【推荐3】My family is still recovering from the terrible times when my teenaged stepson became ill. His disease led to kidney failure and an ongoing need for _________.

As anyone with a sick child knows, the stress doesn’t _________. And there was so much stress. My husband and I were _________ and it was as if we forgot how to communicate ---we couldn’t have a simple conversation without _________. Our once-happy home had become tense and unhappy.

In a _________ event of communication, my stepson and I were discussing Valentine’s gifts. I _________ that his dad gave me a kazoo(卡祖笛)for our first Valentine’s Day. My reaction to this gift was _________ when I, a professional saxophone player, couldn’t get it to make a _________.The kazoo finally got packed away and_________.

But he was interested and asked to see it. After some trouble, I found it_________. “What’s so hard about getting a sound?” He asked, amazed, turning it around in his hands. “I don’t know. It just never_________.” I answered. My husband _________ the kazoo---“It’s easy! Look, you just do this ...” and he blew. Nothing happened. He tried again, but still there was no sound. _________, he tried again, only to produce a sound like a bee. My stepson burst into laughter. Our excitement at seeing his face_________ like that was obvious. Soon, we were all laughing to the point of tears.

It was as if the dark had _________and a ray of sunshine was let in. Eyes_________ and souls reconnected. My stepson took a turn on the kazoo. He did no better than us. More _________. The mood stayed_________ for the rest of the evening. Months later, my stepson _________a successful kidney transplant, which turned out to be a turning point. It showed us that we can still bond as a _________. Thanks to a simple kazoo, we remembered that we are one.

【推荐1】I will always appreciate my father and his faith.

One summer, I remember, a drought (旱灾) hit Ontario, turning it _________ a burning desert. On one of those hot mornings I was picking sweet corn with my dad to fill the last _________ from the grocery store. Fifty dozen was all we needed, which _________ took twenty minutes. That morning, however, the process didn’t go quickly. After forty minutes of _________ walking in the field, we _________ needed twenty dozen. I was completely frustrated and angry. _________ the basket heavily, I declared, “If the store wants its last twenty dozen, they can pick it themselves! ” Dad laughed. “Just think, my little girl, only _________ dozen left for each of _________ and then we’re done. ” Such is Dad—whatever problem he _________, he never gives up.

Dad is also a living example of real __________. From dawn to dusk, he works countless hours to __________ our family. He always puts our happiness __________ his own, and never fails to cheer me on at my sports games __________ his tiredness after long days. His loving and selfless nature has inspired me to try to __________ others first.

Dad, the life __________ I have learned from you will stay with me forever. You are my father, teacher, friend and, most importantly, my hero.

【推荐2】As a teenager, I felt I was always letting people down. I was not easygoing and sometimes stubborn (顽固的) outside , but I wanted to be liked________

Once I ________ home to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn’t ________, and there were many times I was in danger. This________ in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home, I was different, not so strongly________ of myself.

I noticed that Penelope, who was staying with us, was________ my clothes. And my family   seemed to like her ________ than me. I wondered if I would be ________ if I weren’t there. I       pointed out ,“ She is more patient and________ than I have ever been .” My mom said these were wonderful________ , but I was the only person who could________ my role and had my set of ________. There would always be somebody who was better at one of the things I was ________ at ,   but no one in the universe can ________ the quality of my combination of talents , ideas , abilities and even________

My view of myself was ________ I started to try to ________ in ways that I hadn’t liked     before, and I was delighted by who I really was. I felt much more ________ that no one can ever   take my place.

Each of us holds a unique________ in the world, just as there are no two same leaves in the   forests. You are________, no matter what others say.

【推荐3】This story began when I was a child. I was born in_______. Often we hadn’t enough to eat. When never we had some food, Mother often give me her portion. While she was putting her rice into my bowl, she would say, “Eat this rice, son! I’m not_______.”

As I grew, Mother her_______her spare time to_______ in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more _______ for my growth. Once she caught just two fish, she made fish soup. While I was eating the soup, Mother sat beside me and ate what was still kept on the_______of the fish I had eaten. My heart was_______when I saw it. So I gave the other fish to her but she immediately_______it and said, “I don’t_______like fish.”

Then, in order to pay for my_______Mother went to a match factory. This helped her get some money to cover my school fees. One wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight________I said, “Mother, go to sleep; it’s late; you can________working tomorrow.” Mother smiled and said, “Go to sleep, son! I’m not________.”

When I had to sit my final examination, mother accompanied me. Mother________for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang, I ran to________her. Mother give me a glass of tea that she had________. The tea was not as________as Mother’s love. Seeing Mother covered with sweat, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to________too. Mother said, “I’m not thirsty!”.

Now , I’m an employer and my________now is to work hard and to repay my mother for all the________that she gave me.

【推荐2】The tourist bus winded its way into a mountainous area. When it was ________ to make a turn, two passengers, a ________ of young lovers, were so attracted by the beautiful scenery that they ________ a stop to get down. They were left behind and the bus went ________. Suddenly they heard a loud boom ________ of the road. It was a huge rock rolling down in the landslide that hit the bus and fell with it into a deep valley. The lovers were greatly ________ by the news that no passengers on board ________. When they calmed down they ________ and expressed their feelings in a few words.

The above story was told by a guide when we were riding a tourist ________ to a scenic mountain. He asked us to guess what the lovers said ________ after the disaster that they had narrowly escaped.

Often we read reports about traffic accidents, among which there were ________ ones who missed the bus and ________ the disaster. Those people usually said with a sigh of ________. “Fortunately I was not on board.” On our bus the passengers' ________ to the guide were various.

But the answer was quite out of our expectation. “If we hadn't got down and ________ the bus, it would have ________ the dangerous spot and all the passengers would have survived.”

The story passed from person to person as a sort of IQ test, but I think ________. It actually serves as a(n) ________ of a person's mind. I pay my heartfelt respect to the couple who, instead of feeling lucky, ________ themselves for causing the loss of lives. People all have heart for ________, but it is often a flashing thought across one's mind that decides whether it is good or evil.

【推荐3】Mary has been living alone since her husband passed away 37 years ago. In May 2021, the lockdown was particularly ________ for her. The 99-year-old spent her days watching television game shows. Also ________ at home, Benjamin, a then two-year-old who lived next door was unable to ________ with kids of his age.

The ________ friendship developed gradually. At first, Mary would ________ at Benjamin from her window whenever she saw the young boy in the yard. Then, she risked going outside to ________ him in person. The routine (惯例) eventually expanded to daily ________ by the fence (围栏) that separated the two homes. The unlikely pair even ________ a socially distanced game that Mary calls “cane ball”.

“I came out of the house one morning, and he threw his ball toward the ________ ,” she said. “I got my cane (手杖), and I reached over the fence and ________ the ball toward him, and he’d throw it back. That’s how it started. ”

This spring, Mary ________ Benjamin with a colorful toy truck collection that had once belonged to her son. The young boy returned the ________ with a gift of his own—a pile of dirt that he ________ carried in his small hand and dropped at her door.

“Friendship really knows no ________ ,” Benjamin’s mother said. “Certainly, you wouldn’t guess that a 99-year-old and a 2-year-old would be ________ , but they could be. And they both got a lot out of it. ”

【推荐1】“Mom, you’re always on the computer!” Laure complained.

“No, I’m not,” I _______.

“Every day I come home from school you’re working on the computer.”

“Well, at least I’m here _______ you!”

My daughter was right. Day after day, in my home office, I would stare into space as my _______ typed out the thoughts of a speaker or research completed for an article. It seemed that my work as a writer and speaker _______ my fingers to the keyboard and my mind to valuable ideas. What Laure did not _______ was that during her day away, I’d also be doing a lot of _______. It was only around three in the afternoon that I’d _______ seat myself at my desk for a few _______ moments of deep thought. Then she’d come from school.

“Laure,” I called, “_______ here a minute.”

After I explained my schedule and the fact that I chose home office to be accessible to her and her sister, I offered Laure the following promise.

“Whenever you feel I’m ignoring you or you need my ________, I want you to ________ me,” I said. “Just come up and give me a little hug. That’ll be our signal that you ________ me.”

Years later we still have that ________sign. I’ve become much more sensitive(敏感的) to my daughter’s comings and goings. ________ she always gives me a little hug to remind me of the ________ reason why I work at home.

【推荐3】The goal of the Egg Drop Challenge was simple -- you built a __________container to keep an egg from breaking when __________over the stadium wall.

We worked alone or with a(n) __________. My best friend, Cassie, and I always worked on projects together. She is_________; I'm brainy. We are the perfect__________.

I made my sandwich while waiting for Cassie to come and __________the container. Spreading the marshmallow (棉花软糖) cream __________me an idea -- cushion the egg with some marshmallow creams to __________ the shock of the impact (撞击力). I told Cassie my brilliant__________when she arrived. Then, Cassie said,“You’ve got to be kidding? Actually, I have a __________idea. We put the egg in a basket with a parachute (降落伞)___________. It will simply float to safety.” “ It’s easy for something to go wrong.” I disagreed. Neither was_________ and Cassie stormed out.

This is how the__________ worked: all the kids carried their egg containers up three stairs and dropped them. If your egg broke, you were out. If the egg _________, you walked up three more_________and dropped it again. This went on until the last egg broke.

Finally, only Cassie and I were left.

“Good luck, Laura.” Cassie said, turning to me. I didn’t __________, figuring winning would be sweeter revenge(复仇). The class called out the count of three and I let go of my box. I _________down the steps. The sidewalk was already_________ with egg shells from previous failed drops. I found my brave egg broken. I looked at Cassie’s basket, Empty. Cassie looked at me __________and we laughed. The competition ended in a _________. But we had won something more important. Our friendship can survive a little bouncing.