【推荐2】I was successful at my job. I worked very hard, but it _________ me and my family a fabulous lifestyle. I’d worked for the same company for twenty years and had worked my way up to department director. _________, one afternoon last May, I was called to the office, and it was _________ explained to me that they were letting me go. I just sat there _________ they talked on and all I could think was, “I’ve _________ .” I’d been so well respected, but _________ I was of no value.

For six weeks, I was in a very _________ place. I wandered around my house like a zombie(僵尸). I could _________ things needed doing, but would not do anything. My beliefs in looking forward and seeing the positive in everything deserted me.

Then, in late June, my youngest son’s football team _________ the city cup final. The year before, he’d been very sad when I __________ the same final, so he was __________ when I told him I’d go. Not only did they win, but the look on his face as he saw me __________ him on lit up with joy. From then on, I spent the summer enjoying my sons and their passions(激情). I attended match after match and performances of my elder son’s band—I __________ went to another city to watch him play. These moments were so __________. My life had been so much devoted to __________ for so long, and I felt __________ that my sons were happy to welcome me into their world.

__________, being unemployed gave me back a sense of purpose—I was someone’s mum! I felt a sense of being __________ again. Now I feel more positive about my professional __________ and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have. Losing my job made me realize just how __________ it is to achieve real balance in life.

【推荐3】Donnie Wiseman was worn out after work. But his son was _________ on going to a reptile show at Scales and Tails, Utah. So, after a short rest, he _________ his son to the show.

Inside viewing windows was the show’s star attraction, a huge alligator (短吻鳄). It swam around the pool before _________ its head on a two-foot-wide platform. It was feeding time, and the _________ alligator was staring expectantly at its trainer, Lindsay Bull.

For the sake of _________, Bull wanted the alligator off the platform before beginning the show. Entering the enclosure, she held out one arm and shouted “Back!” — a(n) _________ that usually worked. _________, this time the alligator responded by opening the jaw and _________ her into the pool of water.

Outside the enclosure, some _________ if this was part of the show. Not Wiseman. Sensing something was __________, he threw open the glass door and climbed inside. “Jump on its back and push your fists into the top of its nose!” shouted Bull. Wiseman did as he was __________, pressing down with all of his 180-pound body weight. Time seemed to stand __________ for a while. Finally, the alligator eased its __________ and Bull was quickly helped out of the enclosure. Meanwhile, Wiseman __________ a chance to jump off the alligator.

Apart from minor wounds, Wiseman was more __________ than injured. “One mistake and I’ll be a statistic, but still, I’m just glad I was there,” he said.

【推荐2】A sheep in Scotland, known as the “loneliest sheep”, was stuck at the bottom of a cliff for over two years. A group of farmers made it their _______ to rescue the sheep. The sheep was first _______ in 2021 by a kayaker (皮划艇运动员) and had been unable to move from that _______ since then. Local agencies were _______ but said the sheep was not in danger and could not be rescued. One of the farmers, Wilson, named the sheep Fiona and provided _______ about her on his social media account.

Wilson explained that it was too _______ to attempt a rescue earlier due to the dangerous location of the sheep. He expressed concerns about the safety of the rescuers and the difficulty of _______ the sheep by boat or with a dog. However, after careful _______, Wilson and four other men successfully rescued Fiona using heavy _______ and a winch (绞车). They ________ brought her to the slope of the cliff.

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was present to ________ the welfare of the sheep. They confirmed that Fiona was in good ________ but needed her wool to be sheared (剪). The ownership of the sheep was transferred to the ________ group of farmers.

Wilson ________ the risks involved in the rescue and expressed gratitude for the successful ________.

【推荐3】Last year, I was assigned to work at an office near my mother’s house. ________, I stayed with her for a month. During that time, I helped her out with the housework and contributed to the ________.

After less than a week, I started to________ the groceries (日用品) were running out pretty quickly. Confused, I began observing my mother’s daily routine for two weeks. To my ________, I found that she would pack a paper bag full of canned goods and headed out every morning at about nine. She took the food to the slums (贫民窟) and distributed it to street ________.

I asked around and ________ my mom was popular in the area. The kids looked up to her as if she were their own mother. Then it hit me—why didn’t she want to tell me about what she’d been doing? Was she ________ that I would stop buying the groceries if I knew the truth?

When she got home, I told her about my discovery and before she could react, I gave her a big hug and told her she didn’t need to keep it a ________ from me. She told me that ________ of the children lived with an old lady in a shelter while others ________ on the streets. For years, my mom has been helping out by ________ them whatever food she could spare. I was so moved by how ________ she was. She used what was meant for her to help others in need. And I was so ________ of her.

I ________ to buy groceries for my mom. But now, I always add a(n) ________ bag for her other children.

【推荐1】Candles were burning bright, exciting my two-year-old son, Jack, who moved forward to blow them out. Jack’s third birthday was still a few months away but he hadn’t stopped ________ celebrating his own. His older brothers Oliver, 6, and Josh, 10, were also happy to interact and sing the birthday song with him.

But, over time, I grew ________ that Jack wasn’t well. My lovely boy was now a shadow of his formerself. How could I ________ it, though doctors weren’t too concerned?

One day I was at work and shared my fears with a colleague. She ________ me and said it was safe to be careful. When I returned home later, I packed a bag and took Jack to hospital. At the hospital, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that bad ________ was coming. Eventually, we were told he had a very rare form of cancer.

Jack was going downhill ________ and urgently required surgery. Gary and I took it in turns to ________ him in the hospital. “Your birthday is coming up,” I told Jack each day, hoping he could ________ the times we had sung him happy birthday before.

“Jack’s only ________ is a stem cell transplant (干细胞移植), and a brother or a sister might be the best option you have,” a doctor told us. Oliver wasn’t as enthusiastic as his older brother Josh, but it was a huge relief when he was told to be a ________.

Doctors were ________ about saying Oliver might save Jack’s life in case it didn’t ________ as planned. To their relief, the result was comforting. They were moved by Oliver’s ________. “I didn’t want to do it at the very beginning but at the end I kind of ________ feeling like that because now I know how important it was,” Oliver said.

The ________ to cure comes from the family.

【推荐2】One man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her. He waited _______ for 15 minutes. Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more. After that, he became _______. When he saw a photograph booth (照相亭) nearby, he had _______. He wore the most unhappy expression he could manage, which was not _______in the situation. In a few moments, he was holding four small prints that _______even him.

He wrote his wife’s name on the back of the photos and handed them to a _______behind the desk in the booth. “_______you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, obviously _______someone, would you please give her this?” he said. He then _______his office in Morrison Building, ________that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then the four photos must be a good ________! He sat down with a smile.

His wife ________those pictures. She carries them in her purse now and shows them to anyone who asks if she is married …

How are you with ________? One person calls it “wait training.” It seems that there is always something we are ________We wait on traffic and we wait in lines. We wait to hear about a new job. We wait to complete school. We wait for someone to change his or her mind.

Patience is an important ________of a happy and rewarding life. ________, some things are worth waiting for. ________presents many opportunities for wait training.

We can hate waiting, ________it or even get good at it! But one thing is ________—we cannot avoid it. How is your ________coming along?

【推荐3】Luke is a cute dog, living together with me for five years. We get lots of_______in our area during the summer season. Many forests are badly_________by fires each year. That hot summer, not far from our shelter, a forest______________fire. It was July, and there had been a heat wave going on for three days.

Somehow, Luke rushed towards the forest. There was no longer any hope at that moment to wait for Luke to come back to the____________. In fact, I was waiting for firefighters to tell me that he had____________in the forest. Suddenly, a fireman burst into my office and____________me that Luke had succeeded in saving four cats who had been__________by the flames (火焰). I____________accompanied (陪伴) the fireman to the forest to get him back.___________we got to the scene of the event, we didn’t see Luke. Then we heard the________of a dog barking (吠) in the forest. I______________the barks was Luke’s. The firemen______________the tracks of the dog until they found him barking loudly by the side of an injured________. Thanks to Luke, four cats and a fireman were saved. This true story shows us that pets are loving and caring. We should love and__________them. Little animals can do__________things for humans.