【推荐1】I moved to Chicago ten years ago. As I was new to the area, I had few _________ and seldom went out to parties. But a month later, I was invited to a party and there I _________ an elderly couple.

The wife and I _________ for a long time. She told me how _________ she was about her husband who was _________ a heart operation (手术). At that time I was working as a researcher in the same _________ where the husband would be going for his operation, _________ I told her to take down my phone number and must _________ me to let me know when he was there.

She phoned a few weeks later as she _________ and told me that her husband was admitted to the hospital and __________ waiting. I told her that I would go and check on him every day while I was at __________. I thought that if it was my dad, I would do the same, so I decided to give them some __________.

Weeks turned into months and it just became my __________ to see them and keep track of how things were going before, during and after the heart operation. Sometimes I’d bring a __________ for him to read, or some food that we would __________ together. As time went by, it seemed like I became part of the __________. Even after the husband returned from the hospital, we still often __________ each other on holidays.

Now, ten years later, I __________ my own family. Since our parents don’t __________ close by, this couple has become my son’s“local”grandparents. My wife and I often feel truly __________ to have this couple as our “local” parents! Sometimes family comes out of the most unexpected place.

【推荐2】As I was a young boy, my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to _____ a little pocket money.

One day I _____ on the door of an elderly woman and asked if she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in_____ and I showed her my worn _____, which no longer kept me warm. She allowed me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be _____ now.” She then took out a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I’m glad you’ve done a _____ job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to _____ new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to visit me with your report and I will _____ you when I see you have worked hard and have some good _____. Now reach out your little hands and take out as much money as you can.”

I put my hands in the jar and ______ so much money that it was ______ for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the old lady and she did just as she ______. She looked at my report and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I ______ her my grade “A”.

I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighbourhood. I will never forget the huge ______ this wonderful lady made to my life with her ______. This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

【推荐2】Looking at the checkout lines at the grocery, I quickly turned my handcart to line number three. There were only two women there, and neither had kids or coupons(赠券) ! The store was my first ______that morning, and I had a half dozen others on my______before meeting my husband for lunch.

Two minutes turned into ten, and I watched as the other lines moved ______. I moved my ______in the shopping handcart and dug for my wallet, trying to______the cashier that it was time to get a move on. Finally, after fifteen minutes, I took a breath and______. Then I heard the cashier tell the women in front of me: “And just like that, he told me what she looked like and ______one hundred dollars here to________her groceries. He said not to worry about the______, just give it to charity.”

The story she was ______had taken place in the sales department. An older man had witnessed a(n) ________mama in need.______for foods with kids around, she was sticking to her list and ______the items on her calculator as she went. The gentleman said he had a little ______on him that day, so he left one hundred dollars to ______ her groceries and, just maybe, add a little wiggle room(回旋的余地) to her ______.

After hearing about the man who had______served a fellow traveler in life, I realized that my hurry, ______and general worries were______. What's five extra minutes in a line to hear a story of a man sharing his   ______？ Suddenly, I know I could wait.