【推荐1】Neal Moore was boating along New York State’s Mohawk River. Now he was _________ the end of a journey that began 22 months ago.

His paddle (桨) has touched 21 bodies of _________ so far on his way across the continent. “22rivers, 22 states, 22 months of journeying” has been his declared _________.

At evenings, sunset often _________ upon a chosen part of sand — the river showing him where to _________. He likes sleeping on islands, where it is _________ because there are no fierce animals. He’ll want himself to awake one hour before dawn, and in _________ with the first hopeful rays of morning he will push off into the stream, _________ nothing.

Moore was anything but _________. But his mother wanted him to do something __________, and to do something pure.

The __________ changed his life. “When you push yourself out of your comfort zone,” he concluded, “this is when you __________ and grow.”

On December 14, 2021, Moore made his final approach to New York City. Near the George Washington Bridge, the winds came up so strong that he __________ with his bow (船头)   pointing in a wrong direction, but he made it.

It was hard to __________ it was coming to an end: 7,500 miles, 22 rivers, 22 states, 22 months, just as he’d said he would do.

His mother was __________— he had done something extraordinary, something “pure”. But it’s over now, and he wishes he could just keep paddling.

【推荐2】“Do you mind if I join you?” A young man’s voice made me look up from my breakfast.

“That’s fine,” I said.

“It’s really crowded in here,” he said, flashing a nice smile.

Looking around, I realized there wasn’t one _________ table. As I watched the guy put hot sauce on his sausage, my mind spun with the _________ of my visit to a doctor the day before. I’d covered _________ through a snowstorm to see him, but he didn’t have answers to my problems.

My breakfast companion noticed me _________. “Traveling far?” he asked.

“Yes.” I hoped he didn’t have any more questions for me. He seemed nice enough, but I was in no _________ for small talk. I dipped my head back toward my plate and _________ my mouth with a bite of toast to signal the _________ of our conversation.

To my _________, the young man reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook. He wrote as he ate. After a few moments of silence, I started to feel bad about _________ his words.

“Are you a writer?” I asked, __________ my voice.

“No ma’am,” he said. “I’m working on a list for my mom. She’s fighting lung cancer and I’m making her a smile list.” I could feel his __________ in the silence.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, feeling even __________. “What is a smile list?”

“Oh, just little __________ to comfort her.”

“Would it be too __________ to ask you to read me some of your “smiles”?

“No, not at all,” he said. Then, looking down and scanning his notebook, he read:

● Watching the sunrise

● Finding a shiny penny

● Sharing a table at breakfast with a __________ lady

【推荐2】A 27 week pregnant woman got on a bus to go to the nearest hospital. She was having labor pains. The bus man knew this. As she approached her stop she got up from her seat. The driver told her to _______. He then announced to the _______ of the passengers that he was taking a detour(绕行)for the _______ four bus stops and they could get off the bus and get another new _______ if they wished. The driver then _______ the expectant woman to the doors of the hospital, got off the bus with her and brought her _______to the hospital doors.

The following day, the woman rang the bus _______ from hospital hoping to find out _______ the driver had got into _______ . She found that only one person on the bus filed a complaint. The driver also rang the company after he returned to the bus and explained the situation. The bus company gave ________ to the driver.

The ________ mum said her newborn son’s life had been saved ________ the bus driver’s actions. Isn’t this just ________! Never estimate the power of kindness especially spontaneous(自发的) kindness. Often those________ need kindness the most would never ask for it. Being sensitive to this need is a kindness ________ itself.

【推荐1】Alicia never thought her mother, Jiamin would operate a big business. Jiamin worked her whole life as a housewife and had never _______ a business before, but she wanted to do something _______. As the owner of the Oakland Fortune Factory, Jiamin delights in _______ how much people enjoy the unique flavors and designs of their cookies.

Jiamin moved with her family from Guangdong, China, to Oakland in 1999. She _______ Alicia in Chinatown, not far from the bakery, which they did not yet own. When the bakery was on the edge of shutting down in 2016, Jiamin decided to _______ it.

Running the bakery posed a number of _______. Much of the equipment had to be _______ and the facility needed improvement. Besides, Jiamin had no _______ of operating a business and couldn’t speak English _______. Working by herself, she kept calling her daughter day after day, asking her for help. With their intense efforts, the bakery ________. After Alicia graduated from college, she moved back to ________ her mom.

Today, the business is boosting and the fortune cookies are becoming culture carriers. For example, some cookies feature traditional Chinese culture, ________ how amazing the Chinese nation is. To ________ the Year of the Tiger—Jiamin’s birth-year animal—the bakery is making some of its cookies with the Chinese character for tiger.

“The tiger represents ________ and strength,” Alicia explained. “It really reminds me of my mom because she’s a ________ and fearless woman who is protective of her family.”

【推荐3】We have bought some chickens. This was not my_________. But, when it became obvious we were going to spend spring_________to our home in 2020 due to the pandemic (流行病),with kids to entertain, and an egg_________. I agreed.

They are _________Skye and Flower. That wasn’t my idea, either. Harvey (our four-year-old)_________named them Skye and Rubble, after his two favorite _________on cartoon Paw Patrol; then changed Rubble's name to Flower when he_________“he” was a girl, after the other female puppy in Paw Patrol.

I knew nothing about chickens, so my_________was that our cat Alvin, might try to eat them. My wife who_________in the countryside told me that cats and chickens happily co-exist and__________ bother each other. As cat-owners know, sitting aside a well-fed, sleepy cat encourages relaxation, because it is so devoted to self-pleasure. Our hens couldn't be more different----they spend every__________minute hunting, and seem to be continuously concentrated. When I turn my chair to face the chicken, suddenly 15 minutes has__________.

Plus, the eggs! In June they started__________and haven't stopped since two eggs per day. They are not__________, just your ordinary supermarket-style eggs---but because they are so fresh, they definitely__________better, with fresh yellow yolks（蛋黄） and still warm shells .So we've started__________them to others. It's amazing how__________a “home-made” egg gift can be.

I feel guilty that we are trapping them and that l care little about the chickens. Then I think they don’t__________anything I'm doing. And I feel __________ again.

As life around us has stopped and started again this year, they’ve provided joy, a great__________for my kids and wonderful eggs.