1 . As I was a young boy, my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to _____ a little pocket money.

One day I _____ on the door of an elderly woman and asked if she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in_____ and I showed her my worn _____, which no longer kept me warm. She allowed me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be _____ now.” She then took out a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I’m glad you’ve done a _____ job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to _____ new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to visit me with your report and I will _____ you when I see you have worked hard and have some good _____. Now reach out your little hands and take out as much money as you can.”

I put my hands in the jar and ______ so much money that it was ______ for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the old lady and she did just as she ______. She looked at my report and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I ______ her my grade “A”.

I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighbourhood. I will never forget the huge ______ this wonderful lady made to my life with her ______. This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

2 . Ariel Cordova-Rojas rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York, planning to go hiking and bird-watching. A mile into her walk, she __________ a female mute swan near the water’s edge. Cordova-Rojas, who had been __________ at the Wild Bird Fund rehabilitation (康复) center in Manhattan, knew that mute swans can be aggressive (富于攻击性的). But as she__________ this one, it didn’t move.

She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Cordova-Rojas covered her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, __________ picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought __________ her: What do I do now?

Her best bet was the rehab center. __________, that was across the East River on the other side of town. How was she going to __________ a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? Luckily, some strangers driving by __________ her, her bike, and the swan a lift to a nearby subway station.

On the subway, no one seemed particularly annoyed by the feathered passenger. They were busy with their own things. Cordova-Rojas called the rehab center on the way, and Tristan Higginbotham, an animal-care manager, picked her up at the subway station and drove bird, bike, and __________ to the facility. There, staff members __________ that the swan might have lead poisoning (铅中毒), caused by swallowing (吞下) weights used on fishing lines.

The staff got the swan back up on her webbed feet. She even made a boyfriend at the center—another injured swan. Sadly, even with all that care, the swan __________ a bacterial infection. Two months after Cordova-Rojas came to her rescue, she __________.

It’s a __________ ending, but the real story is just __________ some people are willing to go to save a swan in the big city—literally. “In all, Cordova-Rojas traveled two hours by foot, car, and subway,” says Higginbotham, “That’s the perfect __________ of who she is.”

3 . Years ago, when we first went to Canada, we were driving through Montana to Colorado with our two children. We thought we’d 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 up on gas. My husband told the woman at 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 pickup 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. She came past 12. We asked if we could leave _________ in the morning so as not to disturb them. They said we were now guests and we’d have to have breakfast with them.

Next morning, around the table were many people and we were __________ that they would welcome total __________ from a different country. After breakfast, when we were __________, my husband asked if he could offer some __________. But they said no. Then we left. We kept in __________ for many years. Later we lost contact, but over the years we have never forgotten their __________.

5 . April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day is a western festival. No one _______ exactly when and how April Fool’s Day began. However, there are some stories about _______ it came into being. One story _______ like this: in the sixteenth century France, the start of the new year was on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way _______ it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night.

Then in 1562, Pope (教皇) Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, _______， who hadn’t heard or didn’t believe the _______ in the date, so they _______ to celebrate New Year’s Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them “April fools”. They tried to make them believe that something false was _______. In France today, April first is called “April Fish”. French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends’ _______. When the “young fool” ________ this trick, the prankster (恶作剧者) shouts “April Fish!”

Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One ________ trick on April Fool’s Day is pointing down to a friend’s shoe and saying, “Your shoelace is untied.” School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled (取消). ________ the trick is, if you fail for the joke the prankster shouts “April Fool!”

In Britain today, on the first of April, even ________ newspapers, radio and TV programs tell big lies. You might read a science ________ showing that doctors have found a way to cure (治愈) AIDS, or you would probably listen to a piece of news about a UFO ________ on an island.

8 . As we all know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. I really didn’t know the meaning of this proverb until one day something _______ happened to me.  

That morning, I got up late and _______ to school without breakfast. While I was crossing a street, my bike _______ a stone and I fell on the ground, with my both knees badly hurt. I managed with the _______ and continued my riding. On my arrival at school, my teacher took us to the _______ for a basketball match. _______ I could hardly walk normally, I joined in the game. When I _______ to pass the ball, I was knocked down and fell down on my back. I could not _______ the terrible pain and cried. My classmates all started _______ at me and continued their match. ________ on the ground alone, hungry and painful, I couldn’t stop my crying. Just at that moment, Jack, one of my teammates, ________ towards me from the other end and helped me. He comforted me and tried all ________ to make me stand. He asked another classmate to take his ________ and kept sitting beside me. He kept me company the whole day and even ________ me home after school was over.  

It was on that day that I learned and believed the proverb “a friend in need is a friend indeed” to be ________.

9 . Seba Stephens is only 10 years old, but he’s a very talented musician. Seba and his family live in Memphis, Tennessee — a place famous for _________. He grew up with music all around, but he _________ loved the drumming of Stewart Copeland from the band The Police.

Before he turned three, he wanted drums for his birthday. His parents weren’t _________, but after seeing him play the drums at a local music store, they _________ he was serious. They bought him a(n) _________ drum kit. “He didn’t stop playing — ever,” says his dad, Everett.

But soon Seba grew _________. He couldn’t get his drum kit to make the sounds he heard Mr. Copeland making. It was a _________ for the family: Good instruments were worth _________. His parents bought him a professional drum kit and _________ him up for lessons. He faced __________ — some related to his size. “I couldn’t see over my drum set.” he says. __________ , Seba learned extremely quickly and needed a higher level of training.

In 2020, Everett got special __________ for Seba to join a summer music program at Berklee as an 8-year-old. After the intense summer, Seba asked his parents to home-school him so that he could __________ going to Berklee during the school year. Through Seba’s __________, last May, Seba became the youngest person ever to receive a professional __________ from Berklee. The certificate is equal to about four college-level classes.

10 . With Christmas approaching, I often reflect upon one particular evening in the early 1960s. Back then, we decided to go carolling (唱圣诞颂歌) to spread the Christmas spirit which might ________ someone else’s life. So we needed to take ________ new members, for whom the only ________ was warmth of spirit.

Soon we discovered that carolling brought various ________. Sometimes we were greeted with open doors and open hearts, while other times, folks remained in the safety and cosiness of their homes, watching ________ through their windows.

One stop on our journey particularly ________ our memory. That night, after a couple of songs, one door swung open. A gentleman, gray haired, tenderly ________we go upstairs to sing for his bedridden wife. He added ________, “She loves music and used to be an opera singer.”

We stepped briskly upward into the couple’s ________ apartment. Books, records, and antique furniture whispered stories to us. I reminded myself not to stare ________ showing disrespect to them.

Sitting beside his wife, the gentleman gave us a ________. Then our voices rose and lingered around their small home. Had our voices been given extra ________ and beauty for this occasion? Perhaps they had.

A smile flickered on the woman’s ________, yet beautiful face. She snuggled her head against her husband’s shoulder and both of them heartily enjoyed our performance. Witnessing such a heartwarming scene, we felt it was a holy night, for we were in the ________ of love that was gentle and mild.

At that moment, we found, and maybe even _______, the Christmas spirit.