it that counts much. The ________ for having a good attitude is that your decisions and actions will be different. On the contrary, if you had a negative attitude, you will probably experience a different outcome as a result of those ________.

It’s true that you can’t control outside circumstances and events, ________ don’t feel discouraged, for you have total control over what you decide to do with those circumstances. By ________ feeding your mind with positive material, you will be more likely to ________ the decision that will eventually bring you closer to your goals.