1 . A Welcome Gift

Dario and his mother loved their new apartment. The living room was large enough for their piano. That night, the two of them sat side by side at the piano. They played jazz music to celebrate their new home. The loud ________ filled the room and made them feel very happy.

The next morning, ________ , their happiness disappeared. Someone had left a note under their door during the night. One of their neighbors had written to complain about the sound of the piano.

Dario suggested that they write a letter to their ________ and apologize for their playing.

“Maybe we could go and ________ everyone in person.” his mother said.

“What if we invited them to come here for a party instead? Dario asked.

They both loved the idea. Over the next few days, they sent out invitations and prepared desserts for their guests.

Finally, the day of the party arrived. Some guests brought presents. Others brought flowers.

Some even brought desserts to ________ . One woman, Mrs. Gilbert, ________ Dario’s mother with a book of piano music by Chopin.

“I heard you playing the other night,” she said. “The sounds woke me out of bed. I worried that you might play like this every night. So I wrote a short note. I hope you don’t think I disliked the playing.”   

Dario’s mother smiled at Mrs. Gilbert. “I think maybe we ________ you an apology.” she said.

“I didn’t ________ how late it was when we were playing. Maybe we should play some quieter music at night.   

“You play, you play!” Mrs. Gilbert said. “I like what you play! Just not so loud at night.” She pointed to the book she had given them. “These songs are not such ________music.”

“These songs are beautiful music.” Dario’s mother said. “We will be happy to play them in the evening.”   

“And we won’t play so loud or late!” Dario said. He was already looking forward to practising the new music. More than that, however, he was happy to see the big smile on his mother’s face. It gave him a feeling of ________ and made him feel that they were home at last.

Douban is a Chinese social networking platform     1     users are mostly young people. Recently, a Douban discussion group named “985 Loser Introduction Plan” became popular,     2     (cause) a heated discussion. Most of the group members are students or graduates from top universities in China, but they consider     3     (they) as losers for various reasons. They write down their own life stories and share their sufferings in order to improve their situations by learning from each other’s experiences.

5 . It was a rainy, damp December day. I was headed to the store to pick up another week’s worth of food. I had put off shopping for Christmas presents until later in the month but wasn’t looking forward to the crowd of Christmas shoppers while I grabbed my groceries. I kept the CD player on while I drove to avoid the radio news. It only spoke of the world’s huge problems and how divided we all still were. And it usually just left me feeling helpless.

Still, I gave my son a dollar to put in the bell-ringer’s pot at the door to the store. We went in and soon filled our cart with food. Then we walked towards the self-checkout machines. I hated using them. I much preferred to chat with the friendly cashiers, but the line at them was five deep and I just didn’t have the time. As I pulled my cart up, I heard an old man at the machine next to mine grumbling (嘟囔) under his breath, trying his hardest not to curse. He only had a few items but every time he put his wrinkled, well-worn, twenty-dollar bill into the machine, the money was returned.

I quickly grabbed a newer twenty out of my purse and gave it to him. He thanked me with a warm smile and paid for his goods. I told him to keep his money but he insisted that I take his old, torn twenty. I nodded, put it in my coat pocket, and wished him a Merry Christmas.

After checking out, I remembered something Mother Teresa had once said about how we all can change the world. “Help one person at a time,” she said, “and always start with the person nearest you.” I reached into my pocket, smiled, and went outside. Then I dropped that torn twenty into the bell-ringer’s pot and walked to my car with my son happily.

6 . As 17-year-old Norwood drove through St. Petersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached a crossroad, another car T-boned them, sending their black car sailing into the yard of a nearby house, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.

As smoke rose from the other car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” .The impact had caved in Norwood’s driver’s side door, jamming it shut. Shaken, but still OK, she crawled out through the window. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life.

But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back to the seriously damaged car and found Simmons lying in the back seat. “She wasn’t moving,” Norwood told the reporter. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out, avoiding the broken glass as best she could. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. “I checked her pulse.” Nothing. “I put my head against her chest.” No sign of life. “That’s when I started CPR.”

If the accident had happened a few weeks earlier, she might not have known what to do. But Norwood, who wants to pursue a career in medicine, had earned her CPR certificate just the day before. Kneeling on the lawn and looking down at her dying friend, Norwood knew she had precious little time to practice what she’d learned.

She started pressing Simmons’s chest with her crossed fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. No response. And then, after the 30th press, Simmons began coughing and gasping for air. The CPR had worked!

Soon, an ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital, where she received stitches(缝合) for a wound in her forehead. And then she heard how her best friend had saved her life. “I wasn’t shocked,” said Simmons. “She will always help any way she can.”

7 . Gas boilers, which are popular as a choice for heating our homes, are filled with problems. Lack of room-by-room control means you could be left cold and unhappy, meanwhile possibly polluting the environment with harmful gases. The inefficiency of gas heaters could also cost you hundreds of pounds in repairs.

The Future is Electric

The Fischer EB is an electric boiler that has been built with the future in mind. With no need for outside water tanks (置水箱), the Fischer EB is a modern and efficient heating solution to replace your outdated heating. Made from a special steel, Fischer EB is built to last and simple to operate. And with no additional need for servicing, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing there is no risk of your boiler breaking down.

Complete Control

Fischer EB comes with a wireless thermostat (恒温计) that has been designed for easy and simple use. Program your Fischer EB boiler to make sure you are getting the right temperature when you need it. No wasted heat, no wasted energy and no more fear when the weather takes a turn for the worse. At the touch of a button you will experience the warmth and comfort of Fischer EB.

Make a difference to the environment

Fischer Electric Boilers run only on electricity, meaning if you are supplied with renewable energy you can heat your home without worrying about any harmful gases or pollutants. Installation (安装) is easy and simple. You can relax when knowing there is no need for maintaining or service.

A cleaner future

Act now! Apply an energy efficient Fischer Electric boiler and replace your huge, inefficient gas or oil boiler. Benefit from controllability and comfort this winter. You can learn more about Fischer EB by calling 0800 1032 672 or by visiting the website at: www.fischerfurureheat. com.

8 . For a long time Gabriel didn’t want to be involved in music at all. In his first years of high school, Gabriel would look pityingly at the music students, _________ across the campus with their heavy instrument cases, _________ at school for practice hours before anyone else had to be there. He swore to himself to _________ music, as he hated getting to school extra early.

However, one day, in the music class that was part of his school’s standard curriculum, he was playing idly (随意地) on the piano and found it _________ to pick out tunes. With a sinking feeling, he realized that he actually enjoyed doing it. He tried to hide his _________ pleasure from the music teacher, who had wandered over to listen. She told Gabriel that he had a good ear and suggested that Gabriel go into the music store-room to see if any of the instruments there _________ him. There he decided to give the cello (大提琴) a chance. When he began practicing, he took it very _________.

But he quickly found that he loved playing this instrument, and was _________ to practicing it so that within a couple of months he was playing reasonably well.

This meant, of course, that he arrived at school early in the morning, _________ his heavy instrument case across the campus to the pitying looks of the non-musicians he had left __________.

9 . Passing Happiness on

I was standing in the checkout line behind a woman who looked to be in her 60s. When it was her turn to pay, the cashier asked her how she was doing.

The woman looked_________, shook her head and said, “Not so good. My husband just lost his job. I don’t know how I get through the days.”

My heart ached. I wanted to_________ but didn’t know how. Should I offer to pay for her groceries?

As I walked into the parking lot, I saw the woman returning her shopping cart. I remembered something in my purse that I thought could help her. It wasn’t a handful of cash, _________ maybe it would make her life better.

My heart pounded as I_________ the woman.

“Excuse me, I heard what you said just now. It sounds like you’re going through a really_________ time right now. I’m so sorry. I’d like to give you something.” I handed her the small card from my purse.

When the woman read the card, she began to_________. And through her tears, she said: “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

I was a little_________ by her reply. Having never done anything like this before, I didn’t know what kind of_________ I might receive. All I could think to say was：“Would it be OK to give you a hug?”

After we embraced, we said good-bye.

The words on the card:

“You Matter.”

A few weeks earlier, a colleague gave me a similar card as_________ for a difficult task I was doing. When I read the card, I felt a warm glow spread inside of me. Deeply __________, I ordered my own box of You Matter cards and started__________ them.