1 . Glen Lake Elementary School in Minnesota had many fun activities during class breaks, but some students couldn’t join in. A ______ of available playground equipment such as a wheelchair merry go round or swings has made students with physical disabilities ______ to have fun.

Wyatt Feucht and Rhys Riley believed that every student ______ the chance to have fun during recess, so they asked their teacher ______ the school couldn’t buy the equipment. Ms Julien explained that it was expensive, with an estimated cost of $300,000, which is ______ out of the question for the school.

This did not ______ Wyatt or Rhys, and the pair went on a ______ to raise money for a disability inclusive playground. They began ______ spare change, held a bake sale, printed flyers, and went door to door to raise money. They even ______ local businesses and restaurants, whose owners were moved and donated a portion of their ______. For several months, the students didn’t stop their hard work ______ they finally reached their goal-raising the $300,000 needed.

For John Buettner, a student in a wheelchair, the new equipment meant ______ just a chance to play. He said, “First time I set foot on this playground I’m probably going to start ______ when seeing the effort that all Wyatt and Rhys have made.”

Julien expressed how ______ she felt of the students in her class: I know the future is to be ______ because this generation sees something that needs fixing, and they go for it headfirst.

2 . A few years ago, LaQuista Erinna’s son, Jackson, was diagnosed with autism (自闭症). Erinna had always noticed Jackson was _________ to everyday things. But the most difficult thing was getting a(n) _________. “Usually I have to do some coaching to get him in the chair and he will put on his headphones.” Erinna explained. The stress was so _________ for her, so she decided to stop taking him to the barber.

“We went almost two years with no haircuts. People would always comment on how _________ his hair was,” Erinna remembered. “It was really _________ for me. I was trying to protect my baby, but I just had to develop some tough skin.”

Ultimately, Erinna found a _________ named Ree and things seemed to be possible. Ree has been able to do things _________.

However, things went _________ at the beginning one day. “We got caught in traffic. He left his headphones. We hadn’t had lunch. It was just like a series of _________ events,” Erinna said.

Jackson __________ to get in the barber’s chair. He started running around the shop. Erinna was about to __________ and call it a day, but Ree encouraged her to __________. Then Ree noticed Jackson’s Super Mario Bro shirt and told him that he needed to save Mario by making sure no hair got on Mario.

At last, Ree managed to get Jackson to sit down. She talked to him throughout the entire process and turned the haircut into a __________, encouraging him to protect Mario to keep him engaged.

“It just __________ me so much,” Erinna said. “When the haircut was complete, Jackson was like, ‘Well, can we go back tomorrow and play again?’”

It __________ a lot to Erinna that Ree took the time to figure out a way to give Jackson a haircut that day. She shared a video online, which has gotten millions of views.

3 . Long ago, Anne and I had a big argument over a piano!

“The family should learn to play,” she said, having seen one in a shop. I told her there was ________ I’d pay so much money for a(n) ________ none of us could play.

Later, I found a grand piano at an auction (拍卖). It was a fine piece, if a bit ________. I told the auctioneer I would buy it if it went for less than £50. ________ , it ended up in our living room. Anne had ________ it and placed a vase of flowers on top.

She was ________ of her piano. The children took lessons, but it turned out they weren’t naturally talented in ________.

One day, Anne came back from tea with a friend, full of praise for her friend’s ________ room. “There was room to move, with the chairs set well back —no ________.” She quietly indicated that our piano should be ________. I didn’t react. The matter was ________, but not for long.

When I returned home one day, the piano was in the doorway, ready for the removers to take it to a sale. We came as near to a ________ as we had ever been. “Do you love the piano or me?” she ________ firmly.

In fairness to Anne, she loves the house and I am proud of it. I couldn’t handle the ________ anymore. The piano was sold. I’m sorry, but ________ I never could play the thing.

4 . My husband Dan and I were just finishing breakfast at a busy diner when a young soldier, his wife and their two school-aged children were seated at the table next to us. As they all sat down, the woman ________ her handbag and opened a small blue wallet.

“Eighteen,” she said softly to her husband after ________ counting out the bills inside. “And a few loose coins.” He nodded silently and then began ________ the menu, reading off food ________ to the children.

The kids ordered the silver-dollar pancakes while their parents requested scrambled eggs and sausage. “Can we get strawberries, too, puh-leeeeeeeze?” the kids asked with ________ . Mother and father exchanged a(n)________ look. “Sure,” the man spoke up. And the couple looked at the menus again, ________ their options. The soldier suggested they split something but his wife insisted she would just get toast. ________they spoke in hushed tones, we couldn’t help but overhear them in the ________ space.

Then we went to settle the bill at the ________, where Dan handed the cashier our check and asked if she could also add in a $25 restaurant ________ card.

“Sure,” the cashier responded. “Whose birthday?” Dan looked at her ________, a bit confused that she had immediately ________ this was a birthday gift.

“Oh, I just figured one of them was having a birthday today,” the cashier________, “because you’re the third person in the last few minutes who bought a gift card to send to that ________ table.”

7 . I have struggled with feelings of unworthiness since forever. My most painful moments were at parties. My friends made fun of me because I was rhythmically (有节奏地)__________ and I couldn’t get my__________ body to imitate the latest dance moves. I was never chosen to dance. I felt like I didn’t__________.

Around age 12, I decided that the way to__________ these feelings of unworthiness was perfection. If I was just perfect then I would fit in. But this strategy didn’t__________.My self-esteem (自尊心) was high when I got good grades and felt__________, but crashed when I didn’t do well__________, or was left out.

After several years of spiritual growth, it__________ me that for many of us, self-worth is tied to our__________. We experience low self-worth__________ we fail or lose approval. So I have begun to cultivate an unconditional self-worth. It’s not about doing things perfectly.__________, “Unconditional self-worth” is the______ that you deserve to be alive, to be loved and cared for.

The__________ to unconditional self-worth is not always easy. It takes courage to free yourself from the __________ you’ve placed on your worth. But this journey is beautiful and worth taking. So I challenge you to embrace yourselves and find your metaphorical (隐喻的) __________ floor and move freely.

8 . We’ve all had them: “It’s been one of those days” days. It starts out ________, moves to worse and then gets horrible.   That’s what I was having. As the day wore on, I started ________ dinner. Midway through the recipe, I ________ I was out of salt. I jumped into my car, and ________ to a neighborhood grocery store. Along with the salt, I ________ a few extra things and headed for the checkout stand. At the register, I wrote the ________ for the required $12 51, and the clerk ________ my items.

Then I noticed the salt ________ in the shopping cart. I handed it to the cashier. She ________, “Why not just pay for it with cash? It’s only 35 cents.” I _______ I’d run out of the house with only a single check and my driver’s license. Then the cashier ________ a dollar bill from her pocket and rang up the salt. Then she ________ I take the change! She explained she always kept a few singles in her pocket for such emergencies. That ________ gesture turned my entire day from ______ to smiles. It’s little things like what she did for me that day that truly make this a brighter world, and I’ll always remember her ________.