1 . A Maryland couple stranded (滞留) without food in the freezing cold on a Virginia highway. They were getting ________ and more discouraged by the minute.

After almost 21 hours of being ________ on 95 South, Casey and her husband John slept there overnight and not ________ access to food or water. At that time, they ________ a Schmidt Baking Co. truck ahead of them in the standstill. “People around us were very much ________. Many of them had small children, some were elderly and hadn’t eaten in almost a whole day. ” In a desperate bid for a ________, they decided to call the Schmidt Bakery and see if it could help ________ some much-needed food for them, as well as their fellow highway captives.

“I didn’t think it would ________ work,” said Casey, who left a message with customer service. But to their ________, 20 minutes later, they actually got a ________ from Chuck Paterakis, the owner of the bakery. He told them to walk over to the truck driver, Ron, who was given the go-ahead to start handing out ________ to 50 motorists. Then, the couple joined the driver in making ________. Soon, others joined the effort, in which some 300 loaves were ________.

“It felt incredible just hearing people say thank you and hearing them so ________ to finally have food in their car. This was one of the ________ moments I have ever witnessed.” recalled Casey.

2 . On a hot afternoon Rhiannon was driving her old van down the highway. As she ________ her window to let in some fresh air, her car registration paper blew off the sun visor (防晒板) and onto the floor inside. When leaning down to ________ it, she accidentally drifted into oncoming traffic. In panic, she over-corrected and pulled the ________ sharply in the other direction. ________, the van rolled over three times, and Rhiannon was thrown onto the road, lying in the middle of the road and bleeding, nearly ________.

A medical student witnessed the accident and came to her ________. He covered Rhiannon with his coat and gave her emergency first aid, including ________ the wound on her left arm before the ambulance arrived.

________, Rhiannon was rushed to a hospital where an emergency room doctor spent hours ________ all the pieces of windshield (挡风玻璃) from her arm, and gave her three dozen stitches (缝针).

Luckily, Rhiannon was saved. Not for the bandage, she would not have ________long enough for the emergency personnel to arrive. Though Rhiannon didn’t know him, she was grateful to the medical student who saved her life. So she ________ the words online, “It’s a pity that I don’t know your name. If you happen to see or hear this story and recognize yourself, thank you for your kind ________.”

Rhiannon also had a message for the other ________ heroes, “Please consider this a pay-it-forward letter of ________— a letter from the ________ you helped who, for whatever reason, couldn’t thank you themselves.”

3 . One morning, as I was walking along a busy road, I saw an old lady, standing anxiously close to the traffic. Realizing the danger, I felt a sense of _________ to remind her not to stand so close to the _________ traffic rushing by. When I reached the _________ where the old lady was standing, I noticed that she was trying to get attention of _________ who were too busy to take note of her. She explained she had _________ her house key in the middle of the road. Although I knew I was getting late, I _________ to help her.

The road was filled with people, cars and school buses. It was a(n) _________ time of day to cross a road without a traffic light. I took a deep breath, and carefully _________ the road. Just then a school bus _________ and stopped right in front of the key. All the __________ behind it came to a sudden stop to avoid hurting me. __________, I picked up the key and returned to the old lady. She thanked me heartily, but I felt __________ due to the angry shouts from the drivers.

While I was proud of choosing to help, I __________ that my decision was not wise as I failed to consider my own __________ and caused trouble for others. I __________ if there could have been a better way to solve the old lady’s problem.

4 . It’s no small deal to see danger and rush toward it to help total strangers. And yet, yesterday morning, that’s exactly what four people did in Tennessee. A two-story historic home was on_________. A thick black smoke was pouring out of the window and a strong_________ of burning filled the air. Worryingly, an elderly couple were still inside.

Two of the _________, Ilda Aguirre and Sondra Hale, were in separate vehicles when the fire caught their _________. Without hesitation, the two of them _________ to call 911 before rushing over the home. However, Ilda and Sondra weren’t the _________ ones who helped. Before the firefighters could arrive, they were told that another man and woman were there to _________. In fact, one of them reportedly _________ the couple by _________ entering the home while it was still on fire.

Thanks to their actions, and the actions of another man and woman who offered __________, the couple made it out uninjured. The__________ of the fire is still unknown, but it is said to have __________ the outside of the house toward the roof. Luckily, firefighters arrived in time to keep the home from being entirely __________.

As for those mysterious heroes, they still haven’t been __________. The fire department is, however, trying to find them so they can recognize them for their __________. Either way, they can’t be thanked enough!

5 . I had never been more anxious in my life. I had just arrived at the airport to travel home. As I watched the bus driver set my luggage on the airport sidewalk, I realized my _________ had just begun.

This was my first visit alone to the international terminal (航站楼) of the airport, and nothing was _________. I couldn’t make sense of any of the _________. Where was the check-in counter? I felt as if I were deaf and blind and stupid. I began to _________. I had to find help!

I tried to ask a passing businessman for help, but my _________ came out wrong. He frowned and walked away. I had been in this country for a semester, but could not even remember how to ask for directions. Awful! Another _________ arrived at the terminal, and the passengers came out carrying lots of luggage. Right! I could _________ them to the right place.

I dragged my enormous suitcase, went after them and reached the elevators. Oh, no! They all fit in it, but not enough room for me. I watched _________ as the elevator doors closed. I was abandoned again! I got on the elevator when it returned and _________ all the buttons. Which one could it be? I pressed button 3 because I thought I saw those passengers pressed 3, though only a quick glance. The elevator climbed up to the third floor and stopped. A high, unpleasant noise __________ the opening of the doors, and I looked around __________.

Tears formed as I saw the empty hall and realized I would __________ my plane. Just then an elderly airport employee walked towards me. He guessed I was __________ and offered to help. He patted my shoulder to ease my anxiety. We walked up some stairs, turned a corner, and reached the check-in counter!

When I turned to thank him, he was gone. I never got an opportunity to know that man’s name, but I would always remember his unexpected __________. Without his timely help, I would have missed my plane. I hope I will be able to do the same for another traveler experiencing a(n) __________ journey.

6 . I watched a child in the supermarket yesterday, as she was screaming. Her parents were trying their best to ________ her down. Some people passing by ________ their heads and saw the child as a spoiled (宠坏的) child. Others ________ and offered a few kind words to both the ________ and the parents.

“You’re such a beautiful little girl. Such a ________ girl shouldn’t cry,” one lady said.

“Don’t be so sad. We all have ________ days,” added another.

“I think she’s spoiled,” I heard one whisper to a friend.

None of them was ________. The child was neither spoiled nor having a bad day. She was simply ________. The parents told me afterwards that someone walking a ________ had scared her.

She was afraid of dogs. They went on to explain that it was a ________ for them to go to some places.

Friends had dogs, and nearby neighbors ________ their dogs down the street. I can remember the feeling of fear when I was a child. Every time while I was walking up steps at night, I would get the ________ that someone or something was going to grab my feet. I ran most of the time.

________can happen at any time in our life, and sometimes we cannot avoid it. And what we fear most can own us, control us and limit us. However, the truth is that fear can be ________. As we grow up, we can find more ________ and energy to overcome what we fear most in life.

7 . Borneo is home to some of the most extraordinary wildlife. Several years ago, I decided to go there for a visit. A local person offered to be my guide, which was a great bonus for me.

One day, my guide turned off the smooth road and took me across a ________ hillside instead. We picked our way carefully when ________, a Rafflesia (大王花) popped into my view among those stones. Oh, dear! More than ________, I bent down and put my nose practically inside the flower’s core.

________, to my surprise, it was only one of the ________ during the trip.

As I ________ the end of my trip, there was still something I had yet to see. We planned to ________ most feared creature there, the saltwater crocodile, which can grow to a ________ of 6 meters or more. When we shone a flashlight towards the muddy shore, little sounds ________ in the darkness as if something unseen underwater had broken the ________ Taking a second look, we spotted two greedy ________ just above the water line. As we drew near, it ________ and we saw clearly it was a crocodile. With great caution, we neared it and finally could ________ its true dimensions. It was a baby-no more than 0. 6 meter long. Aha, whatever, I could now report to the ________ back home, who had never been to Borneo, that I had ________ a hungry crocodile in the wild and lived to tell the tale.

The world out there is so fascinating. Don’t let work run your life. Why not step outdoors and enjoy the wonders nature offers to you?

8 . Despite an age gap of 80 years, a 13-year-old girl and a care home resident in Luton have become firm friends after becoming penpals during lockdown. It ________ a lot to 93-year-old Madge, who now lives at a care home, ________ by the charity Friends of the Elderly.

Madge is ________ children as she comes from a big family. But it’s been ________ for her to see relatives recently for the pandemic. So when the opportunity ________ to become penpals with a 13-year-old girl, she was only too ________ to take part.

Her penpal is Ella, whose family are in Luton. Before Covid-19, Ella would always be involved in the voluntary activities at the care home. ________, Covid-19 made it impossible for her to do that as usual. ________ about the people there, she felt an urge to do something. One day, it ________ Ella that she could write to the care home resident. That’s how they became penpals.

Madge said, “I’ve got all her ________ here. I think that’s so nice for her to bother to write to me who is so ________ now.” It’s helped Madge feel ________ the outside world. And Ella also has got a lot from the experience. ________, when it’s safe, these two will meet in person.

Age is just a ________ between friends. Despite the great difference in age, the letters ________ the gap between them.

9 . The Iron Lady of Pakistan

Everybody has different life stories, some inspiring and some tragic. Muniba Mazari, a(n) ________ Pakistani woman proved that something positive can come out of sorrow.

In 2007, she was ________ in car crash. Many people came to the rescue, tried to ________ her out of the car and rushed her to hospital as she was ________ injured.

The terrible accident ________ her serious injury including the major one on her backbone. Doctors were able to perform a successful ________ on Muniba but she was unable to walk again. “Doctors have put a lot of titanium (钛钢) in my body to ________ the major damages. That’s why people call me the Iron Lady.” She once said.

She spent nearly two years in the hospital where she ________ multiple surgeries. But with ________ in her heart, she managed to smile back at what life had planned for her. She ________ sat in a wheelchair and chose to rise rather than cry. She planned to write down all of her ________ and face them one by one, like facing people and the look of sympathy in their eyes.

Later on, Muniba emerged in various fields, including performing and motivational speaking. She refused to ________ her disability and made the best out of her talent. She not only motivated herself to work but ________ the rest of the world.

Muniba’s perfectly ________ life shaped who she is today, showing that even a serious accident cannot break you if you have the ________.

10 . Renee William and her friend were totally excited on the way to a football game. But when they arrived at the stadium, they got some _______ news.

As it turned out, the stadium had _______ on the size of bags allowed into the venue (活动场所). And Renee’s handbag was too _______. She was about to throw it away when a couple in the line suggested Renee have a nearby _______ man watch it.

The suggestion sounded_______ to Renee, but no crazier than throwing away a perfectly good handbag. She decided to put her_______ in the homeless stranger. So, she gave the homeless man five dollars and asked him if he would kindly_______ her handbag until she finished watching the game. The homeless man was glad to help. Then Renee went in the stadium with her friend. The game was thrilling, and people were_______ and screaming loudly. While Renee’s friend was attracted by one of the footballers, Renee was kind of _______. The minute the game finished, Renee stood up, eager to________ her handbag.

Renee admitted her expectation of ever seeing the homeless man again was________. And yet, when she and her friend came out, there he was. The man had spent three hours staying in place, watching her handbag, just as he ________.

Renee had not expected the homeless man to keep his word. And her________ came from the general judgment people make about the homeless. And Renee’s encounter taught her a ________ that’s worth more than the handbag: you can’t really tell what’s inside a book just by looking at the________!