3 . A lot of people admired our neighbor. One day a delivery truck unloaded a large ________ system at their house. And the kids discussed the new music equipment my neighbor had just bought. Meantime, we were living in a house decorated ________ and dressing our kids in second-hand clothes. We lived a ________ life.

My poor mother-in-law, in town for a visit, got to hear my complaints that night. “I feel so ________ sometimes,” I told her, as we ________ the table after dinner. “I know we’re doing the right thing, living frugally (节俭的), saving money, but it feels so hard. There are so many things I’d like to ________, so many things I’d like to do, but we just can’t.”

She ________ as she folded a cloth napkin in silence. Then she turned to me and said, “When you make a comparison between yourself and others, it’s easy to ________ what you don’t have. But there’s one thing you two do that many other couples may ________ to do. You two often go out together and take time to focus on your_________. And that’s a very important thing.”

I stopped wiping the table and ________ for a minute. I thought of the movie my husband and I had seen a week earlier. I ________ the bike rides, the hikes and the picnics. Most of all, I remembered how ________ we were together, even after twenty years. How many people can say that?

I looked around my home in a new ________. Our refrigerator was too small for a family of six, but it was ________ filled with delicious food. Our kitchen was small and we had no big TV, but we’re happy! And that’s enough!

5 . Over 30 years ago a book titled “The Alchemist” was published and it was ______ noticed. The author of this book was a man named Paulo Coelho, and he was told by the first bookseller that only one person bought a copy after it was ______. As bad as it was to hear about the unpleasant results, Coelho remained ______. 

Paulo Coelho waited for ______ results to appear. Unfortunately, six months passed ______ he sold his next copy. After that first year the publisher decided the book was a ______ and ended Coelho’s contract. Fortunately, Coelho made up his mind to not ______, and so he made efforts to pursue his vision with even more passion by finding another ______. 

Now, Coelho found a new publisher, but it was no ______ task, as he encountered rejection after rejection. But, after many repeated rejections, he finally ______ that new publisher, and with it, another opportunity to ______ his dream.

______, he only sold three thousand books. But as time went by, he would sell ten thousand, and then 100 thousand, and so on and so forth. 

Coelho’s ______ has yet to run out, as his books sales continue to grow year over year, with now over 150 million and counting copies of “The Alchemist” having been sold. Even more ______ is the fact that he sold over 320 million books when including all of his other following works. But, it all started with that ______ book!

6 . One January evening in 2008, Rachel Lapierre bought a $4 lottery ticket (彩票) at the grocery store. After a tiring day in a full-time emergency-room, she needed something to _________ her spirits.

For years, Lapierre had done humanitarian work and she longed to be able to one day _________ her nursing job and focus on the volunteer work she found most _________. She decided that if she ever won the lottery, that’s what she would do.

Lapierre went home and scratched (刮出) her ticket, _________ three sunny faces. Not sure what they _________, she took it to a corner store, where she was informed that she had won a sum of $6,75,000.

Staying _________ to her word, Lapierre stopped her nursing job and devoted her life to helping others through her passion project, Le Book Humanitaire, which has since become a registered _________.

Le Book, as Lapierre, now 62,   _________ calls it, began as a simple list of good deeds she wrote down in a notebook. She had been using it to keep _________ of what she had done to help those living around her.

To her, the deeds were just small acts of __________ such as delivering a meal to an __________ senior or giving medical attention to someone living on the streets. But word started __________, her phone began ringing and a Facebook page she created for the project became an efficient way to __________ requests from those in need and those who wanted to help.

“When you do a good deed, it has a butterfly effect,” says Lapierre. “One good deed can __________ ten people. So if we all do a good deed? That can __________ the world.”

8 . I grew up in a small town in Ohio, where everyone knew a man called Tom. Uneducated, he couldn’t talk plainly. And because he was _______ and not very smart, everyone teased him. I guess he was an easy mark.

One day, he came walking by. I was about 12 and thought it would make me feel grown-up to _______ him like the adults did.

He asked how I was doing. I told him my father was _______ , and that we lacked money. I could hear my friends _______ in the background so I went on with the lie. I had him _______ so completely that every time he inquired about the situation, I would make it seem increasingly worrying.

I knew he made a _______ by doing odd jobs (打零工), so it seemed _______ when he asked me if we needed anything. I told him that we didn’t know if we would starve (饿死) . He responded, “You poor thing. I will _______ for you. ”

That night I heard the _______ rattle (作响) softly. Thinking it was the wind beating against it, I ________ it. Later when I opened the door to go outside, I found a box of groceries. I knew who had given the food. I ________ the small box of canned food with tears in my eyes. I felt ________ , and wanted to return the groceries.

My father would not let me take the box ________ . He said it would hurt Tom. Each day when we were to have dinner, my father would ask, “What side dish are we having from the ________ box today?

It was ________ for me to eat the food. I knew Tom had given sacrificially. He gave the best he had, but I did not deserve the gift.

9 . Some people say he is a hero. Some people say he is stupid. Emmanuel Tulor thinks he did the _______ thing. The 18-year-old from Liberia found $50,000 on the highway. He gave it back to the _______ . Life in Liberia isn't _______ . The country went through 14 years of civil wars. Tulor dropped out of school in seventh grade and started driving a motorcycle taxi to _______ money. One day, he was _______ on the highway when he saw a bunch of money wrapped in a plastic bag. It had been _______ on the road unnoticed. There were thousands of dollars inside. “I was _______ because it was plenty.” he said, “and so I brought it home and gave it to my aunty to _______ until the owner could ask for it.”

That day, Musu Yancy, the businesswoman who had lost the money, went on the radio _______ for her money and appealing to anyone who found the money to return it. So he took it to her. Yancy gave him a(n) ________ of cash and some gifts, which was worth about $1, 500 in all. Yancy celebrated with Tulor.

Tulor said that while many Liberians are praising his actions, others couldn't ________ him. They said it might be a better ________ for him to save the money; they said Tulor should let the money help himself.”

Tulor ________ thinks he made the right choice. He thinks people should ________ lost things and the cash they find. Tulor planned to ________ the gifts with some people who were with him when he found the cash. “But the cash I got will be given to my grandma.” he said.