The young artist and potter Allan had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his elder son developed a severe stomachache. Neither Allan nor his wife took the condition very     1     (serious), but the boy died suddenly that night.

Knowing the death could     2     (avoid) if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, he always felt he was guilty. Worse still, his wife left him a short time later,     3     (leave) him alone with his 6-year-old younger son. Unable to stand the hurt and pain, he turned to alcohol and became     4     alcoholic.

As the alcoholism progressed, Allan began to lose everything he possessed and finally died alone in a small bar. Hearing of his death, I thought, “    5     a complete failure!”

As time went by, I began to revalue my     6     (early) rough judgement. I knew Allan’s now adult son, Ernie, one of the kindest and most caring men I’ve ever known. I hadn’t heard him talk much about his father. One day, I worked up my courage to ask him what     7     earth his father had done so that he became such a special person. Ernie said quietly, “As a child until I left home at 18, Allan came into my room every night,     8     (give) me a kiss and said, ‘Love you, son.’”

Tears came to my eyes as I realized that I had been a fool to judge Allan as a failure. He had not left many material     9     (possess) behind. But he had been a kind loving father,     10     left behind his best love.

One Sunday morning in August I went to local music festival. I left it early because I had an appointment     1     (late) that day. My friends walked me to the bus stop and waited with me     2     the bus arrived. I got on the bus and found a seat near the back, and then I noticed a man     3     (sit) at the front. He     4     (pretend) that a tiger toy was real and giving it a voice. He must be     5     (mental) disabled.

Behind him were other people to     6     he was trying to talk, but after some minutes they walked away and sat near me, looking     7    (annoy). I didn’t want to be laughed at for talking to him but I didn’t like leaving him     8     his own either. After a while I rose from my seat and walked to the front of the bus. I sat next to the man and introduced     9    (me). We had an amazing conversation. After his     10    (depart), I felt very happy the rest of the way home.

I’m glad I made a choice. It made both of us feel good.

【推荐3】Two little children were sitting by the fire one cold winter night. Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. “Who can it be?” they wondered. One ran     1    (curious) to open it. There, outside in the cold and the darkness, stood a child     2     no shoes on his feet and clad in old thin garments. He     3    (tremble) with cold, and he asked to come in and warm himself.

“Yes, come,” cried both the children. They drew the little stranger to their warm seat, shared their supper with him, and gave him their bed, and they slept on     4     hard bench.

On the night, they were awakened by sweet music,    5     was played by a band of children in shining garments. Suddenly the strange child stood before     6    : no longer cold and ragged, but clad in silvery light. He said, “I am the Christ Child,    7    (wander) through the world to bring peace and     8     (happy) to good children as you. As you have helped me so much, this tree will give rich fruit to you every year.”

    9     he was saying that, he broke a branch from the tree that grew near the door, and planted it in the ground and disappeared. But the branch grew     10     a great tree, and every year it bore wonderful golden fruit for the kind children.