【推荐1】One morning, when I was leaving for my business, a middle-aged man came up and asked me for help. He said he had no ________ to get food for his large family.

“You look ________. Why don’t you work?” I asked. “Simply because I cannot get work, sir.” “If I give you work, what do you want?” “________ I can get bread for my family, sir,” he answered.

I decided to find out if he ________ meant what he said. “OK. I’ll give you one pound an hour, if you will ________ a brick（砖）under your arm and walk around the square for five hours without ________.” “Thank you sir, I will.”

I found a brick and started him on his walk before I went to my ________. I never thought he would do as he had ________.

When I came back five hours later, I saw him ________ walking, with the brick under his arm. I stopped him and gave him ________ pounds. He thanked me and told me that some people had ________ to help him when they knew why he was doing all this. He would go and ask ________ for work. Before leaving, he asked if I would give him the ________, I did.

Several years later, A well-dressed man ________ me on a train. Seeing I was not sure who he was, he ________ that he was the brick man and had his own business now. “You know, I still keep that brick and always value it as the most expensive thing I have as it has brought me luck and success.”

【推荐2】Jessie Hamilton has worked as a cook at Louisiana State University (LSU) for 14 years. The students _________ called her their beloved second mother. She was famously known to _________ an ear, give a hand or offer _________ advice when needed. Jessie made a long-lasting _________ on the young men.

Andrew, a man who _________ LSU in the 1980s, remained close with Jessie in the past 36 years. One day, he paid a _________ to her, knowing she was still doing two jobs. When asked why she had not _________ yet, she admitted that she had long been ready but simply could not _________ to. In 2005, Jesse became a proud homeowner. _________, to afford the house, she took out a 30-year mortgage (按揭贷款), which ______________ that she would be working for the rest of her life to pay it off.

Discovering Jessie was prevented from ______________ her long deserved retirement, Andrew was determined to do something about it. He knew that Jessie had a special bond (关系) with many of the former ______________, so he had an idea to start a fundraiser. He requested ______________ of any amount from his schoolmates to ______________ Jessie’s mortgage. Andrew had everything ______________ in time for Jessie’s upcoming 74th birthday. Andrew, together with other 7 student representatives, traveled to Jessie’s home for the event.

Jessie’s son led her outside where the ______________ crowd sang, “Happy Birthday.” Jessie was overcome with emotion as ______________ streamed down her face. She was presented with a birthday card ______________ by all the 91 students and a $45,000 ______________ to pay off her mortgage. “If I hadn’t been ______________, I would have fallen down.” Jessie recalled the emotional moment.

【推荐1】Last year, preparing to move to Italy, I sorted through everything in our New York apartment. Clothes, shoes, toys, china, handbags — you name it. I had to_______what to give away, what to throw out, and what to_______and ship overseas.

It forced me to review, remember, and relive my _______. Some surprises awaited me. Dealing with all the material goods_______over a lifetime, I rediscovered just how much I value_______. I found the letter President Ronald Reagan_______to my father, congratulating him for his_______to the deaf   community; _______for 1960s Broadway hits my grandma had taken me to see. I had rejection_______from magazine editors, and a typed letter from my lawyer uncle advising me to_______fooling around and get a real job. I_______Father’s Day cards and a poem to my wife on our 40th anniversary.

It proved to me that paper _______serves a purpose, even with life going _______ and all but paperless. Reviewing _______ that you can feel on your fingertips is a powerful trigger ( 触 发 ) for_______.

Going through these documents was an _______to better know myself, to recognize who I was and how I’d changed.

My love of paper gave me_______proof of a life: a marriage navigated, children raised, and struggles won or lost. It’s a life _______to the fullest.

I did it mostly for me. But someday my children may _______to find these “keepsakes” (传家宝). Perhaps they’ ll be drawn to_______the history only our family can claim.

【推荐2】Learning the Ropes Course

We were dozens of feet off the ground, balancing on an inch of rope, slowly one foot in front of the other, crossing over toward the next platform, one cautious step at a time.

I tried to tell the counselors (辅导员). No. I’m not doing it. Somehow though, they _________ me go up on the ropes course: _________ a balance beam (平衡木), up a netted ladder that made me sick, knowing there was no _________ way out now.

At the end of the ropes course, I climbed up a ladder to the tallest tower I’d ever been on, _________ with a terrifying zip line (滑索) back down to the _________. I was shaking. The counselor at the top had a kind _________. She sat me down and asked what _________ me. I’d been on a zip line like this before at a _________. I fell straight into the water because I couldn’t hold on. The counselor told me to take my time. I decided to try it her way. She closed her eyes and had me close mine.

“I want you to remember this _________. So, I want you to take a deep breath __________ your nose and __________ the air as much as you can.”

I __________ the handlebar and looked down with a huge swallow (咽口水). Nope. Not gonna happen.

“You know you can do this. Just let go and you’ll be on the ground in three seconds. Like this: One. Two. Three.”

I thought about going on three. Nope. Not gonna happen.

__________ myself off that platform was terrifying even though I knew it would ultimately be exciting.

I took another deep breath. “Okay, let’s __________ again. “One. Two. Three.” Nope. “It’s alright sweetie. Just because you couldn’t hold on __________ doesn’t mean you can’t hold on now.”

“Let’s count one more time. One. Two. Three.”

And I let go. I __________ to the ground in one, two, three… With every butterfly I’ve ever known to exist flying around in my __________. And after dangling (摇晃) over the forest floor for three __________, my feet landed and __________ me running across the ground.

I was __________.

I felt supported.

I did it!

【推荐3】Making a difference in someone’s life is a rewarding experience. During my time in college, I landed my first real _________ at a cafe. Out of all the _________ I served, an elderly gentleman named Jeff left a lasting impression on me. Every Saturday afternoon, he would drop in and _________ a medium coffee. Whenever I had a moment, I would _________ a conversation with him and over time, we got to know each other well.

After a year of working every weekend, I decided to leave and _________ my two-week notice. The most _________ part of quitting was not informing my boss, but _________ the news to Jeff. I felt quite _________, as if I was abandoning him. When I finally brought it up, he replied in a _________ voice, “Oh, that’s too bad. I’m sure that the staff will miss you.” I began to think that our visits held no real __________ to him, and that he would be just as content enjoying his food alone. __________, on my last day, Jeff came in with a card that simply read, “Your __________ during our time together is heartwarming. Few things have brought me more __________ than our weekly visits. Thank you.”

The sincere __________ I received for my small gestures was truly astonishing. Giving up my weekends for a year was a small price to __________ the remarkable impact of kindness.