【推荐1】I’ve never been much of a jogger, but might I make a decent plogger? “Plogging” is a(n) ________ of “plocka upp” with “jogga”, the Swedish for “pick up” and “jog”. The idea is that you ________ litter while out running and the ________ has been growing in popularity in Sweden.

“It’s good for both the ________ and ourselves,” says Anna Christopherson, the 43-year-old Swede who runs Edinburgh’s first plogging group. “It’s very ________ for the body to combine running with squatting (蹲下) to lift rubbish.”

Seven of us ________ in the city for the run. We rush up Leith Walk, our rubbish bags ________ in the evening wind. “Quite competitive, isn’t it?” says Struan, an accountant. He ________ to a bin, muscles bulging (鼓起), to pick up a leaflet.

Within 10 minutes, our bags are filling up. It’s amazing — and ________— to see how much ________ is lying on the streets. A passing walking tour gives us some ________ looks, but we ploggers, lost in a world of plogging, carry on ________.

After an hour, I’m tired and ________, but feeling good. The city is a little ________ thanks to these ploggers. Anna is not satisfied, though. Our ________ have made no difference to her pet hate: chewing gum (口香糖) stuck to the paths. “You need a steamer to get that off,” she says. “And I’m not going to run with a steamer any time soon.”

【推荐3】The path to pottery(制陶)was far from direct for Kaley Black. Her first _________ was as a producer in the film industry, a role she found unfulfilling. While living in Poland, Blank _________ a routine of regularly visiting a cafe, passing a ceramics(陶艺)studio on her way. _________ she had no exposure and training in running a business or ceramics, each trip past the studio awakened her curiosity closer to _________.

After returning to the US, Blank _________ a six-week pottery course. Then, she bought her own pottery tools. By the spring of 2022, Blank had _________ her skills and opened her own studio, Blank Ceramics, which is now her career.

Blank _________ how our ancestors viewed ceramics as both an art and a tool. This means that she always makes sure the _________ use of her pieces comes first in their design. For her, pottery is special because it involves using a skill from the past to _________ art from nature. She gets her clay __________ from the ground, just like her ideas for new art. “Handma de pottery is one of the first human skills,” explains Blank. “It feels so fulfilling to learn skills, as well as to __________ stories and art.”

In addition to being available for __________ online, Blank’s finished pottery can also be bought at shops offline. As she considers how her studio might __________, Blank has a wide perspective: “A ceramic piece that has been fired will last forever; it doesn’t fade over time. My work will far __________ me, which I find truly fascinating. It keeps me __________ and intentional about what pieces I create.”

【推荐2】My father was a lawyer during his lifetime. In the church, at the end of the _________service, a strange black woman and her two grown children stepped up to the microphone. I asked my sisters and mother if they knew them. Both _________ their heads.

“You all don’t know me, but I knew your father many years ago,” she started. “When I wanted to _________ my oldest boy, my friends told me that I needed a good lawyer. So I went to your father, Mr. Lesemann.”

“And he _________ me. When I finished consulting, I held my breath, _________ the bill, and you know what, he didn’t charge me at all.” She shook her head. “Mr. Lesemann said it was a good deed to bring people together. This is what makes it _________—the adoption.”

Sitting there, my _________ began to stream down. But she wasn’t _________.

“A few years later, I knew my son needed a sister. So back I went to your father again. And he helped me again without taking a _________ as before. As my children grew, I told them about your father, about how we __________ a family. And how __________ can do great things for people.”

People started to __________—at a funeral. They couldn’t help it.

“I want to thank your father. He did a lot of great things you __________ never knew about. Thank you.” And she walked off, and her children __________.

I got my dad back, his amazing __________ back at the front of my memory. Thanks for that.