1 . Ryder was born with a serious illness and has never been able to walk. When he started attending preschool, he had to be _______ to the end of the road in the _______ to wait for his school bus by his parents every day. As Ryder was unable to _______ for this bus if he was late like his schoolmates, he would have to wait for up to 15 minutes out in whatever _______ there was. Although his father had _______ a patio (露台) umbrella at the end of his driveway to provide some _______ from harsh weather, he still would get wet.

Then his father _______ for help on Facebook looking to see if someone might have an old bus hut (小屋). After the post, he was suggested to reach out to the _______ class at Westerly High School.

_______ , he sent an email to Dan McKena, who had been teaching construction technology at Westerly High School, asking if he’d be ________ in this kind of project. Delightfully, Dan ________ with an “absolutely” and then he worked hard on the hut with his students for weeks.

The hut made of wood was ________ enough to shelter both Ryder and one of his parents or a nurse comfortably and was finally ________ to the home six weeks later. Now, Ryder ________ it every day and his parents wait inside it every day while they await his returning home. He considers the hut ________ and does like to hang out in it from time to time.

2 . Ever since 3 years old, Peyton has always longed for a pug (哈巴狗). As much as Peyton’s parents wanted to get him one at the time, he wasn’t _________ . He had been diagnosed with autism (自闭症), which he needed to adjust to before taking on even more _________ .

Since then, Peyton has worked hard and has shown great _________ both at school and home. That’s why, after seven years, his parents decided it was finally _________ to get him the pug he always wanted! But rather than telling him the news _________ , they got the pup while he was at school and planned the perfect pug _________ .

When Peyton got home, he was _________ that the family dog had caught a bunny (兔子) and that they needed his help to _________ it. Since this type of thing is pretty common for them, he didn’t _________ anything as he prepared to catch the “ bunny ” his mom had ____________ under a cardboard box. But as soon as the box was ____________ , it took no time for Peyton to burst into tears of ____________ — that was the pug that he has always wanted.

What an unforgettable experience for this ____________ boy! He couldn’t be more ____________ for his parents’ kindness. The parents ____________ the hardworking boy in the very best way and hoped that Peyton could get a new life. Hats off to this thoughtful parents!

3 . When I was growing up in Minnesota, Joe Versus the Volcano was one of my favorite movies. I ________ to be swept away to an island. But as I found myself in La Palma ________ on the Cumbre Vieja eruption in the Spanish Canary Islands, I quickly ________ that there’s nothing romantic about volcanoes or being trapped on an island.

I had come ________ — an N95 mask, baseball cap, and a swimming mask. But nothing could prepare me for the invasiveness of the volcanic ________ . It fell from the sky like a rainstorm, lining streets, ________ doorways and windowsills, and filling my ears.

It wasn’t long before the airlines canceled all flights. When ________ began panic, buying all the ferry tickets as I was interviewing residents about their futures, I realized I had ________ the boat.

For two days, I wandered ________ streets awaiting the resumption of travel, carrying a backpack and feeling progressively stuck and at times ________ . And then I realized I was being given the ________ for deeper insight. Here I was ________ what the local people were feeling: uncertainty, frustration, and tiredness from living next to an erupting volcano with no end in sight.

Like the people of La Palma, I ________ others to get me through — from the English woman who ________ me a bag of oranges from her garden to the minister of the church who let me use the bathroom after being trapped at the top of a mountain.

As I finally left, I realized how ________ I was to have experienced the humanity of the people in La Palma in the face of crisis. I know it’s what will pull them through it.

4 . Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a _______ balloon with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _______. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _______. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _______ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help _______ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _______ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _______ tough day last December, she _______ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They enjoyed a _______ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw ________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s ________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa dropped your balloon ________,” Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes’ worth of ________with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much ________, Gonzalez and her girl intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just ________ that balloon in the trash, he went more than the extra mile.

5 . Most young people are always on their phones, which may upset many people. ___________, a group called Girl Scouts are receiving _________ for setting up their first walk-in clinic for elderly people, who have difficulty understanding how to ___________ the secrets of their smart phones.

Each teen spent at least an hour of one-on-one time with their oldsters. Based on their _________ knowledge, each Girl Scout was assigned to ___________ different aspects of Android and Apple phones.

Some of the oldsters actually wanted to take part in e-commerce (电子商务), and needed help to _________ a payment account on their smart phones while others simply had _________ when learning how to send messages to their family members. "I was teaching this older woman how to _________, and the first thing she did was to send a message to her daughter,” one of the Scouts said. “How ___________ it was! It just made me feel really, really happy.”

In addition to arranging group lessons for all of the seniors to ____________ together at the end of the clinic, the youngsters even printed out brochures and guides for the seniors to take home in case ____________ seniors would encounter problems with their smart phones in the future.

The eighth graders earned their “Silver Award,, for their job. After experiencing the ____________ of their project, the girls hope to organize more ____________ in the near future. “Those girls were just great,” said Nancy, a great-grandmother who once ____________ the clinic. “They were ready for us and had a very mature attitude about answering our questions, and they ______________ the praise.

7 . My twin sister and I studied in the same school for ten years. The first day we entered the campus, we were ________ by its beauty and bright-colored stone sculptures of fairies (精灵) that ________ there.

As we got older, I discovered the school wasn’t always where beauty was an everyday ________. The weather-beaten stone statues badly needed ________. However, there weren’t enough staff to get everything done.

I decided to do something to give the campus a new ________. My sister had a similar idea and we came up with a plan to secretly ________ the school. Having carefully worked out a project, we got ________ from the administration (管理层) to do it.

We first painted the stone sculptures, refreshing the few remaining fairies. To bring ________   and magic to the campus, we painted on the doors of the boy’s and the girl’s bathrooms the sun and moon representation ________ designed by my sister.

The tree by the school gate was dead and its bare branches were ________, leaving only the trunk. The young schoolmates were ________ by the loss of this tree and the trunk left was a sad ________ to them of the once-living tree. ________ transforming this trunk into a fairy house for visiting fairies to stop by and have a little snack, I put little ________ in the house so that the children could look into the little fairy kitchen while walking by. While cutting and shaping the trunk took many hours, it was well worth it for we ________ a wound in our natural environment.

Everything done, we smiled heartily looking around the fantastic “new” school.

9 . A family visited the public elementary school where I taught students with a listening defect(缺点，缺陷). They said they would _________ the district and planned to enroll (给……报名) their deaf daughter as a first grader. They were _________ that their child’s kindergarten teacher told them not to have high _________ for her academically (在学业上). Standing behind them was Katherine, who didn’t make a _________ or use gestures, even when her parents encouraged her.

After a few weeks with Katherine, I found her a very _________ and strong-willed girl. Although I was able to make her take part in a variety of learning activities, writing was a _________. I tried all kinds of ways to _________ her in writing. Every time the _________ came out, she would shut down and _________ to participate.

One day Katherine got off the bus and stood in front of the school __________. The staff members present did not know enough __________ to ask her why she was unhappy. Finally, they took her to the __________ where they handed her a pen and notebook. Katherine __________: “PAC BAK.” __________ the office staff realized she left her backpack on the bus. Soon Katherine got her backpack back.

That day Katherine discovered the __________ of the pen. She is a young woman now and has become a writer.