【推荐1】That day was calm and splendid. I walked slowly towards the edge of the cliff and looked out. The ____ was amazing. I could ____ the gentle wind coming from the coast while watching the brilliant sunset.

My dad and I used to enjoy the sunset together on that very place. We ____ also watch the waves ____ the rocks below. Yet, my mother always annoyed us how ____ it was. I never got worried, ____ always became secure next to my father, who spent most of his life out ____ in his boat.

I remember one time on his boat; I had ____ off the back and into the cold water accidentally. My dad instantly jumped off to ____ me. That day was especially unforgettable and from that point I realized ____ would prevent my dad protecting me if I my life was in threat.

As I ____ approached the top of the cliff, I recalled the most valuable time ____ I spent with my dad. I looked down desperately at the urn (骨灰瓷) in my hands. My father was my rock, someone I could ____ every time I was in awkward dilemma. But now he was gone eternally, and the urn for me meant absolutely ____ itself. ____ there been another chance to stay with my father again, I might have cherished it more than ever before.

I ____ the urn, said a ____ farewell and then slowly twisted off the lid. The wind started to change ____ , blowing out towards the sea. I looked last time at my father’s ashes and then ____ for a moment, I scattered the contents out over the cliff.

I wiped away a tear, but it was perfect happiness rather than sadness, because I finally knew the man who ____ so much to me, my father, was eventually at peace.

【推荐2】Dear Mr. Jones, I expect you may be slightly surprised to receive a letter from someone living as near as your next-door neighbour, but I have to raise a subject so that it will be easier for me to discuss in writing.

You may have noticed that I have a________of apple trees running alongside the fence that________our two gardens. You may also have taken________in the frequent sight of your two children________on your lawn directly by the fence. And you may also have_______that my apple trees, so to speak, bend over the fence and seem to________your children with interest.

It is only natural that your children should sometimes seem to return that________. And it is not only natural, ______, I acknowledge, quite legal, for them occasionally to show that interest by________all the apples that hang over on________side of the fence.

But to be plain with you, Mr. Jones, I am tired________seeing your children, day after day, tear the branches off the side of every one of my apple trees, and leave my trees looking________a battle had been fought on one side of them. I am, if anything, even more tired of waking up these fine autumn________, to find even the apples on my side of the fence________in number. I know this is the work of your children, since last night I was woken at midnight by the________they were making________one of my trees, and（as they may have told you） chased them home.

While I am on the subject, I am at least grateful to you for keeping your bonfires on the far side of your garden this year. Last year neither I________your children had any apples, because the smoke from your bonfire destroyed all the flowers________the apples had time to form. I very much hope that next year—for the first time since I came to this village—I shall have my apples, and your children________have theirs and that the sight of the line of apple trees will be________pride to us both.

【推荐3】My two sons are both grown-ups now. They are 32 and 27 years old this year. Yet they both still have the mind of children. Autism(自闭症) has limited their _____ growth and they still need to be looked after all the time. When I was a boy, the term used for people like my sons was Mentally Retarded. By the time I was an adult the term had _____ to Mentally Handicapped. _____, this was switched again to Mentally Challenged. _____ of these terms truly defined(定义) them, however.

These days the _____ term is Special Needs. I like this one better than the older ones, because it is more _____. My sons do have special needs but they also have special gifts. My oldest boy may only be able to _____ certain things. But when he _____ people by name, there is a catching happiness in his mood and manner. He always _____ love and hugs far more freely than I do. My youngest boy is ______ in his own world most of the time. But he also has an ______ to laugh and enjoy life. Often after he finishes crying, his happiness will immediately return. My two Special Needs sons have ______ me more about how to live and how to love than I could have ever learnt on my own.

The fact is that all of us in life have special needs. All of us also have special gifts. It is up to us to ______ our gifts. It is up to us to meet the needs of each other. And it is up to us to ______ each other with kindness and love. Remember, we are all one ______ here. We are all children of the same world.

【推荐1】At 111, Dr Edith Kaufmann was the second oldest person in the UK. I met her when I ________ at a care home for the elderly in London six years ago. I didn’t realize it would be the start of a close ________, where the age gap spanned eight decades.

At first sight, I was ________ by her self-confidence. Her doctorate (博士学位) told me she was intelligent and ________. From the beginning, I never felt as if Edith and I ________ conversation. Edith could have a full conversation with me about anything, and that her memory stretched back so easily, ________ even small things which took place 100 years ago.

She was also________ . She loved dancing as a child and I recall, only a few weeks before her death,________she smiled when I played the waltz and we________ hands and danced along to the music. Although towards her later years she was________to a wheelchair, she still participated in the exercise classes.

As I________Edith each week, I realized that I was going as much for me as I was for her. I learnt to take the words of________when I could get them. When I have failed over the years, and small decisions have ________on my mind, I have ________nothing more than the opportunity to regain my perspective (视角) on life and what actually________.

【推荐2】One evening, Catherine was at home as usual. As her ________ swung between what she was going to do with her life and her dinner plans for the evening, she was unexpectedly ________ by an urgent call from her sister “Get over here! Turn on NBC and cheek these guys out. They are just like you.” One Facebook message and a phone interview later, Catherine ________ herself on a bus with 8 strangers in the middle of the sweltering desert of Utah, picking up trash and ________ awareness of zero-waste and climate change.

With a deep ________ of the environment and a desire to make a ________, Catherine, Davey, and a group of self ________ environmental pick-up artists” went on a coast to coast road side trash pick-up. As they walked sometimes only ________ 0.9 miles on an entire day they ________ and steadily made their way across the United States for three years, picking up a total of 201,678 pounds of trash.

Catherine and Davey ________ wonderful stories of hope and inspiration with us that fueled their efforts to continue their journey. After spending weeks silently ________ how she would have enough money to fly home for her two-week spring break, Catherine found a blank, unidentified envelope ________ with S850 cash in the desert, just enough to get her home and back. After their bus ________ outside of Denver, they unexpectedly got ________ and arrived in Yosemite National Park three weeks later, just in time for the “Yosemite Facelift” where volunteers from all over the state came together with a ________ of cleaning up trash all over the park. Together, their team learned to simply devote themselves to their task, and surrender to the journey.

【推荐3】I wasn’t prepared for the way I felt when my 18-year-old son, Dylan, left for Asia during his winter break.

I was _______the moment he first told my husband Michael and me that he wanted to use some of his _______to go around China. We were excited about his exploring the world. We told him that _______was one of the best ways to spend his money and that the _______would last a lifetime.

On the morning of Dylan’s departure, he _______a few more things into his bag. Before he and Michael _______to the airport, I yelled, “Be safe, and _______when you arrive.”

That night, _______he was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, it hit me that Dylan was really on his _______. I woke hourly, each time ________the clock and counting the hours before he would land the following morning. ________my decision to let him go alone, I prayed and thought about all the things that could go ________. Then I heard from him. The first text said he’d arrived. The second said his luggage didn’t ________it.

Feeling anxious, I madly attempted to ________his luggage. And I persuaded him to go back to the ________and go to the airline’s office. My efforts ________. All the while Dylan was texting me he was all right.

After that, there was no more talk about the lost luggage, ________I knew he’d figure it out, and that the life lesson would be ________.

Several days into the trip, Dylan sent a photo from Hong Kong. “I thought I could ________study abroad anywhere but Europe. However, I could definitely do it here,” his note read. And I was ________.