1 . A man named Joe in Austin spent several months in order to adopt a dog. Alva is a dog with wobbler syndrome(摇摆综合征), but that didn’t _________ Joe from knowing they would be together.

_________ at Austin Pets Alive in November 2020 at just 5 months old, Alva was _________ , skinny, and in need of a helping paw. She had a hard time _________ and walking on account of the _________ . After almost 24 months of shelter stays, the _________ in her life with wobblers and multiple owners had made her self-protective, _________ , and shy.

Joe had originally seen Alva on APA’s Instagram, and determined to do something to help her. “I just _________ her and said, ‘I bet everyone has given up on you,’” Joe told APA! “‘I’m not going to do that to you.’”

Nor did he, but instead visited her at APA every single day for two months to earn her _________ in the hope that he could welcome her into his __________. Seeing that there was a potential end to Alva’s difficulties, APA staff worked hard to treat and __________ Alva. Alva recovered well during the two months, and __________Joe got what he wished for—Alva was able to move in with him.

He __________ his house with various ramps and carpeted corners to ensure she had a safe, comfortable environment.

“Alva gave me a __________ every time I saw her, and that was: inspiration. It is her infectious spirit that makes her __________, and brightens my days,” Joe told APA!

2 . Don Powell was pulling the envelopes from the mailbox outside his home when he noticed something unusual — a tiny doll couple were inside the mailbox. A small sticky _________ was also inside. “We’ve decided to live here,” the message read. It was _________ from Mary and Shelley.

Powell, 72, says he _________ thought that somebody must have left the wooden dolls inside his mailbox by mistake. “I asked the _________ whether anybody had left dolls in their mailboxes, and everyone told me no,” he says. “So I thought, this must just be a _________, and whoever left them here will come back to _________ them. I moved them to the back of the mailbox to see what would happen.”

A few days passed and nobody _________ the dolls, Powell says, noting that he and his wife soon discovered that the small couple had _________ a table and a pillow. “I also have a sense of _________, so I left a note of my own, saying that what the __________ really needed was a refrigerator stocked with food,” he says. The fridge never __________. But over the next several months, additional items were strangely __________.

Every month or two, particularly around holidays, the Powells find something __________ placed inside the box for Mary and Shelley. “People in the neighborhood are enjoying it and stop by sometimes to ask questions,” he said. “Some people ask if I’ve thought about __________ an outdoor camera, but personally, I like it being a __________.”

3 . Harry Burleigh headed into the woods for a camping trip with his fishing equipment. A few days later, his wife Stacy grew _________ when he didn’t come home as planned.

Stacy called the _________ to report her husband’s missing. Search and rescue teams _________ began their work and went on for days, but there was no _________ of Harry anywhere. Everyone was worried — the temperatures were quite low some nights, and it had even snowed.

On May 15, the rescuers finally caught a break when they _________ a shelter and his fishing equipment. They _________ support from over 16 rescue organizations, and they explored every possible _________ but with no luck. Therefore, the rescuers _________ him a lighter and a note telling him to make a _________ and they would be back. Two days later, a team found another __________, but this time, Harry was nearby and heard his name called! It turned out he was __________ along the path with minor pain.

__________, the crew radioed for a helicopter to take him to the hospital for a complete evaluation after spending 17 long days out.

“This was the __________ we all have been looking for in this case,” a rescuer said. “It is our __________ search and rescue teams and the partnerships we have with other teams that helped __________ Mr. Burleigh and his family.”

4 . Gang (团伙) tensions were rising at Southwood High School. Some community activists held a(n) ________meeting with parents and the principal. A group of the fathers ________ decided it was time to make their ________ known on campus.

That’s how Dads on Duty was born with its goal - make sure the kids are ________. Around 40 men organized into six-person shifts, with two shifts on campus every day. They ________ the day after the meeting. These people ________ their own schedules and commitments without complaint. Some of them are fathers of kids at the school, while others are not but expect the youth in their community to know they have a(n) ________ village behind them.

Now, anyone who wants to enter the school with ________ will have to avoid energetic papa bears, big smiles and many dad jokes. It’s hard to be a tough guy when somebody’s uncle has just ________ you into checking your shoelaces for countless times, only to find that they are not, in fact, untied.

Since Dads on Duty arrived on campus, gang battles have ________ declined. “The school has been ________, you can feel it,” said one student. Another told the Washington Post, “They ________ all the kids like we’re their own children.”

The dads aren’t meant to ________ security guards. If they do see a(n) ________ may occur, they get security on the scene as soon as possible. Their presence is meant to be more ________ than reactionary.

5 . My mom had spent years as a stay-at-home mom. However, I could tell that she _________ the working women. When I asked her about _________ again, she would just tell me to concentrate on my education.

My mom could make anyone _________. She has the ability to reach everyone’s _________. I once asked, “Mom, have you ever _________ being a stand-up comedian?” She laughed at the idea, but then began to cry and said it was too _________ for her. I was sad to watch her struggle between _________ and doubt.

With her birthday coming, I realized what I _________ wanted to give her was the _________ to take a chance. I placed little notes of __________ inside the present I had bought. I asked my family and her close friends to do the same. On her birthday, when she saw and read the notes, she started to __________ with her hands full of notes. She could not believe the support was __________, that everyone knew she had a special __________ and believed in her.

Within two months, my mom made a __________ performance in a New York comedy club. Within a year, she was performing at the nation’s major comedy club monthly. For many parents, their children’s __________ are their greatest achievement, but for me my mom’s is mine.

6 . Every Saturday morning Phoenix Young would take piano lessons with a family friend when he was a child. “At that time, we would _________ around and take all morning just to have a lesson,” Phoenix _________. “And I loved it.”

But when Phoenix was 12, his teacher proposed that he need better _________. So his mother took him to a music school in the Bronx, and signed him up for classes with a teacher named Bade Simon, experienced but known for being _________. And she quickly lived up to that _________. Phoenix found the stressful life was _________ like his lighthearted Saturday mornings with his former teacher, so it wasn’t long before he _________ that he would quit.

One day, however, Bade _________ him and said something surprising: “I have _________ in you. Keep going.” Then the reluctant student did something surprising __________, he said, “Okay.”

“It was as if all I wanted was just a __________ from her that she cared about me,” Phoenix said.

That moment __________ their relationship. Within a few weeks, they were having __________ during lessons. And within a few months, she was teaching him things about music that he’d never known before. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.

“I went into __________ and became a piano teacher, a career I have been doing for 50 years,” Phoenix said. “And I __________ it all to that precious moment with my unsung hero, Bade Simon.”

7 . Earlier this year, I moved into a suburb of Atlanta. I decided to _________ the area on foot. On my walks, as I admired the range of residential _________, I also admired another type of house: Little Free Libraries. I’d seen them all over Atlanta and _________ it’d be fun to build my own, but when I looked at the website’s official map, it turned out there were already a handful nearby. _________, I decided to seek each of them out.

I’ve since found six sites of these free book _________. Without them, I would never have been able to “meet” people in my community. I quickly _________ my neighbors’ reading tastes, sorting through their small boxes of books. Each library is unique and shows the _________ of the person who built it, with _________ colors and designs. These Little Free Libraries are also the perfect way to _________ conversations with strangers.

Since the pandemic began, Little Free Libraries have become a lifeline for many. They don’t __________ social distancing and everything is on an honor system. People __________ a book in exchange and some libraries have even become __________ food pantries (食品储藏柜) for people in need. In all the __________ they’ve taken on, these libraries have brought people together in a sense, especially when it feels like everything is trying to __________ us. Beyond conversation starters and personality __________, Little Free Libraries find common ground — a precious thing, pandemic or not.

8 . In every country I’ve been to on my journey to Antarctica, I’ve met amazing and kind strangers who have made my travels easier, safer, and more fun.

I once _______ three such people in a small Quito bus station. We were forced to _______ a taxi when no bus could be found. Sitting four in the back seat for an hour forced you to get to know others quite well. My _______ Rosita told me about herself: Colombian, living in Toronto for the past 30 years, now going back to _______ relatives with her brother and sister. And I told them my _______ : Antarctica, alone. Then when we _______ caught our next bus to Guayaquil, an eight-hour journey, we made _______ stops along the way and Rosita’s brother Joseo always took care of my _______ while I went to buy food. I was _______ .

At night we arrived at Guayaquil, where I had to find a bus for Peru the next day. Although Rosita had met up with her family, she ________ not leaving without helping me find my way. Joseo asked around and got the ________ of the bus station. Just when I planned to say goodbye, Joseo and Rosita ________ to drive me there, for they thought it was not safe for a girl to travel alone at night. Happily, we found the station without too much ________ and they helped ________ me in a nearby hotel. How kind-hearted and ________ they were!

9 . For his entire life, Sergio Peralta dreamed about playing catch. When he was born, his right hand didn’t fully _________. Ever since he was a child, his classmates have asked about his hand, and some have even _________ him. Computer science teacher Jeff Wilkins noticed Peralta was the only student who _________ his mouse to the left side of his keyboard. He then saw Peralta didn’t have a right hand.

When Wilkins _________ Peralta and his mother about a prosthetic hand (假手), they expressed interest but knew building one could be _________ for a high school class. In early November, Wilkins _________ assigned three of his students to the project. “I didn’t want to get his _________ up. I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver than over-promise and under-deliver on something like this,” Wilkins said. The group did so while keeping their _________ a secret. They measured classmates’ hands to calculate Peralta’s _________ fit.

After working for about a week, the students used the school’s 3D printer to __________ a model. Students said they __________ Peralta wouldn’t like or use the hand, but as soon as he __________ the model, he could bend his fingers. Then Wilkins threw him a yellow rubber ball again and again. Students yelled in __________ when he finally caught the ball. Peralta said he only __________ the prosthetic hand when he sleeps. “This just showed me a different way to __________ the community,” said Jaramillo, a senior who involved in the class project.

10 . Last May, my 15-year-old son, Benjamin, told my wife and me that he would attend a Kendrick Lamar concert. We ________ him that he was too young to go. But my son and his friend, Josh, ________ to take no for an answer.

Later I received a ________ from Josh’s father: “How about taking the boys to the Kendrick Lamar’ concert!?” While I felt ________ to attend a rap concert in my fifties, Josh’s father was as excited as the boys. He also knew how to get tickets and had started ________ the whole evening. By this ________ it was impossible to say no. I couldn’t imagine anywhere I would ________ less.

To learn about Mr Lamar and his ________, I downloaded and listened to all his songs days before heading down to the Scotiabank Arena.

The truth is the concert was really ________. The best part, of course, was how happy my son was. I stood when ________, I didn’t dance, and occasionally my son gave me an encouraging, accepting nod. ________ Kendrick Lamar is still not my favourite artist, I’m glad my son ________ me to him, and I’m glad I went.

It’s so easy to sit in our towers, ________ by age or upbringing background. ________, we have children, like Benjamin, to expose us to new experiences. If, of course, we have the ________ to listen to them.