1 . It was a hot, wet summer day a few years ago. At a local gas station, I noticed two elderly ladies _________ away from their car. There was a look of shock and _________ on their faces. I looked and saw what they saw. Five wasps (大黄蜂)had started to _________ a nest around the gas cap. My eyes _________ in surprise. I shared the ladies' fear. The nest seemed to be forming.

Wasps had never been _________ of mine. Several times wasps had _________ me while I was cutting my grass, bringing me a lot of pain _________ I was afraid to cut the grass for a long time.

The most _________ time, however, was when I was a young boy. A friend of mine and I were running and playing in my backyard. I had _________ stepped on one of their hidden nests because before we knew it, we were being run after and __________ over and over by the wasps. We ran to my mom with tears in our eyes. My mom immediately let us have a cold bath and put us in the __________ water before giving us medicine to fight all the __________ in our little bodies from the stings(刺毛).

Recalling the past stings, I knew I couldn't let fear prevent me __________ others now. I reached into my back pocket for a paper towel and tore out the nest while the __________ wasps flew around me. The ladies finally thanked me and I said “You're welcome!” with a smile and a(n) __________ heart.

2 . My dad is a truck driver, and when I was little, he was always _______ in delivering supplies most of the time. Arlene and her husband, Bill, lived next door. Arlene spent a lot of time working in the _______ , and I was always talking to her from our yard. I think what _______ me to Arlene and Bill is that they never get _______with listening to me. I also think Arlene saw a lot of herself _______ me. It was a wonderful _______ .

It became a somewhat monthly _______ that they watched me when my parents went out on a date. When I was about five, I knocked on their door and asked, "Can I _______ you as my grandparents?” They started crying and enthusiastically _______, Soon after, they printed out a certificate and it ________ on their living room wall from then on.

They took my offer so ________,which made me surprised. They could have ________ it off. Thinking of that moment still brings tears to my eyes. There is something truly __________about a child offering up her love and adults being so excited to accept it.

Arlene died in 2013. After the funeral, Bill gave me the ring he'd ________ to Arlene on their 25th wedding anniversary. It's a simple gold band that I wear on my finger as a ________of the kind of love I wish to put into this world.

3 . Sarah Ivermee is a mother from the UK who gave birth to her son Freddie back in 2011. _______, the little boy was born deaf in one ear and nearly deaf in the other.

In 2014, Freddie was given a cochlear implant (人工耳蜗) for his deaf ear, and he absolutely _______ it. Though Freddie was happy with his implant, Sarah quickly learnt that not all children in his situation accept implants _______.

“We learnt very quickly that not all families have had such a smooth ride, having lots of problems with children not _______ to wear their devices as they look ugly and _______ ,” Sarah said. “We did some _______ and found there was not a lot available to _______ the look of hearing devices and _______ there must be something we could do.” When Sarah _______ that a friend's 9-year-old daughter felt out-of-place while ____________ her device, she offered to decorate it for her, ____________ it into something the little girl loved. “She loves them and loves the fact that she can have ____________ designs that her friends don’t have,” Sarah said. This experience inspired Sarah. In 2014, she founded the company Lugs, which ____________ custom-made kits (配件) families can ____________ to decorate hearing devices and cochlear implants. Thanks to these kits, kids can decorate their devices with everything from flowers and butterflies to superheroes and cartoon characters.

“I thought there would be a lot of families ____________ with children who don’t want to wear their hearing devices, and I felt I had to ____________ ,” Sarah explained. “Knowing children are not only ____________ to wear their hearing devices but also ____________ to show them off makes it all worthwhile.”

The kits are ____________ the lives of families all over the world. One mother even said that she used a kit to decorate her three-month-old daughter’s device!

We applaud (赞赏) Sarah for going above and beyond to help these kids feel more ____________ about themselves!

4 . One day we were on our way to a family event. As we _______ into the local gas station I noticed a woman sitting _______ at a picnic table. It was around 30℃ and she was dressed in a ________ coat and long pants.

As we left the gas station, I told my husband I needed to go home and ________ something first. As we returned to our home, I went and ________ some items. I had just bought a new backpack and I knew it was ________ for her because it ________ her coat.

As I was back into the gas station, I got out of the car with the new backpack full of goodies. I walked up to the woman, ________ myself and asked if it was okay that I sat down with her. I offered her the ________ and she accepted it. She then asked me if I would like to ________ a snack with her, as she had not had anything to ________ today. I agreed and for over an hour and a half I ________ there with her, a proud mother and wife who lost her entire ________ a few years ago.

She was once a school teacher, but she was unable to ________ return to work after the ________ . She told me the reason why she wore that ________ coat—it was the last thing she bought with her daughter. She explained that she sat with her family at that very ________ . We shared smiles and ________ . This woman helped me to realize that every moment is such a ________ gift and in the blink of an eye, everything can ________. Make sure that you hug your loved ones extra tight today.

5 . My husband kissed me goodbye, stroke (轻抚) the baby’s cheek and then rushed out of the door, into his busy day. With the cold of the morning fading, I fed my baby and it fell fast asleep. Usually I would place it in bed and quickly have the house somewhat in _______.

However, this morning, I stayed seated, just _______, with the baby in my arms. The thoughts ran into _______of the mornings with my husband, a father rushing out of the door to meet the obligations of life. It was only a small jump to thoughts of my own _______.

My mother passed away when I was ten, and as I looked _______, I could see how much of a family man my dad was. He went to work every morning and _______ to his family every evening. He _______ food, clothing, warmth, and protection. He was a faithful father.

Setting the baby down, I dialed the _______ number. I had just realized the _______ of the ordinary － the daily life going on around us that we often took for granted, and that it needed to be ________.

“Hi, Dad.” I said, ________ back tears.

“Hey, Bud. How are you?” ________ was in his voice.

“Fine, I’m just calling to say…thank you.” I got it out before my throat ________ too much for me to speak.

“What for?”

“For getting up and going to work every morning of my life. Now that I have my own ________ and I see my husband doing the same, I just wanted to thank you for being ________.”

There was ________ for a moment as my dad composed himself, and with a small ________ in his voice he said, “You’re welcome, Bud.”

I don’t remember much of the rest of the call, ________ that moment of revelation (显露) about my father, I will never forget. There are those who are known for their heroic ________, and also those who are known for their fortunes and fame, but it is the ________ everyday fathers who are the true heroes. I’m thankful that my father was one of them.