1 . When I was a little boy, my Mom, Dad, brothers and I lived in my Nana’s old house. It was _________ by four huge vegetable gardens. And around the house were _________ so many flowers. It was so _________ there in the spring and summer. On the back porch (门廊) Nana had dozens of potted plants _________ on hooks (钩). She watered them, talked to them and _________ them. And in the winter she would carry them all _________ and set them on shelves near the windows of our enclosed front porch. There with a little water and a lot of love she kept them _______, green, and growing even during the _________, darkest months.

As a boy I was puzzled by all the _________ she put into them. I understood the vegetable gardens. They helped to __________ the family all winter long. The reason she put so much effort into __________ those potted plants, however, puzzled me. They didn’t give us any __________ and they rarely had any flowers on them. They __________ a mystery (神秘) to my child’s mind.

Now as I’ve grown older I am beginning to understand. It is the same reason I have so many __________ of sunrises and forests hanging in my home. They __________ me during the dark, cold, winter months full of bare trees and yellow grass that light, love, and growth still exist.

2 . In my childhood, there were no smart phone s or computers. _________, I never felt bored. The field, hills and woodlands around my home were the perfect playground. I can remember once hiking to a nearby _________ and walking slowly around it. At the back of it I was amazed to find an old dirt road that I had never seen before. It was full of muddy tyre tracks and deep woods bordered it on both sides, but _________ it still seemed like a fine adventure.

I _________ on and on for what seemed like hours. I was sure someone was _________ in my ears to ask me to turn around and head back home but I was _________ and even a bit stupid, so I walked on. There was still neither a car nor a house _________. My legs were getting tired. I noticed that the sun was starting to go down and I grew _________. I didn’t want to end up trapped on this road in the dark night, and I was worried that it would be dark _________ I could make my way back to the lake again.

I continued to walk on with the fear growing inside of me. My heart was __________ and my legs were aching. When I turned one last corner and __________ my house, I jumped up and down and laughed out loud. I knew the way home! It was still over a mile away, but legs felt like feathers. I __________ into the house with a big smile just in time for dinner. Then I ended my adventure with a good night’s sleep.

I remembered this recently when I saw a __________ that said, “All roads lead home.” This is true. I also remembered a sage（智者） compared life to a journey. Are we going to make this life a terrible trip or are we going to make the life a joyful one? It __________ our own choice.

All roads no matter how they twist and turn, can __________ us home in our hearts. May you always walk your path with love! May you always help your fellow travelers along the way!

3 . In a small village there lived a lazy Brahmin Ramdas. He would do nothing but daydream all day. One sunny afternoon, Ramdas was very ______. He said, “What a beautiful day! How I wish I could go back to sleep. But I have to go out and get my food.” After bathing, Ramdas took out a bowl and out to ______. By begging the whole day he managed to get a pot full of ______.

“It is this pot of milk that is going to make me ______,” he thought. “I will use it to make butter. From the butter, I will be ______ to make ghee (酥油). I am really clever! I will then go to the _______ and sell the ghee,” his dream ______. “With the money I get, I will buy a pair of goats. They will have ______ after six months. Soon I would have an entire herd of goats.”

“How ______ I am,” he thought. “The day I become a rich businessman I will build a big house right in the middle of the village. There will be a splendid garden and a swimming pool in front of the house. Early morning I will ______ in the blue waters of the pool.”

Deep in his ______, he struck out with his foot, breaking the ______, and drenching (使湿透) himself with the milk. He saw the situation and cried. He lost whatever he had because of his ______ and daydreaming.

Laziness is the biggest ______ of our life. If you are lazy, then you will not acquire any significant position in your life and will always have nothing. Laziness is a ______ who slowly steals everything from us. If you want to become successful in your life and career, please overcome the devil laziness.

7 . I was then in my early twenties. Even though I was armed with a degree in Education, finding a ______ teaching job was not easy. I had to try some temporary ones.

This year, when a golden opportunity ______, I ______ it and took things seriously. The job was to teach 5th grade students in a local school. I ______ myself with lesson plans, taught with enthusiasm, and stayed ______ with the students. I had no hesitation in ______ the kids when they got the answer right, and encouraged them if they didn’t.

One day when the kids were ______, a girl approached and handed me a ______ before she went home. On it was a lovely drawing full of childlike wonder, ______ by the words, “You are the best teacher I have ever had!” It really amazed me that one of my kind comments had ______ that girl’s heart greatly. I took that note home and ______ put it in a folder, looking on it as a ______ because it was very important. Anytime I was feeling down I would look at it and it proved to be a ______.

That experience showed me the ______ of just a single kind word. It encouraged me to continue to try my best each day to ______ love and kindness through my words and actions. Wish the same for others.

8 . Chloe Smith is a girl aged 6 from Atlanta, Georgia. One day, while taking a walk with her father near their home, she________something shiny under a pile of rubbish. She picked up the ________ to take home, as she often did on her treasure-hunting walks. Chloe was later ________ to discover she had found a stolen Olympic gold medal.

The medal belongs to former canoeist (划艇运动员) Joe Jacobi, who won gold while ________ for Team USA in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. The medal, along with other personal belongings, was ________ in May of 2016 when someone broke into Jacobi’s can. Though police managed to ________ some of his stolen items, they hadn’t been able to find his ________ Olympic medal. It may have been lost forever, if not for a 6-year-old girl’s treasure-hunting ________ .

Chloe’s dad had seen Jacobi’s story on the news, and ________ realized it was his stolen property. He found Jacobi’s email and sent him pictures of the treasure. After________ the medal, Jacobi was astonished, just speechless.

Chloe was ________ to give it back after speaking with Jacobi on the phone. ________, Jacobi promised to speak to her class when school begins again this fall. The ________ of this little girl reuniting an Olympian with his beloved possession is ________ . When we talk about character and doing the ________ thing, Chloe represents the Olympic values in every sense of the word.

9 . In 2001, a storm hit Houston. More than 70, 000 houses were flooded, including the _______ of Sarah Feldman and her family.

At the time, they were on vacation in another city, so they didn’t know what kind of _______   they were going to face when they got home. But then Feldman’s grandpa called with _______ news: All of her books had been destroyed in the flooding.

Feldman was 14 at the time and loved _______ books. To cheer her up, Feldman’s father took her to the library at Yale University, where she _______ a conversation with Bill Carver, a man who worked in the library. When she told him about her collected books being destroyed, he _______ that he would send her a book in the mail, so she could restart her collection.

After _______ to Houston, she received his _______ , titled The Medieval Art Book by Barbara A. Shailor. Carver included a note that _______ : Dear Sarah, this is a rather scholarly book, which may be ________ mature for your age, but I thought it might help you shape your ________ library collection. And as the years progress, this book may grow in ________ to you.

Feldman, who is in her 30s now, has fallen in love with medieval art since ________ that book. She has tried to find Carver years later, with no ________ .

“If I could speak to him today,” says Feldman. “I would like to tell him how much that small gesture has ________ my life.”