【推荐2】My love for reading started when I was a little kid. It has never _______ in all the years.

It all started with my dad. When my dad was a child, life was so hard that he _________ school after 6th grade to work and help _________ his large family. Although he _________ much of his childhood, dad always possessed one of his most cherished possessions: a _______ appetite for reading. And _________ he did-everything from the morning paper to the school books we children brought home every evening.   _________ education was never in the cards for my dad, but the knowledge he acquired would surely have _______ a Ph.D. from a top university.

I inherited my own love for reading from dad. Long before most kids even think about learning to read, he would _________ me up beside him on the sofa and let me look at the pictures that __________ whatever material he happened to be reading. By the time I started kindergarten I was already reading on a __________ that astonished Mrs. Henman, a wonderful ________ who lives on in my heart till this day.

Sadly, dad __________ almost 22 years ago. But in my mind, he’ll always be the kind and loving young man who sat me up on the __________ and gave me one of the greatest gifts: The ________ of the love of reading.

【推荐3】My two nephews Nivea, 8, and Krishna, 5, were getting ready for their new music class. I happened to be _________ that day. _________, their mom asked me to drive them there. I _________without any hesitation.

As we were leaving, we found a _________ sitting outside the door. Since we human beings aren’t _________ with these kind of animals in my part of the world, they _________ run away when they sense human presence. But this one didn’t _________ when she suddenly found us a couple of steps away. We felt she might be afraid, or she might be in need of some _________.

I signed to Nivea to _________ the cat. We are usually quite afraid of ____________ animals, but this time he brought her in. We searched and ____________ a little milk and gave it, and at once she drank quickly, looking quite ____________.

When we had to leave for the music class, she ____________ us out of the door. Suddenly, two ____________ street dogs showed up and we could physically see her spine (脊柱) contract as she froze in ____________. We all felt ____________ for her safety. We tried to put her in our car so that we could take her to the music class, but she jumped off. We could only ____________ for her and then moved on for our class.

We did an act of ____________ toward the cat, but somehow, I think she did a much bigger one towards us. We were given an opportunity to engage in a moment, when one could just give without any ____________. We could feel a connection, without having to say any words, and learn the joy of ____________.

【推荐1】After moving to a new neighborhood my dad lost his job. His ________ didn’t have enough work to keep him. Although he looked for work every day, there wasn’t any that was ________. Dad felt disappointed.

Soon after this, Mom ________ to give us peanut butter for supper instead of chicken. We were ________. My younger sister Donna asked her why. She said Dad was out of work so she couldn’t buy many groceries. We had to get used to the situation. Mom seemed angry with us for asking her about it, so I decided not to ________ her again.

As Christmas was near, Donna and I were excited about having a(n)________, but our home wasn’t as ________ as usual. There weren’t smiles or chocolate any more. No more bread with rich jelly（果酱）. Mom couldn’t afford extra treats.

Two days before Christmas, Dad went on a ________ trip. He took our only ________, making it inconvenient for us. Mom had to ask a neighbor to drive her to go shopping, so the rest of the time we were ________ at home. It was very ________, and we wore sweaters even in the house. With so much time inside, Donna and I often quarreled. Mom tried to ignore us, but much often she wasn’t patient. I believed Christmas would be ________. We had no tree, no decorations.

On Christmas Eve, Dad returned with ________ he had hoped to hunt.No money for food. No friends to enjoy. That evening,________, the most amazing thing happened. As it was snowing outside, a hard knock on our front door ________ us. Before Dad opened it, we ________ music. Opening the door, we saw several ________ singing outside. They ________ me greatly. Mom quickly invited them ________. They bought Christmas food and even gave us some money. Mom cried. We thought everyone had ________ us, but our neighbors still loved us.

【推荐2】Simone is sitting in front of me and crying. She looks away, embarrassed. “Sorry, doctor,” she says, “I shouldn't be ________ your time like this." At that moment, though, I can't think of anyone________ who is more deserving of my time. Many of my patients are in desperate ________ not just because of ill health but because of their ________ problems.

As any doctor can tell you, poverty and illnesses are closely________. But coming face to face with poverty in the form of Simone is________. She experiences poverty on a scale that I cannot comprehend. Each week, ________ her rent and electricity are paid,she has just $20 left to live on. From this she has to buy food, clothes,travel and pay all other ________

Simone is ________ that her daughter will have every opportunity in life and searches charity shops for books for her daughter. Six months ago, ________,Simone was involved in a road traffic accident and this seems to have been the final straw. She slid into depression and, although she_________ to work,began to feel that life was not worth living any more. She went to GP who then ________ her to me to see what help I could give. The referral letter from the GP had suggested that I might prescribe a suitable pill, but it is a ________ truth that there is no pill that can make Simone's situation better.

But today Simone is siting crying not because of the bad situation.She is crying because she is overwhelmed by a stranger's________.One of the administration staff in the outpatient clinic has just won a $20 Marks and Spencer voucher and given it to Simone on a whim so she could ________ her daughter, who often plays in the department while her mother sees me.That sudden,impulsive act of kindness and generosity from a stranger has made all the difference to Simone.

【推荐3】Sometimes the simplest presents are the most meaningful.

When my son, Robert, was 12 years old, he got his first job, ________ newspapers. He was awake by 5:30 every morning and went out the door ________ the rest of us even managed to rise.

The weekend before Mother’s Day, he asked me if he could ________ by himself. I thought he had shown a sense of ________ by managing his first job so well, and I knew he wanted to shop for a Mother’s Day gift for me, so I ________.

A couple of hours later, he came home ________. “Do you know how ________ a dozen roses are?” he said, and went to his room. My first thought was that he was learning the ________ of money. My second was that I would not be getting ________ for Mother’s Day.

A week later, there was a knock on the door. It was a florist who, with a twinkle in his eye, ________ me a long, slender box. I opened it, thinking it was from my ________. Nestled among mounds of white tissue paper was a single long-stemmed red rose. The card ________, “Happy Mother’s Day. Love, Robert.”

Many years have passed, and Robert is now married with a family of his own. He lives far away from me but still ________ to send me a gift on special occasions. I always treasure his gifts and have ________ them all, but none is as precious to me as that rose. Although long gone, it is nestled ________ my heart.