It was 12 o’clock and it was time to have lunch. I didn’t have breakfast this morning, so I was very _____. I decided to go to the nearest _____ to have lunch.

On my way to the restaurant, I noticed an old man sitting on a park bench and _____. I thought he needed help, so I stopped and asked him _____ was wrong with him.

The old man said to me, “I have a good wife at home. She _____ me very well. Every morning she gets up and prepares _____ for me. She often prepares bread and milk for me. I love bread and milk.”

After hearing the old man’s words, I felt _____. I didn’t know why he cried. Then I asked the old man, “Well then, why are you crying?”

The old man said, “She cooks delicious lunch for me. She often cooks _____ for lunch. Noodles are my favorite food. After lunch, she cleans the house and then watches TV _____ me for the rest of the afternoon.”

I was unable to understand and _____ asking him, “Well, why are you crying? ”

The old man added, “For dinner, she cooks porridge for me...”

Seeing him keep talking like that, I stopped him and asked the same question again. The old man looked at me in fear and cried _____. He replied, “I’m too old. I have such a bad memory that I can’t _____ where I live.”

Later on, I helped the old man up and _____ him to the police station near here. I believed that the _____ would help him find his home.

Everyone will grow old. Care for the elderly and _____ the warmth of love through actions.

3 . For some people, a job is only a way to make money. But Carole Cassidy and Russ Cassidy are ________. They worked as teachers with interest and got lots of fun. Now they are retired (退休的) and luck is still with them.

“We just didn’t want to be sitting and do ________ ,” Carole said. “We tried a few things, ________ they were not for us.” Soon, they ________ the Princeton Public Library’s Children’s Storytime program and wanted to join in it. “We were lucky. They accepted us and ________ us to come to help,” Rebecca Marrs, the librarian there said. Marrs said the kids loved the retired ________. Marrs started to take up the Children’s Storytime program about eight years ago. The Book Babies program, for newborns to 3-year-old kids, is held on Thursdays and the Preschool program is held on Fridays.

Marrs and the two teachers said that they didn’t ask the children to sit ________ during the storytime. They understand that children can listen while ________. “I love kids and love being with them. I enjoy watching kids playing together and ________ their imagination (想象力) most,” Carole said. “For example, I ask them why they make a robot with bricks (积木) and they tell their ________ to me. Their imagination is so good.”

4 . Gao Ruyi grew up near the Yellow River, China’s second-longest river. He ________ in 1983 with a veterinary medicine(兽医) degree and later worked at a zoo in Sanmenxia. He had little connection to swans (天鹅) ________ the winter of 1988. One day, he found that somebody had opened fire on the swans. The cries of four wounded swans deeply touched him.

Since then, Gao has become a protector of swans along the Yellow River. However, he met a lot of ________. At that time, people didn’t realize the importance of protecting wildlife. Besides, the environmental pollution was ________. Gao started working at a wildlife rescue(救援)station in the Yellow River wetland in Sanmenxia in 1994. Although they worked hard, ________ that were against the law continued. In 1998, several wild ducks and swans ________ poisoning(中毒).

“Swans have memories,” he said. “Since the event happened, nobody saw swans in the area for many years.”

However, Gao’s love for swan protection has ________ disappeared. He and his team often visited nearby villages to educate villagers about wildlife protection. He ________ them to bring sick or injured wild animals to the rescue station.

With the help of Gao and his team, the number of swans has ________ a lot.

For 60-year-old Gao Ruyi, the ________ achievement in his life is not other things but in the over 1,000 swans he has rescued. People call him “Swan Dad” because of his efforts.

5 . On a very cold morning, several cleaners in Changji, Xinjiang got warmth (温暖) while working outside. It was from a 9-year-old boy. Ma Haoyu, a primary school student, sent 500 steamed stuffed buns (包子) and 100 cups of milk tea to the cleaners for _________ on January 3, 2021.

Ma spent a long time _________ 600 yuan by himself, and that day he spent all of his money _________ the food and drinks. With the help of his _________, he sent the food and drinks to the cleaners along Jiefang, Ningbian and Zhongshan roads.

“It was still dark at around 7 a.m. when he _________ a bag of food to me with his father and mother. I said thanks for his _________ but refused at first,” one cleaner named Ren Xiaoling said. “However, the boy kept asking me to take the food. He said he wanted to show his respect for our _________ work. Hearing that, I felt warm in the cold winter and accepted the special gift.”

“My son made the decision when he _________ some cleaners were still working in the evening at a temperature of -20℃,” Ma’s mother said. “I was _________ because he was a frugal (节俭的) boy, but I was happy with what he did.” Ma himself explained, “__________ I can’t send breakfast to the cleaners every day, I hope to do something to make them feel warm in the winter. My parents always tell me if I help others, others may help me when necessary.”

6 . Last Saturday, Du Juan came to a park in her city as usual. She put a board saying “Free Haircuts” beside a red _________. Then a man in his 60s, came and sat down.

Du Juan took the _________ in her hand and started to work. They talked happily like old friends. Du Juan spoke of some _________ things in her life and the old man shared his funny ones, too. Twenty minutes later, “OK, done,” said Du Juan. The old man looked at himself in a mirror. “I look good. Thank you!”

This action began after Du Juan suffered from an illness. She used to have lots of hair, but now it is quite _________ . For a long time, she was worried that someone might laugh at her, so she didn’t go to cut her hair. Luckily, a professional barber (理发师) appeared. “He chatted with me and didn’t _________ me as a person with illness. I felt cared about and relaxed. That day, he changed my _______ and more importantly, he changed my mind,” Du Juan said.

“I learned the haircut skills and later became a barber. I love listening to people’s stories of sadness and happiness. I can’t _________ their problems, but I can help them feel encouraged for a moment.” She added. In 2018, she _________ the Red Chair Project so that she could help more people around the _________ besides her neighbors. Du Juan believes acts of __________ as simple as this can make a big difference.

7 .

In warm sunshine, a group of students are playing the accordion. They are students at Shuangshiping Middle School in Shegang town in Hunan Province. And their ________ teacher is Guo Weixiang.

68-year-old Guo used to ________ the accordion at the Hunan Provincial Opera and Dance Drama Theater. After retiring (退休) in 2014, he told a friend that he ________ to become a volunteer teacher. “Not all the children have a gift for playing an instrument. But music can influence their life and study ________,” he said. His friend told him about Shuangshiping Middle School. Then Guo visited the school and discovered that most of the students there ________ learned to play the accordion. “The   infrastructure (基础设施) at the school was poor. But it was exactly the place that I was ________. I wanted to do something ________ after retirement,” Guo said. In 2014, he spent 30,000 yuan on 20 accordions. His friend bought another 10 accordions and a company also donated 10 more. Guo drove for two hours to give free ________, twice a month from his home in Changsha to the school 122 kilometers away.

Guo also gives lessons to teachers there. He ________ that they can teach students when he is not available. Now, the students also learn to play other instruments, such as the hulusi and guzheng. “Every time I come to ________ them, I enjoy myself and I feel young again,” he said.

9 . When I travel around the world, I always meet some kind-hearted people and touching things. One day while I ______ for a train at a station in Amsterdam, I saw a young homeless man asking people ______ money, so he could buy ______. Most of the travelers simply took no notice of the young man or gave him a dirty look. Only an older, well-dressed lady is different. When the young homeless man moved ______ this elegant (优雅的) lady, she turned back and looked straight into his eyes and ______ asked, “How much do you need?” I couldn’t hear what the young man said but watched ______ the old lady pulled several bills from her wallet and ______ them in the young man’s hands.

I don’t know whether the young man really used this money for breakfast or for some other purposes. What I know is that I saw two completely ______ reactions (反应) to the same situation. I saw people who were afraid or angry or distrustful. And then I saw this old lady who treated the homeless man as her ______. I decided then that, even though we have to be ______ in this world, I will still choose to be like her.

Every day may bring us many chances for kindness. The key is to do it or not.

When we volunteer, we play a role in improving others, lives. At the same time, we are helping _______ .

Last summer, I volunteered at a group called Cradles to Crayons. It _______ things such as clothes and shoes to children in need. I spent two _______ a day helping choose and pack things there.

I liked the work. When volunteering there, I met many _______ people. They were always happy and ready to _______ others. I enjoyed talking and working with them.

At the end of each day, the volunteer leader (领导人) would tell us how many _______ we helped that day. I was surprised to see how a small action could make a big difference (有影响) in someone’s life. I only _______ for a short time each day, but many children got help. So I was really _______ to hear this.

My volunteer _______ at Cradles to Crayons also taught me to be thankful for what I have in life—food, clean water and clothes. They are easy to get for us, but for some others, they may be   ________ to get. We should value (珍视) them.