1 . One winter, a homeless dog called Shavi was left to die on the streets of south-west Russia after being _______ by a driver. With two broken legs, she was taken to a pet clinic for _______ by a volunteer from One Green Planet. After launching an appeal to find someone who could look after Shavi, the vet found Nina who _______ her and nursed her back to health, working on regaining her confidence and _______.

Due to work commitments, Nina couldn’t keep Shavi and instead found her a new _______ 185 miles away, near the Russian border. However, after just a few days, Shavi _______ from there.

Two weeks later, while walking along the road outside her home, Nina felt something brush up against her leg. Realizing it was Shavi, she was so _______ and excited. The dog had made the almost 200-mile journey back to the woman who had saved her life and legs.

The pair lived together and moved into a bigger apartment so Shavi had plenty of room to play. “Of course, she has now remained with us for good. I would never give this kind of friend away again. _______ are the most loyal and loving companions in the world. For every drop of human love, they _______ give all of theirs in return, and I know that from personal experience. Shavi is just like a __________ to me.” Nina said.

2 . Earlier in the day, I had prepared for the unlikely event of a flood. It had been raining heavily that week, and authorities had issued a flood warning, though not for where I was. _________, I’d placed sandbags outside my garden door just in case.

As I was about to fall asleep in my basement bedroom, I suddenly heard the sound of rushing water. When I swung my legs off the bed, I was _________ by the sensation of cold water touching my knees and rising fast.

Shaking in the darkness, I grabbed my phone and turned on the _________. As I stepped out of my bedroom, water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door. The water must have gone over the sandbags. All around me, my things began to float (漂) and the water was now up to my waist. I began to _________ and started to walk to my only _________: the door that leads upstairs.

I struggled to the door and tried to pull it open, but the force of the _________ wouldn’t let me do so. I looked around and grabbed a broom (扫帚) floating behind me to open the door. I managed to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to _________ myself through.

Finally, I _________ outside. I came so close to death that day. But rather than trapped in that, I prefer to _________ what my mother told me afterward: “Don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________.”

3 . Table Talk

As we got out of the car, our son announced, “Phones stay in the car.”

“Why do you always have to tell us that?” complained our fifteen-year-old grandson.

Our son’s wife winked at us and then explained, “We have a family _______ that no one may bring anything electronic to the table.”

We _______ our phones in the car. Even though the restaurant was filled with families, there was little noise. All I heard were a few quiet conversations and the ding of forks on plates. The _______ unnerved me. I looked around. Everyone, even the young kids, was _______ at some kind of screen.

The silence was broken when the six of us sat down, and started talking. The waitress stood patiently and waited for our orders. When our food came, we continued to chat.

An elderly couple at the next table were finishing their dinners and conversing quietly. I noticed that they shot us a few glances, and wondered if our constant chatter was annoying them.

After the dessert, my son signaled the waitress for the check. She hesitated when she brought the black folder to our table. My son opened the black folder — it was _______ . “You forgot the check,” he told her.

“There isn’t one. Someone else _______ your bill — and the tip too.” she said with a giggle (咯咯笑).

“Why?” asked our son, his wife and myself at once.

“They loved it that no one was connected.” she continued. “They loved watching you guys _______ . The old lady went on and on about how nice it was to see a family eating and talking instead of looking at ‘electric games’.”

For a moment, everyone at our table was at a loss for _______ . Then we all started talking at once. My son's voice rose above the others. “Where are they? We want to thank them.”

“They left after you ordered dessert,” the waitress replied.

We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing this goodness and camp up with a _______ . Next time we see a family eating at a restaurant ________ looking at anything electronic, we'll pay it forward, just like what happened to us.

4 . I am always thankful to the gentleman I met on my first flight.

My story happened in June, 1975. It began when my family was finally told that we had ________met all the requirements to move into Canada.

We immediately set about selling our family things to have enough ________ so that we could start our life in a new country. However, we were only ________ to take a small amount of money with us on the flight. The rest was required to be sent directly to a bank ________ in Canada. The only money we took with us was $16.

For me and the children, this was our first time to travel by plane. We were all________ by everything new we were experiencing. We did not yet have TVs in our home country. So we were excited about watching the in-flight ________ .

On the flight, the air hostess came around to give out the headphones to passengers. But since we were flying economy class (经济舱), we were told that the headphones ________ $1. The kids looked at us ________ and asked if they could have a set of headphones which they would share with each other. Because we had only $16 with us until we ________ Canada, we could not ________ the money on headphones—not even one set. When we explained our difficulty to the kids, they accepted it without saying too much.

But our ________ must have shown clearly. A gentleman nearby handed his headphones to us, smiling, without saying a word. The kids’ faces were ________ with joy. I don’t remember which movie they saw, but I do know they enjoyed every moment of it.

This event definitely had a powerful effect on our children. They are now always ready to help anyone in need.

Although I cannot remember the face of the ________ gentleman on that flight, I’ll always remember the ________ rising up in our hearts by this small act of kindness for my whole life.

7 . I glanced to my left and right as I got ready at the starting line. The sight of other competitors who had confident and fierce-looking faces got me goose bumps and I was even more _______ than before.

“On your mark, get set... Go!” shouted the race official. I pushed myself forward with all my might and started running as though a pride of man-eating lions were coming after me. As I ran, I could see the other competitors catching up with me. All of a sudden, I fell down on my knees. A hundred pairs of eyes bored into me, watching me _______ to get up. _______ no matter how hard I tried, I just could not do it.

“No, it cannot end like this. I have to _______ this race.” I thought to myself. However, the pain from my injury was so unbearable that I felt totally _______. I really wanted to give up.

Out of despair, I gazed up at the finishing line. Just then, a kind competitor _______ her hand to me.

“Thank you...” I whispered _______ as I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up.

She lent me her shoulder for support, and I _______ forward. The crowd cheered at this brilliant display of _______. Together, both of us crossed the finishing line.

Even though I never got the chance to learn her name, I will always remember her as the one who stepped forward to help me when I was in ________.

8 . I could feel the excitement rising in me as I held the beautifully wrapped present in my hands. Unable to contain my _______ any longer, I tore it open. It was a brand new laptop as my reward for the A’s I got in final examinations.

I had always envied my friends who were exchanging news about various apps. Finally, it was my _______ to find them out. I was researching for some information for my paper when I came across a social networking site, which soon I became glued to.

As time passed, I came to _______ that I was hooked on the Internet. During weekends, I could easily spend hours on my laptop. It came to such a point where I chose to lock myself in my room, _______ to enjoy family time. Soon, my sleep was divided to only scattered naps, and my grades at school also began to _______ .

It was about this time that my parents started voicing their disapproval. It became obvious that I was spending too much time on the Internet. I was asked to _______ my usage of it. Yet, however hard I tried, I was unable to pull myself away, unable to _______ my chat sessions, and unable to concentrate on my lessons. I was _______ for just another click and another look at my message board. Then one day, my father took away my laptop. I complained but to no avail (无济于事).

Over time, I knew that dad and mom had always wanted the best for me. That was when I decided to _______ my Internet addiction. Quitting was harder than I expected. But with dogged ________, I knew that I would turn over a new leaf.

9 . One Monday morning I came into the classroom and caught Joe _________ a picture on his math book. This was one day after I had given the class a lecture on taking care of school property. Normally I would have got angry and _________ him to the office. Instead, I walked over to his desk and stood there. Joe closed the book immediately, trying to hide his drawing. I said, “Let me _________ what I said yesterday: these textbooks are going to be used for the next five years, and I _________ you to take good care of them.” “Sorry,” Joe murmured. “I forgot.” “I see.” I said.

When I returned to Joe’s desk again, he was erasing the drawing with his tiny, worn-out eraser. I _________ him mine and a drawing pad, and then said, “Here, this might make the job _________. And you can also use the pad whenever you have the _________ to draw.” Joe looked _________ and said, “Thanks.” I nodded and started my lesson.

Joe hasn’t drawn in his textbook since. He keeps the pad in his pocket and shows me his drawing from time to time. I’m glad I didn’t ask him to go to the office that day. It might have stopped him from marking on his books, but we would never have the _________ we have today. And who knows, I may have __________ a promising Picasso.