1 . You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats his dogs.

For many years, I enjoyed living with my dogs, Tilly and Chance. Their _______ was nearly enough to keep my loneliness at bay. Nearly. Last year, I started dating, but with _______. When I first dated Steve, I _______ he had a dog, Molly, and a cat, Flora. While I was _______ that he was an animal lover, I _______ that three dogs were perhaps too many, and my dogs might attack _______, the cat.

The next week we _______ our dogs together. It was a hot day. When we paused to catch our _______, Steve got down on one knee. Was he proposing (求婚)? I liked him too, but so _______? He poured water from a bottle into his hand and offered it to my dogs. ____________, I began to fall for him.

We ____________ to date, though neither of us brought up the future. And then in late November, Tilly had an operation on her ____________. I took the dogs out four times a day, and I worried that Tilly ____________ climbing the stairs could reopen the wound. Then Steve ____________ his house. All worked ____________. The three dogs formed a pack that, with coaching, ____________ Flora’s space; Steve and I formed a good team ____________ for Tilly. We made good housemates.

A year later, much to my ____________, this man produced a little box with a ring and proposed to me. He did not kneel (跪) down, nor did I ____________ him to. That’s only for giving ____________ to the dogs that brought us together.

3 . I received a private message on Facebook. It began harmlessly enough: “Hi, girl. Wanted to _________ you to join my next challenge group—We will be _________ on fitting in 30 minutes of exercise and balanced nutrition. "It was all becoming too much. Facebook was _________ my life, not me.

But what killed Facebook for me was when I _________ a photo and my son asked me how many “likes” it had got. His question was a _________ call. “Likes” are signs of acceptance and _________ . I had forgotten they both need to come from within and had _________ set him a bad example.

To recreate the simplicity of those days and set a _________ example for my son, I deactivated（解除）my Facebook _________ . I had been in the habit of __________ Facebook many times a day, so I had to come up with some new habits. I __________ a novel and a crossword puzzle book around with me. I rediscovered knitting and yoga classes.

I started to __________ a few things. My body is fine just the way it is. I have __________ who will help me out when I am in trouble. I do my best to be a good mother and our son is happy and healthy.

I stopped looking at the world through my cell phone. I felt completely __________ in the moment. The __________ left me feeling better about myself, my family, my home and my life. Less social media is more.

4 . Years ago, when we first went to Canada, we were driving through Montana to Colorado with our two children. We thought we could find a hotel on the way without _____ ahead of time. As it was getting late, we started looking for a hotel, only to find that all the hotels were full.

_____, around 9 pm, we stopped at a gas station to fill our car up with gas. My husband told the woman behind the counter that we were_____to find a hotel. She told us it would be _____at such a late time in a busy season. Noticing that we were worried, she said we could spend the night at her home nearby.

Though surprised at her _____, we gladly accepted it. She then called her son to come and lead the way, since she had to work until midnight. Soon a truck arrived and we _____ it. When we reached their home, her husband _____ us. He invited us to have coffee and we chatted when _____ his wife. Finally, she came back past 12.We asked if we could slip away in the morning so as not to_____ them. They said we were now ______ and that we’d have to have breakfast with them.

The next morning, around the table were many people, and we were ______ that they offered us a big breakfast. After breakfast, when we were ______, my husband asked if he could offer some ______. But they said no. Then even if we left, we kept in ______for many years. Later we lost contact, but over the years we have never forgotten their ______.

6 . In one Nebraska teen running race before graduating from high school, Brandon Schutt’s personal best turned out not to be about marking the fastest time but displaying the biggest heart.

During the race, he knew he had the potential to ________ for the upcoming state meet, so he slowed to a comfortable ________ that would allow him to simply enjoy the moment and the day. Meanwhile, aiming to ________ his own personal record, after a fast start, Blake Cerveny continued to push himself ________. With less than 400 meters to go, Cerveny got a cramp (抽筋) in his legs and they ________ him. ________ to finish, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to ________ again after another 150 metere... and again. This time he’d ________ it only 25 meters more before going down. With tremendous effort, the young runner pulled himself up and with a(n) ________ pace, moved forward for one final push. It wasn’t enough. Less than 100 meters from the ________ line, he lay curled on the ground. His ________ had simply given out.

Brandon Schutt, who was at his side, ________ a helping hand. His first ________ to get Cerveny up failed, but like Cerveny, he too refused to ________. With a second tug (拖拽), Cerveny was on his ________. With Cerveny holding Schutt for ________ and Schutt helping Cerveny maintain balance, the two ________ the Final 75 meters. Schutt even made sure the injured runner crossed the finish line first, securing his ________ a faster time.

In today’s competitive world in which the emphasis in athletics is so often put on breaking records, it was ________ to see that for an athlete like Brandon Schutt, the value of true sportsmanship still had legs. And for others, like Blake Cerveny, knowing that finishing the race, no matter the odds or adversity, is the true ________ of a win.

7 . The Cambridge University Library in Britain received a “gift” in early March. 2022. Someone ______ a pink gift bag near the building with a note wishing the librarian a Happy Easter. Inside the bag was the “gift”: two small notebooks from the famous British naturalist Charles Darwin, who is ______ for his theory of evolution. One of the ______ has a famous drawing in it called the “Tree of Life”. Darwin made the drawing in 1837.

The university talked about the ______ on Tuesday. Cambridge believed the notebooks were ______ 20 years ago. They were first thought to be ______ inside the building after they were taken to be photographed. But, after searching through 10 million books, maps and documents, the university reported the notebooks ______ to police in 2020.

British investigators notified police around the world, and a ______ began. The notebooks are valued at millions of dollars. They were ______ , however, in good condition. Darwin’s notebooks contained writings about his famous trip around the world on the ship H. M. S. Beagle. The research ______ his book on evolution called On the Origin of species.

Cambridge University Librarian Jessica Gardner said she was ______ to see the notebooks. But she said her true feelings were profound and almost impossible to adequately express. Gardner said the notebooks would go back into the Darwin Archive. The library is also ______ to the works by scientists Stephen Hawking and Isaac Newton.

The notebooks will be on ______ later this year in a Darwin show at the library. Local police said they are continuing to ______ who may have taken the notebooks and asked for help from anyone who has ______ about the case.

9 . You never know how far a kind act can go.When Gloria Porter and Jeff Reick began ____, they had no idea how much it would encourage others to ____ people with kindness.

89-year-old Gloria Porter was lying in hospital.She couldn’t leave her ward(病房).So to escape ____, she would often stare outside her window to watch construction workers ____ the new front entrance to the hospital.She wasn’t expecting one of the workers to wave at her.She couldn’t help but wave back at the kind ____.This was only the start of a special ____ between the two.

Jeff Reick knew Porter was____, so he decided to send a kind ____ to her by finding some chalk and writing “Get Well” on one of the beams(梁) facing her ____.“I just thought that was ____,” Porter said.“So I should do something to ____ that.”

She wrote “Stay Safe” on a piece of paper, which she then ____ on the window for the workers to see.“When I saw ‘Stay Safe’ on the window, I ____ and said to my coworkers,’Did you see that?’” Reick said.

The hospital staff took photos about that and____ them on social media.The simple acts of kindness ____ and many people were employed in similar acts.

10 . It’s hard being an astronaut’s son, I _________, everybody expects you to be special or _________, but I’m just an average student.

I often wonder _________ my father ever had a son like me. I mean he’s so _________ and so good at everything. So I used to dream about doing something spectacular (令人印象深刻的) to _________ my father.

In one class, my teacher _________ a Father’s Day essay contest for us and the winners’ essays would be read in front of all the parents and students. After school I walked home, _________ about my father, who I would write about in my essay.

He sat with me in the _________ when I was a little kid and had a nightmare. He _________ me with a new puppy at my eighth birthday party. To me, he wasn’t a world-famous astronaut, but just my dad.

I wrote about all these __________ in my essay. One of our neighbours said, “I __________ you’ll win the contest, David. You’re the only one in town whose father is an astronaut.” I didn’t want to win __________ because my father was an astronaut.

I won the second prize. When I finished reading my essay, the __________ applauded. I saw my father blowing his nose.

Dad nodded to me, __________ his throat, and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, this is the __________ moment of my life,” he said.

It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I’ll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but just then, it was enough just to be my father’s son.