1 . A little girl created a perfect gift for her mother’s birthday. It was a drawing of a ___________ on white paper with the words “For mom: love, love, love” decorated with hearts. She folded (折叠) her letter, but then she ___________ it.

For most people, that would be the ___________of this story, but this story had a different result. James Carrell found the letter. He had just___________ his mother, wishing her a happy birthday. After he hung up, Carrell saw the___________ on the ground outside of a hardware store in Manvel. “I___________ it was a gift,” said Carrell. “I opened it up and saw the flower and hearts. It really___________ me.” Carrell thought the letter would___________someone’s day and that maybe he could find the owner, so he posted it on the Internet. The message moved a lot of people,___________one man.

“I was sitting at my friend’s house and saw a man’s______________,” said Carrell. The comments (评论) included one from Robert Alvarado. He wrote, “I can’t ______________you found my baby’s letter.” Carrell reached Alvarado to______________ the letter. It took a few days, but the men finally met on Thursday night.

“Eventually the letter made it home,” said Alvarado. “We are______________ for what James Carrell did. We often forget the power of ______________ things, but for this family from Alvin, Carrell’s small act left a(n) ______________ impression.”

2 . Life can throw us something difficult, but, every now and then, a ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds.

There’s an elderly lady in Boston who has her own heartwarming ______. She is Marilyn. She happened to meet her own kind people during her ______ trip to the nearby supermarket on Saturdays.

Marilyn, who always had her husband by her side during previous ______ to the supermarket, gathered the strength to head for the supermarket in Auburndale after the loss of her ______.

She felt lucky that all was going well. However, at the checkout, she was ______ by the news that her credit card was ______. As it turned out, her card had been ______ a couple of days earlier because it was in her late husband’s name.

Marilyn was in a mix of shock and ______ as she stood at the register. A gentleman behind her, without hesitation, ______ to pay the bill. It wasn’t a small grocery bill!

Marilyn, with a deep sense of gratitude, ______ his help and hoped to pay him back. But all he said was, “No. Just wish me a happy life.” Marilyn didn’t want to ______ though.

Her family turned to social media, eager to find the mystery man. Marilyn ______ her viewpoints, saying, “Even if he doesn’t want to come forward, I’m hoping that he’ll know that I’m ______ grateful.” And to keep the kindness rolling, she promised to help fellow ______ whenever she could.

Stories like these ______ us of the boundless warmth and compassion humans are capable of.

3 . Ten years ago, I was visiting Costa Rica when I found I was in a bad situation. I only knew basic Spanish and the only possessions I had was some _________ and a return ticket to Guatemala in two weeks.

With the coins, I _________ to arrive at Santa Rosa by bus. It was _________ in the middle of the night, _________ I could still see some houses in the distance, so I walked toward them. I went   _________ door to door, explaining my situation. “I can cook and clean and _________ your kids, I can do anything. Can you give me a _________?” Everybody replied saying “Oh my gosh, but we are so _________. We have no extra food. Maybe you can try the next family.” _________, I arrived at a Chinese restaurant, the owner of which was incredibly __________. She told me that her son had a (n) __________ experience. At that time, some other people were very kind to him, and she remembered how __________ that made her feel.

She called the Red Cross to __________ me. With their help, I spent my __________ days in Costa Rica. I’ve __________ all over the world. But this was one of the best trips, the best two __________. I ever had in my traveling life.

At first, I felt __________ and stupid for not traveling with a __________ plan. But then I realized that when you’re in a position to be able to __________ help, it actually makes people feel happier. Being able to receive kindness is a gift for other people as well. And kindness __________ more kindness in small ripples (涟漪).

4 . “Just sign here, sir,” the deliveryman (送货员) said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

The package consisted of (装有) a long, narrow box ______ wrapped in brown paper. ______ the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside—a very old one with a beautifully carved handle. ______ he had not seen it for more than 20 years, he recognized it immediately.

Oscar was 16 when he first saw the ______ umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its ______, Oscar felt a strong desire to find its owner.

Oscar ______ the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat ______ Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O’Brien.

Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O’Brien’s house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I ______ you?” she asked. “I’d like to return it if it’s yours,” Oscar said, ______ the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for. “Why, yes! it’s mine, “ replied Mrs. O’Brien with a ______ smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your ______?” “No, ma’am.” he said, “my grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.” “Well, that’s ______ what my father used to say. What is your name, Young man?”

Years later, Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O’Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how ______ it was. Why had it arrived here today? As if ______ , a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, ______ gesture long ago.

6 . Chemical Versus Organic Farming

Chemical pesticides and artificial _____________have been in widespread use in farming since the middle of the 20th century. When they were first introduced, many farmers welcomed them as a great way to fight crop disease and increase production. Over time, however, what some scientists have found is that their long-term use can sometimes harm both the land and people’s health.

For example, pesticides can damage the land by killing not only harmful bacteria and insects, but also helpful ones. ___________, these chemicals can stay in the soil and underground water sources for a long time. This affects the crops ___________ on the land and, in turn, the animals and humans who digest them. Many people worry that these chemicals may make them ill and even cause cancer. In fact, some pesticides like DDT have been prohibited in most countries because of the damage they cause to people and the environment. As for chemical fertilisers, crops grown with them usually grow too fast to be rich in ___________. They may look beautiful on the outside, but inside there is usually more water than _________ minerals, and they often have less flavour as well.

As an alternative, some farmers have _______________ organic farming, and many customers have turned to organic food when they shop at the local grocery. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. Organic farmers _____________ keeping their soil rich and free of disease through natural means. For example, many organic farmers use _______________ from animals as fertiliser. This makes the soil in their fields richer in _____________. It also keeps the air, soil, water, and crops ________________. 

Organic farmers also use many other methods to produce rich soil. They often change the kind of crop grown in each field every year. For instance, they may grow corn or wheat in a field one year,and then grow beans there the next. Why different crops are grown is because they put important minerals back into the ground, making it ready again for the next batch of crops. Organic farmers also plant diverse crops that used different ____________ of soil to help keep it rich. For example, peanuts grow on the ground’s surface, but many other vegetables put down deep roots. The goal of using different organic farming methods is to grow good food while ______________ damage to the environment or to people’s health. 

Some people would prefer to stop the use of manmade chemicals in agriculture entirely. What keeps them from doing so is the fact that chemical farming ____________ the high demand for food around the world. Organic farming is nowhere near able to __________ that need. ____________, there is still a long way to find a suitable solution that puts sufficient food on the dinner table while keeping people and the environment as healthy as possible.

7 . Our church has a way of helping those who have_________difficulties without making the receiver feel shame or guilt. Money is dropped into a green box with_________only the name of the receiver on the envelope.

There came a time when my husband and I were among those who needed_________. Just as we reached the point of despair, our church_________us a large envelope that had been left in the green box. We were_________to receive a very big amount of money, enough to bring us through that hard time.

A year later, our seventeen-year-old son who_________from high school was applying for a student loan for college. It was then that we discovered his savings account was almost_________.To both of us, it was so_________. We had trusted him to put part of his wages from his part-time job into the bank towards his_________. From nine years old, he had worked very hard for his small earning. I asked him repeatedly to tell me what had happened__________. I was nearly mad. Where has all the money__________?

Finally, in tears, and with great reluctance (勉强), my son__________that the year before he had put his__________in the green box for his father and me during that toughest time. I stood there__________, tears filling my eyes. It had taken my son years to save that money. He had given it to us willingly__________telling us what he had done.

8 . My great-grandfather, my grandfather and my father are all farmers. My father expects me to become a farmer and_________them all but I don’t agree with my father.

Three years ago, my father took me to a(n) _________to visit one of his friends. His friend_________a small airline. It was the first time I had seen a_________airplane. After my father’s friend discovered I had never been in an airplane, he_________me to fly with them. When we took off, I felt very excited.

Since then, if I had time, my father’s friend would teach me how to fly.He even let me fly_________once. I wanted to become a pilot but to do this, I would have _________my father’s wishes.

At the age of 18 ,I had to tell my father what I wanted to do but I didn’t want to make him_______. As he walked ahead of me and followed, I didn’t know what I could say to help him understand my_________ for flying. I took my courage and said,“Father,I have something__________to tell you. I want to go to college and become a pilot, I have talked to the schools and they agreed to__________me financial(经济的)help.”I felt nervous in his__________. Then he spoke,“I was wondering when you would tell me. I have been__________money for you.” When I heard this, I couldn’t help____________ For the first time I really understand his____________love for me.

9 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.