1 . As I was walking along the river one day, enjoying some hot chocolate with the sun shining down on me on a nice spring day, I was in the mood to do something nice for a ________ and started looking around for an opportunity. Not long after that, I found I was ________ by a complete stranger and he started talking to me aggressively. I could tell he was probably ________ due to a strong smell of alcohol, so I just stayed calm and kept walking ahead. There were hundreds of people ________ around nearby, so I wasn’t that worried.

As I tried to change my ________, he kept following me. At one point, he literally cornered me near the rail next to the river. I got really ________, praying that one of the many people nearby who watched this whole episode unfold would be ________ enough to help me out of the situation.

________ later, a couple passed by me and had seen everything happen. Just when I felt completely helpless, the lady came along, linked her arm into mine and said, “Darling, why don’t you come with us?” and started ________ me away from the guy. ________, her husband stayed between us and the guy and gestured for him to walk in the other direction. The guy started swearing and getting angry, while the sweet lady ________ me, saying don’t worry. Finally, once he left, she said, “Why don’t you carry on walking where you were going and we’ll make sure he goes away and leaves you ________.” As I rushed away, I was still badly shaken, but at the same time had feelings of immense ________ for this random couple who chose to ________ me. Here I was, thinking I was on a mission to do a random act of kindness, when instead, I ended up on the ________ end. I guess it is equally important to learn how to receive and to feel grateful for the kindness of others.

2 . In 1970, Alan Ayers was preparing for a skydiving competition in Gainesville, Florida. It wasn’t the first time he’d jumped out of a ______, but it was almost his last.

Ayers would be jumping out of a Cessna 172, a small four-seat passenger plane. In ______, the passenger door and front passenger seat were ______ so that they wouldn’t disturb their skydive. However, the passenger side seat belt was still there. Ayers’ teammates jumped first, leaving him and the pilot as the only two people ______ in the plane. It was Ayers’ ______. But as he stepped out into the air, his ______ got caught in the passenger side seat belt.

“I was ______ out of the plane on my back, staring up at the belly of the Cessna, with only my boot ______ to the pilot. I tried to pull myself up to reach the buckle (搭扣), but I just couldn’t,” Ayers recalled. Thousands of feet in the air, hanging from the plane, Ayers was ______.

“And what happened next was ______,” Ayers said. “The 23-year-old pilot unbuckled her seat belt, bent down, with both hands off the yoke (操纵杆), and ______ my ankle.” Ayers fell away from the plane, opened his chute (降落伞) and landed safely.

After landing, he wasn’t able to ______ the pilot and thank her because the plane had flown to another city. But more than 50 years later, she often ______ his mind. “To this day, I can see her two hands ______ the door to unbuckle the belt,” Ayers said. “I owe my life to this person and will always think of her as one of the ______ people imaginable.”

3 . I’m Katya — I’m turning 29 this year. When I was growing up, I was always full of ________; I’d be that one kid who never wanted a ________, to stop playing, or to stop running.

As I started to ________, I began to notice that I was very restless. I was ________ struggling with concentration. I wasn’t able to ________ properly even though I was tired. My work was ________ quite badly as the months went on.

But really, deep down, even though I knew there was something wrong, I didn’t seek any ________ or help — because I was ashamed. I was brought up with the ________ that things like depression, anxiety, or whatever else were just made-up things to make lazy people feel better.

One night, everything became too much, and I ________. Sitting there, crying and ________ what to do, I suddenly realized something: ________ health needs to be treated as seriously as you would treat a broken arm.

I was diagnosed with ADHD (多动症) — and you know what? I was ________. I finally understood what was causing me to feel the way I did. The doctor mentioned a few ________, but one that stood out was an app called Sensa. It’s essentially a companion app that takes your individual needs into account and tailors a plan specific to them. Since using it, I’ve felt more in control over my ________. I’m able to actually focus on what I want to do.

By ________ what is causing you problems, you start the road to solving them.

4 . Growing up I never wanted to be “just a mum”. I thought that when I’d have my own children I would take some time off but then ease back into the workforce fairly _________.

My twin girls entered the world as _________ premature babies. I’m not sure if that made me even more _________ of them, but when the time came to organise my re-turn to work I_________. I thought after twelve months of singing nursery rhymes, playing peekaboo (躲猫猫) and_________the baby food preparation I’d be_________ to use my brain again.

As it turns out, that’s not the case. I love staying with my daughters, being_________, cooking food, singing songs and reading books. Yes, some _________do become very repetitive, especially when they’re very young. But the older my two get, the more fun _________ them becomes.

A while back. I sat down with my partner and we discussed my __________ to work. As we don’t have any family in New Zealand we would have to rely on __________ , and with twins you have to earn a decent wage to make working __________.

But at the moment I feel that I’m the best person to__________with my girls. Why would I pay somebody to do a job I love? And in the end we let my __________ decide. Now I’m a proud stay-at-home mum.

When people who haven’t got long to live are asked if they have any __________,no one ever says spending too much time with their children, but many say working too much.

5 . Frost is known as an old-fashioned, closely connected community, where only 198 people live. In Frost, Minnesota, a farmer named Scott Legried ________ his car while driving off the road to miss a German shepherd dog. He saved the dog, but ________ a number of injuries including several broken bones and a concussion (脑震荡). His community came to his rescue, harvesting his ________ for him.

“I got knocked out and when I ________, I couldn’t move,” Scott told The Washington Post. “I couldn’t ________ reach up to get my cellphone from the instrument board of my truck. I ________ saying, ‘Lord, I’m going to need some help here in the next 5 or 10 minutes’.”

A driver driving through the area ________ Scott and called 911. He was taken to the ________. Doctors told him he would need several months to ________ before he could drive a tractor again. This ________ he would not be able to get in his soybeans and corn.

When his community heard the news, they made a ________ to harvest Legried’s crops. More than a dozen ________ from surrounding towns showed up at Legried’s farm with their machines. Others organized lunches for the group. They also ________ his dogs while he was in the hospital.

“This is a(n) ________ time of year for farmers, so it meant the world to me,” said Legried, who lives alone. “But I guess I ________ wasn’t surprised. I’ m lucky to live in a community where people have always looked out for each other.”

6 . Johnnie Cowboy and his wife Monica call on people to think of their old neighbors who generally don’t handle the heat as well as younger people in hot weather.

They don’t _________ anyone to do what they themselves would not. Actually, they’ve done this for a decade.

They live in Kingsbury Towers Apartment, and the apartment is called _________ by thousands of residents. All of the residents know that at some _________, Cowboy and Monica will come knocking on their door to make sure they’re _________!

Each day, they go through their _________ to chat with elderly neighbors who might not be able to get out as _________ as others. They make supply runs for them and _________ their air conditioning is working. Monica says she will often call the management if they can’t _________ the resident inside.

Since older people are more likely to suffer heatstroke (中暑), staying _________ is important to help maintain their __________. However, sometimes it’s hard to tell if you’re overheated when you __________ alone. That’s where their visits __________!

No one asked the __________ to check on the well-being of their neighbors, but they did it __________! Sometimes we just have to do what’s __________ without being asked.

7 . I was in first grade in Mrs. Bauer’s class at a time when elementary schools held student gift swaps. I was to _______ toys with Paul, a boy I knew little about.

I bought a Matchbox car for Paul. After all, all boys _________ such toys. However, the gift Paul _________ for me was a small plastic Santa Claus on green snow skis. It surely cost much less.

As Paul and other boys raced their new Matchbox cars delightedly in the classroom, I tried to hold back hot tears. Though I felt _________, I started racing my skiing Santa alongside the Matchbox cars. Truthfully, I wasn’t trying to erase any _________ Paul might have felt for giving such a cheap gift. I _________ didn’t want to feel left out.

When school was over, Mrs. Bauer asked me to remain behind for a moment. I sat _________ at my desk, having no idea what I’d done wrong. When we were alone, she said to me with great _________, “I’m proud of you for not showing your _________. That would have hurt Paul’s feelings. You gave him a very nice __________ that made him cheerful, and you should be __________ about that.” Mrs. Bauer’s message, which I didn’t fully __________ at that time, was that it is better to give than to receive.

Afterwards, I became __________ with Paul. I found his socks always had holes in them. He shared a tiny bedroom with two sisters, and his dad had died. That skiing Santa might have been all Paul could __________ to give. I suddenly realized it was far more __________ than any other gift.

8 . Recently I was very busy and I needed a timeout. So I decided to drive to the supermarket and pick up dinner instead of doing my usual ______.

In the supermarket, I took fat and juicy chicken and some warm cornbread. As the cashier began processing my items, I______my bag for my credit card. However, I realized my wallet was not there. In______, I told the cashier I had left my money at home and apologized sincerely, offering to______my items to where I______them. Just at that moment the supermarket owner appeared, saying “Please, take everything home and______the dinner. It’s on the house tonight!” I tried to______the lovely offer but he______a dark chocolate bar near the counter and said, “Here! Take this, too!” His act of______lifted everybody present. I thanked him______for making my day.

When I approached home, as I______into my driveway, I saw my next-door neighbor had just mowed my lawn (草坪). He was putting on the finishing touches, clearing the cut grass. Feeling______, I jumped out of my car and asked him how much he wanted for his ______, to which he replied,“Nothing at all. The lawn needed doing.” He______me off summarily as he returned to his home. A second scoop of good______had landed in my lap, which again reminded me kindness is everywhere in the world.

9 . Working in animal rescue is often heartbreaking for volunteers, but there are moments of joy that would never be possible without their tireless efforts.

Joey Wagner enjoys volunteering. Back in 2013, Joey received a(n)_________about a severely abused dog. He hung up and _________ for the place all at once. When he saw the little dog, he _________ realized the dog was hours away from death.

Joey and another rescuer _________ the dog, which they named Mojo，to the animal shelter. Many people requested to adopt Mojo. However, its _________ was so bad that it was not considered. In spite of the fact that it’d been_________, Mojo was loving towards humans and showed an enormous capacity to _________. Mojo gradually recovered under the care of other volunteers of the animal shelter.

When it was finally able to find its forever home, Joey was the first in line to fill out the _________paperwork. And it was natural that the shelter _________ Joey’s application. Still, when Joey appeared to bring Mojo home, no one could have predicted the little dog’s reaction to seeing its__________ again!

The moment Mojo saw Joey，its little tail began to wag(摇)crazily to its __________ dad.

“It definitely __________ you. It was unexpected to other volunteers as the __________ dog climbed into his arms for more hugs and kisses.

Mojo is now a healthy member of Joey and Leta’s pack and the Wagners have continued to use its story as a(n)__________ to drive donations and awareness for animal rescue. Mojo knew that Joey helped it at its lowest. Their bond can never be __________.

10 . As an engineering student, I had a degree and three good job offers. I couldn’t help trembling when I heard about studies which showed that women are at a(n) _______ when it comes to math. However, I discovered: just because a subject is _______ to learn, it does not show you are not good at it. You just have to grit your teeth and work harder to get good at it. _______ you do, there’s a(n) _______ chance you will enjoy it more than anything else.

In eighth grade I took algebra (代数). On one test I got only 1 percent of the _______ answers. I failed the next one, too. I started to _______ maybe I’m just not good at this. I was lucky enough to have a teacher who didn’t take my bad grades as a judgment of my _______, but _______ as an indication that I should study more. He _______ me aside and told me he knew I could do better. Success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties. I ________ the following tests, and pulled my grade up to an A.

I studied a lot in college, too. I had moments of fear while sitting below the fluorescent lights in the ________ library on Saturday afternoons, when I ________ that the estrogen (雌性激素) in my body was ________ me from understanding thermodynamics (热动力学). But the ________ in my class had to work just as hard, and I knew that I couldn’t ________ to lose confidence in myself. I didn’t want to choose between my femininity (女人气) and a good career. ________ I reminded myself that those ________, the ones that say math comes more naturally to men, are faulty.

Here’s a secret: math and science don’t go ________ to most people. No one was ________ born knowing calculus (微积分). But as a famous saying goes: Nothing is difficult if you put your heart into it. A woman can learn anything a man can, but first she needs to know that she can do it, and then takes a leap of ________.