【推荐1】My son Tom taught me a beautiful lesson today. He is three years old and it is amazing hatching him grow up.

He called out to me today saying, “Papa, sit”. That usually means _______ everything and going next to him and sitting down to play with him. I did that, as he can be _______ and will not stop calling out until I _______. He was playing with beads (珠子), pushing a string through them, which is a great exercise to help _______ fine motor skills. Then, after he finished playing with the beads, it was time to put them back in the box that they are stored in. I saw him _______ pick up each bead, look at it _______ it were made of chocolate and then placed it into its box.

With over a hundred beads to go, I was getting _______. “What a long time it will take! Why cannot he _______ ten beads in one go and drop them in?” said my anxious mind. I noticed that he did this with as much_______ as he had while we were playing. I didn’t see any ________ between his play and his putting away the toy. Obviously he enjoyed both.

Then it suddenly ________ me that this boy was enjoying the whole ________. The journey was his goal. For him the ________ was in the game and after the game, not just in the fun part. What a great perspective: to live each moment as it is the ________ moment; to do each task as it is the most awesome task. Nothing else ________.

Looking at how ________ my son was putting beads into the box ________ me that the process was the goal. The joy of pilgrimage (朝圣) is not in getting there but in every ________ of the journey.

This is what living in the NOW is all ________. Tom, my son, was showing me that it was about thoroughly enjoying every moment with ________ love and peace.

【推荐2】I want to do the right thing by the environment, and so do you. But, let’s face it: it isn’t always ______.

The moment one thinks about the seriousness of the ______ we face, it is difficult not to feel profoundly hopeless. For example, in order to ______ this article, I visit The World Counts (www.theworldcounts.com), which offers all the latest ______ statistics (统计数据), and it was ______ to send me to bed for the day.

There’s one thing I find ______ about trying to be ______. It is choosing between all the countless ______ on offer. Are bamboo toothbrushes better than electric ones? Do trains always cause less pollution than planes? Should one replace old but perfectly usable smart phones with ______ and high-tech versions? There is so much ______ out there to analyse. When I find myself in despair (绝望), I ______ an article by Loren Eiseley in which two men are walking along a beach covered by thousands of ______, dying starfish. One of the men ______ throwing individual starfish back into the water. The other man ______ that as there are so many starfish in trouble, his companion’s actions will make no ______. But the first man ______ that it will make a difference to each starfish he manages to ______.

It is an oft-repeated story, but that doesn’t make it any less ______. Someone has put it in a nutshell when he said, “it is the greatest of all ______ to do nothing because you can only do a little — do what you ______.”

【推荐3】One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that's trying to make you like everyone else. In a research, scientists made a _______and very interesting experiment.

These scientists placed 5 monkeys in a _______, with a ladder (梯子) in the middle and bananas on the top of the cage. Every time a monkey went up the ladder to get the bananas, the _______ soaked(浇湿) the rest of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, whenever a monkey _______ to climb the ladder, others would beat him up. After some time, no monkey _______ to go up the ladder for fear of being beaten. Scientists then decided to replace one of the monkeys. As _______, the new monkey instantly _______into the temptation (诱惑)and was beaten up by the rest. After several beatings, this new member _______ not to climb up the ladder even though he never learned the _______reason. Then, a second monkey was brought in and the ________ thing happened. The first monkey ________ the beating of the second monkey. The replacements ________ until the whole group of 5 monkeys had all been ________ one after another and the group was changed into another group. Even though the ________ group of monkeys never received a cold ________, they continued to beat any monkey that tried to climb the ladder. If you asked any of the new monkeys why the beatings took place, the ________ would probably be, “Well, how do I know? I ________ that’s how things are done around here!”

In our daily life we will never ________ the world if we continue to do things the way they have always been done. So try your best to be ________, and take the path（道路） the others haven’t taken. If you do that you’ll ________ make a difference or leave a big echo （回声，共鸣）behind.

【推荐2】I started cooking when I was thirteen. Both of my parents worked, so I was usually _______ after school. One day, my parents forgot to _______ dinner before they went to work. As we were short of money, eating out was beyond _______. So I decided to be the _______ of the day.

A few moments later, I _______ to cook fried rice, the best option out of _______ resources, including my cooking knowledge. After _______ a pan on the stove and turning on the heat, it soon began to sizzle. I was so hungry that I _______ and threw everything into the pan all together. In went rice, pieces of meat and vegetables. Little did I know that the _______ of ingredients (原料) was crucial in cooking. I ________ waited for the meat to be thoroughly cooked, but other ingredients were ________. At first, I mistook it as steam from cooking, but I soon ________ something went horribly wrong when smoke ________ to fill the kitchen.

Later that day, my mother told me, “You cannot rush yourself when cooking.” Rather, I should take steps, turning to the basics, such as learning about the ingredients and ________ the recipe.

I’ve learned that the first ________ seems hard but we should just start and let the journey teach us.

【推荐3】What are the foods that you can only taste in memories? Your mother’s biscuits? The pies you made as a child? And what are the recipes that help you_________  your memories? 

This morning, for the first time in over a year, I made Dutch Babies, a kind of pancake. I’m a poor cook who’s always _________ to pull anything out of the oven that isn’t burnt. But _________ , I get lucky. 

Making Dutch Babies brings to my mind some of the _________  memories of my life. I’ve made Dutch Babies many times for sleepovers and _________ . They were always a hit, even if I _________ them. 

After my kids grew up, I didn’t cook much for years, except for holidays or other _________ occasions. When we had a family _________ , I’d make Dutch Babies for breakfast. 

I can’t recall the last time I made Dutch Babies, before today. I know it was _________  a year, before life was __________ for the pandemic, and we stopped having guests. 

So why did I make them this __________  for only my husband and me? It’s been a(n) __________ year for all of us, filled with things we couldn’t do. I was __________  to celebrate being alive. 

Good food can feed a hungry crowd. But if it’s made with love and __________ ,it can fill a __________  with the hope of better days to come. So, add your own memories.

【推荐1】I was deeply moved by the kindness of an elderly flower seller at Sydney’s Central Station one evening.

I was feeling as cold as the chill winds ________ the steps of the workers who buried hands deep into coat pockets. In many ways, 2018 had proven a ________ year. My teenage daughter had left home for university, my job of 23 years was no more, and a creative project I’d given my all to for years had also been ________ called off. I also found out a person who I’d thought was a friend was ________ it.

A year earlier, I’d dreamt about an earthquake. In the dream, a red light flashed inside a building and then the earth began to ________.Walls collapsed and pieces of brick rained down on me as I ran into the open, feeling ________ for the people I hadn’t loved enough. ________ I was buried completely by the falling world, I stretched out my hands and ________, “Abuelo, ayudame,” in my native Spanish. “Grandfather, help me!”

Now, with the very real aftershocks of a number of ________ endings, I walked into a little flower shop to buy a gift for a friend. The gentleman at the checkout looked at me and ________ for a moment, returning with a fragrant flower. “For you. You need to smile today,” he said in a rich and beautiful accent, ________ me the flower with eyes full of care. It took all my strength not to ________ tears. Then he ________ me in a grandfatherly hug that made me want to tell him everything. ________, I just thanked him and headed for the train. How did he know? I wondered. For the first time in weeks, I felt ________.

【推荐2】We have all heard how time is more valuable than money, but is it possible to have too much time?

I _______ back in high school I spent most of my day at school since I also played a team sport. By the time I got home, I only had a few hours to do my homework, and I had to do it _______.

When I got into college, things   changed . I suddenly found myself out of class before noon time. Because of all this _______ time, there was no sense of urgency to do my school work immediately. I was performing this action of waiting until it later became a _______. Once that happened, I just kept push my studying further and further back in my day. Then I got to the point where I was _______ really late at night to get my work done.

One day I met a former classmate of mine who was _________ a lot of money running a sideline (副业). Since his regular job was_______ , I asked him why he just didn't do his sideline full-time. He said without the job, he would simply have too much time and would just do what I did back in college. He said that if he _______ the job, he would lose his chance to work and succeed.

So, try _________ your time with other work. This is why there is a __________ that if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.