【推荐1】I quietly placed my ear against the kitchen door. Mom had a male______! I peeked(偷看) around. Sitting there was a gentleman, the most handsome man I’d_____seen.

Mom was a young widow then with three children. My sister was ten, my brother four and I six. I______having a daddy. And I knew he was the one. Then I marched right into the______.

“Hi! I’m Patty. What’s your name?”

“George.”

Looking towards Mom, I asked, “Don’t you think my mom’s pretty?”

“Patty!” Mom scolded with______. “Go and check on Benny.”

George leaned forward and______, “Yes, I do. I’ll see you later, Patty. I think we will be good friends.”

George started______Mom more often. He always seemed happy to see me and never grew______of my endless questions.

Soon they entered into a______. For George, who’d never been married before, coming back from World War II and into a ready-made family took some______. One evening was especially bad. Benny was crying on the kitchen floor. Annie was______loudly it wasn’t her place to______that spoiled child. And I spilled a whole pot of butter milk. With a(n)______look, George muttered(嘟囔), “I must have been______to marry a woman with three kids.”

Mom fled to their bedroom in______, and George walked out. I hurried to the porch. “I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time. Please don’t______!”

____wiping my tears, he said, “We’re friends, and friends never______the people they love. Don’t worry. I’ll always be here.” Then he went to______Mom.

Over the years, George has always been there for me. I still turn to him with my______though he is 85.

【推荐2】The second Sunday in May is a volunteer day in my neighborhood. Last year, my neighbors and I decided to ________ in the cancer ward (病房) at the Royal Children’s Hospital. As Children’s Day was coming, the hospital wanted us to make some ________ with children.

The day before we went to the hospital, many of us were feeling quite ________. We didn’t know how we would react when seeing those sick ________. As we were preparing morning tea for them, I ________ some neighbors to make chocolate bread and candies at my home.

We arrived early at the hospital and were greeted ________ by the staff—it was ________ to know that they were welcoming us and the brightness we would offer. Our first ________ was to offer morning tea to the children who seemed a bit shy—it seemed that nothing broke the ________ better than candies!

It was then time to start making cards—we brought crayons, glue and shiny things to ________ the children! We talked with them and helped them make cards. It was surprising that our ________ immediately went away. Although they were seriously ill, they were ________. Most of them chose to use bright colors as they believed they would be ________ soon. For a time, we even ________ they were ill.

We left the hospital when it was dark. Although we were tired, we were happy to see ________ on those children’s faces.

【推荐3】Table Talk

As we got out of the car, our son announced, “Phones stay in the car.”

“Why do you always have to tell us that?” complained our fifteen-year-old grandson.

Our son’s wife winked at us and then explained, “We have a family _______ that no one may bring anything electronic to the table.”

We _______ our phones in the car. Even though the restaurant was filled with families, there was little noise. All I heard were a few quiet conversations and the ding of forks on plates. The _______ unnerved me. I looked around. Everyone, even the young kids, was _______ at some kind of screen.

The silence was broken when the six of us sat down, and started talking. The waitress stood patiently and waited for our orders. When our food came, we continued to chat.

An elderly couple at the next table were finishing their dinners and conversing quietly. I noticed that they shot us a few glances, and wondered if our constant chatter was annoying them.

After the dessert, my son signaled the waitress for the check. She hesitated when she brought the black folder to our table. My son opened the black folder — it was _______ . “You forgot the check,” he told her.

“There isn’t one. Someone else _______ your bill — and the tip too.” she said with a giggle (咯咯笑).

“Why?” asked our son, his wife and myself at once.

“They loved it that no one was connected.” she continued. “They loved watching you guys _______ . The old lady went on and on about how nice it was to see a family eating and talking instead of looking at ‘electric games’.”

For a moment, everyone at our table was at a loss for _______ . Then we all started talking at once. My son's voice rose above the others. “Where are they? We want to thank them.”

“They left after you ordered dessert,” the waitress replied.

We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing this goodness and camp up with a _______ . Next time we see a family eating at a restaurant ________ looking at anything electronic, we'll pay it forward, just like what happened to us.