1 . There is a big difference between offering to help and helping. Almost all of us are guilty (内疚的) about the following _________: Someone talks about a problem, and we answer with _________ words, “Be sure to give me a call if I can help.” But we often do nothing to help.

Once I was in the situation where I _________ these kinds of offers of help—my son just started studying abroad. During those particular days, all I could _________ was the trouble my son would possibly face. It was a very _________ experience. However, there were very few who offered something really helpful.

_________. I had one close friend who took action rather than just saying to offer help. She called, “I know you must be going crazy. I think you need to get away from your _________.” She had already called a few of our friends and _________ a big dinner out. It was a wonderful night. I hadn’t even known how much I needed that break _________ I was there.

After that ____________, I decided I’d ____________ her example and reach out to others. I’ve been ____________ and even guessed wrong at times. But I was amazed when I cheered people up. So ____________ asking someone if they need help, and offer something ____________ then and there. It is a way to show the power of ____________ in an uncertain world.

2 . Last year I attended the annual autumn saffron (藏红花) harvest festival on a trip in Italy, known as the sagra. Giovannina Sarra and her family ________ me at their home. Early the next morning, we ________ among the fields and participated in the harvest.

Saffron , taken from the stigmas (柱头) of the saffron flower, is a(n) ________ crop. Also called red gold, it is a(n) ________ from Spain, first introduced into the region around the 13th century. Saffron is ________ in the hours just before ________, while the petals (花瓣) are closed. This helps protect their precious stigmas and makes the flowers easier to ________, especially preferred by the acquirers (收购商). Later, on the same day, the stigmas — three ________ strings per flower — are separated from the petals. It’s a delicate ________ that takes hours with a skilled and ________ hand. In the evening, over an open wood fire, the stringlike stigmas are ________ to make saffron powder to add to the richness of the color and the flavor, which brings considerable income.

Now sitting at a mouth-watering plate of Risotto alla Milanese, a dish cooked with saffron, I ________ the freezing morning with Sarra and her family. There’s no ________ that it is the families like the Sarras that stick to the many ________ that have survived from generation to generation. ________ more people will join them.

3 . With the Statue of Liberty positioned perfectly behind me, I turned my attention to my husband, Mark, holding the camera. “Ready?” I called out. “One, two, three, go!” he shouted. At his _________, I started doing star jumps, as he held the shutter button down to _________ the moment.

It was 2013, and Mark and I loved to travel around the world and _________ silly photos with our friends and family back home. It was the first time I’d tried this _________ and when I posted it on Facebook later that day, it was _________ popular. I was amazed by dozens of likes and comments.

When I got home, it was all my friends could talk about. “Your star jumps really _________ me up,” one said over a cup of tea. It made me happy knowing I’d helped others _________ a smile at my expense. Years went by, and the pose became a(n) _________ part of my travels, from France, the Greek Islands and Italy to Bali and New Zealand.

Then in June, I saw a(n) _________ advertised online searching for Australia’s happiest person. “We’re __________ four stays at Oaks hotels and all we want to see is your happy face,” it __________. “That sounds like me,” I thought, so I posted the __________. A couple of months later, I got a phone call announcing I was the __________. I was excited at the news and raced to tell Mark.

Now, here’s our plan: First, we’ll __________ to Sydney for the Vivid Festival and climb the Harbor Bridge. After that, we might go to Kings Cliff in northern New South Wales and even Darwin.

Life’s all about chasing happiness. And for anyone searching for __________ in their lives, my advice would be to smile.

4 . The scientific conference in China was over. And then our ______ that day was to have fun, which would be to see a bit of China as a ______ . The bus arived. An English-speaking tour guide ______ us and we were off. We left the busy suburb of Yiwu and ______ the mountains.

Hongfu Mountain Forest Park is remarkably beautiful with trees growing on the cliff, which leads to ______ shapes. The ______ are covered in plants that range from tropical to deciduous (落叶的) at higher altitude. The paths are well ______ in Chinese but there are very few signs in English. Some of the unique buildings have poetic names like “bamboo shoots”. I also studied the ______ and tried to match the shape with the ______ .

There were a large number of stone ______ leading up to the temple. We started to climb, and at one point we stopped for a group of ______ . I took the opportunity to sit, rest and ______ the view from the top.

It was late in the afternoon. The sun was sliding westward. We got into the ______ for the trip back to Yiwu. It had been a long and exciting day, which made me ______ . I had had another glimpse of China and taken a lot of pictures for memory. As I gradually fell asleep, I ______ my day’s adventure in my mind.

5 . A few years ago, I was giving a presentation to the CEO of a financial services company, outlining a speech on “Leadership Presence”, which I was _________ to deliver to his organization the next day.

Our meeting lasted thirty minutes, and through that entire time, the CEO sat at the conference table with his _______   tightly crossed. He didn’t once smile, lean forward or nod encouragement. When I finished, he said thank you and glanced at the doorway to indicate that we were _________ .

I was sure that his nonverbal _________ was telling me that my speaking engagement would be canceled. But when I walked to the elevator, the executive’s assistant came to tell me how _________ her boss had been with my presentation.

I was shocked and asked how he would have _________ had he not liked it. “Oh,” said the assistant, _________ ,“He would have _________ as you were speaking and walked out of the room.”

The _________ signals I’d received from that CEO were ones I judged to be __________ . What I didn’t realize was that, for this individual, it was his __________ behavior.

Just as I __________ that executive’s body language, when people don’t know how you usually behave they also can easily __________ to the wrong conclusion. Remember this when meeting someone __________ . They won’t know that you __________ frown when you’re concentrating and may think the frown is a negative reaction to something she said or did.

6 . Last month, my husband and I decided on visiting Cape Cod, which is about three hours’ drive from Boston. Our daughter who_________close to Boston dropped us off at 8 am on her way to the office. We decided to return home on our own in the evening _________we thought we could catch a local train to home from Boston. We had a great time in Cape Cod and_________Boston in the evening. We found ourselves just going round in a maze (迷宫) of streets, with the station_________ in sight! The roads were _________with not many people walking around. And we were a bit embarrassed to ask strangers for _________. Eventually we saw a young guy coming towards us. We_________him and told him about our _________situation. On hearing it, he immediately _________ to take us to the station. When we got there, to our__________, the money ticketing machine was out of order. At that moment the young man took out his credit card. “Here you go,” he smiled and __________the tickets to us. We gave him the ticket money, but he__________. We both expressed our __________ for his help. After returning home, we told our friends about this and they all asked about his name. __________, we had forgotten to get his name in a great__________ at the time of our departure! But we’re determined to pass his kindness on.

7 . It all started about three years ago, when I met up with my son in a park. He’s very outdoorsy and it was the first time I’d _________ him barefoot-he likes the way it feels on the grass, _________ he doesn’t do it all the time. I found it _________ , so I took my shoes off to give it a go. It was as though I’d discovered an extra sense. Afterwards, I wanted to _________ it up.

I’ve been _________ in London every day since March last year. Living in a city, I love the element of the unexpected. Travelling on the tube (地铁) barefoot was a novelty (新奇事)at first because there are so many different surfaces: The smooth platforms and ridged circles before the yellow “Mind the Gap” line. It’s as if I’ve _________ a new dimension most people normally never experience.

Being barefoot outside and _________ people are connected, as evidenced by my discovery that being involved with the community and being in nature really made me feel good. I bring a pair of slippers with me everywhere in case I _________ to put them on. The only time I properly wear shoes is when I go to libraries because the security (保安) _________ . When I take my shoes off at the end of the day, my __________ are on fire.

I like to be different and have always worn a lot of bright colors—that __________ gets me a lot of attention as a 64-year-old man. However, I could write a book about the range of reactions I get about my feet. Some people __________ it, while others don’t quite understand. The most common question is: “Where are your shoes?” I always stay calm and tell them it’s a __________ choice. It certainly starts interesting conversations and at least people are __________ because this behavior strikes them as strange and they want to know more about it.

I have to__________ for my feet because, although they’ve become tough, the skin does crack. I’m still looking to find the best way to look after them.

8 . “In three weeks,” shouted my gym teacher, “we will begin our yearly physical fitness testing. Be ________ to complete the mile run within ten minutes. We will practice it during gym class until the test.”

The class started complaining(抱怨). My complaint was the ________ because I was the worst in my class in running. For me, it meant ________ for being the slowest in the class, as well as physical pain and too much sweat.

I stood ________ at the school track. As my teacher explained the run, I made a desperate(孤注一掷的)decision to ________ with my fastest friend Lily for as long as I could during the run.

The sharp whistle blew, and we ________. Lily sped ahead of the entire class in three long steps. Breathing in great amounts of air, I ________ right behind her. Every time I felt the desire to stop, I pushed my body a bit farther. When I finally gave in to my self-request and slowed to a walk. I realized that I had ________ half of a mile running directly behind Lily.

Although I ________ the remaining half mile, I finished before some of my faster friends. ________ as I was at my unexpected progress, I couldn’t help but believe that it happened by chance. I was afraid I’d never run ________ again. So, every night for the rest of the week, I ran up and down my street, building myself up in preparation for the test in the following ________.

My progress was ________ but sure over the next few months. When we changed P. E. groups, I became the fastest girl in my class. I was, surprisingly enough ________ Wednesday morning gym class.

Running has got me into shape. Far more importantly, though, I’ve learned a(n)________ since I began the sport. I can truly do anything if I set my mind on it, even if it seems more than impossible.

9 . Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad.

You probably don’t know Mark, but you might be _______ enough to know someone just like him. He’s been the heart and soul of the office, combining professional skills with a sweet nature. He’s never been all that interested in getting praise for the _______ work he does.

And now he’s moving on to an exciting new opportunity which sounds like the chance of a lifetime, and we’re _______ pleased for him. But that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and _______ colleague.

Life has a way of throwing these curve balls (曲线球) at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to _______ it.

But how do we deal with change? There’s Chris, who once told me that the answer can be expressed in four words, “Go _______ the flow.”

“It is like surfing,” Chris explained. “You can’t organize the ocean. _______ just happen. You ride them _______ they take you, and then you go back out there and catch the next one. Sure, you’re always hoping for the perfect wave. But _______ you just take them the way they come.”

That doesn’t ________ that you don’t keep trying to make all your dreams come true. It just means that when things that aren’t exactly in your plan ________, you work around them and then you move on. Of course, some barriers (阻碍) along the ________ of life are easier to take than others. A rained-out picnic, for example, is ________ to deal with than the sudden death of a loved one. But the principle is the same.

We’re going to ________ Mark. But rather than on the sadness of our ________, we’ll focus on our hopes for a brighter future.

10 . Hardly had I finished my work and left my office building at 9 p. m. on a Saturday when it rained cats and dogs. I noticed a man wandering around my car the moment I _______ the parking lot.

He was alone, _______ with cold, and he was looking around every few seconds. It was then that it _______ me that I had forgotten to roll the car window up and that was _______ where I left my wallet.

I ran and called out to the man, _______ he didn’t take the money and make a run with it. I was too tired to _______ him.

“Are you the _______ of this car?” the man asked, raindrops on the roof of my car making his voice _______.

“Yes, I am. And who the hell are you?” I replied with an unfriendly _______.

The man went on to tell me that he was a ________ nearby and familiar with every face and every car here. “This morning, several young men walked up ________ to take the money in your car. I would not let that happen. I came over and frightened them away, ________ to call the police. The young men ran away immediately. I was waiting for you here so that the car and your money would be ________,” he said.

When the man gave a clear ________ of what had happened earlier, I ate my words out of________ I knew I wronged him.

“Why didn’t you take the money?” I asked him.

“I beg, sir. But I don’t steal!” He replied determinedly and left hurriedly.