2 . In times of stress and depression, a friend would always suggest going for a walk. But I regarded it as nothing but the best ________. I didn't understand how these things could ________.

Three years ago, I hit a low point. Once I saw a pair of ________ eyes looking at me through the mirror. I realized I had to take the ________ I fought so hard to ignore. I went for a walk —with the hope that it would ________ change my life.

I walked several miles a day for the first 2 weeks, but it did nothing. Then I ________ to it every single day for more than a month. There were days when I could ________ make it outside, but I managed to ________. Every time I went out to walk, I took a ________. I think I wanted to document myself trying to make an ________.

As time passed by, one day the ________ happened. I found myself smiling. I found myself ________ to be outside from time to time. What I once ________ had become the best part of my day. I never had a ________ in mind, nothing in particular. I just ________ along the paths, stopped to look at the blue skies and listened to music.

I'm glad I took photos because there was a ________ difference in my face. I slowly started to look less ________ and tired. Till now, I don't know why I ________ to do so for so long. I guess I didn't want to believe that something ________ at the surface could actually have a(n) ________ on my physical and mental well-being. Next time if you feel troubled, take a walk and keep on with it. Sometimes, all we need to do is try.

3 . On a hot day, George and his brother, Mark, were planting new grass in George’s garden. The lawn(草坪)in the garden had become brown and patchy(参差不齐的), which could make a _________ in the heat. The authorities had _________ to charge a heavy fine if the situation was not _________ . George and Mark had been planting the new patches of grass since morning but the progress was _________. George, who was 68, was not feeling right. He went indoors to take a _________and suddenly fell down on the couch. His wife, Melissa, called the ambulance_________.

While he was having a heart attack, George had one thing on his _________— his lawn. If the new patches of grass were not planted on the lawn that day, the grass would die. “Although he was in great pain, he kept asking me to have the patches of grass planted because he didn't want them to go to waste,” Melissa _________.

Soon the paramedics(护理人员)arrived and _________George and Melissa to the hospital, leaving Mark behind to take care of the garden. After an hour, Mark had only __________to uproot the old grass. He was about to plant the new grass when two emergency vehicles __________. Four paramedics, the same ones who had __________ his brother earlier on, got out. George had shared with them how badly he had wanted to plant the new grass patches in his lawn, so they returned to __________. The task was __________ in less than two hours!

Meanwhile, George had undergone a heart surgery. After he had recovered, he had been __________ his beautiful lawn. He was amazed at the new look covered with __________ patches of grass.

George and Melissa were __________ that those paramedics had gone above and beyond their __________ to offer help with the lawn. Melissa told the newspaper reporter one day, “These men not only __________ George’s life, but also his grass. That's just so __________.”

4 . A baby giraffe born with a leg abnormality has been fitted with special leg braces (支架) to help her walk.

The giraffe is named Msituni. She ________ from a condition called carpal hypertension (腕骨高血压). It ________ the young animal’s front legs, which was especially ________ to a giraffe. The abnormality was putting a lot of ________on her joints and bones. Zoo workers ________ that she could die if they did not quickly correct the ________. This is because it could ________ the giraffe from getting food and from being able to walk around.

Zoo officials ________ experts to treat the giraffe. The medical team had a lot of ________ fitting people with braces to correct leg problems. But they had ________ treated an animal before. Ara Mirzaian was a member of the medical team. He found the situation strange and ________ went online to start learning as much as possible about giraffes.

The team ________ models of the giraffe’s legs. It took the team about a week to ________ the braces, which were made of a ________ called carbon graphite (碳石墨). After 10 days in the special brace, the problem was ________. In total, Msituni was in braces for 39 days from the day she was born. She ________ in the animal hospital the whole time.

Mirzaian said he planned to ________ a picture in his office of the baby giraffe wearing her special brace so that the children he treats might be ________ to wear their own braces. “It was the   ________ thing to see an animal like that walk in a brace,” he said. “It feels ________ to know we saved a giraffe’s life.”

8 . Brooke was at a local restaurant buying donuts (甜甜圈) but short of money. Chad, a policeman, paid for her donuts. Brooke ran out, ________ home as fast as she could and wrote a ________.

Here’s what it said:

“My name is Brooke and I am 9 years old. I was buying donuts but didn’t have enough money. A nice police officer behind me ________ paid for my item. I thanked him but I felt ________ because I didn’t offer him the money I had. So I am donating this money. I want to thank this officer again.”

Pennsylvania State Police were ________ by the nine-year-old’s sweet act. The police collected fifty dollars for Brooke. They told Brooke to buy ________ for herself. She did buy toys, but donated them. Brooke’s mom says that she just teaches her kids always to do the ________ thing. And because of what Brooke did, the police ________ her kind act again. They rewarded (奖励) her with a tour of the station with all its ________. She loves the cars!

The police made Brooke ________ that she would use some of those gifts she received for herself. Brooke ________ smiled and laughed it all off.

A little girl, donuts, a policeman, a letter and new ________. All are so beautiful. Nothing was ________, either. They were all acts of random (随意的) kindness and selfless (无私的) ________. And her story shows that a small act of kindness can go a really ________ way.

9 . Nowadays, cellphones play a big part in our life. Besides being a means of communication, cellphones also provide ______ ---they allow listening to music, playing games, etc. So you probably often ______this Go into any restaurant and you’ll notice cellphones on the table are just as ______a sight as forks. Honestly, I always find the sight ________Imagine how you feel when your partner is interested in his cellphone ______ your talks.

A recent study was designed to ____ the influence of cellphones on the ______ of phone users themselves. Two groups of volunteers were asked to have a meal with friends. The first group were told to ______ their cellphones during the meal ______ the second were not. The results showed a decrease in pleasure among the second group, who______ used their cellphones because they were close at hand. Besides, those who _____ with someone face to face meanwhile using cellphones reported a greater sense of unhappiness, compared to those without a cellphone in hand.

Researcher Dunn says, “Using a phone at the table is contagious(传染的）.” His words are_______

Yesterday when I was at a restaurant, I noticed a woman never once looked at her cellphone when waiting for food; so I fought the______ to look at mine; I wanted to______ her amazing standard.

Actually, what ______is what’s right in front of us. That’s where the real connections take place.