1 . A six-year-old kid walked into a candy store with his dad and was surprised by so many candies on offer. “It’s amazing. What should I ________?” he asked himself.

“Come on, son, we don’t have much ________. I have to attend an important meeting,” his dad said.

“These are all my ________ and I don’t know what to choose.” He picked up some bags and then put them back. He couldn’t make up his mind. “________, son, we have no time. I’m very ________,” his dad said. So the boy ran around the store ________ again. His eyes moved from one bag to another,but all of the sweets looked so good and he couldn’t make up his mind. ________, the dad had enough. He caught his son by the hand and they ________ the store empty-handed. The boy ________. He wanted them all, but ended up with ________ because he couldn’t choose just one.

Some of us are that boy. The world is that candy store. We have a great number of choices available to us, but if we don’t make a(n) ________ about our jobs, education, relationships, marriage or other ________ things, we will end up empty-handed. Sometimes we worry about making the ________ choice. What if we regret the direction that we take and it’s too late to go back? We don’t have to worry about this. How do we ________ whether it is good or not if we don’t make a choice? The bigger ________ is that we make no decision at all and end up going nowhere and doing nothing.

2 . A 15-year-old student has been praised a hero. Because he had _______ the life of a man who had suffered a heart attack. Sheng Xiaohan hadn’t told students and teachers the story until the man _______ at the school to thank him.

Sheng said he was _______ home at 9:00 pm. after working late at school, when he saw people surrounding a unconscious man on the ground, with a man making _______ to pat (轻拍) on his back.

Then Sheng measured the man’s pulse (脉搏) and found it was _______. “I had learned first _______ since primary school. And the latest time was during military (军事的)_______,” he said. He thought the old man might have_______ a heart attack. Then he tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). He pressed down on the man’s chest _______, while asking another man to help with artificial respiration. Sheng kept doing CPR for about six minutes without nervousness until the ambulance ________, and sent the man to the hospital.

“I can’t stop or ask others to replace me in case of any ________,” he added. “During the process, he started to breathe again, which made me ________ to go on.”

Sheng said he didn’t feel tired during the ________, but afterwards his arms were ________. After the experience, he didn’t ________ it as an unusual thing, because he was always ready to help others.

3 . I’ve heard that it’s better to give than to receive. But I’m here to tell you that the ________ of receiving should never be under estimated (低估).

I was nine when my Dad and Mom ________, and took me to my grandparents. I decided at that age, in my loneliness and anger that I’d become unbelievably ________, needing no one.

Believe it or not, I took care of everyone in my life, even when I was in worse shape. Once in a while, ________, someone would do something for me at just the moment.

Once, when I was a single parent, I took my son to see Santa Claus.

When he ________ me to buy the photo that was taken, I opened my wallet, only to find that I didn’t have enough money. When I got to the counter to ________ the photo, I was told that someone inline ahead of me had seen me ________ my change and had paid for me. I rushed out to thank the person whose small kindness ________ so much. I found no one in sight. I wanted to ________ that I didn’t need this and I just didn’t have enough cash on that day. I ________ then that it’s okay. It’s okay to let someone do something for me, ________ I could have done it myself.

I have received the blessings (祝福) of those whose acts of generosity and_______ have found me when I needed them most. I believe that it’s not about my strength and independence. It’s about allowing the giver to be blessed when the gift is graciously (优雅地) ________. For me, it’s about a long lost little girl who is no longer ________. Now I know that ________ and receiving are two halves of a whole, each incomplete without the other.

4 . Last Thursday, Michael and Linda were distributing (分发) meals to 4,000 homeless people for their wedding reception (婚宴) in the border town of Kills. The _________ had decided that instead of playing host to their friends and family with a traditional feast reception, they _________ to feed the homeless people from an earthquake-stricken area.

The idea came from Michael’s father, Ted, who _________ for a Turkish relief organization. For the past few years, the organization has handed out _________ meals to thousands of people who’ve suffered from natural disasters. He called Adam, who was _________ the organization, and suggested that the family cover part of the cost of feeding them for the day.

Then he told his son, who was surprised by the _________, but soon agreed. When he told that to Linda, she was really shocked but finally _________ because in southeastern Turkey there is a real culture of sharing with people _________. They love to share their _________, their table and everything they have. And afterwards she was quite __________ in it. So, they arrived at the __________ on Thursday to spend the day serving food and taking photographs with their grateful recipients (接受者).

On Tuesday evening, the __________ married couple were still pleased with their decision to __________ a personal celebration for one with greater good. Michael said, “A small act of __________ could make a big difference. __________, this will give the start for other wedding dinners to be held here with our brothers and sisters in need.”

6 . Yesterday, my daughter had to go to work earlier than usual. Since the gym where I work out is not far from her ________, I decided to take her to work and then go to the gym.

At quite an earlier ________, the gym was already full of men and women of all ages, working out. I ________ go to the gym at this early hour, and was________ to see so many people. It seems that many go to the gym before going to work.

I know how difficult it is for most people to start ________. Most people know it is good for their body, but they are too ________ to go to the gym, ________ in the morning. They prefer to spend an extra hour in bed before starting their_________. In the afternoon, they are too tired after work, and want to stay at home or go out to meet friends.

If you’re one of them, you need self discipline (自律) and ________ your laziness. If you ________ going to the gym and exercising, you would start to like it. This usually ________ when you see that you’re losing weight and you feel stronger.

It is the same in every other area of life, when you study a foreign language or when you make up your mind to ________ your dreams. It is ________ at first. But when you start to see ________, everything becomes easier because you have special ________.

8 . Standing on the top of Mount Tai, I watched the sun rising through the cloud and taking its place in the sky. I haven’t seen many ______, but I can feel that seeing one from the top of Mount Tai must be one of the best ways to ______ the beauty of nature.

When I left for China, the ______ of climbing Mount Tai had not even ______ me. I was going to China to ______ its language, history and culture and gain a better understanding of international agricultural trade between my country and China.

Now I have stayed in China for a few weeks. In Beijing, my group have, ______ friendship with many Chinese students. Through our broken Chinese and their ______ English, we are still able to teach each other about our cultures. We ______ that we are all just students working towards the same ______ of having careers, families and lives and trying to make the world better. Cultural differences seem ______—even the language almost completely differs from our own. But their daily lives are similar to our own routines (常规). ______, people worry about the same things we do here. They are ______ food safety, pay close attention to the government and feel the effects of the economic markets.

This ______ makes me realize how many cultures my country has in common with other countries around the world. More importantly, it makes me ______ for travel, and I am i looking forward to having more ______ to engage in cross-cultural communication and learning.

9 . Jim Dwyer was once in the United States Air Force. Although he is retired, he is still _______ his country. This time it’s through _______ meals to those who truly need it.

Every Thursday, Dwyer starts his day at Meals on Wheels in Westminster, _______ eight hot plates and sending the nutritious meals to older adults.

“It’s _______ to help those in need because it offers us inner joy. You know it’s just the ability to help people that are _______ and not able to get out on their own. It’s something I get _______ from. And who knows? Maybe someday I might need this service too,” said Dwyer.

Dwyer was _______ to join Meals on Wheels when he _______ to make sure his elderly parents had hot meals to eat. “I saw on TV here in Westminster that they were looking for _______ for Meals on Wheels, and I said I could do that,” said Dwyer.

His ________ to work for his fellow Americans, as he did in the military, is ________. It is true that the meals bring ________ to those getting a plate.

“Jim is great. He has been one of our committed ________ for a long time,” said Darla Olson of Meals on Wheels.

As the saying goes, “It’s never too late to learn.” ________, Dwyer’s story tells us that it is also never too late to make ________ efforts to work for the good of the community.

10 . I used to think my life was perfect. My mom had her dream job and a beautiful office and I had my own room with a computer and a garden to look after. But one Sunday, everything changed. A hurricane _______ our neighborhood while we were visiting my grandparents in Raleigh. Our kitchen was ________, and our clean and comfortable home was in ruins.

But something ________ happened. Our neighbors, the Flores family, came to our ________. They helped clear broken pieces and offered us a place to stay. Their ________ was most impressive. We had never ________ spoken to them before, but they ________ their home to us and made us feel like family.

We started a new ________ of having weekend dinner together. We invited other families from the neighborhood to join us, and our ________ were filled with laughter and delicious food. It was a beautiful thing to see our ________ come together in the wake of a disaster.

I ________ knew Rosica, their daughter, before the hurricane. But she quickly became my friend. She had a gift for ________ and our evenings together were filled with adventure and laughter.

Looking back, I realize that the hurricane ________ unexpected benefit. It brought us closer to our neighbors and ________ our lives in ways we never could have imagined. Sometimes, it takes a(n) ________ to bring out the best in people.