1 . For over a year, Dianne’s reality has been a daily 5-mile trek (跋涉) to work and back on foot. Her broken-down car was a constant _________ of her financial restrictions. Regardless of the weather, Dianne’s _________ never changed. She didn’t _________ the walk; it was the missed moments with her daughter and grandchildren, the school events she couldn’t attend, that weighed _________ on her heart. Yet, late January presented her with an _________ opportunity.

On a particularly cold day, Dianne paused at a local gas station to _________. That was when she _________ something unusual — a ziplock bag (自封袋) on the ground. Full of _________, she picked it up, immediately realizing it contained _________. The exact amount was unknown to her, but the thought of keeping it never __________ her mind. Dianne approached the gas station cashier, requesting she call the police. When the police __________, they discovered the bag held over $ 14,000, alongside wedding cards — gifts meant for a newly-married couple.

Dianne’s __________ was appreciated, and she thought that was the end of the story. Little did she know, her act was about to be rewarded. __________ by Dianne’s actions, the wife of the officer who responded to the call started a GoFundMe campaign in Dianne’s honor. The fund-raiser collected $ 82,000, a(n) __________ to the power of collective kindness. Thanks to the __________ of strangers, Dianne became the proud owner of a new Jeep Compass. The joy of mobility restored, she eagerly anticipated attending her granddaughter’s gymnastics competition.

2 . A homeowner is puzzled by two dolls moving into his mailbox one day. Don Powell said the two dolls ________ in his mailbox last summer with a ________ that read: “We’ve decided to live here. Mary and Shelley.”

He asked his neighbors if anyone else had ________ dolls in their mailbox but no one had. It’s important to note that Powell has a mailbox that looks ________ to his actual home. So, he could see why a doll family might want to ________ .

His first thought was to ________ the couple and their belongings into the garbage can. But then, ________, he changed his mind. He pushed the couple and their belongings to the ________ of the mailbox and started doing his own business.

But this was just the ________. Soon after, someone dropped off a dog for the doll couple living in the mailbox. Over time more ________ started to appear inside the mailbox including a carpet, chair, and a bed.

By Christmas time, Shelley and Mary ________ some wrapped presents and a little Christmas tree. After a while, Powell turned to social media to see whether anyone would ________ they put the dolls in his mailbox, or if they ________ who did. But no one came forward.

“I’m kind of enjoying the mystery,” he said. “I look forward to ________ things being added to the mailbox.” Powell said although the dolls have found a home inside his mailbox, it doesn’t disturb his mailman from ________ his letters.

3 . When Karl Goldstein was a kid, he took piano lessons every Saturday morning with a family friend. But when Goldstein was 12, his teacher told his ________ that he needed better instruction. So his mother took him to a music school, and ________ for classes taught by Alice Shapiro who was known for being ________. On the first day, she told Goldstein that he had to memorize the ________ of the Beethoven Sonata within a week.

“Well, I don’t think I can do that,” Goldstein hesitated.

“But you must do it,” the teacher said ________.

This was nothing like his ________ Saturday mornings with his former teacher, and it wasn’t ________ before Goldstein decided that he didn’t want to take piano lessons anymore. He ________ he’d pick up another instrument, or maybe just ________ himself the piano after the semester.

But a few words of encouragement from the music teacher changed Goldstein’s ________. One day, Shapiro turned to him and said something ________, “I am really happy that you have made remarkable progress within such a short time! I am sure you’re not going to ________.”

The encouragement transformed their relationship ________ and it was the beginning of a long and ________ relationship.

“Years later, I became a piano teacher and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 50 years. I ________ it all to the precious moment with my seemingly tough teacher, Alice Shapiro.”

4 . I am one of the healthcare assistants in our neighborhood charity organization. Our _____________ is to support families and the individuals who are in the end-of-life stage. We do whatever they need us to do. We can’t change the inevitable, but we can make a   _____________   .

Working for the charity, we operate every single day of the year, and I find myself _____________even on holidays. You might assume that helping to _____________   a person facing death would be a sad experience. But what may _____________   you is that it’s not. The families make the most of the time they have _____________   . They remain _____________ . Everyone knows what’s coming; they understand that their loved one is _____________ , but it’s not a time for   _____________; it’s a time of togetherness and warmth.

I remember one particular family with three sisters and the fourth who was in the end-of-life stage. When I arrived, she was   _____________ , and I knew she might not   _____________ it through the night. But sitting with the sisters, talking about their childhood and sharing photos, it was a special time for me. The patient had asked for _____________ earlier that day, and they made sure she got them. She went to sleep, and we lost her that night. The sisters   _____________ it, they thanked me, and it was a(n)   _____________ experience. I’ll always remember the sweet and bitter peaches!

There are some heartbreaking situations, but when we are there   _____________ the end, making the affair easier for the families, love outshines darkness.

6 . Every morning, Robiuson, the 41-year-old charity worker, will leave his home to set out on his lonely marathons, all before a full day’s work. He’s doing it to ________ money for Hope for Justice.

Robinson follows a strict ________, waking up and starting his run at 4 am, and running five hours. Robinson lost 11kg when starting, but his ________ tended to be stable as his body ________, and he runs along a familiar ________ through Wanstead Park, Wanstead Flats and Epping Forest. Despite facing ________ such as colds, flu and food poisoning, he remains committed to ________ the marathons.

Robinson’s runs are ________ using a running app on his watch. His knees and hips (髋) are fine so far, but he’s ________ four pairs of running shoes.

While running in the dark, sometimes Robinson even meets with a cow. However, he generally ________ peaceful runs, occasionally witnessing minor incidents like fly-tipping (乱丢垃圾). To make his runs unique and ________, he eats a chocolate bar every mile.

Robinson’s dogs play a crucial role in his motivation, and he would pause if they showed signs of ________. However, they continue to love ________ alongside him. His devotion also arises from the hard economic times that we are living in and the impact this has had on charity ________.

Yet, 365 marathons in one year is not enough for him. His ________ are now set on breaking the unofficial record of 607 runs in 607 days set 10 years ago.

7 . It was January 2016, when dark clouds hid the day. Jeremy and his girlfriend, Molei Wright, were _________ for a weekend of fun with friends on the slopes in Breckenridge, Colorado. They were two _________ Colorado natives: ambitious and _________, both lovers of books, music, the outdoors. They’d been together for less than a year, but it had taken only a few dates to realise that they could be well _________. As the car began the winding climb toward the destination, the snow came earlier than they’d _________, but Jeremy wasn’t worried. He’d driven this route a thousand times, and he knew exactly what to do. However, a truck _________ them. One minute, Jeremy’s car was _________ smoothly through the falling snow; the next, he found himself pinned to his seat by the wheel and he _________ with pain. To his right he saw Molei, who was injured seriously, without motion and reaction. Jeremy fell into _________.

Henry, an officer on holiday trained in emergency medicine, was driving on the same road not far behind Jeremy and __________ instantly when he saw the wreck. While his wife calmed the trapped and __________ Jeremy, Henry worked __________. Protecting Molei’s head and neck, he carefully pulled her out of the wreckage (残骸) and __________ her chest to bring her heart back to life. Meanwhile, Henry’s wife called the emergency center, and soon an ambulance arrived and rushed Molei to a hospital, where she was treated __________. If it hadn’t been Henry’s professional first aid, Molie couldn’t have made it to hospital alive. It was really a __________.

8 . My dad worked in construction. His day started early and ended late. When he got home, all he ________ to do was lie on the couch and relax.

One hot summer, when my parents’ wedding anniversary (周年纪念日) was ________, they made plans to eat out. When the big day ________ arrived, Dad got home at seven. He was obviously tired. “Honey, I just need a thirty-minute sleep and then we’ll eat out for ________ ,” he said as he lay on the couch.

I knew how important that evening was to Mom, but before long Dad was ________. Then Mom did the strangest thing. She ________ the refrigerator and took out eggs and bacon. Soon she had some biscuits baking in the oven.

Mom ________ a plate with a lot of his favorite foods. Then she bent over and kissed him while whispering in his ear, “Time to ________ , honey.”

As Dad looked up, he found Mom standing in front of him with his dinner. I’ll never ________ the love that passed between them. “Honey, I promised you I’d take you out to dinner and I ________ it,” he said sincerely.

She kissed him on the cheek, “I know you would, but I’m also ________ that you’ve had a hard day and you’re tired. What’s important is that we’re together.”

That ________ on love is still with me today five decades later. Whenever I imagine how ________ they’re to be together in heaven, a sweet peace and comfort falls over me, the same way I felt when I   ________ their great love for each other on that night when Mom made Dad a ________ anniversary dinner.

9 . A 17-year-old teenager who got lost while on a snowmobiling (摩托雪橇) trip in the Canadian wilderness was safely rescued on Saturday evening. He was found in good _________, as he had built himself a snow cave to hole up until he was rescued. “It would have been a (n) _________ night,” the teen,_________ as Robert, told reporters.

Robert went snowmobiling that afternoon with his father James and his brother Peter near Mahood Lake. At some point, James stopped to _________ Peter when Peter’s snowmobile got stuck, but Robert did not realize they were not _________ him. He wound up in a(n) _________ area, where he turned to the steep slopes and got _________. “I tried to get back the way I came, but I destroyed the trail (痕迹) in the _________.” Robert said.

Trying to find a temporary _________, the young snowmobiler left his ____________ in an open field and headed towards a tree line, where he built a snow cave to warm up and wait for help. “It look me about an hour to ____________ build it,” said Robert. Meanwhile, his family had returned lo a parking lot, where Robert never ____________.

“This young man made our task a little less ____________ by staying in place and having some backcountry winter survival ____________.” South Cariboo Search & Rescue (SCSR) said in a statement. “He displayed some real ____________ choices there.”

10 . Financial trouble had distanced us from the life that was. We decided to _________ our home. But first, we’d have to deal with two hugely _________ hollies (冬青树) that have overtaken the front of the house.

We called landscapers (园艺师). The news wasn’t _________. 20-plus years of neglect left us with only two _________: Let them be or tear them out. The idea of cutting off all that life just for a better view _________ us. We have never owned any green thing that grew well, except for those crazy hollies. But we still scheduled the _________.

Over the two weeks before cutting, though, the trees _________ me. So I emailed one last landscaper. I pinned my hopes on that. Daria came to our front lawn and said, “These can’t be trimmed (修剪).” “The trunks are too _________,” she added. “I can cut them down to about 2 feet of trunk and see if they’ll grow.”

See if they’ll grow? Months? Years? I said nothing, but Daria could read our _________. “If nothing happens,” she said, “we’ll get you some new ones.” We gave her the green light.

But weeks later, I __________ the front bed. Three or four bunches of tiny leaves __________ from one trunk. It was the __________ of small, good things arriving.

Each day, they made us smile, __________ us to have patience and gave us hope that all of us have the __________ to heal. For that, we thank those quiet, strong hollies, now __________ to the spring, as we look forward to starting fresh.