1 . Recently, one of my best friends spent the weekend with me. We’ve ________ just about everything since the first day of kindergarten. Several years ago I ________ to a new town, so we’ve both always looked forward to the ________ chances a year when we can see each other.

Over the weekend, we spent hours and hours, ________ up late into the night, talking about the people she was hanging around with. She started telling me ________ about how she experimented with drugs and was into other self-destructive behaviors. I was completely ________!

No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she ________ better, she didn’t believe me. Herself-respect seemed to have ________. I tried to convince her that she was ________ her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was getting ________.

By the time she left, I was really ________ about her and exhausted by the experience. It had been so ________, and I had come close to telling her several ________ during the weekend that maybe we had just grown too far apart to ______ our friendship — but I didn’t. I put the power of ________ to the ultimate test and wanted to believe that it could ________ anything.

A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our ________, and then she told me that she had ________. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly ________ moments in my life. Never had I been so ________ of a friend.

2 . I am a guide at the California Academy of Sciences. Weeks ago, I was ________ with a lovely family at the Academy’s Swamp exhibit. Their young son was ________ by the swallow and asked many questions about it. As the family was leaving, I asked the boy if he would like a sticker to put on his shirt. He ________ chose a swallow sticker (贴纸), while the boy’s younger brother spent lots of time ________ all the sticker choices before choosing a butterfly. The boy who had chosen first said softly to his father, “I didn’t see the frog sticker.” His father immediately ________ the boy to ask me for a second sticker. The boy said, “No, I’m happy with what I have.”

I was so ________. Such grace, gratitude and ________, are all from an eight-year-old boy. Too often, we ________ to be happy with what we have and in our forgetfulness, we spread the infection of ________.

I recently purchased my first laptop computer. In discussions with the ________, he said, “Within two years, you’ll probably want a new one anyway.” Why would I want a new one, if my ________ one was working? Perhaps, “________” is the key word. I won’t ________ need a new laptop in two years but I will probably want one. I may want _________ things, but I don’t need them. What I do desperately need is the peace of mind. I need to ________ each of my sudden urges to purchase or possess as either “want” or “need”.

3 . “I have cancer.” Mom said and held me in a tight hug. I could feel her chest _________ as she tried not to cry but failed.

For all of my twenty-four years, my mom had been _________. Strength and protection had always flowed from her to me. Now I knew it would have to flow _________.

Mom didn’t stay _________ for long. After the shock of breast-cancer, she armed herself with a notebook and a pen and a thousand questions for the doctors. “The not-knowing is the _________.” she said.

The operation was successful. The chemo(化疗) was the _________ part. I went with Mom to every chemo treatment. She rarely _________, though her hair was gone and her toenails and fingernails _________ one by one. She joked that she could _________ money on nail polish and put it toward the doctor bills, even though she never wore nail polish. “Cancer can take my hair, my nails, my health, my very life. But it can’t take my smile.” Mom said.

Mom learned to share her fears with me, and it formed an even deeper __________ between us. Yet I am certain there were fears she didn’t share because she was still __________ me—worries she only shared with Dad. Even in the darkest hours, she would just __________ about the cancer. Mom always said. “When you look your greatest fear in the eye and laugh at it, you take away some of its __________.”

Basically, no matter where you are, the waves of life will always __________ you. What matters most is how you __________ during those moments and what they teach about yourselves along this journey called life.

4 . I got on an overnight, bus journey from Kolhapur to Aurangabad in India. The bus — an ordinary, air-conditioning-free one — was more than ______. All 55 seats were taken and there were some 20 people ______ in the aisle (过道). The hot day ______ the discomfort of the 10-hour journey. Because I was travelling on a student bus pass I had no choice but to-stand.

After approximately two extended hours, I was wet with _______ in the noise of the bus. I suddenly ______ a hand tapping my hand, asking for ______. Turning around, I found a middle-aged man with a smile looking up at me. He stood up and said I could take his ______ for a little while. I was pleasantly ______ and immediately accepted his offer, my entire body feeling a sense of relief. And the man just stood next to me, looking around. After about 20 minutes, I signaled him to ______ his space. Another man, who was sitting by the window on the other side of the bus, had observed our’ ______.

Just then, something ______ happened. Our observer stood up and offered his seat to another standing man. Unexpectedly, we had caused a chain reaction: almost all the standees got a(n) ______ to be seated. More surprisingly, people-even started chatting with each other while exchanging their positions, and soon began sharing jokes. Needless to say, the rest of the journey was quite ______.

The bus reached its destination the next morning. I stood in the early morning light, waving goodbye to the groups, who-went-their separate routines. But this extraordinary experience has stayed with me after all the years. I am always ______ of an important life lesson — that we can all ______ what we have, including our burdens, and help our co-passengers in the journey of life.

5 . A young vlogger, adept at (擅于) sharing humor and sincerity, rises to fame, tackling various topics and empowering others along the way, Meng Wenjie reports.

“I never expected the video to be so _______ until I clicked on it!” This _______ is frequently shared by viewers under Lahongsang’ videos. In her 20s, Lahongsang is a (n) _______ vlogger with eight years of experience, who has humorously _______ her life.

Growing up in the Internet era, she _______ video recording and social media sharing. In 2016, as a high schooler, Lahongsang kicked off her _______ on the Chinese platform Bilibili. “During that summer, I felt _______ one day, so I decided to try something novel,” she recalled. Even though her very first video _______ professionalism, it humorously _______ a student’s ambition for the upcoming semester. Despite loads of schoolwork, Lahongsang ________ updated her content with ________ topics such as study, anime, and makeup.

“As a vlogger, whenever I encounter something worth recording, I capture it,” she said, “I’m not sure exactly what ________ people to my videos, but many viewers say my videos ________ them, so maybe that’s it.”

As a member of Gen Z, Lahongsang enjoys embracing new things and experiences that broaden her ________, as indicated by her Bilibili home page introduction: “Take on 100 different ________.”

6 . It wasn’t easy to practice gratitude (感激) every day. After I ______ Cushing’s disease (库兴综合征) and had an operation a few years ago, my ______ was that everything would be OK. However, I was wrong. I had ongoing aches and pains, and ______ myself to a new life was difficult for me. ______, I began to notice that I’d become a hateful person.

One day, I heard a discussion about gratitude by Dr Tony Evans. It ______ me and forced me to take a long, hard, honest look at myself. I have a(n) ______ spouse (配偶) and parents. I’d heard the stories of other people’s ______ with Cushing’s disease. Their spouses had left them and they didn’t have family to ______. I didn’t face any of these problems, yet I didn’t realize that.

I made a decision to start practicing gratitude daily. Once I decided that, my ______ improved, and I began to approach situations differently. ______ viewing situations negatively, I started to see them as opportunities.

This led me to practice the concept of ______ and reaping (收获), which I learned from my parents. They didn’t just talk the talk, but rather they ______ his concept to us. However, it wasn't until I had my own experiences that I understood what it meant.

Let me explain. When I was ______ in my own pity, my ______ in life was ruined, because everything I was sowing was negative. Since I started practicing gratitude, so many different doors of opportunity have opened up for me.

My advice is starting practicing gratitude until it becomes a part of your daily routine. Take note of the ______ it will make in your life.

8 . Life is full of uncertainties, and every activity we do carries some level of ________ . Some activities, like snowboarding (单板滑雪运动), often have a higher possibility of injury. Ian Steger ________ this firsthand when he had a serious snowboarding accident but he was so ________ that Francis Zuber passed by.

In March, Ian and a group of friends went on a snowboarding trip in Washington State. During their ________ , things took a dangerous turn. While moving through the trees, Ian fell backward and crashed into one, finding himself ________ in a deep hole of snow.

Ian explained the ________ , “When we entered the trees, they were so ________ together that we each had to find our own paths. Unluckily, the path I ________ led me straight into a big tree well.” Fearing the worst, Ian thought he was facing his   ________ moments. However, Francis Zuber, a skier, happened to pass by.

Francis saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He ________ a snowboard sticking out from the snow, which was ________ considering how far they were from any populated areas. Worried, Francis called out to Ian but didn’t receive any ________

Without hesitation (犹豫), Francis began to dig hard to save Ian from the snowy trap. In the end, he ________ it. Feeling extremely ________ , Ian hugged Francis, telling him, “I’m so glad you ________   my life today.”

9 . It was a chilly winter evening when I found myself stuck in an unfamiliar city. My car had broken down, and frustration was slowly replacing the initial _________ of my road trip. As I stood there on the sidewalk, feeling helpless, a stranger _________ me.

“Are you okay? Do you need any help?” he asked with genuine concern in his eyes. Taken aback by his kindness, I managed to explain my situation. Without hesitation, he _________ to call a tow truck (拖车)for me and insisted on staying until help arrived. As we waited, we started a _________, and I learned he was a local resident named David.

David’s _________ went beyond what was expected. He offered me his coat to keep _________ and even invited me to a nearby café for a hot drink. Gratitude overwhelmed me as I _________ how lucky I was to have encountered such a compassionate (有同情心的) stranger.

During our conversation, David _________ stories of similar encounters he had with strangers who had helped him in the past. He believed in the power of kindness and its _________ to bring people together, regardless of their differences. When I saw his __________ faith in humanity, my faith was also restored.

When the tow truck arrived and my car was being __________, I thanked David from the bottom of my heart. He __________ smiled and said, “We all need a little kindness in our lives. Pay it forward when you __________ the chance.”

As I continued my journey after that __________ encounter, a newfound sense of appreciation and awareness filled my heart. The kindness of strangers can truly __________ in someone’s life, serving as a reminder that there is goodness in the world, waiting to be shared.