1 . I used to think my life was perfect. My mom had her dream job and a beautiful office, and I had my own room with a computer and a garden to _________. But one Sunday, everything changed. A hurricane _________ our neighborhood while we were visiting my grandparents in Raleigh. Our kitchen was damaged, and our clean and comfortable home was in ruins.

But something _________ happened. Our neighbors, the Flores family, came to our help. They helped clear broken pieces and _________ us a place to stay. Their _________ was most impressive. We had _________ spoken to them before, but they _________ their home to us and made us feel like family.

We started a new _________ of having weekend dinner together. We invited other families from the neighborhood to join us, and our _________ were filled with laughter and delicious food. It was a beautiful thing to see our __________ come together in a disaster.

I never knew Rosica, their daughter, before the hurricane. But she quickly became my friend. She had a gift for __________, and our evenings together were filled with adventure and __________ .

Looking back, I realize that the hurricane __________ unexpected advantages. It brought us closer to our neighbors and __________our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Sometimes, it takes a(n) __________ to bring out the best in people.

2 . I grew up in northern Arizona, where it has the most beautiful landscapes on the planet. Until I was invited to _______Guizhou province by the China Storyteller Partnerships Tour, I realized how _______ Guizhou can be in poetic (有诗意的) detail. There is _______better than seeing things with one’s own eyes. I will attempt to do so here.

My father used to ask my brothers and me on yearly fishing trips around Arizona. We would _______ to catch the largest fish, and those who succeeded would be rewarded. I remembered sitting in a small boat in the middle of the lake, mostly _______ my bored tongue, while my father tried to _______ me the whispers of the wind, or a fish dancing on the surface of the lake. He vividly described to me everything that he _______in nature. On my trip to Guizhou I had the _______ to kayak(皮划艇) on Wanfeng lake. At one point I rested, _______ floating at the center of the lake, listening to the spaces between silence and ________the surrounding karst (喀斯特) mountains. I thought about my childhood, and ________ I had listened more closely to my father’s ________ feelings.

I’ve ________ Arizona for 10 long years, creating my own destiny in China. I’ve managed to build myself a family, a career, and join in ________ activities. I feel as if I have everything I need. For a moment, in Guizhou, I felt ________.

3 . When it comes to high-intensity father courses, few adventures can be compared to riding a motorcycle with Ewa. In 2021, we _________ a one-week motorcycle trip in the southern part of British Columbia. The trip was _________ because it was the first time we had truly planned, and Ewa took it on herself to be the _________. We hadn’t a conversation about it, and she just handled everything. As her father, shouldn’t I plan a family vacation? But Eva _________ it.

My old motorcycle had no gas gauge (油量表). When the main gas tank was empty, the motorcycle would _________. Those years I wondered whether to _________ it. Finally, I chose to keep riding it. On the first day of my annual trip with Eva, we were on a _________ highway leading to the border, and my motorcycle came to a _________. We were unable to see any houses. Meanwhile, Eva headed into the distance, _________ that she was riding alone. When she finally noticed that, she turned around.

In my adult life, while __________ children, I always followed my parents’ instructions. I stood by and provided support, while Eva found her own way of life. I __________ said “no”. But when Ewa said she wanted to __________ the out-of-fuel motorcycle on the side of the road when I went for gasoline, I disagreed. I couldn’t leave her there __________. She persevered, but I was firm. Eva finally __________ and went to look for gasoline with me. At that time, I knew I had to __________ her.

6 . Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus during the rush hour. The bus was full of cold, tired people_______with one another. Two men_________at each other for being too crowded. An old woman got on, and nobody offered her a _______. Anger was in the air, no_______could be found here.

As the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver’s words came from the speaker. “Folks,” he said, “I know you’ve had a(n) _________day and that you are not feeling well, but I will_________. When each of you walks by before getting off, drop your___________into my palm(手掌), My route goes right by the Hudson River, into which I’ll_________them.”

Everyone burst out laughing, their faces shining with_______. The passengers who had been ignoring(忽视) each other’s________suddenly grinned (咧嘴笑) at each other.

At the next stop, just as________, the driver held out his hand, a palm up, and waited. All the________passengers performed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. The driver__________the same action at every stop that followed.

Occasionally we may sink into a grey world, but someone can________it like a ray of light, showing us hope. What if we are the light?________, anyone has the power to shine on others’ dark days.

7 . A little girl was enjoying the beautiful garden in her home. Her father had a good collection of rare and prized plants, which he _________ with great care.

The girl was _________ by a plant full of delicate flowers. She approached it and admired its striking beauty. Suddenly she _________ that the plant was in a pile of filth (污秽). She could not tolerate the _________ of dirt with such fantastic flowers.

She worked out a plan to clean the plant. She _________ the plant with all her might from the dirt and washed its _________ in running tap water till all traces of dirt were washed away. She then placed the plant on a clean stone and went away, proud that she had done a great _________.

Later her father came to the garden and spotted the uprooted plant, which had lain _________ in the baking sun. His little daughter ran over to _________ her achievement. “I have cleaned it, Daddy,” she reported __________

The father showed her how her treatment had nearly killed the plant and told her that the filthy soil was the best __________ to grow that plant. Hearing that, the girl felt guilty that the plant had suffered by her cleaning.

A great gardener mixes the __________ soil for each plant. __________, God provides each of us with the best __________ required for optimum (最佳) spiritual growth. But it may appear to be __________ and we may even complain to God about our difficulty.

9 . Have you ever rushed to some very important places only to find you’re on the wrong bus and you’ll never make it in time? One woman in New Zealand _________ this last year, but the bus driver went _________ his duty to help her out.

One Sunday, Mason was on her way to see her 70-year-old mom who lives in a nursing home. Because of its recent rules, _________ are limited (限制) to an half-hour period scheduled ahead (提前预约安排). When Mason _________ she hadn’t got on the right bus and her 30-minute window was fast closing, Mason started crying, tearfully _________ to the bus driver, 57-year-old Alex Bailey, what had happened.

Rather than keep to his schedule, Bailey decided to _________. With nods from the other _________, Bailey took another longer route (路线) and _________ Mason to the nursing home, dropped her off, and then calmly went back to his regular route.

By _________, as Mason arrived at the nursing house, a news reporter was there. Mason told the reporter her __________, expressing praise for the bus driver. The story __________ the evening news, and it hit social media. Bailey was “Internet __________”.

Actually, Bailey is only one of the serving members during the pandemic (流行病), who has been __________ around the clock to make sure that key workers, education and communities stay connected and keep the city running __________. Later, he said that it was just a nice, magical moment, and it was just the __________ thing to do.