2 . Joe’s single dad parenting story unfolds in a touching video that swept through the hearts of online users on TikTok.

On his daughter’s school Mother’s Day celebration, Joe _________ as a “mom”. He took his _________ among the parents and students with a dress and a wig (假发). His aim was to guarantee the seat _________ for his adopted child’s mother wouldn’t remain _________ and to honor the occasion’s significance.

As the video unfolds, we witness an emotional hug between Joe and his 15-year-old daughter, Nong Cream. She hugs Joe tightly. Joe _________ the hug with a smile, planting a kiss on Cream’s forehead and _________ smoothing her hair.

Joe, also known as “Teacher Joe”, is a proud PE instructor at his daughter’s school. He shared his _________ for this beautiful act: “When the school organizes Mother’s Day activities, I don’t want my child to have an inferiority complex (自卑感). Personally, I’m not _________ because I love my child.” His pride in his daughter shines through, proving his _________ to single dad parenting. Joe __________ what could have been a (n) __________ day into a permanently precious memory through his heartfelt __________.

Cream responded, “I don’t feel embarrassed. This year’s Mother’s Day, I want to say I love my father. I’m __________ to my dad for __________ me and making me happy.” Their bond, __________ by Joe’s love, develops into a story about courage, acceptance and unbreakable connections.

3 . I found a brown bag outside after our move. “Grass Seed,” it said in big letters. My husband and I ________ the seeds all over the dirty yard in front of our new house. “I have no idea if they will ________,” I told him, “but it’s worth a shot.” Just like our ________ to move to the rural Arizona.

Near our new house sat a charming cottage, which was ________ to tourists. I got a job offer to ________ the cottage. I’d worked in hotels for years, so when offered the ________, I jumped at it. Still, it was a big change. I ________ that it would be a right move.

While we waited for our grass to grow—or not—we ________ settled into our new house through our efforts. We made it a cozy home, despite the ________ in the front yard, which was still bare now. Meanwhile, many of the cottage guests became ________, and I got to know them well. I felt ________ to make their stays memorable. Perhaps I was better at that than ________.

But after a monsoon (季风) swept through, I woke up to a beautiful morning and looked out the window. There was no grass growing in the sunlight. ________, our yard was covered in a rainbow of zinnias (百日菊)! The front yard turned out even better than I could have ________, just like our new life. And it remains a powerful ________ of the beauty that awaits us in our new chapter.

5 . Along with a dozen boys, I made a trip to Lowa in order to see a college that I was thinking of _________ last month. Although the trip had been fun for the most part, I felt _________ from time to time. I was missing my family and _________ that I wouldn’t be seeing them very much if I studied here. I was also missing the _________ of my home. I loved how they turned into a thousand shades of green in the spring and then became a sea of gold, red and orange in the fall. I loved the smell of the wild flowers.

Here in Iowa everything was _________. What I could see was a wild prairie(大草原) with no trees. All that I could _________ was a mixture of corn, mud, and pigs. One day after a long walk, I rested with my eyes closed and _________ being back home again. _________, when I opened them, I saw something that _________ my soul. It was a prairie sunset. It seemed to fill the sky from horizon to horizon. Gold, red and purple clouds all __________ together in a picture painted by nature’s own hand. It was so __________ that it took my breath away. It made the sunsets of my hometown seem tiny in comparison. At that moment I knew how __________ and judgmental I had been. This place also had its own __________. This place was also a part of nature’s creation.

Over the years to come I learned something else. Each of us has a(n) __________ beauty as well. Each of us has our own unique __________ and abilities.

8 . Hey! You have a hairless spot on the back of your head! " Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug it off. “It’ll grow back.” I worked to sound________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger and there was still no________ of any hair poking through the skin. I began to________but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, wiling this to________happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection to try, which would be________to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the________My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________Though aware that I should________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________ hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect my self ________then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

9 . The most powerful hurricane (飓风) in the year was crashing into coastlines in Virginia. Lucky Dog Animal Rescue planned to take the 21 dogs, affected by the disaster, to a ___________ in South Carolina, which became crowded as people near the coast were evacuating.

Mirah Horowitz is the head of Lucky Dog in Arlington, Virginia. “It’s a double ___________,” she said. Her group found it hard to help the dogs as well as drive them from Virginia to South Carolina ___________ a seven-hour trip. Then they have to put dogs in wooden boxes and bring them to the Washington, D.C., area. Finally, they had to make sure there were enough families to ___________ the dogs.

The group attempted to ___________ more dogs from South Carolina over the weekend. They were going to hold an adoption (领养) event on September 8 at the shelter in the Washington, D.C., area. Horowitz and her colleagues decided to take some dogs and emailed ___________ that night looking for families to adopt the dogs. “We had to find people to take those animals between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” Horowitz said. ___________, they were getting many replies until 2 a.m. from people who were willing to help, after hours of ___________ waiting.

Lucky Dog was also talking to an animal shelter on the island of Grand Bahama in the Bahamas. That was where the hurricane had caused the most ___________ so far. The workers there did not know the dogs’ situations. ____________, they heard reports of heavy flooding that had ____________ the shelter. Horowitz’s group also has a helicopter which is ready to offer flights to ____________ some emergency supplies.

Horowitz said, “I really ____________ the help from those families. It feels nice to save animals from areas ____________ by severe weather and it is ____________ to make all the efforts.”