1 . We moved into a new neighborhood in 1990, Andy was pretty much the first person we ________. He came across the street to ________ us. Having lived there since 1967, he was warm and kind, full of ________. He would introduce to us which bakery for cakes, which store for shopping and ________ the occupations of everyone around us.

Andy would proudly and regularly ________ his veteran (老兵) cap and play music while doing yard work. ________ anything, though, he delighted in talking about our kids as much as about his. We watched out for each other. He would ________ our vegetable gardens when we went on vacation; we gave him some of our ________ in return. Andy and I would also complain about the big trucks that used our streets as a shortcut. As more time went by, we didn’t see him out ________ his small dog as often due to his ________ problem, and we’d help with clearing the ________ in the winter. Those ties continued with time passing by.

But the real ________ of our neighborhoods is their people — an Andy, or, in some cases, many Andys. Our neighborhoods are built on them, and ________ by their emotional ties. We are better for their ________, and worse for their absence.

Andy died this month. I will miss him, more than he ________.

2 . I had moved to Arizona about two weeks before the start of my junior year of high school, so not only was this a(n) ______ new school for me, but also a new ______ and I did not know anyone.

On the first day of school at lunch after getting my meal, I sat down at a(n) ______ table in the courtyard. As I began to eat, I ______ at the other tables and saw another girl sitting alone, so I decided why not go sit with her. I walked to ______ and said, “Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you?” She was ______ at first, but then smiled and said, “Sure!”

We got on well with each other and ______ close friends throughout the next two years. She ______: on the first day of school when you sat down with me during lunch, I was deeply depressed that day. I had even made ______ plans on how I was going to ______ suicide after I get home. I had been bullied (欺负) the whole first half of the day and it had just made me ______. But when you ______ me in a considerate way, even though you didn’t know me, it ______ me deeply.

It has been almost 15 years since this ______. I still chat with her occasionally on Facebook about our past and present life and I can’t ______ but smile every time. It showed me that a simple kind act has the extraordinary ability to change lives.

3 . I was on my way home when I saw two old men sitting and talking in the sun near the bus stand. What stuck me about them was not their position, but rather her clothes. Both were wearing _________ clothes, one had on broken sandals (凉鞋) and the other was _________ with bare feet.

Recently, I’ve been _________ chances to serve, but without luck. So my clothing stash (贮藏) kept _________. And I thought I need to find these items an appropriate new home _________.

The men were absorbed in _________ and did not pay attention to me as I _________ closer to hear their words.

“Luckily, the sun shines in the day and offers some heat in the cold, but how can we _________ the night? I wish my blanket were thicker, offering more _________.”

Knowing that they would __________ for a while, I went to my clothing stash and quickly got two __________.

Again, they did not see me approach. “Here you go, uncles. It’s cold these days. These might be __________ to you.”

Words can’t describe the __________ on their faces as I handed the items to the men. “Son, are you an angel (天使)? We were just talking about how we are going to face the cold at night and you __________ with these.”

“No, I am not. But angel sent me here to answer your __________.” We all smiled from the bottom of our hearts.

4 . As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games.I____for victory as much as they did. However,a dramatic____happening after I refereed a game____my view on victories and defeats.

The game was between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. It was well played and __ contested. When there were only 30 seconds left, Yonkers was____by one point. When Yonkers ___their last shot, New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped (补篮) it in for what looked like___. The clock showed the game was over, but I hadn't___ the final buzzer (蜂鸣器) because of the___ noise.

Not having got help from the other official, I____the young timekeeper. He said, "Mr. Covino,the buzzer went off as the ball rolled off the rim (篮筐), before the____tap - in was made. "Coming up to New Rochelle’s coach O’Brien, he added, "I'm sorry, Dad. The time ran out before the final___."

Suddenly, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, Coach O’Brien's face ___. He said,"That's okay, Joe. You did what you had to do. I’m____of you. "

Turning to me, he said, "Mr. Covino, I want you to meet my ___, Joe. "Then they walked off together, the coach's arm around Joe's shoulder.

5 . Hector is a UPS driver. He noticed that while he did his normal ________, the kid, Langston, looked sad because he never got a delivery.

Once Hector understood the cause, he ________ into action. Hector wrote a note to Langston's parents, ________: “This is Hector. I've seen your son many times and he seems very ________because he doesn't get any ________. So, I've bought something and put it in a ________. Just want to know his name.”

After getting all the ________needed from Langston's mom, Brooke, Hector ________up the next day and surprised Langston with the delivery. When opening up the box, Langston found a collection of ________and a bunch of candy. It doesn't get much better than that for a little boy.

After the ________was made, Langston's mother, Brooke, sent a follow-up text to thank Hector for his kindness. In his reply, Hector ________he had two daughters himself. He'd kept a bunch of toys over the years in their packaging. ________, when he met Langston, it was the perfect opportunity to put them to good use. He also mentioned Langston helped him remember how many kids had to ________the Cov-19 pandemic.

Before the Cov-19 pandemic, you probably didn't think too much about the people who delivered your packages. But in times of ________, delivery drivers like Hector have some of the most ________jobs!

6 . The other day a big, ugly, black bat found its way to my bathroom. I am what is known as “the man of the house”, so it was my_________, in fact my manly duty, to rid the house of the_________creature.

Being a man does not_________the fact that I am extremely_________of bats. All men, I think, sometimes have had that feeling of being_________in some male role. Sometimes it is something as simple as having to_________that you know something about car engines when the car won’t start. But sometimes the trap is a (n)_________one. Many men prefer to be something different from what society_________men should be. What these men want is the_________to be what they want to be.

As I came towards the frightening bat, I__________what would happen if I had simply told my wife that I wouldn’t do it. But I couldn’t do that! I__________opened the window, carefully lifted a broom and swept the bat out of the__________.

My wife was__________and my son thought I was a__________. They asked me how I had got rid of the bat, I started to tell them—but then__________. A man doesn’t talk of such things.

7 . Several years ago, Cindy and her kids noticed that two robins (知更鸟) had built a nest in one of their trees. As they paid attention to the robins’ _________ they realized there were eggs in the nest.

Soon four baby birds hatched. Cindy and her kids took _________ of the baby birds. They loved to watch them and would check on their condition _________.

Then one day as Cindy was _________ clothes in one of the kids’ rooms—she saw something she’d never seen before or since. More than a dozen birds were flying around the tree with the robins’ nest. Cindy _________ out to see what the trouble was and saw all different types of birds were _________ the tree. Instinctively, Cindy ran to _________ the baby birds and what she found was _________.

The birds were dive-bombing (俯冲攻击) the tree because a snake had _________ itself around the tree and was trying to get to the baby robins. The birds were doing everything they could to __________ the baby birds.

Cindy thought quickly and took a __________ and used it to pull the snake off the tree. It slid away and when Cindy eventually __________, all of the birds were sitting on the branches of the tree looking at her as if to say thank you. Then they flew away.

There is something remarkable that happens when we have a __________ cause. When we have a common __________, just like the birds, we forget our __________. We begin to work together and focus on common objectives and we fight for our cause.

8 . While Texans were in the thick of their unprecedented (前所未有的) winter storm, Chelsea Timmons was braving the elements to deliver groceries. She had just tapped “accept” on her final ________ of the day when storm started picking up. Chelsea ________ and made it to her customer’s home, but then the worst happened: Her car was ________ .

With the roads as ________ as they were, her car slid down the driveway. ________ , it stopped just short of the house. However, it got stuck. The houseowners were both ________ and concerned when Chelsea explained what had happened.

Three of them tried every possible means to ________ her car, but in vain. That’s when the couple took the neighborly next step: They ________ her in.

Chelsea was ________ coming into a stranger’s home. After spending more time with the couple and realizing the storm made ________ too dangerous, she was relieved to accept their ________ . Later, they cooked her dinner and ________ one bedroom.

Chelsea was touched and even more ________ for their generosity when learning her apartment lost electricity and water as the ________ worsened.

“I’m glad that such wonderful people ________ me. It turned out to be the best-case scenario.”

9 . There once was a teacher with many students in a run-down old school, who supported themselves by begging in a _________ nearby for food. Some complained of their _________ living conditions to the master. So the master said in _________, “We must repair our temple. Since you’re _________ with study with no time to earn the money needed. I suggested you go into the town and steal goods to sell for money without being _________. This way, we can do the good work of repairing our temple.’’

The students were _________ at this suggestion. Then in their discussion, one said, “It’s wrong and shameful to steal. Why has our wise master asked us to do this?” Another reported, “It’ll _________ us to help with the repairs.” But _________ their wise and just teacher, they didn’t refuse and all wanted to set out _________ for the town except one boy. The master __________ him and asked, “Why do you __________?” The boy responded, “I cannot follow your __________. Wherever I go, my own eyes will always watch myself.”

The master __________ hugged the boy, saying, “You’re the only one who has passed my test! I was simply testing your __________.”

Actually with great __________ in moral excellence, one’s heart will be purified constantly. Later, the boy also became a great teacher.

10 . Twins are supposed to have a lot in common. However, my twin sister and I can't be more ______.I'm louder, taller and sharper while she's quieter, shorter and sweeter.

While most of the time we could get along, our relationship didn't enjoy the usual ______between twins. For years we spoke only when necessary. Twelve years ago, our mother   ______lung cancer. Because I lived closer to my parents, I ______ all the day-to-day caretaking. Meanwhile,   my sister ______ gave suggestions that felt like criticisms, which ______ our already delicate relationship, especially after our mother died.

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, I turned to Chinese dramas to ______ my anxiety. That felt ______-my mother also loved watching Chinese dramas, even in a hospital bed. Perhaps these dramas were her only ______ to her childhood in China.

As I watched, I found myself missing my mother more than ever. Suddenly, I had a（n） ______to text my sister what I might have normally told my mother--that she had better watch Chinese dramas.______, she agreed to watch along with me. Soon we were livetexting enthusiastically as we watched. The more dramas we watched, the more______our conversations became. We couldn't help______what it would be like to grow up in China with Chinese people like us.

I could never have imagined how Chinese dramas could fill my mother's absence, leading me to ______my Chinese roots and how dramas would help me ______ my sister.