2 . It was late September. I was driving through a heavy fog to a store to _______ a few things. When I got there, I _______ in the store looking for what I _______ . I chose a bag of food for my dogs, a pack of _______ for my son to play with his toy car and my favorite chocolate bars for _______ . As I turned the corner to _______ the checkout, though, I saw something that stopped me in my _______. A two-foot-tall skeleton (骨骼模型) _______   a tuxedo (无尾礼服) was staring across the room at a two-foot-tall Santa Claus. I _______ shook my head and walked on.

As I was ________ home, the fog lifted and the Autumn leaves started to ________ in the sunlight. There were reds, yellows, oranges and browns. It was so ________ . As I watched them, I found the   ________ why I had been so bothered by what I had seen in the__________. It wasn’t that Halloween was a month away and Christmas three months away. It wasn’t that the stores were doing all they could to________ money from our pockets and add__________ to our credit cards. It was the ________ fact that we possibly had ________ that every day is nice. Every day is ________, which we should treasure. We have created a world in which we regret the past and live for the ________. We spend all of our wealth trying and failing to buy a few moments of joy.

3 . Rehan Staton was close to giving up on his dreams. His father, who was his family’s mere provider, struggled to make _________ meet. There were times when Rehan was_______ meals and went to school on an empty stomach, as his dad was always at work.

His education suffered because of all the _______ his family was going through. By the 7th grade, Rehan’s grades rapidly_________. Instead of bringing him down, this hardship_________ him to turn to sports. It was at this point that Rehan became _______ about athletics and boxing. At the time, his father met an engineer, who offered to _______ the boy for free. This chance seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel(隧道). Unfortunately, just when things were starting to ___________, Rehan’s dreams of becoming a boxer were _______by a severe injury.

The young boy was________ by every college he applied to. He was forced to get a ________to help his family keep the________over their heads. His job as a garbage collector at the trash company________to offer him more opportunities than he could ever imagine.

At the company, he finally found people that saw his great________. Most of his colleagues encouraged the bright boy to continue with his________. A higher-up from Rehan’s work heard about his story and helped him register at Bowie State University.________, he was admitted into Harvard Law School.

The 24-year-old’s success story now ________   many young people to never stop following their dreams. Rehan himself started ________ youngsters facing adversity(困境), in a________to help them use their full potential________the difficulties they’re going through.

4 . Jessica McClard thinks a lot about those in her community who need help feeding their families. That inspired her to ______ Little Free Pantries, small boxes set in neighborhoods where people can either take what they ______ or leave something for others who might be having a ______ time.

McClard ______ up in the small community of Arkansas. “It was a food ______ from my childhood,” she said. “The ______ store was 30 miles away.” Though she always had enough to eat, McClard grew up with the ______ that her neighbors might not. So when she started seeing Little Free Libraries ______ in her neighborhood encouraging community members to share ______ , it gave her an idea to create a ______ system that could help feed others.

McClard built the first pantry in May of 2016, but her first ______ to place it at a multi-family, mid-size apartment complex (综合社区) didn’t ______.

At the end of the school year last May, McClard decided to have another try, so she and her daughters placed a ______ Little Free Pantry across the street from a local elementary school and ______ it with both food and special treats for the ______, like bubbles, candy necklaces, and ______toys. Then they made sure the parents knew it would be there.

“My girls had so much ______ picking out all of the supplies with me,” said McClard. “Then we sat at a distance and ______ the kids as they went up to the box. It was really ______.” For the beginning of the school year, McClard and her daughters tried to ______ school and art supplies in the pantries as well.

7 . I was ten years old at that time. It was a hot, summer afternoon and I decided to _______ by swimming in the river where the water was cold. After a while I grabbed my _______ and headed back up to the house. I knew that _______ would be ready soon.

I _______ in slowly and saw my grandmother busy cooking. Two freshly baked loaves of Italian bread smelled wonderful. My grandmother was _______ her special sauce (调味汁) without noticing my arrival. It had been slowly _______ for hours. Potatoes, pieces of chicken, and meatballs had been quietly cooking in it. Grandma _______ a wooden spoon, stirred the sauce and brought up a bit for a _______. She made a face and shook her head. Something wasn’t quite _______. She added some salt. Then she shook in a little more garlic powder. She ________ stirred the sauce for a while longer. ________ she took another taste. This time her ________ widened and she nodded her approval of her ________. I smiled too. I knew it was going to be another ________ dinner.

Looking back I think grandmother was such a ________ cook because she not only seasoned (给……调味) her food with the right ________ but also seasoned it with her love. She was a true ________ when it came to cooking and truly wise when it came to living. I still ________ her every single day and I am so thankful for all the ________ she taught me. Life is so much tastier when you ________ it with joy. Be the chef of your own life then.

9 . Twenty years ago, I became involved in pet therapy (疗法) work with our dog J.J. After J.J. passed away, we ____ another young dog, whom we named Angel. As she ____ and went through training, we realized that she would be a good therapy dog.

Angel is ten now and ____ every week. She visits two hospitals, a day care center and a library. At the library, dogs lie on the floor, and kids ____ a book to read to a dog. After they_____, they get a trading card with the dog’s picture and history. Angel has also ____ at a children’s special needs camp. She is so _____ that everywhere we go people recognize her, _____ the kids she has worked with.

We have ____ some very special things through our pet therapy work. We used to pay a ____to a woman who was completely paralyzed (瘫痪) on her right side from a stroke. One day, my husband, Jack, asked the_____if she wanted to give Angel a treat.

She_______, and Jack carefully placed the treat in her right hand. Angel_____ took the treat. Then the woman_______her right hand and started ______Angel. Her friend in the room looked ______ and said, “ She hasn’t been able to move that_______since she had her stroke!” After that, every time she lifted her left hand to   ______us, we’d tell her she had to use her right hand, and she would.

When Angel visits the hospital, she also performs_______ for the patients, such as rolling over, shaking and balancing treats on her nose. Once she starts her performance, she won’t stop________Jack claps his hands.

10 . My partner and I wanted to spread some joy this Christmas, so we decided to organize gifts for the residents of a local nursing home. I _________ our plans on Facebook. My aunty and two of my friends sent me money to _________ gifts. Then one of the ladies who works at a different branch (分店) of the store where I work sent me over a huge box of chocolates, biscuits and sweets to _________the presents. We bought lots of food and gifts for the residents and _________ wrapped them. A man called James who saw my post _________ to drive us to the home and another lady _________ me saying she had her own gifts she wanted to give. It was _________ to see people coming together to help.

So, on Dec 22, we were all ready to go and be Santa’s elves (精灵)!James _________ my partner and me, and we _________ to the nursing home with 74 __________ plus a few extras for good measure! After signing in, putting on our masks, gowning up (穿上长袍) and having our temperature __________we were in. We were ready to __________ the Christmas cheer.

I was a little __________ as it was my first time in a nursing home and I’m shier than my partner who has no __________ talking to people whatsoever. But once the nursing manager began taking us round to everyone’s rooms, I saw the __________ , surprise and happiness on their faces. I was so happy to be there and it gave me so much __________. We went to everyone’s rooms,__________ them a very happy Christmas and gave them each a small gift of soaps, hand creams, biscuits, chocolates, etc.

It was a __________ experience and I highly __________ that people should do something like this as it will bring you so much fulfillment and happiness. The feeling of __________ people gifts is simply wonderful.