【推荐1】William Franklin came to my class half a year ago. But from his first day here, he shut himself in his own world and he never _____ to others. As his teacher, I tried to start a talk with him but _____. It seemed as if he just didn’t want to break his _____.

After the Thanksgiving holiday, we received the news of the ____ Christmas collection of money for the ____ in our school. “Christmas is a season of ____ ,” I told my students. “Some poor students in our school might not have a ____ holiday. By giving a little money, you will help ____ some toys, food and clothing for these needy students. We will ____ the collection tomorrow.”

The next morning, ____ , I found out almost everyone had ____ this matter except Willard Franklin. He came up to my desk with his head down. ____ , he dropped two coins into the small box. “I don’t need milk for lunch,” he said in a ____ voice.

After school I couldn’t help sharing what had ____ in the morning with our headmaster. “I may be wrong, but I ____ Willard might be ready to become part of our class.” “ I am ____to hear that,” he nodded. “And I just received a ____ of the poor families in our school who most need help. Here, take a look at it.”

As I sat down to ____ , I found Willard Franklin was at the top of the list. At that moment, I felt I really ____ Willard for the first time: a cold face with a warm heart. From this ____ , I also learnt that whether rich or poor, every child has a kind heart.

【推荐2】A new family moved in next door and I got to meet the mother of the family, Lydia.

Lydia is a (an) ______. We started talking, and she was ______ about how bad her English was, but I didn’t care. I knew how hard it was to ______ a second language. I enjoyed chatting with Lydia as we watched our kids play.

It was what came next that ______ me: Lydia asked if I’d be ______ to help her with her English.

Now, I am not a teacher. But I ______ teachers, and I’m grateful for teachers, and it’s because I admire what they do so much that I was very, very ______ that I couldn’t do it myself.

But Lydia was sure that she wanted my help. I was ______. I wasn’t sure my “help” was even ______ being called by that name.

____because she asked me, I said “yes.”

And that was the beginning of our friendship. Lydia and I spent afternoons sitting together. She asked me questions when she had them - questions about ______, but also questions about the new culture she found herself in. ______, I asked my own questions, growing ______ about her home country and culture. We ______ over our shared faith and our struggles as mothers. When I complimented (恭维) her ______, she began to teach me about Korean food, ______ leading to a shared trip to explore the Korean grocery stores in our city.

Because of Lydia, I learned more about my own hometown than I ______ could have learned by myself.

I’m still not sure that I’m any good as a ______. But I’m grateful I said “______” when my neighbor asked me to help her with her English. That meant spending extra time with my neighbor, and that extra time meant she didn’t ______ just my neighbor. She became my friend.

【推荐3】I learned this lesson a couple of years ago. That day, I took a _______ to Grand Central Station. We were driving in the _______ lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right _______ us. My taxi driver slammed (猛踩) on his brakes and almost _______ the car’s back end by just ten _______!

The driver of the other car, who almost caused a big accident, _______ his car and started yelling bad _______ at us. The taxi driver just smiled and _______ at the guy. And I mean he was _______. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ________ your car and sent us to ________!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the law of the garbage truck.”

Many people are like garbage trucks. They ________ around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of ________, and full of disappointment. As their garbage ________ up, they need a place to dump it, and if you agree, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump their ________ on you, don’t take it ________. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and ________. You’ll be happy at what you do.

I started thinking, how often do I let garbage trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and ________ it to other people? That day I said, “I’m not going to do that anymore.”

What about you? What will happen in your life if you let more garbage ________ pass you by? Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with ________.

【推荐2】The management of a software company decided to teach its employees about finding real ______ to solve problems.

When called to play a ______ in a hall, the team of 30 employees was quite ______, holding various thoughts. As they entered the hall, they found the hall ______ decorated, with coloured lights on the wall. Everyone looked at each other and then ______ a huge box of balloons at the centre. They were ______ to pick a balloon and blow it up. And the team leader asked them to ______ their names on their balloon. All tried to do that, but not everyone ______ it. A few balloons burst due to pressure and yet they were given ______ chance. Those who ______ even after the second chance were ruled out of the game. In all, 25 employees were left for the next ______. All the balloons were collected and the team leader asked the employees to ______ the balloon with their names marked. Also, he told them no balloon should be ______.

The 25 employees began to ______ the balloons carrying their names in a rush. However, they had to be very ______. It was almost 15 minutes and no one was able to find his own balloon.

Now it was the third and final level. The employees were asked to pick any balloon in the room and give it to the person ______ on the balloon. Within a couple of minutes all the balloons reached ______ employee.

The team leader said that this was the real way to solve problems. Often everyone is crazily ______ ways to solve problems without recognizing the ______ way. Most of the time, ______ and helping others can give you the tools you need to deal with all problems.

【推荐3】Years ago, I had a fling-out with a friend due to a misunderstanding that was completely my fault. I was_______to admit that I was wrong, so we didn’t speak for years. Then we came across each other, which was so_______. I felt forced to apologize for my _______years earlier.

My experience isn't unique. Many people ______ apologizing because the idea of admitting to wrongdoing makes them ______ uncomfortable. Apologies force us to admit to ourselves that we don’t always ________our own standards. We might also fear that the victim（受害者）won’t______our apology. We all like to ______ourselves as good people-kind, and considerate people. For these ______, an apology can be very difficult to give.

Given my experience, there is no ______ that an apology is an important tool for ______ a relationship to make it functional again. Usually, a（n） _______apology is needed. But if the victim is angry at the wrong behavior, it may be more ______ to wait, because their______ may stop them from accepting our apologies. Also a delay ______ an apology’s effectiveness because it conveys that the offender has time to reflect on his/her ______ . But a heartfelt apology has more powerful effects, which can improve our mental health and repair our ______ personal relationships. ______ , expressing regret is important. Without regret, you won’t truly reflect on your mistake.

My friend and I get on well after my delayed apology. Admitting that everything had been my fault ________us heal our relationship. We’re both ______to have our friendship today.

【推荐1】In 1991, I went to visit my grandma in an old folks’ home. At the time, she was 89, and I was 28. I felt a bit _______, because the place was full of people at the last stage of their life. I didn’t know how to ________ that.

When I saw Grandma, they were having a ________ in the hall. After she introduced me, a woman in a wheelchair beside told me how much she ________ dancing. So I asked her to dance and she ________ accepted my invitation with a big smile. I ________ her to the open area, and I lifted her arm up and spun her wheelchair around, and we laughed a lot. When I wheeled her back, I ________ a lot of little old ladies smiling at me. So I ________ with them and we snowballed the party into a great dancing ball.

Of course, I danced with Grandma. While dancing, I asked how she dealt with ________. She said: “Just accept the number of candles on the cake. Life won’t stay the same. So accept the ________ and make every day count. There’s a ________ that golden years are a time to celebrate accomplishments and ________ gained from experience.” Then I realized how ________ it was for me to see the old as they saw themselves. They weren’t thinking that much about growing older. ________, they lived at the moment and ________ that room like stars.