1 . A few years ago, I walked into Panera and placed my order. After I paid and filled my plastic cup with water, I walked further into the cafe. As I sat down, I ________ an older man eating his soup alone. The chair in his front was ________: he wasn’t saving the seat. He was genuinely eating all alone. As this fact settled in, a feeling of sadness began to ________ me. Why was he eating alone? Was he lonely?

This wasn’t the first time I’d felt ________ when spotting someone eating alone. I ________ assume they’re lonely and need someone to be there for them. For some reason, eating with others is the ________. Modern society has evolved to the point ________ most people do almost every activity together. If we’re getting lunch after class, we’d rather ________ to see if someone will come with us. But is it possible we just don’t want to appear lonely?

Many people are always ________ someone else, and that may make people think we always need someone with us to feel ________ about ourselves. But that’s not true. We can enjoy being alone— not everyone needs to be ________ surrounded by friends to be happy. And we shouldn’t be ________ to eat alone if that’s what we want to do.

I don’t think I’ll ever not get sad if I see someone eating alone, but I’ll ________ in mind that maybe they just want a ________ from the world, or maybe they prefer it that way. It’s important to ________ seeing someone doing something alone doesn’t always mean they’re lonely.

2 . My mom has been and will always be my biggest inspiration. She is a single parent of eight, and I have no idea how she survived. Throughout the years, my mom has _________ many hardships which could easily _________ someone with little determination.

Even when doctors _________ if my little sister Mary would live to see the age of 2, my mom never lost hope. After _________ visits to countless doctors, my mom decided to bring her home and make the best of my sister’s life _________ giving in to the bad results from different hospitals.

Mary’s frequent hospital visits definitely upset her, but my mom never showed _________ of weakness. Her _________ helped Mary through every tough time. No matter how confused Mary was, my mom always made her feel as if there was nothing to worry about, which _________ Mary to live the life of a normal child.

_________, things began to become worse. Around her 6th birthday, Mary lost sight at the age of 5. The doctor said that it could __________ cure. The whole family were heartbroken and helpless. Once again, my mom found a way to __________ us all, making us know that she had a strong support system. She __________ her job and stayed with Mary day and night, which helped contribute to her recovery __________.

My mom gets us to realize that no matter how __________ our life may appear, we are equipped with a very strong __________ system. We are a family that will always be there for one another.

3 . Like any other child growing up, Nicole LaMont was an outgoing and adventurous child with the dream of becoming a scientist. “My childhood was full of imagination and ________,” Nicole said. She experienced a ________ childhood, but when she was 12 years old, a serious illness ________ her of her hearing.

“My world was ________ turned upside down,” said Nicole. “I went from being ________ to being quiet and depressed.” However, she came to realize she had to fight ________ hearing loss. With her family’s help, Nicole began to learn American Sign Language (ASL).

________, a year later, she received an operation where she was implanted (植入) a hearing device, which brought back some ________ to her life. Afterward, she attended Gallaudet, a school for the deaf, where she fully ________ herself in ASL and the deaf community. “________ ASL and having total communication allowed me to feel a sense of ________ again,” said Nicole. It was then that she made her first ________ subtitles (字幕) for movie theatres in Alabama.

After much struggle, Nicole’s efforts ________. Today nearly all movie theatres in Montgomery and Birmingham offer subtitles for the deaf. After graduating from Gallaudet University, Nicole ________ to use her newfound “visual voice” through participating in several activities. “By doing this, I want to show that deaf people can achieve much. It’s very important to ________ and support hearing families that strive to make the best decisions for their deaf children’s education.” said Nicole.

4 . Several years ago, a neighbor kid kicked a football and broke a basement window of my house. Due to financial problems, I _________ it up, thinking I’d get to it someday.

Over the years, I had planned to upgrade to energy-efficient windows. But with the frame rusted (锈) and firmly _________ in the foundation, whoever did it would need to chisel (凿) it out by hand. It would be a _________ process and there were six of those windows in the house. The cost was estimated at $15,000. It was simply _________ .

Honestly, the thought of that window _________ me for years. I knew I needed to fix it, but I had built up the _________ so much in my mind that I put it off again and again.

Then I had a job change and needed to sell the house before moving away. But it was almost _________ to find a buyer if there was a broken window. So I pulled off the boards to face this thing head-on. I grabbed some rust remover, _________ it around the frame of the window, and gave it a pull. To my astonishment, it easily _________ . I took the window downtown. It only cost me $12. I could have __________ the problem for only $12 when it occurred, but I let it bother me for five years!

__________ , this isn’t just about my window. Many of us live with broken windows of one type or another. They are things that seriously affect our __________ of life. If you recognize your broken window, don’t __________ to mend it. It may turn out to be __________ than expected. Usually we suffer more in __________ than in reality.

8 . Ariel decided to _________ herself in nature the day before she turned 30, so she rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York on November 5 to take a hike. A mile into her walk, she _________ a gorgeous female mute (哑的) swan near the water’s edge. Ariel, 30, who _________ volunteered at the Wild Bird Fund rehab (康复) center in Manhattan for five years, knew that mute swans can be _________. But as she approached this one, it didn’t move.

She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Ariel put her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought _________ her: What can I do now?

Her best bet was the rehab center, but that was across the East River and clear on the other side of town. How was she going to _________ a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? _________, some puzzled strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a _________ to a nearby subway station.

On the subway, no one seemed particularly annoyed by the _________ passenger. Ariel says: “One guy was sitting right in front of me on his phone. I don’t know if he __________ there was a swan in front of him”.

Ariel called the rehab center on the way, and Tristan Higgin, a (n) __________ manager, picked her up at the subway station and drove the bird, bike, and __________ to the facility. There, staff members determined that the swan might have lead poisoning, caused by swallowing __________ used on fishing lines.

While recovering, she made a boyfriend at the center—another injured swan. Sadly, even with all that tender loving care, the swan was __________ with a bacterial infection. Two months after Ariel came to her rescue, she __________. It’s a disappointing ending, but the real story is just how far some people are willing to go to save a swan in the big city. In all, Ariel traveled two hours by foot, car, and subway (while dragging her bike). “That’s the perfect summary of who she is.” says Higginbotham.

10 . In one of my classes today we discussed the question of how our lives would be without a mobile phone. I actually felt quite sad to hear how some kids cannot _______ without their phones these days. _______, I think nowadays we are _______ by our technology to keep up. So let’s see some of the points that _______ in the discussion and see if our generation really is addicted to electronic connections rather than true communication. 

It is true that everything works at a fast pace these days. For example, you can contact someone who lives on the other side of the world within _______. This is great if you think about how connected we can stay to the _______ who are far away from us. However, on the contrary, can we be too connected to the people who are _______ to us? An argument arose about the _______ that it is easier to message someone from your sofa than to meet them _______ and talk. Social skills are important to have and if you are not going to put effort into real-life __________, then you are not going to progress in this ability. 

Another point was that phones are very handy for __________ something that you are wondering about. For example, if you don’t know a word in another language, you can quickly and simply use an on-line translator to help you out. This can be very __________ in many situations, but it can also make a person dependent on the __________ to help with anything. 

All in all, this question is very interesting to __________ for oneself as we become day by day more dependent on technology. We should realize how much we really need to be connected by our phones while considering the __________ and damages it can cause us.