1 . On July 10, 1980, I was aboard an old destroyer (驱逐舰), sailing from Singapore to the Philippines. The day was grey with threatening clouds. There was a typhoon _________ our way. All of us were looking forward to arriving in the Philippines as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, the lookout _________ an object floating. He announced that it was a boat with many people on it in a _________ area with reefs (礁石). The captain announced that we were heading towards the boat to offer _________. Everyone prepared for the possible rescue. I made my way to the back end of the ship. The ship _________. But along the way, I heard most of the crew were _________ about assisting the people. And I even heard an engineer _________ said, “We ought to leave them out there to die!”

We got close to the boat and sent out the whaleboat with a small crew to _________ it out further. The crew reported back it was an old wooden boat _________ with about 50 men, women and children, who were very weak. Our ship became even more __________ after that news. Some gathered any dry clothes they could __________ and I prepared the area for rest and all the medical items.

We __________ got alongside the boat, and the first thing I noticed was the strange sound of babies crying. Then came the sound of the men and women excitedly talking with pain in their voices. All their faces __________ great tiredness. We helped get them __________. The weakest received __________ while the rest got a place to rest.

During those hours after the __________, I noticed a big change in the __________ of the crew. The same __________ even helped in caring a baby girl. Outside, the weather was growing worse, but inside, everything felt __________ and pleasant. Our new friends were very happy as if they were on a luxury ship __________ an old destroyer.