1 . Even though I’ve never lived in Chicago, I have a soft spot for the Cubs. My father grew up in the Windy City and loved the _________ his whole life. And I loved my dad. So I loved the Cubs too. Two decades after my father’s death, I am still a (an) _________. Every time I watch the Cubs on television, I think of him and have a (an) _________ with him in my head about the _________.

Perhaps baseball _________ you as too trivial (不重要的) a thing for father and son to connect over. But that is exactly what makes it ideal for _________ relationships. And this brings me back to the Cubs, the team that _________ me together with my dad, and that still brings me happy _________ of the love between us long after his death. We had nothing to _________ as we watched them play, except for the satisfaction of __________ the games together as father and son. The Cubs were the “place” where we __________ to enjoy our bond (联结).

I __________ the Cubs could bring my dad back. In February, I gave a __________ about workplace happiness to the Cubs front-office staff at Wrigley Field. Afterward, I __________ what my dad would have said. “Did they say anything about their pitching?” he would have asked instead. “A lot of the young arms this year could be great!”

And just like that, we were __________ all over again.

2 . Ten years ago I adopted my dog Rudy from a shelter just days before they were going to euthanize(使安乐死) him. We’ve had a special______ever since.

I’ve found his______really meaningful. Every night I get in my bed and he gets in his doggy bed right next to mine. But a year ago suddenly Rudy______. Every night when I got in bed he’d jump up on my bed and start licking(舔) my face. I’d get______and make him get off but the next night he’d do it again.

I was considering taking him to obedience(驯服) school when I suddenly______that he was licking the same spot on my jaw over and over again. I felt my jaw and it seemed okay but it was so______for my dog that I decided to just trust him. I made an appointment with the______and felt silly telling her why I came in but she agreed to do some______. It turns out I had a tumor(肿瘤) in my jaw. It couldn’t be felt from the outside but somehow Rudy knew it was there.

I’m feeling much better now but the doctors said if I’d______until the tumor was big enough to be felt, it’s likely I would have______. I saved my dog’s life and now he’s saved mine!

3 . It was a freezing winter day when a space heater caused a fire in a high-rise apartment building. The fire was small, but it _________ huge heavy smoke. Because a broken fire door was left _________, it took just minutes for the entire building to become a death _________ for the people inside.     

Before firefighters’ arrival, people _________ to evacuate the smoking building. Single mother-of-two Kristin was one of the hundreds of people _________ to get out of the building. As she tried to carry her two young children down the crowded _________ from her apartment, a stranger appeared out of nowhere and asked if she needed _________. The man is Francis, who lived on the building’s top floor. He was running for his _________ and when he saw Kristin and her daughters he _________ that he couldn’t just leave them there to struggle for themselves. __________, he picked 3-year-old Kween up and took off down the stairs quickly. __________ helped Kristin and her other child __________ it out not long after Francis and Kween got out. Kristin couldn’t __________ what could have happened if Francis hadn’t stopped to help.

Many people might have been so __________ by the fire that they might just care about themselves __________ danger, but this man kept his eyes open and didn’t hesitate (犹豫) to lend a hand.

4 . We all hope to enjoy a life of leisure and spend more time with family and friends after retirement. But when the pandemic hit, one-hundred-year-old Captain Tom, a retired soldier, decided to do a little contribution — have a _________ for charity in his backyard garden, with the aid of a walker, a walking device for those who have difficulty walking to push. By doing so, he wanted to _________ folks, encourage them to keep moving forward and _________ a little money for the National Health Service that was so _________ needed during the crisis.

Every day, Captain Tom _________ his walker around his yard to walk 10 rounds to _________ his daily goal. As sometimes happens with remarkable events, the media _________ the story of Captain Tom walking for _________. He appeared in his uniform for photo shoots, with medals _________ in World War Ⅱ.

He soon became a symbol of the fortitude (坚毅) the country needed. Viewers were inspired by the labored __________ that took him around and around his small __________. It was a simple act of courage but the straighten-your-back-and-carry-on message it conveyed was what the country __________.

Millions of dollars poured in to provide the needed __________ for health care systems. Queen Elizabeth knighted (封……为爵士) Captain Tom for his __________. It was all quite __________ for Captain Tom, who said, “It has gone far beyond my wildest expectations. I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart.”

5 . This morning. I stopped by a local grocery store to pick up a few items. The small store was almost _________ and only one cashier (收银员) was working. I waited while the guy in front of me was putting all the _________ groceries back into his shopping cart (购物车). He was about to leave when he asked if he could push the cart to his _________ a quarter mile away, unload it and then _________ it. The cashier was new there and was not sure. I said that I’d be happy to give him a _________ back home.

Then, we loaded his groceries into my car and talked on the _________ trip to his living place. He had just moved to the town recently, but like all of us, he was feeling the _________ of the high cost of living. I nodded with a sigh and helped him unload his groceries before _________ back home.

On my way home. I thought to myself. “The cost of living keeps going up, but at least the cost of loving doesn’t _________.”

That is the funny thing about loving. It almost costs us __________. You might think if you spent your love __________ your family, your neighbors, your friends, and even the __________ you meet in the street, sooner or later your love would __________. You might think sooner or later your __________ like your wallet would be empty. __________, love doesn’t work like that. When we share our love, we have even more love.

6 . The Enemy Is in My Pocket

Yesterday I went to a phone store. There were no other ___________ inside, just me and three salespeople.

“How can I help you?” One of them asked me.

I replied, “I ___________ if I'm able to trade in my iPhone for a non-smart phone.”

“Um, let me check on that.” She walked to the other end of the ___________ to ask her manager. Later, she came back with ___________ news. She smiled, ___________ they didn't provide such service. “___________ , you're the first person we've ever had who wanted to trade down your phone. "

That moment had come after months of struggle. I ___________ thought that I'd reach that point. I'm young and always ___________ the latest internet happenings using my iPhone. I didn't want to ___________ anything.

But one day, I began to wonder how important being online really is and if it made me a ____________ person. Twitter has funny jokes, but I’m often mad at posts from trolls (喷子). I spend hours playing games that ________the intention to read the news online. Throughout high school, the lessons had no hope of pulling my ____________ away from my phone. Being online so much made me feel ____________ or anxious and ____________ real-world things I needed to get done.

So, I wanted to ____________. Unfortunately, as I was told by the saleswoman, that isn't possible quite yet. But since then, I've started to leave my phone in my bedroom when I need to ____________ and when I go out with friends. The best way to stop ____________ my phone constantly is not having my phone on me to begin with.

I've only been doing this for a few days, but I have found myself obviously more ____________ and creative without breaking my concentration whenever I get a TikTok notification (通知).

Where there is a ____________ there is a way. There are always ways that everyone can enjoy the conveniences of new technology ____________ being burdened (烦扰) by it.

7 . Life is one ride. Sometimes you are the passenger, sometimes you are the driver, and sometimes your passengers or driver can become a ________ and lifelong friend.

That is ________ what happened to Latonya and Kevin. While ________ for Uber one night to pay for utility bills, Latonya ________ Kevin to drive him home. The two started talking.

During the long drive, Latonya and Kevin ________ one another about what was really going on. As they got to know each other more and more, Latonya said that she ________ of receiving higher education. Latonya had enrolled at Georgia State University in 2010 ________ was forced to drop out due to financial reasons. With tuition being too ________ and her dream destroyed, Latonya thought that her dream remained out of reach, but she would go back to school and her dream would become a ________. When Kevin left, he encouraged her to keep going and asked Latonya to tell him the enrollment process.

Some weeks later, Latonya attempted to re-enroll at Georgia State University, but there was a ________. She was told that there was a $ 693 balance (结欠) from her ________ studies eight years before that had to be paid before she could ________ her studies.

Well , not all heroes wear capes(披肩), because Kevin went straight down to the university and paid off the amount without Latonya’s ________ . Once the balance was paid, Latonya could ________ the university to study. She was shocked at Kevin’s ________ and promised to pay him ________ , but he didn’t ________ payment, saying “ the best payment is graduation”.

Latonya ________ ! On the graduation day, Kevin was there. Kevin said that when Latonya made her graduation speech he felt ________ . Latonya talked about how one important Uber ride changed her life. “He ________ me,” Latonya says of her Uber passenger.

8 . My sister spun and jumped as she skated lightly across the ice. She performed a demanding move and then skated in my direction, her eyes twinkling with________. “Come on, don’t be afraid. Just follow me!” She gently held me by the hand to the rink (滑冰场) and skillfully helped me put on my________.

Figure skating had________me with its grace and skill since I was quite young. Encouraged by my sister, who had been learning figure skating for many years, I made up my mind to________there despite my fear. To my great upset, it was much________than I had previously thought. Clutching the handrail, my legs________as fear slowly climbed upon me. Not only did the ground look more slippery, my skates were also more difficult to________. Though I had practiced many times with the help of my sister, I still couldn’t________my balance. Worst of all, as I staggered toward the center of the rink, I fell to the ground in a(n)________way. Disappointed and frustrated, I felt my face________with shame. “No, I can’t,” I murmured. “You can do it, ” my sister said as she turned to me with a firm smile and eyes full of belief. “Let’s try again.” I tried again, and this time, I________my thoughts on every part of myself, trying to move inch by inch with all my might.

Though I fell many times and________again, I kept my perseverance. As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect”. Eventually, I was able to move________by myself. I felt a ripple of ________spread through me. I made it! Apart from learning how to skate, I also learned how to ________difficulties, which I will cherish for the rest of my life.

9 . These days, senior citizens sometimes have to work well beyond the average age of retirement just to make ends meet.

Devan Bonagura is a 19-year-old boy from New Jersey, who just started to work. He was working at the Hackettstown store when he_________Nola, a nearly 70-year-old employee sitting in the break room. She was_________, and he took a video and added the video to a social networking website_________by the heart-breaking words: “Life shouldn’t be this hard.”        

Nearly 20 million people viewed Devan’s video, and the 39,000_________demanded he do something to help the old lady. With their_________, Devan started a GoFundMe for Nola, and within 24 hours he already_________over $100 ,000!

Once the donations hit $ 110, 000, Devan spoke with Nola about the Internet’s good deed. “The viewers_________that you’re a very hard worker,” Devan told her. “They’re all proud of you, and they’d like to_________help you out.”

Nola was so_________because she badly needed to pay off the mortgage(按揭) on her house.__________that she needed another $ 60,000 to__________the mortgage, Devan decided to continue his__________. He posted Nola’s story on the website, and even more people__________their wallets to help Nola. Her GoFundMe shot up above the__________she needed.   

Now Nola can finally__________, and she’s incredibly thankful to Devan and all of the people who donated to help her out.

10 . Once upon a time, there lived an ant and a grasshopper(蟋蟀)in a grass field by a river. The ant would work hard all day long from dawn to dusk _________ the grain. On the other hand, the grasshopper would spend all his time singing and dancing. He would _________ call the ant to join him in singing, dancing and making merry at the present time. However, the ant would _________ him and continue with her work.

Soon summer _________ to autumn and autumn to winter. It became freezing cold outside due to snowfall and the sun was barely seen and the nights were _________ and dark. Out of cold, the grasshopper lost his _________ in singing and making merry. He was cold and hungry and had no _________ to take shelter from the snow outside. He wondered how to save himself from this _________ situation.        

Suddenly he remembered about the ant and decided to _________ her for some food and shelter. Off he went to her place and knocked at her door for __________. When she opened the door, the grasshopper offered to sing for her __________ for some food and shelter.

To this, the ant replied that she had worked hard in summer to save enough __________ for winter and the grasshopper had laughed at her then. She gently asked him to sing somewhere else and __________ his food and shelter. It is then, the grasshopper realised that he should have __________ enough for the winter instead of wasting his time being __________ during summer in singing and dancing around.