1 . I was at the bus stop, heading home after a long, busy day, when I served guests at a restaurant. Suddenly I realized I’d left behind my wallet with $80 worth of tips and one of my photos in it! I couldn’t afford to ________ a day’s pay. When I ran back, the restaurant was closed. So I had to tell myself: I’d try to ________ about it this evening.

The next day was much ________ than the day before. I was already ________ five tables there, when a white-haired ________ sat down in my section (区域). No matter how ________ I was, I made sure to give them the best ________ I could. After their meal, I thanked them for their kindness. The couple had left the ________ by the time I picked up the tip. This wasn’t right, I thought; there was much more than twenty dollars. It was too much for a tip. I ________ again; forty dollars!

Quickly, I ________ around to look for the couple. They’d left the restaurant. ________, I went to the hostess (女招待). “Did you see that ________ couple who just sat in my section leave?” I asked. “Oh, they are my parents, and have gone home,” the hostess said. “They told me about you. Yesterday they ________ your wallet. Since you were very ________ just now, they asked me to give the wallet to you. By the way, they said they were very ________with your service and gave you twice as much as a tip.”

How kind they are and what a coincidence (巧合)! I will always try my best to serve customers well in future.

2 . When I began to study flower arranging, I was slowly developing a deeper understanding of the_________ between all life.

In our first class, my teacher said that flowers can_________ talk and that they each have their own_________ of being beautiful. They have “prana” life force, so you have to pay full attention to them, rather than_________ your own ideas of beauty on them. So I began to ask the flowers how they wanted to be_________ and what positioning would make them _________ most beautiful. I waited and listened.

Even after the flowers had been_________ in the vase, I would discover sometimes that in the morning they had rearranged themselves during the night. Even if they were secured in the_________，they always seemed to be silently straining(尽力)to find their_________ place. At the same time, they were not__________ independent; they needed loving care. They were dependent on me, or whomever their__________ wasfor the day, to water them. Watching other people spraying water on the arrangements sometimes, I would feel so__________ by the scene. Small drops of water on the flowers touched the source of life and nourished the heart of beauty.

This experience made me feel how__________ it could be, if our minds are set in the right way to water not only plants, but__________,to treat all living creatures in a way that__________ them their right to be beautiful, in their own__________ and time.

What we came to notice was that flowers could also__________. Our teacher urged us to always__________ the flowers when we passed how beautiful they were and to thank them for sharing that__________ with us.

When we made our arrangements with this kind of__________,we found that the flowers remained beautiful and fresh for many more days than expected.

3 . I was out shopping with my kids doing my best to budget (谨慎花钱) the last of my paycheck. I saw a lady sitting beside my car with a sign that she was________and needed help. I had a few dollars I could.________and a couple of bottles of water in my car, so I handed her the bottles and the_________

The next day I was down to about $ 12 and________day was one day away. On the way to picking up my son from school, I tried to do something________with my 12-year-old son. We stopped by our favorite________for the amazing cow cookies and the chocolate chip cookies. I let the baker know I had to________it under $ 12.25.   When she rang it up (把款项记入收款机), she said, “Oh, it’s $12.43.” I told her, “Sorry, I’ll have to split the payment between my card and some loose________I have in my wallet.”

________, she rounded it down to $12. After I________her and went walking out, she told me to stop and handed me an/a________chocolate chip cookie and two more cow cookies. It was a small________but made me feel so happy to receive. When I told my son about this, he________on how when we do one act of________it gets multiplied by three, I believe that and I know in my heart it always feels good to________and do the right thing.

4 . Years ago, my sixth grade teacher had us write letters to our heroes. ______ others wrote to Nelson Mandela or Hillary Clinton, I wrote to Jennifer Cihi, a popular singer. We didn’t actually ______ the letters, so mine was ______ in my drawer.

In that ______ letter, I promised to devote my first ______ to Jennifer. Years later, I did become a writer, and did keep my ______. Jennifer was the prototype (原型) of the character of my first novel. But she was just a passing thought that faded ______ about five years later. Then, at age thirty-one, a social media meeting allowed me to ______ her. Later I sent my first Facebook message, ______ to tell her about the “story” between us.

I didn’t want to seem like a crazy fan. So I ______ said, “I want you to know that you ______ me to live the amazing life that I’ve led. I have written several books, been an actress, and now I am a ______. Thank you.” Without receiving an ______ reply, I soon forgot the matter. But two days later, my phone made a “ding” which ______ I got a new Facebook message.

It was from Jennifer. We ______ a few pleasantries(客套话)on Facebook. When I told her I was teaching at a unique school for kids with mental illness, Jennifer suddenly asked if we could talk ______ the phone.

During the conversation, we realized we ______ a passion for helping children with mental disorder. Later, we founded Mariposa, ______ support and education for kids with mental illness. And we were both ______ as presenters at the Mental Health America Annual Conference.

Jennifer Cihi, my early hero, ______ , acted as the person who encouraged me in my life.

5 . It was Christmas morning. The ground was white with _________. The birds could not get anything to _________.

Bessie looked out of the window and saw them jumping about the street. They were _________ food. Bessie was a kind little girl. She felt _________ for the poor birds. She wanted to ask them to come into her warm home. _________ she knew that they were afraid to come in. At last she thought of a good idea. She decided to make a Christmas _________ for the birds. Bessie put a little tree outside the window. Then she hung on it little baskets full of _________ and small pieces of bread.

_________ the birds did not come to the tree. But by and by two or three came near and looked at it. They ate some of the seeds and bread. Then they flew _________ to tell the other birds about it. Soon many birds flew here to get their __________. They liked them as much as Bessie liked her Christmas presents. They sang songs to give their __________ to her.

Being __________, Bessie told her parents that she would give some of her bread to the birds every cold day. But her father said that she could not feed all the hungry birds even if she gave __________ of their bread. Thinking for a while, she said that all the birds would be fed __________ other children did the same.

6 . I lost my sight when I was four years old in an illness. Now I am thirty, and I can still ________ the brightness of sunshine.

Life, I believe, needs a lot of adjustments (调整) to reality. The more ready a person is to________ these adjustments, the ________ meaningful his own world will be. But the ________ is very difficult.

The hardest ________ I had to learn was to believe in myself. If I hadn’t been able to do it, I would have given up. And it ________ me years to discover and strengthen this confidence.

Up to now I still remember ________ happened when I was at school. A man gave me an indoor baseball. ________ I thought he was kidding me and I was ________. “I can’t use this,” I said angrily. “Take it with you,” he said politely, “and ________ it around.” The words echoed (萦绕) in my head—“Roll it around!” ________ rolling the ball I could hear where it went. This gave me an idea how to achieve a goal I had thought ________: playing baseball. Finally, I invented a different kind of baseball at Philadelphia’s Overbrook School for the Blind. We ________ it ground ball.

All my life I have set many goals and ________ tried to reach them. It was hard for me to try for something new, which was wildly out of ________ at the beginning. Although I would fail sometimes, I made progress continuously.

7 . Searra, an eight-year-old brain cancer patient, was a “regular” in the Radiation Department. With my office located near the ________, I could hear Searra, also called CC, coming. Several steps behind, CC’s grandmother, also called Mommie, would follow as she tried ________ CC.

I had prepared toys and coloring materials for her in my office. When she walked into the ________, it was time to socialize with us and to see what she could color for ________ before her treatment.

I was surprised by the love CC had for Mommie. ________   I asked her about home life, or how she was feeling, every reply referred to her time ________ with Mommie, the funny stories they ________ and how much she loved her. When CC was first ________ with radiation treatment, the therapists (治疗专家) told her they’d give her a quarter each day if she promised to keep her ________ still on the treatment table. So on the last day of 6-week treatment, the therapists ________ what big toy she was going to buy with all her ________. CC replied, “Oh, I am not going to buy a toy. I’m going to buy something for Mommie ________ all the nice things she does for me.”

CC taught me about what is really important in life. She ________ showed that loving others is the best gift you can give another. Certainly, CC had an excuse to complain or be   ________ at the world for a childhood totally ________ from other children’s in her class. I have never heard her ________ about her hairless head, swollen (肿胀的) body or ________ energy level, which keeps her from playing outside.

CC reminds me not to ________ the love people give us for granted and to look beyond the superficiality (表面情况) that is often found in daily life. I am ________ to be more thankful for what I have today and not to complain what is behind me or what lies ahead. CC, just like many other cancer patients, is a true ________,   so let’s make the best of what we have today.

8 . Last Friday I came home from work. And as I entered my home, I ________ that someone had been in the house. As I walked through the house assessing (评定) the damage, I found a very ________house. The house was not how I had left it that morning.

I immediately knew that my ________ had visited and cleaned my house for me. Of course, I was ________ － I knew what a sacrifice (牺牲) it was for her to do this, with three children, a business and a house of her own to ________.

Looking at all the deeds she had done, I was going around unconsciously moving things and putting them in their “proper order”. ________, I remembered some advice my mom gave me when I got married.

“If your husband helps you in the house doing anything, ________ go behind him and change it. When I was first ________, your daddy was willing to help me by making the beds, washing dishes or whatever. I never liked the ________ he did it, so I always went behind him and did it my way. Before long, he stopped helping me and never offered to help me with anything else. So, ________ it doesn’t meet your standards or is not done your way, ________ it as a gift or he will stop helping.”

I thought back, and realized that I had a ________ of changing or rearranging things to my way of doing or thinking. Had I made others feel ________ because I had to change them to my liking? As long as the job got done well, did it really ________ how it got done?

I sat down in my clean house ________, keeping everything just as my daughter had left it.

9 . “Daddy, can I have a piece of cake?” my oldest son asked me.

We had just been to the gym and stopped to ________ at the restaurant.

“No,” I replied, “you don’t need a piece of cake.”

My son ________ 15 in a few days. He stands over 6 feet tall. He is very slim and athletic (体格健壮的) ________. It was not always that way. My wife wrote a book about the challenge and ________ of getting him fit. He now takes it seriously and looks as if he’s never been overweight in his life.

He had a full plate of ________ and tofu. He didn’t need a piece of cake. ________, everything in the restaurant is quite ________. Our dinners could have fed a family of seven at a fast food restaurant. That cake probably ________ $5.

He was silent as he looked at the ________ cakes. I had forgotten that I had walked over to the cake shelf while he was ________ his food from the buffet (自助餐).

I looked at my plate. There sitting on the edge was a piece of ________. I looked at it wondering but also knowing how it got there. “We will divide it.” I said.

A few days later my oldest son was ________ me again. We stopped at a ________.

He ordered a sandwich. I then ________ two sandwiches. He immediately barked, “Can I have two?” He wanted ________ what Daddy had.

Your kids are very likely to put on their plates, exactly what you have on yours, and I think this applies to (适用于) more than food. Keep your life plate with only what you want your kids to have.

10 . Several years ago my wife and I found ourselves struggling financially. What I _______ by teaching at a college wasn’t enough. Therefore, I started seeing “_______” in one of the college _______ on Friday afternoon. Most animals I saw belonged to students so I only _______enough money to cover my overhead (日常开销).

It was so _______   that my wife decided to take our children to her mother’s house for a few days to try to decompress (放松)，_______ me with the house. Thursday night I _______ my wife and she told me we needed $311 to pay our bills. Putting down her phone, I _______ I would see enough animals on the following afternoon to get that money.

_______ I had forgotten about my prayer the next morning. As usual, I went to school, taught my classes, and went to the lab in the afternoon ________ any patient might come. It was an unusually ________ day; I didn’t finish up until five. I kept the money I made that day in my shirt pocket. ________ on caring for the animals, not money, I ________ forgot to count it at the end of the day.

Back home, I was extremely ________ and soon fell asleep on sofa. The phone ________me. It was my wife asking if I had made any ________ that afternoon. I pulled the bills out of my shirt pocket. I ________ $310. My wife was shocked and reminded me that was only one dollar ________. I looked down and saw a dollar bill on the ground beside the ________. When I pulled the money out, I guessed a dollar had fallen onto the floor.

That day marked a big turnaround in our lives. We have never been in that difficult ________ again. Now you see, a miracle can always happen.