【推荐1】Not long ago my daughter’s favorite shoes were cut with a knife. She cried. I took them to the shoemaker to get them ________. The young apprentice (学徒) ________ at the cuts quickly and said, “I can do ________ except replace the uppers.” The master looked at them and said, “If you trust me, I will add more cuts to both of the shoes.” I was ________ and asked why. He ________, “As if the cuts were made on purpose for special style.” I didn’t fully ________ him, but I decided to leave the shoes.

Two days later, I went to collect the shoes. At first ________ I found there were indeed more cuts on each shoe, but all of them were ________ with red thread around. The shoes looked quite ________ and more interesting than ever. I couldn’t help but speak highly of his ________.

Another time, my wife’s white skirt had an opening. My wife checked it ________ and said, “I’ll mend it myself.” Three days later, seeing the skirt again, I was shocked: the ________ had been repaired by thin and white thread and it looked like a flower. I ________, “It’s just as beautiful as a piece of art!”

“I got the ________ from that shoemaker. Patches (补丁) are supposed to be ugly, but a skillful person can make it look perfect.” replied my wife.

________ she said set me thinking: perfection is ________ to achieve in everything; patches are ________, so is human’s life, which will appear in the form of injury, disability or disease. Now that you can’t ________ the existence of them, all you can do and have to do is to ________ the wound by patches and try your best to bloom (盛开) a most beautiful flower on the wound, and that is the meaning of ________.

【推荐2】Once upon a time, there was a man who believed he could see the future through the stars. He called himself an astrologer and got used to _______ at the sky all night. He was always busy worrying about the _______ . The _______ often came to him, hoping to know what their future would be like.

One evening he was _______ on the main road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on the stars. He thought he saw that the end of the world was near. He was concentrated on thinking about the future. When he looked up at the stars, he walked without looking _______ . Suddenly he fell into a ditch (沟渠) full of _______ and water.

He was _______ in the muddy water, and _______ trying to climb out. Being unable to crawl (爬行) out and fearing for his _______ , he started to shout for help and his ________ soon brought the villagers running towards him.

As they pulled him out of the mud, one of them said, “You ________ to read the future in the stars, and yet you ________ to see what is at your feet! This may teach you to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself.”

“What use is it,” said another, “to read the stars, when you can’t see what’s right here on the earth?”

We all want our future to be ________ and happy. However, the time doesn’t stop for anyone. There is always a tomorrow to look forward to and ________ , but you can’t go back to yesterday. So, maintain your ________ life while you work for a better tomorrow.

【推荐3】I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people ______I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a ______ person.

I think my ______ started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my ______and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever ______to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester（学年）, I was really _____. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So I tried a(n)______. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I _______to help. That was really a big ______for me. _______ the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of them are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new ______, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my ______. Every time I came into her room, she was so ________because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never ______her, so I took her place. She let me _______that making others feel good made me feel good too. When she died, I was ______, but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much ______ person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not ______ these experiences. They have ______ me to care about other people more than about myself. I _______ who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

【推荐1】A group of graduates, successful in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaining about stress in work and life.

Before offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of _________ — porcelain (陶瓷), plastic, glass, crystal (水晶), some plain-looking and _________, some delicate (精致的) and expensive — telling them to _________ themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you _________, all the nice-looking and expensive cups were _________, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is _________for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the _________ of your problems and stress. It is definite that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. _______ all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you all went for the _________ cups. And then you began __________ each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and __________ in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and __________ life, and the type of cup we have does not change the __________ of life we live. Sometimes, by __________ only on the cup, we fail to __________ the coffee.

【推荐2】I work as a waiter at a restaurant. Last night an elderly and seemingly_______couple came into the restaurant and my co-worker seated them. We usually _______ our own tables. At one point the elderly couple signaled to me that they were ready to   _______ . I was super busy so I found myself a bit   _______ ，but out of politeness I went to them and_______ their order.

The _______began ordering and started stammering(口吃)to an extent I'd never heard before. It was very _______ that he had a speech disorder. I could _______ the wife had told her husband a great range of things that she wanted, as a way for him to   _______   ordering. It took a while for him to order, and in the meantime, she looked so proud and content ________ her husband's severe stammering.

Honestly the whole thing just brought me to ________. It was touching and just made me realize that a huge part of ________ is acceptance, tolerance and support. She could have made the order and made things a lot ________   for her husband and ________ the stares from other tables，but she didn't. ________ she supported him and was proud to see him complete the order. I ________ took their gesture of wanting to order as being rude, but I think they   ________   it because he really wanted to get the order right.

This whole thing also reminded me that life is ________ for all of us. I assumed this wealthy couple had everything going for them, but it just ________ me that all of us have our problems. Anyway, as long as we hold a positive attitude towards life, things will ________well.

【推荐3】People have been saying great things about my dad ________.They keep telling me that my dad is a ________ because of his job.

My dad is a surgeon and like many other doctors in China, he ________ to go to Wuhan to care for patients there. But the hospital ________ he works only kept him staying to make sure that local patients are still able to receive regular treatment. So my dad just follows his normal ________, analyzing patients’ diseases and ________ chest operations.

With all kinds of compliments toward my dad, I become ________. My dad has been a doctor long before the ________ of COVID-19, why has no one else praised him as a hero before? Didn’t he ________ such compliments when this disease wasn’t around?

When we talk about heroes, what kind of ________ often jumps into our minds? War leaders who conquered everything that stood ________? Historic characters who ruled a strong kingdom? Or our dear movie stars: the Avengers? Well, they are indeed heroes, and they made marvelous achievements. However, are the ________ of heroes just prepared for these so-called “supermen” and “superwomen”?

I don’t think so. Heroes ________ our real lives. They can be seen and they are mortal, just like you and me.

Now many streets of Chinese cities are almost ________; the schools are closed and the shops are shut. But in this world, some things remain ________. If there’s a fire, just call 119, and you know that the firefighters will be there ________ minutes. If you happen to go out on the road, you’ll come across police officers waving their flags to direct the traffic.

________, in hospitals, from doctors to nurses, cleaners to security guards, these people still ________ their jobs, doing the same services as they ever did. The reason why they are still dedicated is not a ________ for compliments, but out of a willingness for their duty.

These people, who are or were dedicating themselves to the job, do not need to be ________ as heroes just for now because they are heroes all the time .