1 . I was expecting to have a quiet day, but it turned out(结果是) to be just the opposite. It was Saturday morning _______ I was reading on the sofa when the phone rang. “Come quickly, Sam, I need your _______!” It was my best friend George, so I couldn't_______. “Where are you?” I asked. “I'm _______home, watching the house opposite. Come quickly, through the back garden.”

I_______there. George told me two men were stealing things from Simon's house. They were moving the TV and the computers onto their van(客货车).

“But George, it's clear,” I said impatiently(不耐烦地). “They _______ be moving house.”

“That's impossible! You know Simon's in our class, but he has said _______about it！” said George.

I realized he was right. So we phoned the_______. They soon arrived and took the two men _______. “You are so brave！” said one policeman. Later, Simon's parents learned what we had done and they were so ________. They took us out for dinner that night.

Sometimes, a small act can mean a lot to others.

2 . It was July 15, 2021, and my friends had helped me celebrate my 31st birthday.

Earlier in the day I had prepared for the _________ event of a flood. We are about a third of a mile from the banks of the Ahr River. It had been raining heavily that week, and the government had issued a flood _________, though not for where I was. _________, I’d placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door just in case _________ got through. Before my friends left, they _________ me for doing that, but I thought, why take a chance?

As I drifted off to sleep, I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water, as if I were lying beside a waterfall instead of in my bedroom. When I moved my legs off the bed, I was _________ by the touch of cold water lapping against my knees and rising fast. Trembling and in darkness, I _________ my cellphone and turned on the flashlight. I saw water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door.

I admit it, I began to _________. The Ahr, usually such a __________, slow-moving river, had violently burst its banks. And now I had to get out—fast!

Any effects of the celebratory drinks I’d had earlier were now gone. I heard the garden door starting to crack under the __________ of the flood. In bare feet, I started to move to my only __________: the door that leads to the hallway. All around me things were breaking, and the cupboards were being __________.

I tried to pull the door open, but the force of the water wouldn’t __________ me. Finally, I __________ to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to squeeze through and make it into the __________.

If I had __________ just a few minutes later, I would have drowned. Many of the houses around us were destroyed, including, __________, a home for the disabled. Not everyone got out.

I came close to drowning that day. But rather than keep thinking about that, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterward: “Christian, don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________.”

3 . Send Your Best Wishes

Last summer, a big flood hit Henan Province hard. Some people_______or went missing in this terrible disaster. People from all_______China came to help Henan, including some people I know.

My mother told me that her hairdresser, Mr. Zhang was_______to close his shop for one month. He was going to Zhengzhou to help _______the rescue (救援)work. Mr. Li has a restaurant in my neighborhood. He was also going to Henan _______out. What they did really moved me.

But unlike them, some people did_______but complain online. They said bad things about the local government, the rescue work and many other things.

I don’t think they did the right thing during disasters, pointing fingers (指责)won’t help_______. It’ll just cause fear and worry. Saving lives is _______

I think we _______learn from Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li for the positive energy they brought. I wrote some positive things________and sent my best wishes to Henan. Helping others is the best way to help ourselves.

4 . My first job was at a fast-food restaurant called Carroll’s in my hometown. One spring day my next-door neighbor _________ me to apply for work with her there, and I agreed to have a try.

One little _________ was that I wasn’t 16 yet, so I just changed my birth date on the application from July to _________. Luckily, they didn’t ask for any ID to prove my _________, because there were few applicants for the job. Both of us were _________.

The pay was _________, only $1.60/hour with no tips. I worked at the _________ and only boys were allowed to work in the kitchen. I got a chance to make milkshakes, though, which I considered kind of fun. I also _________ the relationships with all the other workers, who were mostly easy-going teenagers.

It was great to _________ different diners. The restaurant was located on a __________ entryway into town, so all kinds of people came in. One day a man in plain clothes __________ but ordered many signature dishes. When he came to my counter to check out, I was __________ to find he was my idol.

Besides __________ about my age, I also failed to inform the manager that I was leaving in June to attend summer camp, so my first job only lasted a few __________. It has been long gone, but the __________ in the restaurant remains a sweet memory of my life.

5 . Last Sunday, our school held an ice hockey (冰球) game. I was so proud when my team ________ the game. It made me feel like I could do ________. Only three years ago, I was________ of walking or skating on the ice. To deal with this problem, I decided to ________a skating club. I really envied (嫉妒) the other club members, who were so ________and confident on the ice. But my teacher was good at teaching and before I knew it, I was able to ________. He then advised me to try ice hockey. I ________ it and was soon practising ________ my local team almost every evening. We are now training for national games________  hope to be winners one day, but my final________is to be an ice hockey teacher and help people learn to play this game.

6 . When I was in primary school, I fell in love with reading. The books _______ me to a wonderful world. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. However, my parents _______ afford so many books. I had to solve the problem myself.

There was a book shop near my home. One day I walked into _______ shop and picked up a book. I didn’t know whether _______ there without buying any books. _______ I wasn’t noticed, I just read a few pages and then put it back. Luckily, no one noticed me. After that, I went there to read every day. Several days later, while I was reading, the owner came up and asked, “You like reading?” I looked down and replied _______, “Yes.” “Don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “You may read books here _______ you help me clean the shop.” I felt quite surprised, “Really? It’s so kind of you!” I was very happy that I _______ to read there. From then on, I spent a little time cleaning the shop. After that, I quietly read there. That way, I read lots of books. I became one of _______ writers in our school. I even won some prizes in writing.

Now studying in high school, I can borrow books __________ library. My hobby of reading is kept. It will make a big difference to my life.

7 . Sammie Vance, 14, knows there’s nothing worse than feeling left out. For years, she’s been helping those kids make friends. What she has been doing is ______ the Buddy Bench program. Originally, the idea was that anyone at school who was feeling ______ could sit on the “buddy bench”. That let other kids know someone needed a friend. The idea quickly ______.

Sammie got the idea for the ______ at summer camp in 2017. She thought it would be ______ to have a buddy bench in her school, so when she got back, she ______ the idea to her headmaster, teachers and her parents.

Getting ______ for the project was just the first step. “There have been a lot of small ______, like money,” Sammie says. To reduce costs and be ______, Sammie decided to make the bench out of recycled material. So she rallied（号召）her ______ to gather bottle caps.

Word of the project got out, and soon Sammie was getting ______ from people in broader regions — all 50 states, and in the end she ______ more than 1,200 pounds. A company called GreenTree Plastics was able to ______ these into three benches.

______, Sammie helped other schools acquire benches. She has   ______ more than 20 benches to schools and parks by now. Her ______ of kindness continues to spread far and wide. ______ all the kids her project has helped, Sammie benefits from it, feeling grateful for how it gave her ______ in so many different aspects of life.

“______ as some acts of kindness can be, they can make a significant difference and lead to a chain reaction,” she says. “You never ______. Just be kind, in general.”

8 . Our life has become more and more intelligent over_______past 30 years. Have you ever imagined what a smart home is? Last weekend, Cox Communications published their new smart home ______(call)Home Life, in which all equipment is ”smart“. A _______ (power)Internet connection is central to their product. Not only is the equipment remotely controlled, this home also features direct connections to family members and doctors. For example, their relatives_______live in another state can enter their house through their smartphones or computers.

The smart home seems to be designed _________(attend)to the elderly. In a smart home, many activities can be monitored and all kinds of help________(provide)whenever necessary. If a person has a fall or doesn’t take their medicine, he or she will be reminded________(instant). However, the person________(live)in the smart home has his or her_______   (independent).

This smart home offers plenty of chances for patient control, as well________reducing health costs in many situations. Technology can help old people stay independent and safe.

9 . My beloved grandma, had never left Australia and now never would due to cancer.

Planted _______ in the armchair, she had no alternative but to “travel” via the travel program on TV. I _______ the sadness and thought hard. It finally _______ me that I could ask strangers on the internet for help. I _______ the post:

My Nanny has cancer and she will never see the world. Please send her postcards so she can see the world from her armchair. I can offer nothing but gratitude.

I _______ not to breathe a word of this; should nothing come, I couldn’t bear to carry her _______ along with my own. Days _______ weeks and Nanny’s health declined rapidly, my suffering growing unbearable.

Finally, about six weeks after my post, a dog-eared, _______ postcard from UK wandered into our humble little letterbox. It was to me a ray of light and from that day, our letterbox became the _______ for postcards from all over the world and a hotel, ________ travel-weary cards. My dream of armchair travels became a reality.

In the months that followed, thanks to those cards, my Nanny had a private “flight” to board, travelling far and wide, satisfied and ________ . Cancer could not stop us. Our very last flight ________ on a warm morning. My dearest travel ________ bought a different ticket for this trip and began to explore another world.

I have ________ from great loss, knowing that her journey ahead would be a brilliant one with so many ________ from the strangers.

10 . Do you know Mike, my best friend? Maybe you will say, “Yes, I know him very well. He is very ________ . He never studies hard and isn’t good at all the subjects.” But you are wrong. It seems that he has ________ a lot. He didn’t use to like to study. But now he works ________ hard. In the past, he used to watch TV and play computer games very late at night. He used to get up at eight o’clock in the morning and hurry to school ________ breakfast. At school, he didn’t use to listen to the ________ carefully. He didn’t use to do ________ . He always copied others’ papers in the tests. But now he doesn’t come to school late. He gets up very early and goes to exercise in the morning. He walks to school after breakfast. He says that he must look after his _________. At school, he often ________ with a group and asks other students for help when he has _________. His classmates usually help him with his trouble. He has made great ________ this term and he got an A in a test last week.