1 . “A new student is waiting in your room.” My principal announced. “Name’s Mary. I’ll talk to you about her.” I nodded, some materials in my hands. “Fine,” I said. “We’re making valentine envelopes, a good way for her to get ________.”

She sat in the back of the room, her hands ________ in her lap. “Welcome, Mary. I’m glad you are in our room.” No ________. “Mary.” I said again. She raised her head and looked into my eyes. A chill went through me. The eyes in that face were unexpectedly ________ as if the owner of a house had drawn the blinds (百叶窗).

The bell rang, little time to worry about Mary. After ________ Mary into her desk, I distributed materials and then hurried to the office. There I learned weeks ago, someone had broken into her home, killing her mother in Mary’s ________. She survived but had been ________ since. “Give her ________,” the principal suggested.

I returned and grabbed a chance to explain this to my students. “It may be a long time ________ she joins us, but you can do your bit.” How loving they could be once they understood. On Valentine’s Day, Mary’s envelopes overflowed. Although studying each card without ________, she replaced it in her container.

Later on a March day, my children noticed the flowers ________ and advised making flower baskets! It was something to lift our ________. Remembering the valentine incident, I expected nothing from Mary; ________, I encouraged her to try. Soon, a boy exclaimed: “Look at Mary’s basket. So pretty!” I was dumbfounded at its beauty, asking how she managed it. She looked at me with the shining eyes of any ________ girl and replied “Mother loved flowers.”

“God, you’ve given us a ________.” I put my arms around Mary. I’ve kept the followers in my desk just to remind me of the lasting power of love.

2 . Bill Sumiel was having a tough Friday. It was October 2020, and the 71-year-old, who was dealing with kidney (肾) failure, found himself at a medical center 30 miles from home.

Sumiel was no stranger to the ________ of kidney disease. He’d suffered from diabetes (糖尿病) more than 20 years before, which ________ his kidney problems. He was on the transplant ________, but no matches had yet appeared. So he continued with his treatments and took a taxi to and from his ________.

Timothy Letts, 31, was driving north to visit a friend when his phone rang with the ________ for Sumiel’s ride home. The trip was out of Letts’s way. ________, he took the order.

When Sumiel got into the car, the pair got to ________. Sumiel ________ that he was searching for a kidney donor. Letts joked that he’d be a good donor (捐赠者), ________ that he didn’t drink or smoke. Sumiel ________, though he didn’t think much of it as they kept driving. Letts, however, couldn’t stop thinking about it. About a quarter-mile away from Sumiel’s house, Letts said, “I’d like to see if I could be a ________ to give you a kidney.”

Sumiel was touched by Letts’s ________, though he wondered if it had just been a(n) ________ moment. But Letts was ________ to his word. He got in touch with Sumiel just a few hours later, and by the next week, Letts had ________ the kidney transplant program. After a long screening process, the results were in: Letts was an ideal donor, and he and Sumiel were a perfect match.

3 . On March 18, 2018, I was alone at home in Costa Rica, unaware that my life was about to change. I received an e-mail with the subject “___________ selection result”.

My heartbeat___________   as I read through it: I had been chosen to receive a full scholarship at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Finally, I would be able to___________ the old legends of China, which had always ___________ me.

In Costa Rica, I learned music well. However, it was my professor in Shanghai who guided me in improving my skills. His teachings emphasized the art of letting the music flow as___________ as tai chi.

In my opinion, that’s the___________   of life in China. You can see it on every corner when you notice how the traffic ___________ or on the way people walk throughout China. Similarly, music can go___________ paper, flowing from the musician to the audience and enriching the world one note ___________ .

When I went back to Costa Rica, I held a(n)___________ piece of Chinese music in my heart. One day, I introduced Molihua to my students and___________ their great interest instantly, which made me pleasantly ___________. Music is indeed one of the best ways to show people about the___________ of another country.

This year, I return to Shanghai and continue my___________of China through its music. Words fall short in expressing the delight and gratitude I experience. I hope to spread the joy of music___________and I believe my ambitions will be fulfilled here in China.

4 . John, 69, wanted to retire from running his small-town grocery store. However, he didn’t want to ________ his local community without a grocery store to shop at. He was facing a dilemma (困境).

John’s parents opened the store in 1940, and John ________ it over in 1985. When the store first opened, it was one of four grocery stores in town. Now, it’s the last one ________. Since there was no one in his family who could continue running it, John ________ selling it and put the store on the ________ three years ago. Although he got some interest, no ________ came in. ________, he pulled the store off the market, as he worried that whoever bought the building might not continue the grocery store, which would make life harder for people in the community — especially those without ________ to a vehicle.

Then last summer, Elizabeth, who grew up in a nearby town, ________ John with an idea. She offered to raise money to buy the store, with the goal of ________ it into a sustainable social enterprise. Thus, Elizabeth turned to local residents and people ________. Local residents, as well as people with ________ to the town, donated.

In a matter of months, the community ________ half a million dollars, which was enough for them to ________ the property and renew the store.

John, for his part, is ________ that his family’s legacy (遗产) will live on, and the residents will still have a local place to shop for fresh food.

5 . Gaokao takes place in June in China every year. It is considered to be the ________ point of a student’s life. One previous gaokao taker, Xiao Xin, is a good example, but in a way that you might not ________.

Xiao had dreamed of studying traffic and transportation at a famous university. But he didn’t score high enough in gaokao and was ________ to study electrical engineering instead. _________, Xiao finally accepted it, which — not realizing at that time — opened a new door for his future.

During his studies, Xiao developed an interest in the electrical engineering ________ and became excellent. After graduation, he ________ his first job in Pakistan, where a major pilot project was in progress. But he soon met a ________: the language.

As the Chinese saying goes, those who refuse to take the ________ path will succeed. So Xiao decided to ________ his English as he did in high school. Then, he ________ learned Pakisan’s national language for better communication. “The job was also about people-to-people ________.” he said.

With such effort, Xiao and his team completed the electric energy project in less than three years. Now. the new power plant helps people get electricity ________ without further power cuts.

For Xiao, the job has brought him a great sense of fulfillment (满足)

“Over the years, I have always felt ________. Not everyone has the opportunity to work out how to make a project grow out of ________. Never lose heart even if you suffer a failure in gaokao because it’s not ________.” Xiao said.

6 . Concerned by the recent economic hardship, BG Cares, on Saturday, gave out food to poor Nigerians in Yaba, urging well-meaning Nigerians to be their neighbors’ keepers.

BG Cares, which led a group of _______ in Nigeria on a ride for charity(慈善), said it was working to show _______ towards members of society. Speaking at the event _______ “Jollof to the Street”, President of the Bikers, Kayode Palmer, said, “It is why we ride. Altruism(利他主义) has been the driving force behind BG Cares’ commitment(投入) to _______ others.”

A statement by BG Cares _______ said that it was driven by the determination to change the _______ stories about the biking community, which could help to clear up the misunderstanding between bikers and non-bikers. The statement   _______ , “At the heart of their programme lie their charity outreaches(外展服务), which have become a part of their task to create a positive effect in the lives of those _______ .”

The yearly“ Jollof to the Street” charity ride has become a _______ for the group, showing their values of kindness. Through the BG Cares, the group works with other charitable organizations, making a(n) ________ effort in bringing positive change. BG Cares hopes that their charity ride will serve as a powerful ________ for others to join hands and make a ________ in Nigeria.

BG Cares expresses heartfelt appreciation to all their ________ , partners and volunteers, whose giving made the “Jollof to the Street” charity ride a ________ . Their continued support   ________ BG Cares to continue improving the lives of poor communities across Nigeria.

7 . My husband and I had an argument last week. And we ______ our children to stay in the room while it all went on.

There were no hand gestures ______ between my husband and me ______ the children sharing the same space with us. We just stood there, had our argument, without shouting or saying anything regretful and the evening ______ . We did that so that they could see us finally come to a(n) ______ .

We showed them what a ______ disagreement looks like.

We showed them what finding a ______ looks like.

Friends, we are living in a generation where we want to ______ our children from everything. We do not want them to feel any ______ pain; we do not want them to experience any struggle; we perfect a most perfect childhood for their most perfect little hearts. But here’s the problem with that: Our children ______ need to become adults.

Someday soon your children are going to be grown adults, perhaps enter into a happy marriage. But what have we taught our children about marriage? Have we given them a ______ viewpoint of what one looks like? Have we ______ some aspects of marriage? If so, what happens when they themselves experience those hard emotions?

They are going to feel like they are ______.

They are going to think: “This is not what it looked like for my parents.”

Parents, let your children see the ______ times when mom and dad may not have agreed on something. For they will quickly learn that no matter how many times their father continues to put the wrong item in the wrong recycling bin, ______ continues.

8 . On June 18, 2018, Tim, who lost his hearing and sight, was aboard (在飞机上) a flight from Boston to Los Angeles. He needed ______ with a cup of drinking water, but couldn’t ______ his needs through sign language for a long time.

Even worse, nobody could ______ his hand gestures (手势), and even if they tried to relay something by sign language, Tim’s ______ impairment (障碍) made it challenging.

Several flight attendants gathered around Tim, ______ to help. After none of their efforts succeeded, one of them ______ aboard if anybody knew American Sign Language.

Clara Daly, 15, and her mother, were on the ______ flight. Clara heard it loud and clear and ______ the call button. She’d learned American Sign Language a year ago to deal with her reading disability and ______ took action.

Everyone around watched the girl in ______ as she approached Tim and knelt (跪) in front of his seat. She held both his hands and used fingerspelling to ______ him by signing each letter of every word.

In no time, the two became friends instantly. They chatted just like ______ people and shared their backgrounds and interests.

Tim and Clara’s chance ______ made the headline (成为重要新闻). Tim shared his ______ on the experience through an interpreter. He said, “I was in a bad ______ before Clara helped and she was very sweet. She had very clear communication, and we had a nice conversation. Best trip I’ve ever had.”

9 . I was the new teacher at school, and Clarissa, a fifth-grader, was messy. Clarissa saw no need for _______. “It’s my space!” was most often her _______ when requested by classmates. So the days went by and the _______ began to worsen.

“Clarissa, get your purse out of the doorway. I’m tired of tripping over it!” they’d say. I _______ she was beginning to keep herself away from her classmates. I had to find a _______.

One afternoon when I sat at my desk looking around the room, an idea sprang into my head. Standing near my desk was an old and _______ filing cabinet (柜). What if Clarissa had some space that was _______ her own?

I began to work. I moved her desk and all her things near the cabinet. I selected some clean _______ and cut out a place card. On it I wrote, “Clarissa’s Space” and _______ it on top of the cabinet.

The next morning she came in the room ________, already arguing with a classmate. She ________ her new space almost immediately. Quietly she asked, “Is this mine?”

“It’s for your things if you feel like you need it,” I said ________, busying myself with papers on my desk.

Clarissa spent the rest of the year keeping her things together in her space. ________ was at hand in our classroom. A beaten-up old cabinet gave a gift to this child, the gift of ________ a different path for someone to walk who might be ________ in some way.

10 . I live in a part of New York City one writer recently described as “not a people place.” Less residential neighborhood than busy transportation center, it has been _______ hard hit by the shift to work-from-home. Every month a restaurant that used to _______ workers buying lunch drops its gate for the last time: the fancy French-sounding bakery was the first to _______, then the bar across the street, _______ even fast-food joints.

Somehow, an Indian restaurant has _______, staffed six days a week by a young guy named Ram. As our dining options and his customer options _______, we began to see each other a lot. Ram now knows where I grew up and that only one member of my _______ can tolerate spicy (辛辣的) cooking.

Recently he asked me for book recommendations, which either means business is even _______ than I feared or we’re getting to be _______. I want to ask him how he could possibly be earning enough from the ________ when huge chains around him are ________, but instead I just enquired ________ things are picking up. His answer is always the same: No, but we are ________ they will soon. It’s hard to ________ whether I keep going there for the chicken tikka masala, which is ________, or the positive attitude, which is even more nutritious.