【推荐1】As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three older sisters and brother. Every year, my mother _______ the same pageant and had parent/child interviews with the same teachers. The only thing _______ was the child. And every child participated in an old school tradition — the annual plant sale held in early May, _______ for Mother’s Day.        

Third grade was the first time that I was _______ to take part in the plant sale. I wanted to surprise my mother, but I didn't have any money. I went to my oldest sister and _______ the secret, and she gave me some money. When I arrived at the plant sale, I _______ made my selection. I agonized over that decision, _______ each plant to ensure that I had indeed found the best geranium. Once I had _______ it home, with the help of my sister, I hid it on the upstairs neighbor's porch. I was _______ afraid my mother would find it before Mother’s Day, but my sister assured me that she wouldn't, and indeed she did not.       

When Mother’s Day arrived, I was ________ with pride when I gave her that geranium. I remember how bright her eyes were, and how ________ she was with my gift. That day, I ________ a valuable lesson: it’s the thought that counts, not the price.     

Years later, I still ________ the excitement of that special day. The small gesture of giving a plant to my mother had a(n) ________ impact on our relationship. It not only brought us closer together, but also ________ me to appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

【推荐2】On August 23rd, my son was out mountain biking with his teacher and friends. _________, we were waiting at home with lunch ready. At 12:15, he still hadn’t _________ . Then, we got the call that he was badly hurt.

We _________ up the mountain in the car. He was in the kind of _________ you never want to see. We got him to the hospital for X-rays to be told his collarbone(锁骨) was broken. Collarbones are incredibly _________ to treat, as you can’t just put them in a cast(石膏).

We got him a“figure-of-8”support that keeps both his shoulders aligned(成一直线). It was the best _________ for making sure the bone grew back straight. Sleeping was very painful for him, and in the next few months everything came _________ . No sports. No activity. _________birthday party plans. We got into a new _________ at home. We found other things for him to do that weren’t __________, such as reading and making artwork.

I would never __________ an injury on anyone; yet, it is an __________ way to learn how to be patient with life, with the __________ , and with each other. My __________ lesson has been that my child may have learned more from this injury than anything else he’s gone through this year, and, __________, it will serve him for life.

【推荐3】Five years ago, my husband and I bought a farm.

As we restore the land, I feel my well-being _______ . I think the farm is also working its magic on our son. Since he was 20, he has lived with mental illness. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, an unexpected _______ occurred in my life. We _______ the farm.

It has taken a couple of years to _______ the land, seed the lawn and build garden beds. The farm was holding our _______ together. Before my son went to treatment, we planted a “guild” (协会) in the old farm to support the health of trees by grouping other helpful plants around them. We dug around the _______ trees and placed in garlic, wildflowers, etc and the garden seems to grow well.

We also learned how to _______ others. Our workman worked steadily and helped when I asked. Asking for help is a principle in the recovery community, a lesson my son is _______ .

The desire to recover this land has _______ in me. I have seen this ________ towards rest oration in my son as well. It truly does take a village to rebuild a farm and a (an) ________ . And my son has found his own kind of guild that ________ him.

Owning a farm was never our ________ , but it came when our family needed a ________ project. Digging is an act of faith, hope and ________ of what will appear next.

【推荐2】During the coronavirus lockdown, a fifth-grade teacher contacted me asking for help. She was ________ with students not attending online class but her students all loved the story in my book. So she asked if I had any ________.

My immediate ________ was for me to do a weekly book club where I would read to the students. The idea was ________ by Mrs. Sandberg, my first teacher in America.

When I moved to America from Iran in 1972, I spoke seven words of English. Despite the language ________, I immediately loved school. My favorite part of the day was ________ lunch, when Mrs. Sandberg read to us. Her kind voice ________ me to magical places where animals could talk and where kids had grand adventures.

With this joyful ________, I started the club. At the first session, five kids ________. I read to them and tried to ________ a conversation. Whenever I asked a question, I was met with complete ________. The following week, a few more kids came; they ________ started responding, but with one-word answers. The next session, they gave ________ answers and more students participated in the conversations.

This club has quickly become the ________ of my week. I have gotten to know the students and grown fond of every single one of them. Reading out loud forces me to forget everything else for an hour. I recently wondered if our post-lunch reading hour had given Mrs. Sandberg a chance to forget her ________, too.

【推荐1】In the United States there was an unusual story telling of the daughter of a mechanic (技工) . One day while walking along the bank of a lake, the girl ________ to see 20 eggs laid by a wild goose. After some time the girl realized the mother would not return to her eggs and she ________ to take them home. There she carefully ________ the eggs in the heat of a lamp. Several days ________ the eggs broke and the baby geese came into the world.

Geese are known to take the first living thing they see as their mother. ________ , to these young geese, the girl was their mother.

As they ________ , the girl was able to lead her birds to run across the grass , but she could not teach them to ________ . The girl became increasingly worried about this , both when ________ and in her dreams. Later , she had an ________ :She would pilot a plane to guide them in ________ . She asked her father for a plane and he assembled (组装) a small aircraft for her.

Caring about ________ safety , the father decided to pilot the plane himself. However, the birds did not ________ or follow him, and instead slept in the grass.

One day , the girl ________ into the plane , started it and soon left the ground. Seeing their mother take to the air, the birds ________ flapped (拍打) their wings and ________ . She flew the plane freely in the sky , her young birds following.

【推荐2】Some people spend tens of years looking for their best friends. However, I was _________ enough to find mine in Grade 7 at my junior high school––eight_________ girls.

As we entered senior high school, a couple of girls_________ and a couple of new ones joined us. By the end of Grade 12, the group had more or less_________ into its final form, which remained amazingly_________ for the past 20 years.

Among our many_________ is a yearly Christmas exchange. This event first _________ when we were 12. We set it up on the long dining hall tables at our school to_________ small gifts bought with our limited pocket money. In the following years, we would _________ a night of it, watching movies and ordering pizza in parents’ living rooms. ____________, we moved into our own shabby(简陋的) student apartments, into slightly less shabby adult flats and then into our first____________.

At the beginning, we gave each other inexpensive gifts like butterfly hair clips, gloves and so on.Those gift ____________ bright earrings, necklaces and cheerful housewares as we began having our own homes in our 20s and baby clothes once we started having____________ in our 30s.

Holidays with family can be____________, but our exchange offered something else: a chance for my friends and me to____________ our own traditions and play at being grown-ups.