【推荐1】I am the “Laundry Goddess”. Well, that’s what my kids call me anyway because I have the talent for finding the right _________ for any stain. From spaghetti sauce and grass marks to ballpoint ink stains, whatever my _________ throw to me, I seem to be able to find a way to make it look brand new again. It’s a skill I got from my mother. My mom wouldn’t admit it, but I think she _________ doing the laundry.

The laundry room was Mom’s territory. It was _________, with only the sounds of the washing machine or the hum of the dryer to interrupt her. She would _________ down early in the morning, often still in her housecoat, to put in the first _________ of the day. We would find her there, leaning against the machine, peacefully having a coffee, and reading the newspaper in her territory absorbedly.

I don’t remember Mom teaching me the ways of the laundry room. I learned to _________ towels and small items as a youngster. I spent many hours ironing clean cotton handkerchiefs and pillowcases. But the _________ wasn’t part of my training. So, when I left home and _________ to another city, __________ the stain required an expensive long-distance phone call home.

My washer and dryer seem to have more __________ than a jet plane, certainly many more than the machines with basic functions used by my mom. I have made the __________ from laundry powder to liquid, and I have my own favorite stain __________. But every time I step into the laundry room and think about how to deal with a particularly difficult stain, I __________ the Laundry Goddesses who came before me for her wisdom and perseverance. And each clean item of clothing is a(n) __________ force in a messy world.

【推荐2】I, a postman, married Kathy twenty-eight years ago. Our marriage life was filled with quarrels, swearing, throwing pots…—it was too much like ______. So I had an idea that our time as husband and ______ was about up but I didn’t expect it would ______ with a fight.

We were ______ at home one evening after tea, one at each end of the table. I was ______a book, and Kathy just sat there. ______ she said, “I do love you, Harry.” I was still in the book and said ______.

Then, “Harry, look at me.” My ______ came up, smiled and went down again to my reading. Maybe I was in the wrong, and should have said something, ______ the book was too good.

“I’m sure all that reading’s bad ______ your eyes,” she commented. I went on reading, not looking up. She added, “My dad used to say that only fools read books.”

The words ______ me and I couldn’t resist replying, “He only said that because he didn’t know how to read. He was ______.”

Kathy never read books. She hated ______ like poison. She sneered(冷笑), “No need to be jealous of you. We’ve got more sense, and too much to do.”

Then I was upset, but in a ______ way, “Let me read, anyway, won’t you? It’s an interesting book, and I’m tired.”

She ______ out loud, “Tired? You ought to do some real work for a change instead of ______the streets with that stupid post-bag.” She snatched the book out of my ______ and screamed, “Nothing but books, books, books,” throwing the book into the fire.

This really ______ me, so I slapped(掌掴) her across the face, not very hard but I did.

One day, a month after ______ the book, I came back from work and found a note waiting for me, “I am going away and not coming back.”

We ______ six years after we married.

【推荐3】I come from a _________ family that many would consider dysfunctional (失衡) at the very least: marriage, divorce, etc. After we grew up, my three siblings and I could go years without speaking. And that is where this story_________ .

My sister Jeanne and I were born only 14 months_________, but by the time we were teenagers, we had lost touch. By age 19, I had moved away from our home in Wisconsin to live on my father’s horse farm in Virginia. We lived separate and our connection somehow ended.

Fast-forward about five years, I was 24 and on_________ with my fiance (未婚夫) to New York City, a place I had never been to.

During a day of sightseeing, we were crossing a very busy street_________with people. I had laughed at something my fiance said, and I suddenly heard my name yelled from somewhere around me: “Cheryl!” I_________ in my steps in the middle of the road. Tears_________ in my eyes. I knew without a_________that it was my sister Jeanne. I yelled back before even turning to look, “Jeanne?’’ It was her.

I later asked how she’d known it was me — she _________ saw me! She said it was my__________. I wouldn’t say my laugh is all that unusual, but I guess to a family member it’s infectious. It __________your heart and resonates (共鸣) in your mind.

Since that time, my sister and I have never been __________. We both moved back to Wisconsin. We talk daily. Many years have passed, and we are now in our 50s. But our meeting__________wasn’t just a sign. I see it as more of a__________, a reminder not to lose touch with loved ones. It is too easy to remain lost. After our sister-to-sister __________, I don’t plan to let that happen again.

【推荐2】I sat in my seat as my new grade six classmates found theirs. At the front of the class our new math teacher stood ______ us. The bell rang.

“Welcome to a new school year. I’m Mr. Stevens and I’m sure I’ll learn all your names in no time.” He walked around the class ______ math books. When he was done, he ______ to the front of the class and looked at us. “What are you waiting for? Get started?” he said. We looked at him, ______. Wasn’t he going to teach us? “Is there something wrong with your ______? You’re not all deaf, are you?” A ______ boy at the back of the class asked what we all wanted to know. “Mr. Stevens, aren’t you going to teach us?” Mr. Stevens ______, “You’re smart kids. Open your books and get down to it. If you have any ______ or any questions, raise your hand, and I’ll help you.” We opened our books. Mr. Stevens helped anyone ______ had questions. He would stop to teach all the students _______ when we all had the same question. It was a ______ method of teaching, but it was very useful.

It was a ______ point in my life. Mr. Stevens made me______ I was good at math and also able to reach the______ of any class I attended. I studied with his help until I graduated from middle school.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus was a popular television show back then. The actors ______ the best British humor (幽默) into our Canadian lives. Mr. Stevens would often act out one of their funny scenes (场景) in front of the class. Some thought he was strange, and I guess he was, ______ he knew how to make a math lesson interesting.

I’ve carried his ______ with me all my life. Whenever I am faced with a new ______, I think of my first day in grade six math. ______ sitting and staring at the challenge, I just get ______ . Before I know it, the challenge has been settled.

【推荐3】When my teenaged son became seriously ill, terrible times for my family began. Our once­happy home became   tense and ______. My husband and I were exhausted under the great stress of caring for my son. It was as if we forgot how to communicate—we couldn’t have a simple______ without a fight. Our marriage was on the point of breaking up.

One evening, my son and I were talking about ______. I recalled my first Valentine’s present from my husband, a kazoo (卡祖笛). I was ______ when I received it because I couldn’t get it to make a sound ______ I am a professional   saxophone (萨克斯管) player. However hard I tried, it just never worked. The kazoo eventually got ______ and forgotten. But my son was interested and insisted on seeing it. After some ______， I found it.

“You couldn’t get a sound? What’s so ______ about it?” my husband asked, amazed. He grabbed the kazoo and______.   Nothing happened. Surprised, he tried again. Still there was no sound. Frustrated,   he tried again, ______ to produce a funny sound like an angry bumblebee (大黄蜂)______ in the mouth of a bear. We burst into laughter. My son took a turn to play the kazoo. He did no better than us, causing more ______ .

Seeing his face light up, we felt as if the gloom (黑暗) had lifted and a ray of sunshine was let in. It was the best ten______ of the past couple of years.The mood stayed ______   for the rest of the evening. It didn’t solve anything. But this experience with the kazoo proved to be a turning point that always ______ us that there are still things to laugh at and enjoy, and that we can still connect as a family.

【推荐1】The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith (铁匠) every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself _________ how he worked.

“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to _________ to make shoe tacks (鞋钉)?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”

The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little _________ he found that he was becoming very skilled (熟练的) and soon he was making some of the _________ tacks.

Old Mr. Smith died and the son lost all his _________ because of the war. He had to _________ home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this _________ there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of _________ to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to _________ what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a __________ demand for soldiers’ shoes.

Young Mr. Smith, who was finding it __________ to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden __________ of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him __________ his workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the __________. And after a while, Young Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.

“__________,” he used to say, “making tacks can bring a big fortune. My trade is more useful to me than all my former fortune.”

【推荐3】Last week I went to my son’s school and spoke about kindness to 60 kids and teachers and teacher assistants. After a small talk about the meaning of ________, I gave a ________ to the children—I told them to ________ a small story about an act of kindness that they had done and how that made them feel, or if they had ________ an act of kindness and how that made them feel. In what way had that act ________ them? Then I and the headmaster will choose the ________ ones, which will stand out for their feelings of sympathy and love toward others.

When I was waiting for my ________ I saw some teachers that were at the assembly (集会) passing by and I was ________ that they would tell me if they liked the ________ or not, but they didn’t say anything.

Then one little boy came to me and said: “You know, I enjoyed the ________ today.” “Okay then are you going to write a lovely ________?” I asked. “I’m not good at writing,” the boy responded. So I explained that I would be ________ if he could just write a phrase or two about an act of kindness.

He didn’t have time to talk to me because he was in a hurry to ________ his friends who were waiting for him, but in my heart that was a beautiful act of kindness. The fact that he was able to stop to ________ me for two minutes, to let me know that he had enjoyed the assembly was worth all the ________ I had put into preparing the talk for them.