1 . It happened years ago. When my daughter was in primary school, she brought home four small trees _________ school to plant. None of them looked very hardy (耐寒的), but with hope for the future, I _________ them carefully with my daughter somewhere in our yard that had enough _________ when it is fine. Over the years, because of the poor soil, three of them _________ . Only one survived (幸存).

The tree grew very slowly. It looked like a fat bush more than a tree. Later, I noticed that it was starting to die. The _________ branches were becoming yellow. Only the top of the tree was still _________ and thick. I got some help from one of my friends who was a farmer. I did my best to save it by _________ it a lot of fertilizer (肥料), but it didn’t work.

Later one morning, I went out and looked at it again. I was wondering whether it would be better to _________. It would make the yard look cleaner. As I walked over to take a _________ look at it, I noticed something moving — within the leaves, it was a robin (知更鸟) __________ building a nest in the topmost branches. I smiled when I looked at it. I thought maybe this old __________ was still useful. In my eyes __________ it might not be really healthy or pretty, it was still giving a bird a home. That’s enough for it.

This tree __________ me that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn’t matter if we are young and __________ or old and sick. We can help to make this world a better place. Until our last breath, __________ have things to do, love to give, and joy to share. Maybe that’s the true meaning of a life.

2 . As the fifth of seven children, I went to the same public school as my three older sisters and brother. Every year, my mother _______ the same pageant and had parent/child interviews with the same teachers. The only thing _______ was the child. And every child participated in an old school tradition — the annual plant sale held in early May, _______ for Mother’s Day.        

Third grade was the first time that I was _______ to take part in the plant sale. I wanted to surprise my mother, but I didn't have any money. I went to my oldest sister and _______ the secret, and she gave me some money. When I arrived at the plant sale, I _______ made my selection. I agonized over that decision, _______ each plant to ensure that I had indeed found the best geranium. Once I had _______ it home, with the help of my sister, I hid it on the upstairs neighbor's porch. I was _______ afraid my mother would find it before Mother’s Day, but my sister assured me that she wouldn't, and indeed she did not.       

When Mother’s Day arrived, I was ________ with pride when I gave her that geranium. I remember how bright her eyes were, and how ________ she was with my gift. That day, I ________ a valuable lesson: it’s the thought that counts, not the price.     

Years later, I still ________ the excitement of that special day. The small gesture of giving a plant to my mother had a(n) ________ impact on our relationship. It not only brought us closer together, but also ________ me to appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

3 . I looked at my photos and began to recall (回忆) my Life. Then a _______ of my grandma caught my eye. She was a tall, strong and healthy woman. She, like most people in her village, _______ jasmine (茉莉) flowers.

Summer is the time to pick jasmine flowers which will be sent to the factory to make Jasmine tea. Helping my grandma pick jasmine flowers had been my _______ since I was 13. The jasmine field was so wonderful with lots of flowers and their good smells, _______it was hard to pick these flowers for hours in the strong sunlight. When I got _______ and wanted to give up, I _______ my grandma who kept busy picking flowers. Seeing her work hard, I recovered strength (力气) to keep going. By working with her, I learned to work until the job was   _________.

Grandma lived a poor life but she never lost her _______. In her old age, she didn’t _______ to work because her children could support (赡养) her. However, she still worked to give her money to the Senior Centre, which surprised me. In my mind, people work hard to ________ their lives, instead of giving money away. She disagreed saying, “I have worked for a lifetime. ________ has become part of my life. When I was in ________, I had a lot of help from the neighbors, who are now in the Senior Centre. I want to pay them back. I want to be __________.”

I always remember her ________ and think deeply about future work. I________ that a job is not only a way to make a living, but also a way to serve people and make this world a better place.

4 . Steve and Mark were good friends. They decided to spend their vacation in Haiti. Since they couldn’t _________ French, they took a French wordbook with them and hoped it would help them in difficult situations. 

The flight was _________, and the hotel was very comfortable. Each day after breakfast, Steve and Mark packed the picnic lunch and dinner and went off to visit interesting places. After a few days, the boys became _________ of eating picnic meals and decided to eat a big fish dinner in a good restaurant. Unfortunately, they left their wordbook in the hotel. 

They _________ the menu carefully. After ten minutes, Steve said to Mark, “I don’t understand this menu.” “Neither do I,” said Mark. “I see poison on the menu. Are they _________ here?” “Maybe. They even spelled poison _________. They spelled it p⁃o⁃i⁃s⁃s⁃o⁃n instead of p⁃o⁃i⁃s⁃o⁃n. But it must mean the same thing. Maybe we should go to another restaurant. I don’t _________ to eat something that will kill me.” But Mark was _________, so he said, “There is no other restaurant near here, and I’m tired of walking around the city. Let’s order something else instead. It’s _________ here, so the food must be good.” 

The boys looked at the menu again. They finally decided to order steak,__________ they really wanted fish. The boys just pointed to the word steak, and the waiter understood. 

As they were eating, they__________ some tourists speaking English. “This __________ is delicious. We’re lucky we have picked a restaurant that’s famous for its fish.” 

Steve and Mark wondered what they discovered. “Famous for its fish? There was no fish on the __________!” said Mark. 

Finally, Steve decided to find out what all this was about. “Excuse me, how did you order fish when it wasn’t on the menu?” “Sure it’s on the menu. It’s right here. Poisson.” The boys shouted, “Poisson. That’s poison! We were __________ why a restaurant like this could have poison on the menu.” 

The tourists __________, and one of them said, “No. Poisson is French for fish.”

5 . As we all know, a friend in need is a friend indeed. I really didn’t know the meaning of this proverb until one day something _______ happened to me.

That morning, I got up late and _______ to school without breakfast. While crossing a street, my bike _______ a stone and I fell on the ground, with my both knees badly hurt. I tolerated (忍受) the _______ and continued my riding. On my arrival at school, my teacher took us to the _______ for a basketball match. _______I could hardly walk normally, I joined in the game. When I _______ to pass the ball, I was knocked down and fell down on my back. I could not stand the bad pain and _______. My classmates all started _______ at me and continued their match. ________on the ground alone, hungry and painful, I couldn’t stop my crying. Just at that moment, Jack, one of my teammates,________towards me from the other end and helped me. He comforted me and tried all ________ to make me stand. He asked another classmate to ________and kept sitting beside me. He kept me company the whole day and even ________ me home after the school was over.

It was on that day that I learned and believed the proverb “a friend in need is a friend indeed” to be ________.

6 . We took the bus every day that summer many years ago. One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the center for _________ citizens every morning. He walked with a stoop (驼背) and a sad look on his face when he, with some _________, got on the bus and sat down alone behind the driver. No one ever paid very much attention to him.

Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled short-sightedly down through the bus before he sat down. The driver nodded _________. The rest of us were _________.

The next day, the old man _________ the bus energetically, smiled and said in a loud voice: “And a very good morning to you all!” Some of us _________, amazed, and said “Good morning”, in reply.

The following weeks we were more _________. Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date tie. The thin hair had been _________ combed(梳理). He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to _________ and talk to each other.

One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. They were already becoming a little dry because of the __________. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: “Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name really was “Charlie”, but he nodded __________.

The other passengers whistled and __________ at him. Charlie bowed and __________ the flowers before he sat down on his seat.

Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower. Some of the __________ passengers began bringing him flowers for his bunch, gently pushed him and said: “Here.” Everyone smiled. People started to joke about it, talk to each other, and __________ the newspaper.

8 . Exercise can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, so there are a lot of great reasons to exercise.

Sometimes exercise can feel like a bit of a ________, something you have to do for health ________. But regular exercise can ________ your life, whether it helps you overcome stress, learn something about yourself, or help you ________ your body. Here are 2 stories from people who moved their bodies in new and sometimes ________ ways, and found out that it changed their life for the better.

I have had depression (沮丧, 抑郁) a couple of times and I also have general anxiety disorder. I found that longboarding around the city really ________ my mood the last time I was going through a ________ of depression. I don’t skate much anymore, but I have picked up ________ the past three years. All I can think about when I am climbing is climbing. It has been a ________ for my anxiety to be able to completely throw away the worries in my head and just think about getting to the top.

When I was 23, my grandpa sadly passed away. Hearing my mom’s message, I was ________. The tears couldn’t stop swimming in my eyes and I ________ control, I was just starting my track season and I decided that I should get a head start and start running. When I felt like crying or screaming or anything, I would get up and go for a ________. That year I ________ my personal best by over a minute and I ran my first half marathon. Since then I ran another half marathon, full marathon, and am ________ training for a second marathon. Running just ________ emotion for me.

9 . I love wildlife. So when my friend said that we had a chance to _________ brown bears in the High Tatras, I didn’t think twice about it, and we _________ arrangements to go the following week.

The trip was a great _________! We walked for hours and stayed in a _________ mountain hut (小屋) which was usually reserved for park rangers. It actually took us some trouble even to locate it. As soon as we arrived, our guide _________ to us that we would be fully integrated (融入) into their research programme and would be tracking the _________ of bears wearing GPS transmitters. On the first day, we were woken up at sunrise and, after _________ some warm clothes, set off into the forest. Our guide walked very _________ and we had trouble keeping up with him. Suddenly he _________ across a small hill. He must have caught sight of a bear. We followed him as fast as we could, but by the time we reached him, the bear had __________ into the bushes. Later in the week, though, we did manage to observe several bears feeding on berries. We were so excited. Yet, __________ hurrying to take photos, we __________ our breath, stayed about 30 meters away and just watched them. Our guide insisted that we should keep our __________ from the bears so as not to __________ them.

Observing bears in their natural habitat (栖息地) was really __________. I had never experienced anything like that before. If I hadn’t had to go back to school, I would happily have stayed on for several more weeks.

10 . When I look back, I can’t help feeling grateful and blessed. Twelve years ago, I arrived alone in Central Florida from Puerto Rico. I had heard of a job opportunity and decided to ________ it. But it never became a ________.

Once my limited ________ ran out, I became homeless and spent a year and a half living on the streets of Orlando. For the first time, I, who had lived a ________ life in a middle class family, understood the ________ someone feels when they don’t get enough to eat. I clearly remembered ________ a distance on many occasions just to make it to a local feeding program before they ________ at 7 pm.

________, local programs like the Coalition for the Homeless, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Wayne Densch Center helped me ________ my painful experience.

With the ________ of these programs, I was accepted by a college scholarship program through the Coalition and ________ two degrees from Valencia.

My experience ________ me to the fact that help meant everything to people in need and inspired me to be ________ helping others. Today, I am employed as Childhood Hunger Programs Manager at Second Harvest Food Bank and oversee the summer ________ programs. I am so proud to be able to ________ food resources to those in need and help hundreds more like me.