1 . It was July 15, 2021, and my friends had helped me celebrate my 31st birthday.

Earlier in the day I had prepared for the _________ event of a flood. We are about a third of a mile from the banks of the Ahr River. It had been raining heavily that week, and the government had issued a flood _________, though not for where I was. _________, I’d placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door just in case _________ got through. Before my friends left, they _________ me for doing that, but I thought, why take a chance?

As I drifted off to sleep, I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water, as if I were lying beside a waterfall instead of in my bedroom. When I moved my legs off the bed, I was _________ by the touch of cold water lapping against my knees and rising fast. Trembling and in darkness, I _________ my cellphone and turned on the flashlight. I saw water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door.

I admit it, I began to _________. The Ahr, usually such a __________, slow-moving river, had violently burst its banks. And now I had to get out—fast!

Any effects of the celebratory drinks I’d had earlier were now gone. I heard the garden door starting to crack under the __________ of the flood. In bare feet, I started to move to my only __________: the door that leads to the hallway. All around me things were breaking, and the cupboards were being __________.

I tried to pull the door open, but the force of the water wouldn’t __________ me. Finally, I __________ to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to squeeze through and make it into the __________.

If I had __________ just a few minutes later, I would have drowned. Many of the houses around us were destroyed, including, __________, a home for the disabled. Not everyone got out.

I came close to drowning that day. But rather than keep thinking about that, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterward: “Christian, don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________.”

2 . A sunny afternoon before Christmas, a little girl was decorating a box with a gold wrapping paper to put it under the Christmas tree. Money was tight, so the girl’s father _________ her for wasting almost all roll of that _________ paper.

However, the next morning the girl _________ the gift to her father. “This is for you, Daddy.” she said. He opened the box and found it _________, so he became angry again. “Don’t you know, that when you give someone a _________ it is supposed that there would be something inside it.” he said _________. The little girl looked at her father with _________ in her eyes. “Daddy, this box is not empty, I _________ it with my kisses, all for you.”

The father was extremely _________. He felt so embarrassed that he could just put his __________ around his little daughter and beg for her __________. For many years of his life the man kept that golden box near his bed. Wherever he felt __________ and downhearted he opened the box and thought of __________ that the little child had put into it.

Each of us have been __________ a present of unconditional love from our children, family, friends and God. It is the most precious __________ that anyone could hold.

3 . Four years ago, I felt great joy after freeing myself from one of those 2-mile gym fitness runs.I ______ running with a passion (热情), it was just something that never came ______ to me. At that time, I never ______ that I would one day run a marathon.

Everything ______ when I met my neighbor Mrs. Gray. She was fifty years old, going through cancer and still __________ to run 30 miles a week. Encouraged by her, I thought I could run at least one or two. In February, I started to walk a 2-mile route (路线) and would ______ to add in a short distance of running. Two months later, I finished 6 miles. I felt ______, but I felt great.

Over the next several years, I continued to push each run for a few extra minutes. The physical and mental fight never stopped, ______ I loved every minute of these runs. I didn't need to compete against other runners. For me, the _________ competitor was myself.

Slowly, I ______ entering some local road races. After continuing to ______ myself and finishing two half marathons, I ______ I would train for the Detroit Free Press/ Flagstar Bank Marathon. My summer was filled with many long 6 AM runs to beat the summer heat. I loved my ______. I knew I was finally on the road to success.

Race day finally came, and I was filled with ______. The experience was hard but it ended up being unbelievable. As I crossed the finish line, I experienced the strongest sense of ______ I ever had in my life

4 . One warm spring day, a small creature followed my girls home after school. She was so _______that my girls begged me to keep her.

So we named her Molly and she_______everywhere my girls went. But one day, a particular ad caught my attention and my heart_______ at what I read. Someone was searching for a lost puppy near our grade school.

I wanted to ignore the ad. However, my conscience was _______me. With _______feelings, I picked up the phone. Secretly I was praying no one would_______, but a woman did. As I described the dog to her in detail, her voice shook with_______. and she wanted to come right over._______ minutes I heard a vehicle pull up at the driveway and some _______ stop at the door. A thousand thoughts_______ my mind: I could pretend I wasn't home or tell her,“I'm sorry, you have the wrong address." But it was too late: the bell rang and Molly was _______.

Opening the door, I saw a woman with a little girl sitting in a small wheelchair. When looking at Molly, the little girl's face_______.“Here,Lucy,”she yelled,“Come here!”Molly instantly obeyed,wagging her tail wildly. Seemingly sensing my feelings, the woman explained that Lucy(Molly) was more than just a puppy to her daughter. Suddenly I felt _______.God has blessed me with so much,I thought. As they pulled out of the______,I smiled, knowing I had done the right thing - that puppy was_______where she belonged.