【推荐1】A family tradition is recreated year after year. It adds to the family _________, making every family more distinctive. The tradition in my family is _________ in my mother’s kitchen to make various desserts for the New Year. It’s a good time with much joy.

Family traditions _________ family and personal well-being. Families sharing in their traditions provide security for their members, especially children. Children love _________ and consistency(一致性); a family tradition provides this. Moreover, it gives them something to _________. With traditions that are celebrated year after year, family _________ are created and strengthened.

Of course it’s _________ to make some changes to _________ the family’s needs. In recent years my family has added time to make _________ with our relatives who work overseas, for their jobs __________ their reunion with us. This gives us a chance to stay __________ as a family, even if we can’t be together for the holiday __________.

Family traditions don’t have to be formal, or to be fancy. What __________ is that you have something for all family members to expect each year. Traditions help create warm, positive __________ and __________ family members back to one another year after year.

【推荐2】My father was one of the most intelligent people I knew, but his mind was so focused on big issues that he often forgot about daily matters. He’d have to be ________ to buy birthday and Christmas presents, but he would sometimes ________ out of the blue with silver earrings for Mom or stained-glass keepsake boxes for my sister and me.

He was so thrifty (节俭的) that he never ________ out anything, including clothes, and he was color-blind——a(n) ________ combination, as far as his clothing was concerned. Despite our best ________, my mom and I never managed to cure him of his ________ for pocket protectors. When he went to work each day, he always wore one in his shirt pocket, ________ with pens and mechanical pencils. He also never noticed when his curly, mad-scientist-looking ________ grew higher and higher, so my mom would have to ________ him into a kitchen chair to cut it herself. “It looks fine,” he’d protest.

One year on Halloween, my ________ and I dressed him in a pair of too short plaid (格子花纹) pants that he’d kept since high school, ________ them with a shirt in mismatched colors, added a full pocket protector, and ________ tape around the middle of his heavy framed glasses. His hair had grown so long and ________ that it looked like Einstein’s. Apart from the tape on his glasses, he thought he looked like he was dressed for a ________ day at work.

Just imagine how ________ my dad was when his nerd (书呆子) look won him the prize for best costume.

【推荐1】Brooklyn Andracke is a big fan of her garbage man, Delvar Dopson, who always honks (按汽车喇叭) and _________ when passing her house every Thursday morning. "To Brooklyn, he is our _________ smiley garbage man," her mother, Traci Andracke said.

Brooklyn's interest in Dopson _________ because his truck would drive by their house in Illinois every Thursday right around the time Traci and Brooklyn were _________ the daycare center. When the pair started going outside to see the truck, Brooklyn _________ Dopson driving the huge truck. "It became all about him after that," Traci said. "It wasn't the 'garbagetruck' anymore, but it was the 'garbage man that she _________ to see."

So on April 7, when Brooklyn turned 3, the little girl wanted to _________ part of her big day with him. She patiently _________ outside her home until Dopson pulled onto their street. When Traci waved to Dopson, Brooklyn _________ him with one of her birthday cupcakes.

"As a mom, I can't even describe how __________ it made me that she got to__________ meet him," Traci said.

Dopson was "immediately speechless," Traci said. "I __________ to him that he makes our day every Thursday, and we really __________ the honking and waving, and how special a day it is for us," she added. "After he left, we continued on to daycare. Brooklyn was unusually quiet in the backseat. I asked her if she was okay, and she __________ and nodded happily."

The following week, Dopson gave Brooklyn a belated (迟来的) birthday __________. It was a toy from her favorite movie, "Frozen". In return, Brooklyn made him a thank-you note, which he's since displayed with __________ in his truck.

Traci said her family was __________ by the level of attention her daughter and Dopson had __________. The mom said, "A __________ gesture—a honk, wave, smile—doesn't take much effort. Just do it. You never know who is on the receiving end of that and how it can really __________ their day.

【推荐3】When Leah returned home late one night, she found her next­door neighbor Derek’s garage (车库) door was left open, which was _______．

Leah knocked on his door but there was no _______．Then she called for a(n) _______ from the police. The police _______ Derek’s house, only to find him lying unconscious on the floor. He was rushed to _______ for treatment and got well within a couple of days.

“Before this happened, I didn’t even know Derek’s last name, ” said Leah. Leah says that while what happened was a _______ situation, it has brought her neighborhood _______ together. “From then on, we’ve _______ numbers and gotten to know each other better. While Derek was _______ in hospital, we took turns ________ his garden. Another neighbor is organizing a street party later this year. It’s really good ________ this has united people in our neighborhood to look out for one another, ” said Leah.

________ with those who live around us is important, no matter where you live. It makes us feel better by preventing ________ and depression.________, getting to know our neighbors can also ________ tragic (悲剧的) things in stories like that of Leah and Derek.