1 . A homeowner is puzzled by two dolls moving into his mailbox one day. Don Powell said the two dolls ________ in his mailbox last summer with a ________ that read: “We’ve decided to live here. Mary and Shelley.”

He asked his neighbors if anyone else had ________ dolls in their mailbox but no one had. It’s important to note that Powell has a mailbox that looks ________ to his actual home. So, he could see why a doll family might want to ________ .

His first thought was to ________ the couple and their belongings into the garbage can. But then, ________, he changed his mind. He pushed the couple and their belongings to the ________ of the mailbox and started doing his own business.

But this was just the ________. Soon after, someone dropped off a dog for the doll couple living in the mailbox. Over time more ________ started to appear inside the mailbox including a carpet, chair, and a bed.

By Christmas time, Shelley and Mary ________ some wrapped presents and a little Christmas tree. After a while, Powell turned to social media to see whether anyone would ________ they put the dolls in his mailbox, or if they ________ who did. But no one came forward.

“I’m kind of enjoying the mystery,” he said. “I look forward to ________ things being added to the mailbox.” Powell said although the dolls have found a home inside his mailbox, it doesn’t disturb his mailman from ________ his letters.

4 . The Smith’s home was always buzzing with activity, with Mrs. Smith seemingly at the ________ of it all. She often sighed heavily complaining to her son little Johnny, “Your father never ________ a hand. I’m left to do everything!”

One day, little Johnny felt a surge of ________ after hearing his mother’s familiar complaint. “But Mom,” he ________, his eyes wide and earnest, “Dad does a lot.”Mrs. Smith paused, eyebrows wrinkled in ________. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Have you noticed our yard?” began Johnny, his voice ________. “It’s Dad who keeps it neat, pulling out weeds and ________ fallen branches, and that’s not all,” he continued. “He’s always dashing off to bring back ________ and other supplies we need.” Mrs. Smith stood still for a moment, a wave of realization ________ her. She had been so focused on her own tasks that she failed to notice the ________ contributions her husband made to their home.

From that day forward, Mrs. Smith started seeing the housework in a new ________. She realized that the chores weren’t just about cooking and cleaning. They also included ________ the yard, restocking supplies and countless other tasks; not all efforts are ________visible but they are equally crucial. She also realized that it wasn’t ________ to complain about her husband in front of Johnny. She began to ________ more her husband’s silent efforts and made sure to express her gratitude.

7 . Two Canadian teenagers, William and Henry, have been taking on a series of remarkable challenges. Their most recent action _______ following the shores of the Lake Ontario for 73 kilometers. They walked from Toronto to Hamilton, Canada, in about 18 hours.

“We like to challenge ourselves physically and _______. We like to _______ challenges like these. And we feel as though going on a long walk is kind of just the purest form of challenge that you can have.” Henry told CBC news.

With very little _______, the two 16-year-olds began their journey at 5 am, starting in darkness and finishing before midnight. They took several breaks, stopping at benches with _______ views along the way, which appealed to them so much.

During their walk, one of the interesting _______ they encountered was an abandoned cargo ship(货船).“You’d be _______ by the amount of things that you don’t see when you are driving and that you will see when you’re taking your time walking,” said Henry.

_______, the journey was not only a physical _______ but also a significant mental challenge. There were moments of ________ for the pair, requiring them to ________ each other along the way.

Around 70 km into the walk, they ________ a person on a bridge who appeared to be experiencing a mental health ________. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me and Henry. But we tried to ________ him to get out of it and ended up calling the police, and the situation was ________and everyone was all right,” William told CBC News. The walk is now over but William and Henry are not ready to stop challenging themselves. They set about planning a two-day 100 km walk in the near future.

8 . Ramsay’s heroic act unfolded on April 21, 2022, at Green Lake, where he fearlessly saved a teenage boy from a life-threatening situation. The boy was swimming in the lake when he ________ about 80 feet from the shore and failed to resurface.

________ by shouts for help, Ramsay, a paddleboarder (桨手) seated nearby on the platform, paddled toward the boy. Although the dirty water made it ________ for Ramsay to see beneath the water’s surface, bubbles rising to the surface near his paddleboard led him to ________ that the boy sank at that spot. Ramsay demonstrated extraordinary bravery by diving 15 feet to the lake’s bottom to ________ the unconscious teenager.

Upon resurfacing, he found that his paddleboard was no longer within ________. Ramsay took a deep ________ and repositioned the unconscious boy. He then ________ swam toward the shore.

Ramsay was tired quickly but he ________ to keep both their heads above water. A female paddleboarder in another party then ________ to them at a point halfway to the shore. Ramsay ________ the paddleboard with one arm while still holding the boy. The woman leaned (倾斜) across her paddleboard and paddled until she reached shallow water while ________ Ramsay and the boy.

The boy was moved onto the shore, where Ramsay forced the water out of the boy’s body during efforts to make him ________. He recovered after treatment at a nearby hospital. Ramsay was cold and ________, but he did not require medical treatment.

He was honored for his ________ and selflessness with the Carnegie Medal—the highest accolade (荣誉) for civilian heroism in North America.

9 . What can simultaneously (同时) tear a community apart and knit it together?My husband and I accidentally found our _________.

While we were away, a(n) _________ caused by a storm hit our neighborhood and damaged our town. In our basement, we tried to pull old photo albums and school yearbooks — years’ worth of _________— out of the water and _________ them into bags. Actually, there was little we could _________. But I noticed a pattern. I found myself shouting, _________, “I forgot we had this!” _________, in a year or two, I wouldn’t be able to keep track of the things lost versus the rescued items.

But there are some things I won’t forget. I won’t forget the coolers full of water, cold drinks and sandwiches neighbors set outside, or the local restaurants generously offering _________ food and drinks for those too tired to make dinner. I’ll _________ the neighbors standing outside our door with masks and buckets, who __________ to help us clean out our basement. They stayed all day until it was __________. Looking around, I felt as though we had lost much but __________ so much more thanks to the __________ of friends and strangers alike. That memory will __________.

I watched members of our community hang a large sign over the most damaged part of town that __________ “Together, we will rebuild.” I know we definitely will.