1 . Last June, my sister, Katy, graduated from high school. I didn’t think much about it then because I was ____ a great summer holiday. But when the ____ came to an end, I started to ____ that soon my sister would be off to college. 

At the end of August, my ____ drove to my grandparents’ house near Katy’s ____. The next day we ____ to the campus and helped arrange all her things. After getting everything ____ and chatting with her roommates for a while, we headed for our car. We all stood there ____ and kissing her, telling her how much we ____ her and wishing her luck. I looked at my mom and saw her starting to cry. 

As we were pulling out of the parking lot, we ____ our arms to say the last goodbye to her. I would have never ____ that I was going to feel that sad. I was ____ to accept the fact that I wouldn’t be seeing my sister. I was once ____ that I would jump with joy the day Katy left for college, but deep down I knew I would ____ miss her. 

Even now, I miss her and have to keep ____ myself that she is not around. The Internet and telephone are ready for us to communicate. I’m more than delighted that I can talk to her online or on the phone. 

So, to all those little brothers and sisters, treasure the time you have with your siblings (兄弟姐妹). They may be a pain sometimes but once they’re gone, you’ll almost wish you had that pain back.

2 . I’d never been to the Day of the Dead before. As my dad and I looked around for seats, I _______ Marco, my best friend, hurrying toward us. “Hi, Mr. O’kane,” he _______ my dad. Then he turned to me and said, “Nate! Will you help me?” 

“Whatever you need,” I said.

Marco threw me parts of a _______: Mexican sandals (凉鞋), a straw hat, a cane (手杖), a gray wig, and an “old man” mask (面具). “My cousin couldn’t _______!” Marco’s voice rang with worry. 

“It’s part of a traditional dance,” he said,“and we should wear the costume.”

“You expect me to dance? ” I _______. “I don’t want to dance!” 

Marco smiled. “It’ll be fun. And hurry! We’re going to be _______.”  

“We’re going to do a lot of stomping (跺脚). Slow at first. Keep one hand _______ on your back, like an old man with an ache,” added Marco. 

The speakers _______: “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for TheDanceoftheLittleOldMen!” 

“Be quick,” Marco _______ to me to follow his lead. 

We all began stomping slowly to music. I could only see ________ the small holes of the mask. I continued to stomp, trying to ________ what to do. I leaned on my cane and kept a hand low on my back. After a few minutes of dancing like that, my back ________ started to ache. 

The music ________. And we stomped quickly. Performing with Mexican sandals was ________ and inconvenient. People laughed as we hopped and kicked, but after a moment the laughter turned into cheers. 

Marco gave me a thumbs⁃up. As the audience clapped for our group, I said to him happily, “You were right. That was ________.”

3 . I met Daisy Banks on the way to Maghar. She was walking down the road with her white stick, and I saw her walking toward a muddy _______. If she continued, she might _______ into the water. Not wanting this to happen, I stopped my _______ and called out, “There’s a hole in front of you, Daisy. If it’s all right with you, I’ll _______ you to your place.”  

She happily _______. I took her bag so that she could climb on my motorbike. We talked about her_______and I discovered she was on the way to her school.  

Daisy had called me a couple of times since our chance _______. However, I had been unable to meet her _______ my busy schedules. Finally, we _______ at the Mahdu Mall. We talked about a range of issues, and I came to________ that Daisy possessed knowledge which would challenge that of many ________ fit people.  

Although she has a mother and three brothers, Daisy has been ________ on her own for the past years. She cooks for herself and washes her own clothes while ________ to teach every morning at Maghar Primary School. While doing her ________,she tries to remember people, places, and things in order to manage her daily life. She is a(n) ________ person, telling me that she made the decision to live alone after her brothers said they would take turns to look after her each month. Daisy felt this would hurt her. I really admire her confidence and the way she carries herself in her life.

4 . Volunteers in New York call on people to donate their used iPads to help poor patients keep in touch with their families online.

Some people with COVID-19 died alone in hospital physically _________ from their friends and family, which is a heartbreaking situation. This terrible reality _________ on a group of volunteers. Their goal is to connect patients with family members who are unable to be present ___________ hospital restrictions (限制) on visitors. They plan to collect used iPads from across the country and donate them to _________ in communities where the need is extremely _________. Nicolas Heller, a 31-year-old volunteer, said thousands of people had_________ from the disease in isolation (隔离) without the comforting words or _________ from a loved one. Heller is collecting used iPads for patients who do not _________ smart phones capable of video chatting.

By Friday morning, the volunteer group had _________ 375 used iPads from donors (捐赠者) nationwide. So far, 300 of the iPads have been __________ donated to Brooklyn’s University Hospital of Brooklyn. The volunteers were amazed by the donors’ __________. What the volunteers are doing is __________ people’s iPads that are not used anymore to help those patients in hospitals. These iPads can __________ medical staff to communicate with patients from outside of the room, decreasing their __________ of being exposed to the virus.

No one is an island. __________, we can make the world warmer.

5 . Several years ago I went on a trip alone to Mozambique. Our bus broke down by the side of the road. There was certainly nothing in the way of _________ or campsites or any kind of place to sleep. I _________ I’d just have to bed down on the roadside like others. But I was pretty _________ at the idea. Most everyone else was traveling with their families or other _________, and here I was, a very young woman, alone, with pale white skin that just screamed out “I’m a foreigner and do not _________ here.” Besides I spoke Portuguese reasonably _________ but not any of the local dialects, which _________ my difficulty.

I was trying to work out what to do when I _________ one of the women passengers I’d been chatting with _________ to me. “Come with me,” she said. I was then taken to the nearby village, where she lived. She and her large family __________ me that night. We had chips and matapa, a delicious Mozambican dish. Her kids laughed and circled around and were __________ to have a visit from a real white person. I couldn’t __________ a lot of the conversation, because only the woman spoke Portuguese, but I felt so __________ despite my foreignness.

This kind-hearted woman accommodated (提供住宿) a __________ a night spent shaking in __________ and hunger by the side of the road.

6 . My grandfather died in 1970, leaving my grandmother living in their old house alone. Shortly after that, we went to the animal shelter and picked out a little dog to accompany Grandma. The dog was named Penny.

Grandma and Penny quickly became very attached (喜爱的) to each other, and that attachment grew much _________as the years passed—they became very _________. When Grandma went to _________, Penny walked along and lay _________ her until she woke up. As Penny aged, she could no longer jump up on the _________ to lie next to Grandma, so she lay on the blanket beside the bed. Grandma never went anywhere without her partner by her side.

The time came when both my grandmother and Penny were becoming _________.Grandma had been sent to hospital several times, and Penny couldn’t _________ around very well. When Grandma was in hospital, Penny would sit at the window _________ out for the car bringing Grandma home and would _________ wait at the door when Grandma came through. Each homecoming was a great meeting again between the two.

On Christmas Day in 1985, Grandma was again taken to the hospital. Penny, __________, sat at the window watching out for the car bringing Grandma home. Two mornings later, I __________ she couldn’t stand and wouldn’t eat. Later, she had difficulty in breathing. I quickly __________ her to the hospital where Grandma stayed to let her see her __________ for the last time. There, as soon as Penny saw Grandma, Penny’s eyes brightened suddenly and then slowly __________. Grandma left this world several hours later.

After fifteen years of loving friendship, Grandma and Penny passed away on the same day. God had it all worked out — Penny was waiting at the door to __________ her when Grandma came home.

7 . “You’re very talented, dear. I hope everything turns out great. I’ll tell my friends about the animal shelter (避难处),” a kind old lady told Conrad, who smiled ______ as she left $20 in his hat.

Conrad was proud of what he was doing and people in the ______ loved hearing him sing and play his ______. The 11-year-old didn’t know how much money the local animal shelter _____.

His mother, Sandy, worked at the shelter and had always been a(n) ______ animal lover. Therefore, he grew to be fond of animals as well. ______, he recently heard his mother telling a friend that the shelter was not doing well. It ______ on donations (捐赠), and not much donations were ______. This made the boy very ______. So he grabbed his guitar and ______ the local town park to sing and play.

He placed a ______ to tell people he was doing it to raise (募捐) money for the animal shelter, which helped greatly. People ______ and gave him mostly $1 and change, and others, such as the kind old lady, were more ______. He was grateful to everyone and continued playing songs and ______ money.

Raise your kids to love animals, and they’ll be better people. Caring for innocent animals makes people more selfless, ______ and caring. That’s why Conrad used his skills to raise funds, knowing how vital the shelter was.

8 . When I was a teenager, I was invited to a formal dance party. I was _________, but also nervous about what to wear. Mom suggested I wear high heels (高跟鞋).

“Mom, I don’t know if I can wear these,” I said, feeling _________. “Don’t worry, sweetie. Just take small _________ and keep your weight centered,” she suggested.

As I arrived at the party, I tried to be _________ and act like everything was fine. But _________ struck when I stepped onto the dance floor. I _________ my own feet, falling to the ground in front of everyone.

I quickly got up and laughed it off, pretending like it was _________. But deep down, I felt like a tomato, wanting to _________.

My friend Lilly helped me _________ that incident and managed me another high heels as a support so that nobody would understand my hesitation. But a little bit __________ continued in my mind.

When I returned home, I told Mom I felt like a complete __________ at the party. “It’s okay. You tried something new, and it didn’t go as __________. But that’s how we learn and grow. Don’t be too __________ on yourself and wear what you feel __________ in,” Mom said, giving me a hug.

From that day forward, I stuck to flat shoes. I learned to __________ my true self and not worry about what others thought.

10 . I went with some colleagues for dinner in a very popular local restaurant. It was ________ business time and the restaurant was crowded.

As we were waiting for a table, we heard a crash when a cleaning boy________the floor with all the plates he was carrying. There was ________ and no one was saying or doing anything. In a flash I remembered my ________ many years ago. At one time, I ________ when I was on business. I had a high fever but luckily was taken care of by two ________. Then this was my chance to ________ it forward.

I had learned some first-aid lessons before, so I ran to the boy’s side________, turned him on his back and screamed for someone to ________ a hot drink. The boy soon opened his eyes,________ what had happened. And so I ________ him by saying it was OK. I held the warm drink to his mouth till he________ it. At that time the manager arrived, who was kind enough to look after the boy. By the time all this was over, we hadn’t________anything yet, and we decided to go home.

I slowly walked home, not hungry any more, feeling________for the opportunity to pay forward the _______ I had received many years ago.