【推荐1】Shonda Lemon is a mail carrier. She has a special   _______ with the residents on her route, especially the _______ who she says are “dear to her heart”. She enjoys chatting with her customers and _______ looks out for their welfare (安康).

One customer named Helen is an 89-year-old woman who Shonda normally _______ pleasant daily greetings with. Shonda has learned from their conversations that Helen lives _______. To make the mails easier for Helen to take hold of, Shonda has a _______ habit of tightly wrapping the mails with rubber bands. Helen _______ randomly tapes candy to her outgoing mail as a symbol of her appreciation.

One day, Shonda _______ that Helen didn’t pick up her _______ as usual. Shonda grew ________, so she knocked on Helen’s door and received no ________. She had a bad feeling that something was ________.

Shonda knew it was ________ that Helen would be travelling. So when she didn’t respond to her knock, alarm bells in her ________ went off. She listened to her instincts (直觉) and immediately called the emergency service to ________ an urgent check for Helen. ________ arrived within minutes. Entering Helen’s ________, doctors found her lying helplessly on the living room floor. She had ________ two days before and was unable to move due to the injuries. She had lain there ________ without any food or water

Helen’s niece was ________ that Shonda was there at the right time to save her aunt’s life.

【推荐3】Whatever the patient’s age or disease, a hospital stay can be stressful, especially for kids. Efforts like Ella’s are a(an)_________ spot during a tough time.

It began in 2018, when Ella celebrated her birthday in a _________ way — a gift drive. Since then, it has _________ each year in early October, a few weeks before her birthday. Along with a(an)_________ to her party, Ella’s friends get a list of gift ideas for kids at the hospital. For the youngest _________, gifts might include building blocks or stuffed toys. Then it’s time to share the gifts. “Seeing other people’s _________ — that’s all that matters to me,” Ella says.

After the first round, the number of donations _________ every year. But she doesn’t keep an exact count. _________, she judges by sight. “We measure how much of the carpet it covers in our living room,” Ella says. “Last year, it _________ the entire carpet.”

Allison, working at Brigham Children’s Hospital, has seen firsthand the __________ of Ella’s gift-giving. “She puts smile on the faces of these little patients in our hospital,” Allison says. “They are all amazed at her__________ at such a young age.”

Ella’s __________ to help kids in the hospital have inspired others to __________ in her footsteps. Friends have collected and __________ gifts for their birthdays too.

“__________ to others is a good feeling to have at the end of the day,” Ella says. “I want to keep doing this as long as I can.”

【推荐1】A Moment of Joy

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. I _________ people whose lives amazed me or made me laugh, but none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.

I was _________ a call from a small building in a quiet part of town. When I arrived at 2: 30 a. m., the building was almost dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk (鸣笛) once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many poor people who depended on taxis as their only _________ of transportation. I went to the door thinking this passenger might be someone who needed my assistance, I _________ to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

“Just a minute,” answered an elderly voice. Then, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. By her side was a small nylon _________.

“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, then _________ to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the cab.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”

“It’s not the _________ way,” I answered quickly. “Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice (临终关怀医院). ”

I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I’m too old to live alone.”

I quietly reached over and _________ the meter. For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator _________. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived...

Finally we arrived at a low building. Two nurses came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They must have been __________ her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

“How much do I __________ you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.

“Nothing.” I said.

“You gave an old woman a little moment of __________,” she said. “Thank you. ”

Then soon, the door shut. It was the sound of the __________ of a life. I didn’t pick up any more passengers that night. I drove __________, lost in thought. What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done __________ more important in my life.

【推荐2】For years, Vince Rozmiarek has been the man behind the message board at Indian Hills Community Center. The father took up the job in 2013 after all his children had ________ the nest. He found himself with a lot of ________ time and had no idea how to use it, so he figured this little side job would keep him ________ . At first, he took things ________ , but when April Fool’s Day came around, he found the perfect ________ to have some fun.

He used the message board to make a joke about the neighboring town, and it received a great ________ from the locals. Realizing that his humor was ________ , Vince decided to make his jokes more of a ________ thing. He looked through books to find great things to write, and each one built up his ________ in the area. Soon enough, everyone in town knew him for his jokes, and they decided to ________ his humor with the world.

It was in 2015 that a resident decided to bring his jokes and puns to social media. She created a (n) ________ for the message board on Facebook, and she regularly ________ it with photos whenever Rozmiarek presented new jokes and puns. Soon enough, people from all around the world were laughing at his jokes, just like the residents of Indian Hills. He now has over 84,000 ________ on social media, many of whom ________ await every new picture that gets posted.

Although Vince never did any of this for ________ , he’s glad he’s able to make so many people smile with his message board posts.