1 . It was a normal morning in March. Sondra Artis had just _______ the last student on her route.

As heading towards the school, Sondra noticed a burning smell. She _______ the bus window to see if it was fogging up from condensation（凝结）or if it was _______ . When a student asked her what was _______ , she did her best to hide her growing _______ .

Sondra pulled into a parking lot and turned to face the 20 students on _______ . She reminded them of the evacuation（疏散） _______ they once performed and directed them to leave through the doors.

“I told the kids that, ‘You know, we _______ at the beginning of the year, but this is going to be _______ , so I need you to be calm,’” said Sondra.

The students hurried to the ________ as smoke began to fill the bus. They were ________ , but Sondra remained calm. When they were out, she went back onto the bus to make sure everyone left ________ .

Seconds after they all ________ , the bus caught fire. Another bus came to the ________ to take the children away, and Sondra was left ________ that everything worked out okay.

The bus can be ________ , but human life cannot. The parents were incredibly ________ for her grace under fire. She's being considered as a ________ , and many of her students would like to see her ________ for her heroism.

“Sondra is a very good bus driver，”said a student. “She ________ a reward.”

2 . Golden Generation

A national team, mostly consisting of teenagers, pushed China to its biggest-ever medal achievement at the Winter Olympics. At the same time, a series of breakthroughs at the Games _________ the country’s emergence as a much more well-rounded force on the ice and snow.

_________ the heroics of teenage sensation Gu Ailing and seasoned aerials(空中技巧滑雪)masters Xu Mengtao and Qi Guangpu, China _________ four gold to top the freestyle skiing medal standings for the first time after its Winter Olympic debut in 1980.

Gu Ailing also became the first athlete _________, and the youngest _________, to win three medals(golds in Big Air, halfpipe and silver in slopestyle)in three different freeski _________ at the Olympics, throwing her to international super-star reputation as the _________ of Beijing 2022.

Needless to say, another teenager star, Su Yiming, also became a _________   name by winning China’s first snowboarding gold medal in Big Air after claiming a silver in slopestyle. Su’s _________ helped the host finish a highest-ever third on the Games’ overall medal standings, ____________ nine gold, four silver and two bronze-its biggest-ever medal achievement at the Winter Games. China’s ____________ best was a tally of 11, including five gold, at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

“The ____________ of the new generation on the Olympic stage, even seeing the emergence of teenagers, ____________ a great future for winter sports in our country,” said Li Yang, manager of China’s Big Air, slopestyle and halfpipe national programs.

“With winter sports becoming popular in our country amid the fast social and ____________ development, I believe more and more young people will ____________ skis and snowboards to enjoy the sport, just as young as Su and Gu did when they were little, which will ____________ expand the talent pool for our future national programs,”Li said.

The Beijing Winter Games also ____________ the first time that China’s snow sports teams outperformed the country’s traditionally strong ice sports squads in the medal numbers, securing investment in high-performance training programs and ____________ the foundation for even better results at the next Winter Games in Italy.

“____________ we keep the tendency going, I believe we will ____________ a stronger performance in four years' time at the next Olympics in 2026,” said Yang Yang, China’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist, in women’s short-track speed skating at the 2002 Games.

4 . When Lennon had just moved to Los Angeles, she met Carla. The two young women ________ they had something in common: Both were ________ with life after loss. Lennon’s mother died of lung cancer three years ago and Carla had just ________ her father.

Lennon also met a few others of her age who were grieving (悲伤). She invited them all over for ________. It was a night of ________, expressing themselves to each other and healing. Each guest left with the belief that they weren’t alone to feel ________.

After many meals, Lennon and Carla ________ The Dinner Party. It’s a nonprofit organization offering ________ and care to those who have ________ deep loss by hosting dinner parties. Since then, it has helped bring together over 13,000 people to have meals and ________ their grief.

Lennon learned that there’s almost no ________ of death and grief among young adults like her just because few have experienced such loss, making those who have feel ________. She found that people are more likely to put down their ________ and connect over a shared meal. That’s where their ________ starts.

Every month, people can check out a list of open ________ on The Dinner Party website. The description of each table includes a(n) ________ for the host, as well as themes they’re ho-ping to ________. So far, the organization has grown by almost 3,000 members. “One trend we’ve seen in this is that people need platforms to ________ they weren’t okay,” Lennon says. ________, the COVID-19 put a temporary end to dinner parties. “But it was not a(n) ________ to grief. So I hope the parties will continue.”

5 . 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.

6 . As my family and I drive to my grandmother's house, my dad points out all the houses he lived in as a_________. I count 12, probably _________ one or two along the way.

At 16, my dad had to_________ high school to support his mom and six siblings. He tells my brothers and me stories of when he was our _________.One time, he came home from school to find a(n)_________ house and a notice that his family would be removed from the property. But he says it like it was _________. We start to understand why he has no _________of his younger self. His dad spent all his money on gambling and alcohol.

There is no anger in my dad's tone. _________, there is a sense of longing as he _________the few times he and his dad would sit together and watch football. His little sister would ____________at birthday parties because she could never have one of her own at home. We ____________my dad his first birthday party when he was at least 40.Forty birthdays before his first party. My brothers and I have had one every single year.

He tells us to make a(n) ____________to work hard and stay in school. We've heard it so much that sometimes we ____________our eyes. But his words now ____________in my head, and I find new ____________every time I recall them: “There's nothing you can't do if you stay in school and work hard.” I wonder how different my father's life could have ____________if he'd had just one person saying those words to him.

My dad works 16 hours a day. He's gone before I'm ____________and home just as I'm falling asleep. He works hard so we can have a good home and do the things he never could. It makes me think the world is at my ____________and nothing is impossible. For 18 years, my dad has always told me this, but now it's my ____________: I am so ____________of you, Dad.

7 . Once a highly successful businessman, _________ a health insurance company, was getting ready to go to his office. When he _________ the car door and tried to reach into his car, a dog sleeping under his car suddenly came out and _________ on bis leg! The businessman got very angry and quickly _________ a few rocks and threw at the dog but none hit the dog. The dog ran away.

Upon reaching his office, the businessman _________ a meeting of his managers and during the meeting he put the anger of dog on them. The managers also got upset by the anger of their _________ and they put their anger to the employees working under them. The chain of this reaction kept going _________ the lower level of employees and _________, the anger reached to the office peon (苦力；苦工).

After the of office time was _________ the peon reached his home, and his wife opened the door. She asked him, “Why are you so late today?” The peon __________ and upset, gave one slap (用手掌打，拍，捆) to his wife! And he said, “I didn’t go to the office to play football. I went to work so don’t irritate me with your stupid questions!”

So now the wife got upset, for she got a slap for no __________. She put her anger on his son who was watching TV and gave him a slap, “This is all you do, and you have no interest in studying! __________ the TV now!”

The son got upset now! He walked out of his house and saw a dog passing by looking at him. He picked up a rock and hit the dog in anger and frustration. The dog, getting hit by a rock, ran away barking, __________.

This was the same dog that bit the businessman early morning.

What we can learn from this story is that we should be mindful of our __________, because good actions will bring you good things and black deeds will lead to __________ results.