1 . Tidying your desk, watering your plants, folding clothes — these household chores (家务) are very common. I often find myself _________ these little chores. If the deadline of a task is coming, I’ll clear up the papers _________ around my office to make me feel not so nervous.

I’m not _________ in this. As facing the influenza (流感), many people _________ finding new interest in looking after their homes as a way of _________ uncertainty. Psychologists (心理学家) say these chores may _________ encourage you to become active.

Little chores may be useful because they occupy the mind, leading us to devote fewer resources to the things that _________ us. We may find household makes us _________ when we finish them, but this depends on where we place our _________.

In a study, researchers __________ 51 participants into two groups. Half of them were encouraged to __________ focus on washing the dishes. “__________ washing the dishes, one should be aware that he is washing the dishes”. Another half only needed to know something __________ how to do washing without being encouraged to focus their awareness on the activity.

Finally, the participants were asked to take a questionnaire about their feelings. Those who had fully engaged with the experience reported a better mood. This included the reduced __________ and even a sense of “inspiration”, as if the simple activity had __________ their minds.

3 . I was shocked when my socially awkward sister, who had suffered from Asperger Syndrome (阿斯伯格综合症), decided to sing in front of our school. I knew she would _______ me in some way, so I disagreed. However, my parents insisted that she _______ and I would have to be part of the audience. I silently hoped that something would happen to save me from watching her _______ face.

As I waited in the hall, sweat (汗水) _______ my face. I comforted myself that no one knew she was my sister and tried to persuade (说服) myself that it would be _______. The lights darkened and the _______ opened to reveal (使露面) my sister standing alone on stage. She seemed _______ , taking a minute to stammer (结结巴巴地说) her name and class. _______ began to be heard in the audience. I shifted nervously in my seat, afraid what was about to happen. But as my sister started to sing, I was _______. Her voice flowed effortlessly and melodiously (悦耳地), filling the hall with its ________. I watched in wonder, realizing I had never known she could sing so ________. I listened carefully to the lyric(歌词) she had written herself, feeling ashamed for doubting her ________. My heart gave way as I heard the heartfelt words.

In that moment, guilt and shame flooded my heart. ________ my unwillingness to support her, she had never taken anything that I had done to her to heart. It was then that I determined to love her ________. It was as if a veil (面纱) had been lifted (移开) from my ________, and my heart was full.

6 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy (共情) four years ago to _________ a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could _________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a _________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen _________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger _________. Ward, a homeless, was _________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him _________ the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel _________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s _________ have developed into a passion project that __________ faith and community, which focuses on the __________ community members can have in helping the homeless have a better life. They know they can’t settle the homeless __________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will __________.

“My hope for the future is to __________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed __________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

7 . Kurt Campbell was a special student at school. He had difficulty in learning. For him, the hurt and ________ came in fourth grade.

Learning was hard at school. It was a complete ________ for him. His teachers and parents ________ everything to help him but just failed. By the end of his fourth-grade year, he couldn’t spell or read.

His parent ________ from their home in Washington to the town of Edmonds.

Kurt’s parents took him to a new school, where he would ________ the fourth grade.

He wasn’t ________ about going to a new school, but he was terribly upset about taking the fourth grade again. It was a ________ of not being intelligent. He felt worried and afraid. ________, he wasn’t at his old school, so none of the kids would know what he used to be.

But his new teacher, Mrs. Hornall, knew. She had got Kurt’s ________ from his parents. She spent a lot of time with him. Mrs. Hornall helped him ________ words into sentences and taught him how sentences became paragraphs. She even explained patiently to him how stories are ________ new meaning.

Over the next few weeks and months, things began to ________. Kurt could read a Hardy Boys book. When he finished the final exam, he ran down the hall, ________ to his mom and dad, “I did it! I did it!”

“Mrs. Hornall made the ________. She was one of those amazing teachers who paid ________ to me and never once made me feel different from my other classmates,” said Kurt.

8 . About 15 years ago, I packed my suitcase and traveled to a town a few hours away. I would have an important _______ the next day, so I arrived _________. When I woke up the next morning in the hotel and started to get _______, something came to my notice—I had _______ to pack a white shirt.

This discovery made me get into _______. There was only about an hour left. Without thinking, I _______ went down to the lobby (大厅) immediately and flew to the attendant at the front desk. I explained my _______ situation and asked if he could suggest a nearby store where I could get a new shirt. I received a response before I finished speaking. “Sir. I have got a _______. “The attendant replied. How excited I was when I heard that! But rather than _______ me to a nearby shop, the man did something ________. Without saying a word, he ________ his own white shirt and handed it to me.”

I finally arrived on time. Things ________ in the end —I got my dream job. I expressed my ________ when giving back the shirt.

That nice __________ has stuck with me over the years and that man's behavior has ________ me ever since. And so now, when I see someone who needs anything, I'm willing to share.

9 . Hello, everyone. It’s my honor to recommend (推荐) Educator of the Year. I’m sure everyone has a favorite teacher that they will be able to _________ for years to come. There is one famous teacher that everyone wants to have in our middle school — Ms Sullivan, whose _________ you must often hear at school. Ms Sullivan does a lot of things to make herself _________.

First of all, she shows great interest in her _________. She teaches many different classes — Language Arts Enrichment, Writing for Publication and Reader’s Theater, though most teachers in middle school only teach one _________, such as math, social studies, science, etc. Ms Sullivan is also responsible for directing the school play. Every year she devotes her time to _________ an amazing school play. Luckily, I have been a part of it and _________ it so much!

In addition, Ms Sullivan always shows us that she _________ us, whether in our study or in life. Some teachers teach us the lessons in a _________ way, while Ms Sullivan shows us that she is always easy-going like a friend. In writing classes, she makes us have a group discussion first, which I think is a good way to __________ our creative ideas. Then she lets us __________ write our stories at our own speed. She __________ everything we write and gives us an honest opinion about it. We are getting more __________ writing a composition, and no longer consider it hard work. Most importantly, she makes each of her classes __________.

In a word, I think Ms Sullivan should be Educator of the Year. Even if she doesn’t get the __________, she still deserves our respect and love!