2 . It was dinnertime at Grandma and Grandpa's farm. It was a feast (盛宴) but without ________ occasion. We had chicken, potatoes, green salad, corn and fruit salad. We sat at the table. Grandma ________ the food to Grandpa and their girls. Grandpa said, “Looks delicious. I'm as ________ as a bear.”

As soon as Grandpa picked up his ________, they heard a car drive up. Grandma opened the door, and in came Aunt Maud. “Come in! You’re just in time,” Grandpa said. Then in came Aunt Dessie, Aunt Clara, friends, and their families. Grandma was a little ________, “I never expected so many guests to come, but I can ________ it.”

Grandpa sat in the doorway. There was little ________ in the kitchen behind his chair. So he got up and pulled his chair in so people could ________. But when he sat down again a strange thing happened: His plate had ________ before his eyes! He put his fork down, thinking to himself, “Well, there seems no ________ for my plate anymore.”

Grandma tried to serve the kids some water, but Aunt Dessie ________ her, “We’ll take care of ourselves.” Then everyone started ________ around the sink (水池) and cupboard to drink water. Kids were thirsty! There were lots of kids. Grandma had enough food for four, not twenty-four! ________, Aunt Dessie helped Grandma make more dishes. The girls ________ to help, but Aunt Dessie said they were too ________ and had better stay at the table so that they wouldn’t do more harm than good. Grandma added some more foods to everyone's plate. There was lots of laughter. No one doubted they had a good time.

They never found out who used Grandpa’s plate, but did know that he enjoyed the reunion and that was enough!

3 . A father saw that his 11 year old son was crying silently. He asked him, “What’s the matter, son?” The young boy replied, “My rich classmates laughed at me and called me son of the _________. They said that my father lived only on the money he earns from watering and feeding plants for people”. The father _________ for a moment and then said, “Come with me, son. Let’s plant some flowers. It might cheer you up.”

He held his hand and _________ him to the garden. Then he took out some flower seeds and said, “Let’s _________ an experiment. We will plant two flowers _________ . I will care for one and you will care for the other. I will water mine with the clean water from the lake while you will water yours with _________ water from the pond. We shall see the _________ in the weeks to come.” The son was _________ as he joined his father in planting the flowers. It took them some days to finely sprout the flower seeds. They cared for them and watched them grow.

Later on, the father brought his son to the garden and said to him, “Look at the two flowers and tell me your _________” The boy responded, “My flower looks better and healthier than yours. How is that __________ when your water is cleaner?” The father smiled and then said, “That’s because dirty water doesn’t __________ a plant from growing. Rather, it __________ as organic fertilizer to help it flourish. So don’t let the harsh words from people __________ you. Instead, let it __________ you into being a better person and doing so, you will be like the plant and will flourish even in the midst of dirt like __________and harsh words.”

6 . A 40-year-old man in China found his calling — teaching quantum mechanics (量子力学) on social media — after being unemployed for more than 20 years. Li Wei, from Qinghai province in northwestern China, became ________ for teaching science in an easy-to-understand way on his Douyin account.

Such is his popularity, he has ________ 1.8 million followers. “I don’t like ________ people,” Li said. He ________ a bachelor’s degree in law 20 years ago, but he did not find ________ in that field because of his personality. “I suffered a great failure,” he said. The turning point in his ________ came two years ago when he ________ his friend in the photovoltaic (光伏电池的) business and was ________ to find that lots of people have no knowledge of the technology.

Photovoltaic ________ a special electrical system that produces energy from a ________ and inexhaustible source, usually the sun. With a strong ________ to help people understand, Li came up with the idea of creating clips to teach science using simple everyday words ________ of terms. As he created more teaching videos, he began to realize he was good at it and ________ his subjects to include quantum mechanics and life sciences. Despite experiencing a series of failures, he finally found his ________. It’s never too ________ to do what we enjoy.

7 . Rodney started mowing (割草) yards for free in 2015 to help neighbors in his community, including senior citizens, single parents and individuals with disabilities. The idea _________ him when he drove past an elderly neighbor _________ to mow his lawn. Rodney _________ and offered to finish the job for his neighbor. He soon set a goal of mowing 40 lawns by the end of that winter, but increased that goal to 100 lawns as he quickly surpassed his _________ target.

“I’m _________ of cutting grass because I’m young and strong,” explained Rodney. Once he reached his 100-lawn goal, he realized he could _________ more people by creating a program that included youths as _________. He founded the Raising Men Lawn Care Service and began recruiting (招募) local youths aged 7 to 17, as he said, “Show them the importance of _________ their community.”

Rodney started the nonprofit lawn program while still in college. He now holds a master’s degree in social work and _________ his nonprofit organization full time. Children can get __________ by sending in a photo of themselves holding a sign that reads, “I accept the 50-yard challenge.” __________ participation, the organization will send the child a shirt, safety glasses and ear protection. Once the child completes the __________, the organization delivers them a brand-new lawn mower.

The program provides a valuable service for community members who have difficulty __________ mowing their own yards. The lawn challenge also provides an opportunity for youths to build a __________ with neighbors. The service is a __________ for the youth volunteers and community members.

10 . When Shelby Lattimore, a math and science teacher, saw her third graders weren’t attending class, she found a fun way to change that. The 25-year-old teacher started her class ______ to encourage them not only to ______ but to get excited about learning.

In the class, students can choose from a variety of “______”, from being a door holder to being a cleanup crew. They get “paid” every two weeks and the ______ they get depends on which job they take on. The money is not real but play money spent on a homework pass, a seat change, and so on.

Each month, Lattimore’s students also have to pay “rent” for their class desk and chair. To keep things interesting, Lattimore also introduced a new ______ to her current class. At the beginning of the school year, she ______ students $5 and then once the new year hit, the ______ increased to $7. “So that was kind of an ______ that they had to make,” she said.

Students can buy rewards once a month. The reward ______ low, medium and high price ranges, with $2 candy being the cheapest option to a more ______ $5 “lunch with Ms. L” reward. Students can also ______ until they have enough money for the most expensive reward, for example, being the teacher for $ 30.

Today, Lattimore has seen how much they’ve learned about various ______ from budgeting and saving to reading a receipt and ______ change. She has also heard from students’ families, who are ______ of this idea because their kids are learning something they never learned at this age. “That’s really the goal here, to not just ______ them this year, but to keep it going,” she added.