1 . My life is full and active taking care of my grandson. But weeks ago, he headed for an overseas holiday, I was left feeling _______ and lost. I needed something extraordinary to lift my _______.

Then one day, I entered the Coffee Club near my home and _______ a cup of coffee. I settled into a comfortable sofa, _______ tasting the delicious drink. After a while, I approached the waitress and handed her my _______. She smiled and said, “That’s already been paid for.”

I looked at her in _______. “Really?” Then she said the words I’ll never forget. “It was a _______ of kindness, and it happens a lot.”

I was shocked. I never really _______ these things though I had heard about them. Today, I _______ it firsthand. Good, kind people are out there in the world. And they ________ when you need them most. I left home this morning feeling, somewhat lost. I returned with a ________ in my step, excited about sharing my story and ________ the kindness.

Two weeks later, I paid for a girl in the Coffee Club. The only thing is, this time, the Coffee Club did it ________. The waiter pointed me out. She couldn’t believe it and ________ me. I simply smiled, explaining that I was passing on the ________ I’d received not long ago.

2 . One day during the 2007 — 2008 financial crisis, my dad took my brother and me to shop for school clothes. He had been _________ and was trying to find a job. My mom _________ a fast food restaurant, just enough to make a living. Even though I was _________, I realized that life was tough.

It seemed _________ to go shopping at that time, but we needed new _________ for the new school year. We each got two outfits and one pair of shoes. My brother wanted a pair of basketball shorts and my dad couldn’t say no, so he _________ them as well.

While we were _________, my dad seemed to be more and more _________ as the price went up on the register. Once everything was scanned, he realized he didn’t have enough money. He asked the cashier to take off the extra shorts_________ he still couldn’t afford it. He apologized to the man behind us while he tried to __________ what to take off. My dad was on the edge of __________.

Then, the man behind us gave the cashier a $100 bill to pay for us and told her to give the __________ to my dad. My dad tried to turn down but the man __________. My dad asked for his phone number so he could pay him back in the future, but the man told my dad to help someone else in need and that would be enough.

I, to this day, still remember __________ what he looked like. Whenever I see people __________, I remember his face and I try to help them as best I can.

3 . Driving the mountain roads can be both a delight and an adventure at times. In the summer the beauty of them is _______. Yet, you have to watch out for rocks that have broken loose and _______ down the side of the hill.

I _______ to see a rock in the road the other day. A car ahead of me swerved (转弯) around it. I knew a rock that size would be a _______ to any driver if he didn’t see it in time to move. I quickly _______ to a wide spot, walked over and got it into the ditch (沟) after a great deal of _______.

The incident reminded me of an old story. “In a far-away land a king had _______ a huge rock in the road and hidden gold coins _______ the rock. He watched all day as many people _________ about the rock and found nobody making an attempt to move it. __________, a poor peasant arrived dragging a cart of vegetables. He stopped, and with all his __________ pushed the stone off the road. __________ his surprise when he saw the gold coins. The king had left them for the one who cleared the __________ for those who came after.”

Now while there wasn’t any __________ under the rock I moved, I did feel __________ as I walked back to my car. Maybe the real reward is the love we feel, the joy we scatter, and the kindness we share.

4 . About 15 years ago, I packed my suitcase and traveled to a town a few hours away. I would have an important ______ the next day, so I arrived ______. When I woke up the next morning in the hotel and started to get ______, something came to my notice — I had ______ to pack a white shirt.

This discovery made me get into ______. There was only about an hour left. Without thinking, I ______ went down to the lobby (大厅) immediately and flew to the attendant at the front desk. I explained my ______ situation and asked if he could suggest a nearby store where I could get a new shirt. I received a response before I finished speaking. “Sir, I have got a ______,” The attendant replied. How excited I was when I heard that! But rather than ______ me to a nearby shop, the man did something ______. Without saying a word, he ______ his own white shirt and handed it to me.

I finally arrived on time. Things ______ in the end — I got my dream job. I expressed my ______ when giving back the shirt.

That nice ______ has stuck with me over the years and that man’s behavior has ______ me ever since. And so now, when I see someone who needs anything, I’m willing to share.

5 . Joe became interested in metal detecting when his parents gave him a metal detector as a child. He often went out ______ after storms. Over the years, he has found watches, Spanish relics, and even an eight-foot-tall ship anchor (锚).

One day, Joe’s metal detector ______ something was buried under the sand when he was scanning St. Augustine Beach ______ by Hurricane lan in late September 2022. He began digging, expecting he might ______ some coins or something of similar value.

But what he found was worth far more than a few cents! He ______ a beautiful, huge diamond ring which was about six inches under the ground. However, even though Joe knew it was a special ______, he initially had no idea how much the ring was worth until he visited a jewelry store to ______ it. When he learned that the ring he’d unearthed was worth $40,000, Joe wasted no time trying to ______ the rightful owner!

First, he made a(n) ______ on his social media channels, hoping the owner would see it. He then called and emailed jewelry stores all over Florida and beyond, sending photographs and a(n) ______ of the ring. And, when a jeweler asked him if he’d considered keeping the prize for himself, Joe ______ said, “not even for a minute.”

A couple of weeks passed, and Joe wondered if he’d ever get the ring returned home. Ultimately, he was ______ by a man who might be the owner. After ______ through photos that the diamond ring was indeed the one his wife had lost, he was ______ happy. His wife just said, “Oh my God, I can’t believe it,” and then started crying.

For Joe, though, it might be that the act of returning the treasures” to those who lost them brings him as much ______ as finding them in the first place!

6 . Esbon Kamau, an experienced Uber driver, can be on track for a better 2024 after doing something good. He returned $8000 to a teenager who left the cash in his _________.

Kamau formed a real _________ with his young passenger, Alex Tisdale. During their 15-minute ride to John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover, Alabama, Alex _________ how proud he was of his achievements that he had just made and the _________ he received from his father. “He said something which made me feel very _________,” Kamau said.

As Kamau dropped off the teenager and continued to _________ another rider, he noticed a red bag in the backseat. Upon _________ the considerable sum of money inside, he reported it missing through the Uber app immediately.

Meanwhile, Alex was retracing his steps, _________ to remember where he had left the bag of money. However, the cash was nowhere to be found. _________, he also reported the cash missing through Uber app. The company connected them to __________ a drop-off. Without hesitation, Kamau drove to Alex’s __________ to give him his bag full of money.

Touched by the driver’s __________, Alex expressed his gratitude by giving a generous tip. Kamau wanted his __________ display of honesty to be a lesson for Uber drivers everywhere. “When you do something good, you will __________ more,” said Kamau. Kamau’s good deed is another beautiful __________ that kindness is worth a lot more than money.

8 . In February 2020, Max’s friend Rick was diagnosed with cancer. Max ______ Rick during the last month of his life, thus becoming ______ of the care provided to his friend by North Devon Hospice (临终关怀医院). “The hospital took such good care of him that I wanted to do something to show my ______,” says Max.

Max ______ a fundraising mission in March 2020. When Max first put up a tent in the yard of his house, he was 10 years old and had just ______ his friend Rick. “Before my friend died of cancer, he gave me a tent and told me to ‘have an adventure’,” says Max.

Through a years-long campaign, he became known as “The Boy in the Tent” and ______ more than £700,000 in 2023. Such a ______ allowed the hospital to ______ around 500 patients in their own homes, helping them face the ______ of an illness like cancer.

When he recalls his ______ experiences. Max says that he won’t ______ a single thing about the past three years. It’s easy to imagine, however, the past years weren’t free of ______ for Max: from collapsed tents to keeping warm throughout storms and snowy nights.

Max faced everything with his positive attitude and goal-driven mind. “One time my tent collapsed in the wind and rain at about 10:00 pm and I ______ to put it up again,” he says. “Despite all, I never regret it. I ______ love my one-of-a-kind adventure and I believe Rick would enjoy it as well if he were ______.”

9 . 83-year-old Mary Pan is the grandmother of Hart Park. Every weekday sees her take lunch to the _________ people living in the park. With money from her savings, she buys food, then prepares and _________ it to the men and women there.

Because Pan _________ them to eat all their vegetables and drink their milk, some call her grandma. “She makes me _________ my grandmother because she’s always trying to get me to eat too _________,” said Pete Sellers, who has been homeless for three years.

Pan is modest about her _________ to help the homeless. She believes she’s simply doing what’s necessary to help get them _________. It’s her habit to brush aside people’s praises.

On Tuesday the men and women who live in the park will _________ Pan’s 84th birthday: They’ll make her lunch. “I’m _________. She’s not going to have to do anything,” said Pete. Nothing comes __________ for the homeless and their __________ goes to her.

Pan believes helping others is her purpose in life. She also inspires her friends and relatives to __________ food and clothes. “Too many things are __________ in this world. We throw away enough food to feed a nation,” she sharply pointed out.

“I think I have what it __________ to be a selfless person,” Pan said. “I don’t need __________ things. I came into this world with nothing and I am going to leave it with nothing.”