1 . My office is almost twenty kilometers from my residence. On my way back home, I ________ a while after getting off the bus I take from office, have some peanut s as refreshments in between, and then take the bus whose driver ________ me near my home.

The boy selling peanuts is a thin, ________ guy of around fifteen. I usually hand him out a two rupee coin (卢比币).________, he gives me peanuts worth two rupee wrapped in a piece of paper and then, without any fail, some more peanuts in my hand with a smile on his face. I never ________ to give any extra coin for that and usually take his ________ for granted.

One evening, as I was chewing peanuts, a certain bus ________ came to him and asked for peanuts worth five rupees. The bus conductor handed out a two rupee coin after ________ the peanuts.“But the peanuts are worth five rupees as you asked for,” the boy protested (抗议). “Hold this two rupee coin and be quiet,” said the ________ bus conductor. “I asked for the price of the peanuts and not your kindness,” said the boy returning the two rupee coin to the bus conductor. The bus conductor left with the peanuts; how ________ he behaved!

That evening I had the heart to offer five rupees to him so as to show my concern for the ________ that he had suffered. “I wanted five rupees from him; why should you ________?” he told me smilingly. I could not gather the courage to ________ further.

The young peanuts ________ taught me a lesson in dignity (尊严) and self-respect: Regardless of his low income and so-called low social status he would not take any injustice lying down; nor would he ________ any favour.

2 . Not being able to see someone you love for a long time is very difficult…but it does make reuniting (重逢) all the more _______.

Owen and Stevie _______ several years ago at their primary school in Chicago. The two became _______ , and seemingly nothing could separate them.

_______, their friendship was _______ three years ago when Owen and his family moved to Missouri —about 400 miles away!

Owen and Stevie _______ to keep their friendship. Still, it wasn’t easy not being able to see each other at school every day.

As luck would have it, Owen’s dad recently _______ a business trip to Chicago. Naturally, the two families would _______ this amazing chance of a reunion. Instead of telling Stevie the good news directly, they chose to _______ him!

Although Stevie had no idea what was going on, one thing was certain: it couldn’t have happened at a better time.

Everyone has ________ days, and the day that Owen ________ was one of Stevie’s. It was going so badly that he had his mom pick him up early. Little did he ________ that the best pick-me-up ever was waiting for him in the back seat.

As Stevie opened the door, Owen was sitting there! “What are you doing here?” Stevie said before crying. “You just ________. I’ve had the worst day ever.”

“I’m visiting you,” Owen replied and gave Stevie a huge hug (拥抱). He ________ Stevie with pats (轻拍) on his back. Stevie enjoyed the moment and said, “I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m ________.”

3 . As the saying goes, life is sweet. But while we may wish for consistently sweet moments, life often serves us other _________.

Recently, we celebrated my mom’s birthday. In her nineties now, as she _________ the closing stages of a long and remarkable life, she struggles with dementia (痴呆), leading to her mind and body not _________ the way she would want.

The day before the celebration, we _________ to bake cookies with her great grand kids. Not just any cookies, but 60 _________ sugar cookies cut in different shapes, covered with lots of sprinkles (糖屑). Though the kids worked as carefully as they could, they made the kitchen a total mess, _________almost as many sprinkles on the floor as on the cookies. They went on for hours, rolling dough, baking, cutting shapes, and _________ with four kinds of sprinkles.

The next day, the birthday _________ was a success. We took many pictures, and the beautiful cookies were shared. In an _________ way, those sweet sprinkles have not only stuck in my mind but remained almost everywhere in our home for the past few days. In every __________, I continue to find them, in all the colors of the rainbow, four shapes and sizes, sweet, and after I __________ step on them, not so sweet.

Truly, these are bittersweet moments, filled with __________ emotions. From such moments, we unwillingly learn that much in life is __________ our control: the separations and losses, the __________ of life, the passage of time. Life serves up many flavors. __________, we can choose our attitudes on the journey.

4 . My job, as a driver, was to wait for the film crew. So my van (货车) often pulled up near the shoot. It was a cold and snowy early morning. The streets in Los Angeles were ________ and deadly quiet. During their ________, I got out of the van and ________ a place to read my book. Soon, I found a beautiful park ________. I noticed a man was sitting on one ________, but there was plenty of room for at least two more bodies. Walking over, I sat on the other end seat. The man looked at me ________ but remained seated. I quickly ________ that he’d probably sat on the bench all the night. His clothes were   dirty, his hair was untidy, and soon I caught a ________. I looked at him and smiled, and he smiled ________ with a mouth of misshapen and blacked-out teeth. That was it. He wasn’t bothering me, and I guessed I wasn’t bothering him.

We both sat there for over an hour. I was reading. He was watching the filming. He then stood up, and _________ in front of me. In a slightly shaky but ________ voice, he said, “Thank you.”

“For what?” I ________   my head and questioned. He looked down at the ground, ________   to me, “Usually people won’t even look at me. Thank you for treating me like a human being.”

I honestly didn’t know what to say before he turned, picked up a dirty backpack, and walked away quickly. I was shocked. I hadn’t done anything ________. I shared a bench. That’s all.

After several seconds of inner confusion, I unexpectedly realized that my ________ had truly meant something to him.

5 . An 11 year old boy fell in love with agriculture. He _________ becoming a farmer. Now, he _________ a plot of land where he looks after his animals.

Joe Trofer‐Cook’s _________ for farming was sparked (激起) _________ he planted seeds in a new bed that his grandfather had built for his seventh birthday. A year later, he began _________ homegrown produce outside the house and saved every penny to buy three _________. Adding eggs to his produce market helped him earn enough to buy his first four sheep.

His mother said that _________ his animals is a form of “therapy (治疗) ”for Joe who was diagnosed with autism (自闭症).

With the _________ made from selling produce and sheep, Joe was _________ in renting more land from a farmer. Over two years later, Joe now ________________ 37 sheep, 12 chickens, and two cows. “I was born to be a farmer,” said Joe ________________.

“He is the ________________, loveliest, and quietest child you’ll ever meet,” said his mom, “His dad and I aren’t ________________, so this is something that he’s done by himself. Thinking of that, we’re so ________________ of him, and I believe he’ll have his own ________________ one day.”

6 . Canelo climbed Pico de Orizaba on his own, following a pack of hikers in October who had given him ________. Eventually making his way nearly to the peak of the 18,491 foot tall mountain, Canelo ________ to follow several other groups of climbers back and stayed in the ________ position for nearly a month, ________ strong winds and bitter cold.

But last week, a group of 30 climbers decided to ________ a rescue task for the purpose of bringing Canelo down to ________. Hilario Aguilar, one of the climbing instructors, recorded the rescue on his Facebook page, explaining how the climbers found the ________ and starving dog near the peak’s summit and slowly coaxed(哄)him to them with water and snacks.

Once they gained Canelo’s ________, the team decided to ________ Canelo and put him in a backpack, carrying him down the mountain.

On returning, Canelo was ________ to a local vet (兽医)for a checkup and some basic care．Aguilar, who already has two dogs of his own, knew he couldn’t provide Canelo with a(n)________ home and turned over the dog to Fatima, a friend who works for a local animal ________.

________, now that Canelo’s story has become national news in Mexico, the shelter where he’s resting has been ________ with adoption inquiries(收养咨询), meaning that Canelo’s ________ of wandering (流浪) alone in the wilderness are over for good.

7 . In mid-October many years ago, I, with my little sick daughter, needed to pick up my youngest son from school. In a station, I fueled(加油) my car with my last dollar.

Once out of the station, the tire was flat(爆胎) and I was out of _______. I tried to change a tire. However, my daughter was so sick that I couldn’t leave her_______. So I called AAA for help, and they _______ me to wait for about one hour.

I _______ my son and husband of the situation. Putting the _______ down, I found a young man beating on my window. He_______ asked if I needed help. I said I had assistance _______. He responded, “Yeah, but I’m here _______!” I considered all the factors: a sick child, another child _______ me, husband working too far away, still an hour wait for AAA in the cold wind.

Then, I thanked him, telling him I couldn’t ________ to pay him. He laughed, saying he hadn’t asked for money. Together, we worked to ________ the tire. He did the ________ since I had to watch my daughter. Within 15 minutes he had me ________ to drive. When I asked him his ________, he said Tracey, walking off before I could say anything else.

Tracey stopped to help a ________ for no reason at all. He showed me something I must learn.

8 . Shining Valley was a remote village isolated from the outside world. Believe it or not, there was a ______ custom for centuries that all aged people would be taken to the mountain Obatsuyama and ______ to themselves. When the very day came, the ______, with deep and ______ sighs, would prepare whatever needed for the agreed-upon way of death at that place.

A poor farmer and his aged, widowed mother lived at the foot of the mountain. He loved his mother with reverence, his heart filled with sorrow. At ______, the farmer lifted his mother to his back and started on his ______ journey. Narrow and steep, the road was crossed and re-crossed by paths. In some place, they were lost and confused. On he went, climbing ______ upward.

The eyes of the old mother were not ______ even in the dark, her loving heart growing ______. How could her son return home safe not knowing the right paths? ______, she accurately reached the twigs (细枝) from brushes along the paths, broke them, and quietly ______ a handful every few steps of the way. The path behind them was then ______ with tiny piles of twigs. Finally, they reached the ______. The youth gently released his burden and silently prepared a place of comfort as his last duty to the loved one. ______ fallen pine needles, he made a soft cushion and ______ his old mother onto it. With tearful eyes and an aching heart he said farewell.

The old mother told her son in a ______ voice. “My son, the mountain road is full of dangers. Follow the path that holds the piles of twigs. They will guide you to the same path farther ______”.

His heart broke within and ______ to the ground, he cried aloud, “Oh, honorable mother, I will not leave you. Together we will follow the path of twigs, and together we will ______!”

Not knowing what was in store for him, he shouldered his ______ once more (how light it seemed now) and headed home in the moonlight.

9 . Rejection doesn’t always hurt. Sometimes rejection may _________ a more certain path to our final goals.

This year football fans have been watching to see how Joe would _________ in the playoffs(季后赛) this season. Joe dreamed to play in the National Football League (NFL), but his journey wasn’t a(n) _________ one. He applied to several colleges, but none _________ him. Later, he got into Ohio State, but he sat on the _________ for three years. Ohio State had a great football program and coaches, who didn’t think Joe had _________. But Joe thought differently. He _________ Nebraska and got rejected once again, but he didn’t quit. Then he applied to Louisiana State University, which accepted him. The rest is history.

Joe became the Heisman Trophy _________ during his senior year, then he was admitted to the NFL, and later, his team participated in the World Championship.

Joe’s story reminds us that there are _________ paths to our final goals and that it __________ strong endurance and determination to reach them. No single __________ is going to prevent you from __________ your long-term goals. Be sure to__________ the pain that comes from disappointment and face it bravely. Try to focus on goals rather than the __________ outcome of being rejected and remember that the hurt of rejection comes from how we __________ it.

10 . I was walking to my next class when my grandmother called. I thought it would be one of her usual “when are you coming over for dinner” ___________. But I heard heavy breathing as she started __________. I started running to my __________ ready to drive to her home, as I asked, “Grandma, what's wrong?” “Oh honey, I can’t __________ the damn Internet button again. Where is it?" I stopped __________. All terrible guess in my mind disappeared as I   __________ to laugh and cry. My grandma was yelling through the phone. “What’s so __________? I can't get my e-mail. I can't check my Facebook!”

This was not the first time that Grandma had called me in such a tone about her __________. She has always been an outspoken woman, and I could not __________ life without her as one of my instructors. I was thankful she was _________ and well, and I was able to walk her through the loss of her Internet “button”. Two minutes later, she was __________. “There it is! It's back! Oh, thank you. honey. What a relief!”

The whole family knows that Grandma must never __________ the right to use her e-mails, political websites, and Facebook for more than a few hours. Where would we be without her daily e-mails and __________ on our Facebook posts? Honestly speaking, Grandma is a/an __________. I’d actually be _________ if that “damn Internet button” stopped disappearing on her.