2 . Katherine would never forget the day when her daughter brought a plate from kindergarten, with a drawing of mouse-like creatures on it.

“Emma, what are these little characters? What do you _________ them?” Katherine said. “Mom, they’re my _______. They come to children who are lonely or who were meant to have a _________ life,” Emma said. It _________ the unemployed 36-year-old mom’s heart during a time when she wasn’t feeling too _________ about her job prospects(前景).

All this eventually _________ a new project for Katherine, unemployed for months—making a line of stuffed animals for sale based on her daughter’s _________. “Every day, I would work on it,” she said. “Over time, it felt like this is what I really _________.” In her basement, Katherine cut patterns, wrote storylines and _________ prototypes(原型样品) to turn “The Representatives” into dolls(玩偶).

Today she has four __________ doll prototypes and specific storylines to go with each main character. She hopes to __________ the dolls to parents going through hard times, or maybe those preparing to work overseas, leaving their __________ behind with relatives.

She said even if the dolls don’t __________, she’s taught her daughter __________ to keep moving even in down times. It’s really a __________ for those unemployed right now, she said.

3 . One day, a vendor (小贩) came to our doorstep, selling vegetables at one dollar per bundle. My mom’s _________ was 50 cents, no more than that, but she _________to buy four bundles at that price. Politely declaring that she wouldn’t even_________ the cost at that price, the vendor walked away.

A moment later, however, she _________and shouted, “Make it 75 cents per bundle, and I will sell it to you.” Mom shook her head and _________ to her original 50 cents. _________ for a while, the vendor came back. The deal was _________at my mom’s bid. My mom paid the money. The vendor took it without even counting. As she _________, she swayed (摇晃) due to dizziness. My mom held her hands and asked whether she had had any _________in the morning. The vendor said, “No, I will buy some with today’s earnings.”

My mom asked her to sit down, __________ inside, came back swiftly with some food and drink. The vendor hungrily and __________, finished them all and left with gratitude.

I was __________. I asked my mom why she was so mean in bargaining for 50 cents but was __________in offering food of a much higher price. Mom smiled, saying “There is no kindness in business, but my treating the vendor kindly is from my morality, which is different from __________. Remember, there shall __________be any business in kindness.”

4 . It is a blue, cotton shirt. The shirt belonged to my _________ David. On his birthday before he left college, his mother bought him the shirt. _________ I gave him free use of my bike, he let me wear the shirt, occasionally.

We shared the shirt, and as days _________, we shared more of our _________. David was in school by scholarships and grants (助学金). He _________ to keep his scholarships, because without even one of them, he would have to _________ and back on the farm. And in David’s home, there was always only enough money to cover the expense. His father died when he was twelve.

At times David also talked about his father. Usually it was late at night, in the dormitory just before bed, and the _________ always ended with tears that flowed from a river of memories and longings: memories of a father suffering from _________ when his son was just a teenager; longings for opportunities to cure his father’s disease missed, because disease does not understand about the _________ between father and son. Nor does it care.

Time passed and we had to say goodbye to each other. After lots of hugging, and words of thanks, we eventually __________. It was on my __________ trip upstairs to our dorm that I saw a package on my bed. I __________ the wrapping paper. It was the blue cotton shirt in a box with a card __________ to it, reading “Thomas, I can’t thank you enough for your friendship. This has been tough years and you have been __________ a friend. Thank you for listening. Thanks for everything. —David”.

I put aside the note, with __________ tears dropping on the shirt. I still have the shirt today, though it has faded and wrinkled with age.

7 . We all need to spend time alone once in a while. But Beatriz Flamini took things to a whole new ___________. The Madrid Spain resident spent 500 days in a 230-foot (about 70-meter) underground cave, ___________ from the world. Flamini was 48 years old when she went into isolation (隔绝) and 50 when she ___________ from the cave on April 14, 2023. The extreme athlete ___________ the challenge of testing her mental strength. She also wanted to help scientists explore the ___________ of isolation on the human body and mind.

Flamini entered the cave in November 2021. She carried two cameras to ___________ her stay. A team of volunteers supported the ambitious adventure by ___________ dropping off food, fresh clothes, water and other ___________ near the cave’s entrance. They also used the daily video recordings to ___________ Flamini’s physical and mental condition.

Flamini spent her days exercising, cooking, reading, and drawing. She says she experienced ____________ loss of her sense of time after about two months and was ____________ when a support crew member came to ____________ her after 500 days. “I said, ‘____________? No way. I hadn’t finished my book,’ ” she recalls.

Flamini may have ____________ a new world record for the longest time spent in a cave alone. But the achievement has not been ____________ by the Guinness World Records.

8 . My earliest memory of dad is grabbing his hand while we walked together. As I _______ older, I remember my father and I listening to basketball games on the radio. I always fell asleep_______ the game was over. When I woke up in the morning the score sheet with the _______ score on it would be lying next to me. I’ll always remember that.

On cold mornings my father would bring his bread truck by the house. I used to ride on the floor of that bread truck as he delivered the bread to the stores. The _______ and the warmth from the bread made my mouth water and kept me warm. I’ll always remember that.

My father would _______ all my games. One night before an important game my father told me _______ that he wouldn’t be able to watch the game because he had to deliver the bread far away. The next day as the game time approached I thought about my dad. I happened to look across the field and _______ saw his bread truck pulling into the stadium. He managed to _______the game. I’ll always remember that.

Years later I had become a teacher. I’ll never forget the voice on the phone early one morning telling me dad had just been _______ in a traffic accident. I could hear my heart beat in my ears. I hung up the phone and went back to my bedroom. After that nothing really ________to me. I still taught in school ________ I couldn’t focus on my teaching. One day I was on the playground ________ a little boy walked up to me and grabbed my hand. His hand held mine the same way I used to hold my father’s by the last two ________. At that moment I found my ________in life again. You see even though my father was gone, he left something with me. He left me his smile, compassion and touch. From that day on I started. I’ll always remember that!

9 . My father was the gentles and most loving dad in the world — until we had an argument. During those moments, he transformed into a ______ man who never considered that there could be a side other than his own. My words surely never reached his “open mind” because his ears were ______. When he spoke with such ______ that it was easy to begin to doubt my own point of view. He always had the last ______. I could never win.

So when he denied my senior class trip to Montreal, I could do nothing but race from his room in despair And just then a thought ______ my mind. If I couldn’t get him to listen to my side of our arguments, maybe I could get him to ______ it.

With the hope that his eyes would be more open than his ears, I began to write a note that began with “Dear Daddy” and ______ with how much I respected his opinion, how much I hated to fight with him and, _____, how much I loved him. I folded my note into an envelope, ______ it under the door of his bedroom and raced back to my own room where I ______ on my bed.

It was only minutes ______ I heard a knock at my door. Seeing the look on my father’s face, I knew my note ______ his temper and touched his heart.

The victory of winning my dad’s permission was sweet. ______, even sweeter was the discovery of a strategy that enabled me to have an argument with my dad that didn’t end in tears, but instead with a hug. My “Dear Daddy” notes became a ______ to many of our arguments. When his “I’m your father, that’s why!” left me ______,I knew just how to get through to him.

10 . My little niece was wandering through the garden in her home. Her father collected rare and precious plants, which he ________ with great care.

My niece was ________ by a plant full of blooming flowers. She approached it and admired its unique beauty. Suddenly she ________ that the plant was in a pile of filth(污秽). She could not put up with the ________ of dirt with such fantastic flowers.

She figured out a plan to clean the plant. She ________ the plant with all her might from the dirt and washed its ________ in running tap water till all traces of dirt were washed away. She then placed the plant on a clean stone and went away, proud that she had done a great ________.

Later her father came to the garden and noticed the uprooted plant, which had lain ________ in the baking sun. His little daughter ran over to ________ her achievement. “I have cleaned it, Daddy,” she reported ________.

The father showed her how her treatment had nearly killed the plant and told her that the filthy soil provided the best ________ to grow that plant. On hearing that, the girl felt guilty that the plant had suffered by her cleaning.

A great gardener mixes the ________ soil for each plant. ________, God provides each of us with the best ________ required for optimum (最佳) spiritual growth. But it may appear to be ________ and we may even complain to God about our difficulty.