【推荐1】An old saying goes that “Good fences make good neighbors.” With so many folks ______ to stay at home during the pandemic, good fences can also make good ______ .

In Minneapolis, the Olson family lives next door to 99-year-old Mary. Although Mary’s daughter ______ once a week, for the most part, the pandemic left Mary alone. But with lockdown (封锁) ______ Mary managed to form a special friendship with one of her neighbors—Benjamin Olson, aged 2.

Over time, Mary watched through the chain-link as Benjamin learned to walk, talk, and ______ run and play. Despite the huge differences in their ______ Benjamin was drawn to his elderly neighbor, ______ in her presence. Between the two, they developed a ______ they could play over the fence. Benjamin would ______ her a ball and she’d hit it back to him with her stick.

While others might ______ at the 97-year gap between the two, when Benjamin sees Mary, he ______ sees a friend, not a number. Mary’s daughter believes the ______ has been a lifeline that’s kept her mum going through the long period.

When the lockdown was lifted, Benjamin ______ Mary on her back steps to play games that bring joy to both the young and the young at ______ .

In August, when Mary celebrates her 100th birthday, the one thing she won’t be wishing for is a ______ friend. Benjamin is the one that has covered.

【推荐2】My freshman year started out predictably stressful for me. I had never made friends _________ or been able to start conversations with strangers. But I was determined to become a better person.

I remember that day when I was having my lunch alone at a bench, planning my _________ into the student community. Suddenly my daydreaming was _________ when a girl passing by said “hello” to me, _________ and waving her hand!

You’d never think a simple “hello” could actually change the _________ of someone’s life. But that unexplained little act of _________ was all that I needed. Next thing I knew, I was _________ into the book discussion club. Here and there, I would still _________ that girl around, and she kept on smiling and waving at me every time she passed by. All until one day when, passing by, she _________ said “Hey there, Janice!” and went away.

Oh gosh, she knew my name! This was starting to worry me. I thought, maybe I should ask her __________, but it was too late to ask. But finally a miracle (奇迹) __________ — thanks to roll call I found out that she was called Anne! The mystery was __________, and I didn’t need to feel __________ anymore!

Thanks to her little “hello” that day and the __________ it gave me to get into the book club where I came across my future husband, Michael. You can always __________ my bridesmaid, Anne, in the photos. She’s always waving her hand and smiling!

【推荐3】Pen pals Jill Stretton and Cathie Alexander live half a world apart. However, they’ve_________a faithful correspondence (通信) for seven decades.

The long­lived letter­writing relationship _________in 1950 when 12­year­old Stretton from Australia was given Alexander’s_________by a friend. Back then, it sometimes took six weeks for a long­distance letter to reach its_________，but the pair established an instant rapport (融洽) after their first_________that has grown_________with time.

Though the two women didn’t meet in person until 1982, they felt as if they had truly_________with one another, sharing life’s moments through their letters. “She is just like one of the family，” Stretton said.“And we are still together as we ever were 70 years ago. That is quite_________for people who've lost confidence in ever­lasting friendship.”

Stretton and Alexander have never stopped_________to one another. Along with hopes, dreams, photos, and family updates, through the years, their letters have contained their sweet life__________ —weddings, birthdays, graduation and so on.

While they__________write letters, with the development of technology, Stretton and Alexander have slightly bowed to the times. For longer messages, they’ve turned to the Internet, but they agree that nothing will__________a handwritten note. “Now, we do__________to send postcards rather than write long letters because we email each other now,” Stretton__________honestly. But letter writing plays the most important part in their friendship.

The two women’s story proves that the__________is nothing when it comes to true friendship.

【推荐1】I believe even the smartest people have to work hard to achieve success. People make themselves into winners by their own _________.

Many years ago, I took the head _________ job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a tradition for the school’s old team to play against the _________ team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn’t even practice to _________ the game, but to my disappointment we were defeated. Thinking hard about it, I came to _________ that I had to change my _________ towards their ability and potential.

I started doing anything I could to help them build a little _________. Most importantly, I began to treat them like _________.That summer vacation, we met every day and _________ passing and kicking the football.

Six months after our defeat, we won our first game and our second, and continued to __________. Finally, we faced the number one team in Georgia. I felt that it would be a __________ for us even if we lost the game. But my boys beat them, giving me the greatest __________ of my life!

From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can __________ the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and __________ them. I helped them to see themselves __________, and they built themselves into winners. Winners are made, not born.

【推荐2】During a recent holiday I visited Dusseldorf a city in the west of Germany. The nine-day trip left a deep impression _________ me. I arrived at Dusseldorf airport at 7 pm. It was already _________ outside. The first thing I needed to do was to find a place to _________. I decided to telephone the Youth Hotel. But to use the phone I needed some _________; I asked a lady for help. To my _________ she gave me three coins to use. But all the phones in the _________ needed phone cards. And phone cards could only be bought at post offices during the _________. I was _________ I would not be able to call the hotel. When I was about to give up, an old gentleman came to me. He couldn’t speak English _________ understand that I needed to __________ a phone call. He showed me where the phone was and inserted __________ phone card. I called the Youth Hotel and found a place to stay that night.

The __________ of the German people made me feel that I was not __________ my hometown. My first day in Germany wasn’t as __________ as I expected. When I got lost in the city, I asked people for __________. It surprised me that __________ every young German could speak English fluent. Older Germans couldn’t __________ English very well, but they would try to help me whenever they could. One middle-aged man I asked for directions even __________ me to the place I was looking for.

My __________ in Germany totally changed my impression of Germans. Now I think the people couldn’t be more __________.

【推荐3】Traveling with a toddler (幼儿) can be exhausting. But rarely is it as painful as Kate Baker’s experience during a flight twenty years ago.

Baker and her husband, Bob, were _______ to Europe with their 2-year-old son, Neil. “When we got on the plane in New York, all of us were _______,” she said. “But halfway over the Atlantic Ocean, Neil started to get very warm.” Then Neil began foaming (口吐白沫) at the mouth.

“The flight attendants were _______ in asking anyone if they were a doctor,” Baker _______. “No one would come forward. And then the pilot started to _______ , ‘Is there a doctor on board?’ And again, no one came forward.”

One of the flight attendants asked Baker’s husband if the toddler was still breathing. “Just _______,” he replied anxiously. “Hearing those words, I felt so _______ that I could’t move,” Baker said.

Then she noticed three women get out of their seats and _______ where she was standing. They were Muslim women wearing hijabs (头巾), and they came up to her and put their _______ around her, comforting her in a quite ________ voice.

They eventually landed in Amsterdam, and Baker and her husband took Neil to a(n) ________. Doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with him, and by then he appeared to be ________. However, Baker still felt worried and they quickly ________ another flight home.

They went right to a pediatrician (儿科医生), who ________ that Neil had just had an ear infection. So everything was fine. But Baker would never forget those women and how ________ they were.