2 . Girls are better at reading and writing than boys as early as fourth grade, according to a study, and the gap continues to widen until senior year.

Scientists generally agree that boys and girls are psychologically more alike than they are different. But reading seems to be a(n)________, with growing evidence suggesting a similar ________in writing. The study, published in the journal American Psychologist, provided further ________ to support this view.

David Reilly, lead author of the study, said the study ________the commonly held view that boys and girls start grade school with the same cognitive abilities. “It appears that the gender gap for writing tasks has been greatly________, and despite our best efforts with changes in teaching methods, that does not appear to be ________ over time,” he said.

Factors explaining the results could include learning ________ being more prevalent among boys; the pressure to conform to masculine (男子汉的) ideals and the idea of reading and language being feminine (女性的); and slight________in how boys and girls use their brain hemispheres (半球), the authors believe.

To investigate how ________ levels differed between boys and girls in the U.S., the team studied data collected over three decades in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. This database of test scores on over 3 million students in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades________national and state performances in a range of subjects, and considered such variables such as disabilities or whether children were English learners. Reading and writing was ________according to children’s understanding of a range of different passages and genres.

________, girls were found to perform significantly better in reading and writing tests by fourth grade when compared with boys of the same age. As children progressed to eighth and twelfth grades, girls continued to ________ boys, but the difference was more noticeable in writing than reading. But what caused this difference in abilities? Evidence suggests ________ problems, such as being disruptive（扰乱性的） in class or being aggressive could be linked to neurological conditions. What is known as lateralization (偏侧化) could also play a role. Boys are believed to use one hemisphere when reading or writing, while girls appear to use both. The data did not, however, provide evidence to argue ________ the two genders having different learning styles.

3 . I was walking down the road one day when my cell phone rang. A _________ voice on the other end spoke to me, “Dad, please come back soon. I miss you so much.” I judged that it was a _________ number. A little while later, the call came once again, so I rudely _________, “You’ve dialed the wrong number!” and then _________ up.

During the following days, I got the same _________ now and then. But I didn’t care much about it. Then one day she constantly called me, _________ I didn’t answer. Finally I answered the phone and heard a weak voice, “Dad, please come back. I miss you so much! Dad, I’m in so much pain! Mom said you were too _________ to take care of me. But, dad, please _________ me again, OK?” The innocent (天真无邪的) request was difficult to _________. I made a loud kiss on the __________. Then I heard the weak __________ say, “Thank you Dad, I am so happy, so happy…”

Shortly after this, I became __________ about who had been on the other end of my phone. So I called __________, and a woman answered, “Sorry, sir. I am really sorry to have bothered you. My daughter has __________ from bone cancer since she was born. And her father __________ in an accident a short while ago. I dare not tell her this __________ news. Poor baby! When she couldn’t bear the painful chemotherapy (化疗), she would cry for her dad, who had always __________ her. I __________ couldn’t bear it, so I gave her a random (任意的) number”.

“How is your daughter now?” I couldn’t wait to __________.

“She has __________. You must have kissed her on the phone, because she went with a smile, tightly holding the cell phone”.

Tears blurred (模糊) my eyes.

5 . This first day of school can be stressful for both parents and children. But for Connor Crites, an eight-year-old Kansas boy living with autism(自闭症), it was _________ terrible until another child _________ in. Connor Crites was beginning his second grade at Minneha Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas. But instead of mixing with other children and exploring the playground, Connor _________ himself from others and stood in the corner _________.

Now, unfamiliar social _________ can be challenging for autistic children to _________. But luckily for Connor, the eight-year-old Bob, who was also starting second grade, noticed him _________ and weeping by himself. Without _________, Bob walked over to Connor and took his hand. Still _________ upset, Connor held onto Bob’s hands as they walked together into a school.

Bob’s mother, Courtney Moore, witnessed the __________ and took a quick photo of the boys. She said, “He grabs his hand and walks him to the front door. We waited until the bell rang, and he walked him inside of the school. The past is history. They have a firm bond.” Moore __________ the photo on Facebook and wrote: “This lesson is a beautiful example of how friendship can come at most __________ moments.” When Connor’s mother Crites saw the photo, she was __________ to tears.

“__________ saved my son．It doesn’t matter the disability, and it doesn’t matter anything, just be kind, and open your heart．It’s what we need in this cold world, which __________ us,” Crites said.

6 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

7 . As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games. I cheered as hard for________as they did. A dramatic incident, however, following a game in which I was a referee(裁判), changed my ________on victory and defeat.

It was a league championship basketball game between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. New Rochelle was________ by Dan O’Brien, and Yonkers by Les Beck The gym was ________, and the noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and ________competed. Yonkers was leading by one point as I________ at the clock and discovered there were but 10 seconds to play. New Rochelle, in possession of the ball, passed off and shot. The ball________ around the rim(篮筐边沿) and off. The fans________. New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The noise was deafening.

I looked at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn’t heard the final buzzer(终场哨) because of the noise. I ________with the other official, but he could not help me. So, I________ the timekeeper, a young man of 17 or so. He said, “Sir, the buzzer________ before the final tap-in(托球入篮) was made. Yonkers won!”

I had to tell O’Brien the sad news. His face clouded over. The young timekeeper came up and said, “I’m sorry, dad. The________ ran out before the final basket.”________ , like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, O’Brien’s face lit up. He said, ”That’s okay, Joe. You did what you had to. I’m ________of you.” The two of them then walked off the _________together, the coach’s arm around his son’s shoulder.

8 . When my daughter was in grade school, she brought home four tiny branches one day. They were small _________ given to the students to plant. None of them looked very strong, but with a _________ for the future, I planted them in our backyard. Over the years the _________ soil brought an end to three of them.

All that was _________ was a single evergreen. It never got very tall and _________ to one side. Then, I noticed that it was starting to _________. The lower branches were becoming brown. Only the top ones of the tree were still _________.

I did my best to _________ it by feeding it a lot of fertilizer (肥料), but it seemed hopeless. One morning I went out and looked at it again, _________ if it would be better to just cut it down. As I walked over to take a closer look at it, __________, I noticed something moving among the branches. It was a bird __________ building a nest (巢) in the topmost branches. I smiled and __________ that maybe this old tree had some life and usefulness left in it yet. It may not be healthy or pretty, but it was still giving a bird a __________.

This tree __________ me that all of our lives have a purpose. It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong, or old and sick. Until our last __________ we still have things to do: love for us to give, and joy for us to share. We can help to make this world a better and lovelier place.

9 . Rarely do teachers know whether they make permanent impressions on students. I know because it _______ to my mother, a retired teacher, when she turned on the _______ one morning in 2003.

The story began in the mid-1960s. My mom was teaching _______ at Burlingame Junior High. I knew little about her job at the time except for the _______ redhead, Tamara, who was _______ writing stories as a seventh-grader in my mom’s class.

I was visiting her in 2003 when my mom came out of her room with a _______ look on her face. She’s been listening to the radio, and she had _______ an interview with a best-selling French author. Tamara Pierce—the same name as that of the redhead my mom had taught nearly four _______ before. My mother _______ : Could it be the same person?

I _______ the Internet and quickly found the website for the author. My heart began to beat rapidly when I _______ it at the bottom—here was _______ that my mother had taught a now famous writer!

“I should _______ my writing career to my English teacher. (Bless you, Mrs. Jacobsen!)”

This story makes me consider how nice it would be if we all let our favorite _______ teachers know their work _______.

10 . My mother used to ask me, “What is the most important part of the body?” Through the years I would ________ the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought ________ was very important to us as humans, so I said, “My ears, Mummy.” She said, “No. Many people are ________. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.”

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first ________. I had often thought over the question. So this time I told her, Mummy, it must be our eyes.“ She looked at me and said, ”You are ________ fast. but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.“

________ the years, mother asked me a couple more ________ and always her response to my answers was, ”No. but you are getting ________ every year, my child.“ Then last year, my Grandpa ________. Everybody was heartbroken. Everybody was crying. My mother looked at me when it was our ________ to say our final good-bye to Grandpa. She asked me, ”Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?“

I was ________ when she was asking me this now. I always thought this was a ________ between her and me. She saw the ________ on my face and told me, ”This question is very important. It shows that you have really ________ your life.“ I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, ”My dear, the most important body part is your ________.“ I asked, ”Is it because they hold up your head?“ She replied, ”No, it is ________ on them a crying friend or loved one can rest their head. I only hope that you have enough ________ and friends that you will have a shoulder to cry ________ when you need it.“ Then and there I understood the most important body part is not a ________ one. It is sympathetic(同情的) to the pain of ________.