【推荐1】When I got married, I moved from a small town to a big city as I pursued my _________ as a radio broadcaster. We have two sons, both of whom moved with us to Ottawa when they were quite _________. They went to school there, _________ there and then, chasing their own careers, they also moved. One went to Canada’s east coast city called Halifax and the other _________ to the west coast to Vancouver. We had a dilemma; we were left in the _________.

The problem wasn’t _________ at the time because I was still working. However, as we began to think about _________, we wondered where we should _________ our final years. We couldn’t be _________ to both of our children. For several reasons we __________ on a small town on Vancouver Island. __________ we were close to one of them. However, he left Vancouver and went south later.

Only we __________ in our little west coast town. We love our little corner of paradise but we have __________ a price. We have not been there for some important __________ such as the births of two of our grandchildren. We have missed __________ each of them grow up; we have missed the normal, __________ households that have young people in them. Our home, while very comfortable, is also very quiet.

Every fall we travel to see the children. __________, both our boys are doing well and our grandchildren are growing up straight and tall. They __________ come to visit us. The distances are just too great and it is __________.

__________ has been good for our family but we have all paid a price.

【推荐1】I was on a family holiday in Palma, Mallorca, in July 2001. One weekend we rented a motorboat and we were going__________, crashing over big waves. It was an exciting, but also a(n) __________ feeling. I began to realize something was wrong only when we got back on land. We went for a __________, and I sat in the restaurant wondering why the table was swaying. __________ I got back to Britain, such feeling increased, making simple tasks at home __________.

After several more __________with doctors, I remember feeling disappointed when they didn’t find a brain tumor: at least that disease would have explained things. I started to do my own __________, reading related articles and consult experts. Finally I got a(n) __________ diagnosis of MdDS from the National Hospital in London. But they told me there is no __________, and all they could do was help me manage my mental health.

Nearly 20 years on, I’m still living __________ MdDS. People have suggested different ways of treatment and I’ve __________ all sorts of strange theories, but nothing has __________ for me. I’ll never lose heart and I hope something will be __________ within my lifetime.

For me, one way of coping has been to __________ people about the condition. I’ve found fellow sufferers all over the world, and have set up a website in the hope that __________ else has to go through what I did, struggling to get a diagnosis but lives like the ordinary.

【推荐2】I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me. I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest ________ of the students’ work. In Simon’s case, the grades were awfully low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. But he was a bright student. He discussed adult subjects with nearly adult comprehension. His work in no way reflected his ________.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms were sweating. I was completely ________ for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. ________ me. Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he ________ me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had recently spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how ________ she was for the self-respect I had nurtured (培养) in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat there, ________, for about half an hour, ________ what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without even knowing it? What I finally came to remember was one day, when some students were ________ reports in the front of the class. Jeanne spoke ________, and to encourage her to raise her voice. I had said. “Speak up. Simon’s the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the ________ of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, smiled more, and became happy. And it was all because he ________ to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed ________ was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most ________ lesson over the years of my teaching career, and I’m thankful that it came ________ and positively. A small kindness can indeed make a difference.

【推荐3】My parents operated a small restaurant in Seattle. It was open twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. And my first real job, when I was six years old, was ________ the diners’ shoes. My father had done it when he was young, so he taught me ________ to do it efficiently, telling me to ________ to re-shine the shoes if the customer wasn't ________.

Working in the restaurant was a cause of great ________ because I was also working for the good of the family. But my father ________ that I had to meet certain ________ to be part of the team. I had to be punctual, hard-working, and polite to the ________.

I was ________ paid for the work I did at the restaurant. One day I made the mistake of ________ Dad that he should give me $10 a week. He said, “OK. How about you paying me for three meals a day you have here? And ________ the times you bring in your friends for free soft drinks?” He ________ I owed him about $40 a week.

I remember returning to Seattle after being ________ in the US Army for about two years. I had just been promoted to Captain at that time. And full of pride, I walked into my parents’ restaurant, but the ________ thing Dad said was, “How about your ________ up tonight?” I couldn’t ________ my ears! I am an officer in the Army! But it didn’t ________ as far as Dad was concerned. I was just ________ member of the team. I reached for the mop. Working for Dad has taught me the devotion to a ________ is above all. It has nothing to do with ________ that team is involved in a family restaurant or the US Army.

【推荐1】I was on vacation with my husband,my brother,his wife and daughter.We were not____with the area and got on a bus,thinking it would be a nice way to see the downtown's old town area.Well,____talking with the bus driver,we didn't find that we were.on the neighborhood route（线路）which____school children and delivers people to various ____places.That was a route of over about two hours.That was a surprise and a concern because we____our vehicle in a____parking area and it was going to end.

We shared this with the bus driver only to let her know we were not from the area and____for getting on her bus by mistake.Then she surprised us____further saying,“I get off shift（换班）after a few more blocks,and if you don't____taking my company car,I'd be happy to take you____to your vehicle before the time end.”The bus driver received permission from her____,so we gratefully said yes to her____.

She went out of her way to take us back to our vehicle____her shift was over and it wasn't on her route to home either.We were____and grateful for her kindness.____,because she shared some of her____about the school-age children she sometimes had on the bus route,I offered her a few____on how to quiet the children with a skill that would make the ride safer for them____for her.She was so____.It was a wonderful____of kindness!

【推荐2】Clara Daly was seated on an Alaska Airlines flight when a flight attendant asked a urgent question over the loudspeaker, “Does anyone ________ know American Sign Language?”

Clara, 15 at the time ________ the call button. The flight attendant came by and ________ the situation. “We have a passenger on the plane who’s ________ and deaf.” she said. The passenger seemed to want something, but he couldn’t ________ his message.

Clara ________ to have been studying ASL for the past year and knew she'd be able to finger spell into the man’s palm. So she ________ her seat belt and walked toward the seat of Tim Cook, then. ________ taking his hand, she ________, “Are you OK?” Cook asked for some water.

When it arrived, Clara returned to her seat. She came by again a bit later because he wanted to know the time. On her third ________, she stopped and stayed a while.

“He didn’t need anything. He was lonely and wanted to ________” Clara says.

So for the next hour, that’s what they did. She talked about her plans for the future. Cook told Clara ________ he had gradually become blind over time and ________ stories of his days as a traveling salesman. Even though he couldn’t see her, she “looked ________ at his face with such kindness,” a passenger reported, “We can see she smiled with happiness, ________ she made a difference in someone’s life.”

“Clara was amazing.” a flight attendant told Alaska Airlines in a blog interview. “You could tell Tim was very ________ to have someone he could speak to, and she was such a(n) ________.”

Cook’s ________. “Best trip I’ve ever had.”

Life is a continuous learning experience. As for Clara, she said, “I’ve also learned a lot. The best thing for ________ is you can learn something. Learning is the only thing that never ________.