【推荐1】About a month ago I noticed something really amazing, which I must call a garden miracle (奇迹). It so happened that when I _______ the double doors of a small storage area in the back of my house where I   _______ my garden supplies during the long, severe New England winter. I found, in one of the dirt-filled pots, a living, growing plant, topped with two of the most unlikely pink _______ you’ve ever seen.

How was this _______ ? The unheated space had been closed all winter, and it was still cold outside. Once I caught my breath, I _______ and discovered something approaching a reasonable explanation-there was a small glass window at the top of the double doors, and it was possible that a ray of sun fell directly on that pot, giving the plant just enough light and warmth to _______ it to grow in its own personal greenhouse.

I can’t help feeling _______ at the lessons this wonderful plant has to teach.

For one thing. I am moved by the happenstance (巧合) of the whole thing. If I had _______ my pot six inches to the left or right of that spot, the plant might not have gotten that _______ ray of light. If I had ________ the roots of the plant in late fall, there would have been nothing but dirt in that pot.

But there’s something else that ________ me about this-just how little light and ________ it took for this plant to grow and flower. I’m not ________ we should be mean with love and kindness and all the other warming things we ________ for others and for ourselves. But isn’t it comforting to think that just a drop of ________ can brighten a day, a place, a life?

When it comes to positivity, a little goes a long way. Just ask my little miracle plant.

【推荐2】Because conflict and disagreements are part of all close relationships, couples need to learn strategies for managing conflict in a healthy and constructive way. Some couples just ____ and deny the presence of any conflict in a relationship. ____ , denying the existence of conflict results in couples ____ to solve their problems at early ____, which can then lead to even greater problems later on. Not surprisingly, expressing anger and disagreement leads to lower marital (婚姻的) satisfaction at the beginning. However, this pattern of behavior ____ increases in marital satisfaction over time. Research suggests that working through conflicts is an important predictor of marital satisfaction.

So, what can you do to manage conflict in your own relationships? First, try to understand the other person's point of view and put yourself in his or her place. People who are ____ to what their partner thinks and feels ____ greater relationship satisfaction. For example. researchers found that among people in dating relationships ____ marriages, those who can adopt their partner's perspective show more positive ____, more relationship-enhancing attributes and more constructive responses to conflict.

Second, because conflict and disagreements are an ____ part of close relationships, people need to be able to apologize to their partner for wrongdoing and ____ forgiveness from their parents for their own acts. Apologies minimize conflict, lead to forgiveness. and serve to restore relationship closeness. In line with this ____ , spouses (配偶) who are more forgiving show higher mental quality over time. Increasingly, apologizing can even have ____ health benefits. For example, when people reflect on hurtful ____ and grudges (怨恨), they show negative physiological effects, including increased heart rate and blood pressure, compared to when they ____ on sympathetic perspective-taking and forgiving.

【推荐1】I keep a pocket knife in my handbag and it comes in handy for all sorts of things. I have _______ carried it with me since I discovered it on a boat that we _______ and lived on for about twenty years. It has been through many adventures with us.

I recently _______ an interesting flight and was pulled up at the departure(出发)gate. When my bag went through the x­ray machine(X光机), my _______ was discovered. I had forgotten it was there and as I seldom _______，it hadn’t crossed my mind that it would be discovered and confiscated (没收)．We had gone through the gate and it was the time for us to board _______ so there wasn’t time for me to go _______ and post it to myself.

The security lady at the gate saw that I was _______ at losing one of my treasure possessions(财物). They usually just threw away things that got confiscated. But she _______ to post it to me if I wrote down the ________ and gave her the postage money. I was so moved that I tried to ________ her and she asked me to stop as they weren’t supposed to do this and she would get into trouble if anyone found out.

The next day in the post I received a little package with my pocket knife and the ________ from the $10 note I had given her, even though I had urged(力劝) her to keep the rest(其余的) for her ________. It was so ________ to be the recipient (接受者) of a kind deed (行为) like that.

Now I often do ________ little things for others and have started using smile cards. Hopefully the world is becoming a kinder place bit by bit.

【推荐2】One day I took a bus with my girlfriend. It was so ________ that we stood for several stops until a vacant seat was ________ for her.

Then a pretty girl rushed towards me, saying, “Hi, where are you going?” I was so struck by the stranger that I had a hard time trying to ________ her. Clearly she had taken me for somebody else. I returned her greeting with politeness, ________ to give explanation to my girlfriend later.

Noticing my dialogue with somebody else, my girlfriend ________ her eyes and found she was pretty. She asked jealously, “Who’s she?” The pretty girl, quite ________ of the situation, spoke out first, “Hi, let me ________ myself. I’m Nancy, used to be ________. Very glad to meet you.” She behaved very ________.

But I was ________ to search in my memory for someone called Nancy among my neighbors. I was worrying how to explain this to my girlfriend when the pretty girl again turned to me, “Will you give me your cell phone number so that we can keep contacts later?” I had to submit to her ________. Then the girl got off the bus at the next stop.

A minute later I got a short ________ on my phone—from a stranger. My girlfriend ________ my phone and read the note. It was from the girl, who said, “Just now, two thieves tried to pick your pocket. I had to act as an acquaintance (熟人) to draw your attention. I should have left at the previous stop but gave up as I noticed these two thieves also ________ to leave at the same stop. Because of the ________ I delayed my departure. Now you’ll understand all I have done to you. Wish you luck.”

【推荐3】The other day, my husband and I took the kids for dinner at a branch of Pizza Express. There was a very friendly lady ____alone at the next table. When the time came for her to pay the ___, her bank card was declined. The waitress told her, in a very kind way, that there was a ____but that she would call her manager for help. Seeing this, my husband ___got up and told the waiting staff that we would pay for the lady's meal.____, when the manager arrived, he explained to the lady that although she couldn't use her ___, there was no need to ___. Pizza Express authorizes (授权) the restaurant to____two free meals per month and on this ____, they would like to provide her with a free meal.

She was extremely grateful and apologetic that she had been ____to pay. We were relieved that the lady had been ____with dignity instead of being placed in a ___position.

Then, the manager_____our table. He said that ___we had shown such generosity, he would like to donate the second free meal that the restaurant was able to ____to us! we were absolutely ___! I had never heard of any chain restaurant behaving in such a(n) ___way. We were quite____with gratitude. I made sure that the lady was able to get home OK, and then we ____the staff and left ourselves. I was really impressed by how the restaurant had treated this ____case.