2 . Even though I’ve lived in Walnut Creek for four years, I don’t know many of my neighbours. Now, during the mask-wearing, stay-inside weeks of the pandemic (大流行病), it would be great to have a socially-distanced _______with a neighbour, but how would I _______ meet any of them? Anyway, at least I had my cat Junior for _______.

Last week, Junior ______ through the open window while I was cleaning the windowsill (窗台) but I didn’t think too much of it, ______ he is sometimes gone for an hour or two before he ______ the window to let him back in. But this time, it had been almost a whole day and Junior hadn’t come back. That never ______. I kept worrying he might ______ to death. I cooked and ______ a chicken breast and put it on the windowsill. Junior would never be able to ______ a special treat like that.

But when he returned with more than 25 hours gone, he ______ over the plate of chicken, ______ it completely. The next morning the chicken still sat on the plate, ______. Oh no, was he sick? I was ______ when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to see a familiar-looking woman, ______ and standing six feet back. “I’m from Apartment 4334,” she said. “Your cat was outside meowing and I thought you might be too ______ to feed him, so I chopped up some fish sticks and he ______ them down. I just came by to see if you need anything.” I thanked her for her ______.

How wonderful it was to meet such a neighbour, because she was kind enough to think about us. Nevertheless, I’m going to keep Junior on lockdown. I can’t have him getting ______ because of my generous and ______ neighbour!

3 . We are surrounded   by stories of sadness, cruelty and violence. Evil arrests our   __ . But there are also many____stories of selfless goodness. They could___ go unnoticed, but such acts can also change lives forever.

My brothers and I __ with a story of something that happened to my father,   who___ seven years ago. It is a story of family tragedy and astonishing, quiet   kindness. My father’s father died when my father was 11. His mother was a widow at 34, and as an only child, he___ much of his grief alone. In   accordance   with   traditional___ , he began to walk very early to church each morning to say prayers in his father’s___ .

At the end of his first week, he___ that the ritual director of the synagogue, Mr. Einstein, walked past his home just as he left to walk to church . Mr. Einstein, ___ advanced in years explained, “Your home is on the way to the church. I thought it might be fun to have some___ . That way, I don’t have to walk alone.”For a year my father and Mr. Einstein walked through the New England __ , the   humidity of summer and the snow of winter. They talked about life and loss and, for a while, my father was not so___ .

After my parents married and my oldest brother was born, my father___ Mr. Einstein, now well into his 90s, and asked if Mr. Einstein could meet his new wife and child. Mr. Einstein___ , but said that in view of his age my father would have to come to him.

My father once wrote about what happened: “The journey was long and___ . His home, by car, was ______   twenty minutes away. I drove in tears as I   ______   what he     had done. He had walked for an hour to my home so that I would not have to be alone each morning. … By the simplest of gestures, the___ of caring, he took a frightened child and he___ him with confidence and with faith back into life.”

4 . Scott loved his basketball team and always played hard for it. Last year, they had won the state finals. This year, they were finding things much ___________. Three _________ were left before the finals and Scott's team needed to _______ them all to go to the finals. They made two but near the _______ of the third game, they were behind by six points. Scott had also hurt his_______ when he fell on the court.

''Are you okay to _______?'' asked his coach. Scott looked at the injury on his knee.

''I'll be _______,'' he said.

Scott knew the _________ of his decision. He could hurt his knee even more. Or he could ___________ not to play.   He knew that not playing might cause his team to________. As he rested before the final quarter, he decided to play through the pain. He________ that he was going to win this game for the team he________.

As the quarter began, he caught the ball after the other __________ made a mistake. He bounced the ball down the court and threw the ball into the basket. Scott ________ towards his coach. They were only four points behind now. Scott kept playing __________ during the final quarter. He __________ scored a three-point shot from the center of the court. With just two________ left, Scott's team was still one point behind. Scott was passed the ball by his teammate. He ____________ the pain in his knee and ran forward. He ____________ towards the end of the court. His feet left the ground. He sent his shot into the basket and earned his side two points. The final whistle (哨音) blew seconds after. Scott's________ decision had helped his team reach the finals.