1 . I grasped a sandwich as I tried to finish my work during lunch. My company, like many companies, had_________ costs by not replacing people as they left. The survivors had to take up the work. For me and my co-workers, this meant no lunch hour. I wanted to quit, but given the economy, it was hard to find another job. I felt ________. Then a conversation with a six-year-old girl changed my ________.

The young girl was standing in line with her mom at the supermarket.

“Good day at school?” I asked.

A nod.

“What’s your favorite subject?”

“Lunch.”

I smiled. That had been my_________ too. At lunch, I could talk with my friends, draw pictures or play games. There were no adults to tell me what to do. The time was mine.

But what happened to lunch time now?

I knew I was entitled to a lunch break at work. So I decided to ________ it. Our office was located in the downtown and I set out to_________ the area. A few blocks away was an art museum with free admission. At the end of another street, I was surprised to discover some horses eating grass in a field.

At the beginning of my tours during lunch, I received some ________ stares from my co-workers, but I chose to ignore them. In fact, I watched in amazement that some of them started to_________ their work during lunch. ________, we started inviting each other out for walks and discovered we had other topics of conversation beyond the common complaints about work.

I’m still looking for a new position, but with less anxiety than before. If we can’t change our ________, we can change our attitude.

2 . It was 4:30 pm. As I was packing up, I noticed my colleague had left his laptop bag in the office. So I decided to bring it to him. It took me about 15 minutes to get to his house, where I _____ the bag and got right back on the road.

Suddenly a snowstorm came and within minutes I was in a whiteout. I stopped because I was afraid of driving into a farmer’s field, or worse. I kept the car _____ to stay warm and called 911.They told me to sit tight and wait things out for the night.

Those seconds after the call were _____. Breathe, I told myself. Panicking won’t help.

I texted my colleague, joking about my good deed ending in _____. He suggested I share a satellite view of my _____ on my social media. And I did so, praying that anyone who knew the residents of the nearby farms could get me rescued.

Waiting in the car, I doubted whether _____ would be able to come. Soon enough, though, I got a message from someone who was going to put me in touch with them.

At 8 pm, I saw a tall figure in a yellow raincoat striding toward me in the dark, carrying a flashlight. I’d never been more _____ to see someone in my life. It was André Bouvier, who’d walked about 550 yards to come get me, fighting the wind and snow each step of the way.

He turned around and started to trudge through the snow, sure of the direction. I drove behind him, feeling my heart begin to beat more _____. When we reached his house, I burst into tears, all my fears turning into relief and _____.

The experience has been a game changer for me. I now ______ challenges with a sense of calm I’d not known before. But best of all, it brought André into my life.

3 . In 2019, Thierry Henry, a bus driver, found there was a rise in bike thefts in his city, Reykjavik. Rather than ________ that the bike was gone forever, he decided to take matters into his own hands and started to track down the bikes and return them to their ________ owners.

The 44-year-old has helped return hundreds of stolen bikes in the past 4 years. His social media account has over 14, 500 members and helps people track down more than just lost bikes. His page ________ to people who have lost tools, cars and other items of high value. On top of his noble act, Henry has helped the bike ________ to reform in the process.

________, Henry would deal with the thieves with anger. However, over time, he realized that most of the thefts were driven out of poverty and other issues. He went from feeling ________ towards the thieves, to developing empathy (同理心) for their situations. It was very tough at first. But Henry decided to try to ________ them and just talk to them.

From this moment onward, he reached out to the thieves, offering help and guidance. After the change in his ________, Henry found that the bike thieves began to often hand back the bikes to him. Amazingly, some former thieves that Henry helped now ________ him in looking for the stolen bikes.

“It’s like a ________ that has got bigger and bigger, ” says Henry. “It’s not only me. Many times, someone spots a bike hidden in a bush and takes a picture. Then someone else comments, ‘hey, that’s my bike’”.

Thanks to Henry, everyone’s looking out.

4 . When Susan was a high school senior, her English teacher Mr. DiMeo gave the class a challenging task: Recite a poem in front of the whole class.

“I had a mild stutter (结巴). I’d be ________ to get a word out that might begin with ‘D’ or ‘TH’, or I might say ‘the’ three times,” Susan said. The thought of getting up in front of her classmates and stuttering through the poem was too much to ________.

Susan went home and ________ how scared she was to her mom, who agreed to write a note asking for her to be ________ from doing the task in front of the whole class.

When the day of the recitation came, Susan recited the poem one-on-one to Mr. DiMeo. ________ she was done, Mr. DiMeo said something she’d never heard before: that he liked listening to her voice. For the first time, she considered the possibility that public speaking didn’t have to be a source of ________.

Susan went on to graduate from high school and go to college. She never got to properly thank Mr. DiMeo. But sometime after college, she ________ a job as a corporate trainer. The new position made her realize how big a (n)________ he had had on her confidence.

“I stand up in front of people and speak, and I do it all the time. If I do stutter once in a while, no big deal,” she said. Susan recently found a way to ________ her former teacher, and plans on sending him a letter expressing her appreciation.

In her mind, Mr. DiMeo is an unsung hero, because he’s a big reason why she has a successful career and life. “I don’t know where I would’ve gone if I felt like I had to keep my voice ________ because I was afraid of embarrassing myself. I’d like to thank him for that kindness.”

5 . A winter storm dropped huge amounts of snow overnight on January 16 in western Pennsylvania. Coach Brian Delallo, who worked on a local high school football team, decided to _______ his players’ weightlifting practice. He texted his players saying: “Due to the expected severe _______ Monday’s weightlifting workout has been cancelled. Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel (为……除雪) their driveway. Don’t accept any _______-that’s our Monday workout. ”

The players received the message and went out to work on the more than six inches of snow that fell overnight. They said that they removed _______from dozens of homes. Some players texted their coach afterwards to tell him how _______ it was. “We all feel great about it, ” said team captain Gavin Moul. “It’s not only helping them, but it’s helping us to become a better team. ”

Many of the people whom the team members approached couldn’t believe that the players wouldn’t accept any payment. Sometimes people even _______ their help because they wouldn’t take money for it.

Actually, it was not the first time for the team to have shoveling workout. It was started by a coach more than two decades ago. It was one of the many _______ the team kept.

“It’s about community. ” the coach said. “It is an inspiring way for us to interact with our community and show that it _______. Shoveling snow is just one of those opportunities to show appreciation to the community that supports us. ”The team got a workout and gave _______ to the community by doing these acts of kindness at the same time. It was a __________ for all.

6 . Brad hadn’t seen Grandma Joy for six years since their fierce argument. At his brother’s wedding, he ________ her again. He saw her walk unsteadily into the church and helped her get to the seat. But they didn’t say much.

Six months after the wedding, Brad hiked the Appalachian Trail. He found himself ________ a lot about his grandmother and the time they had spent at Blue Rock State Park, which is close to her house. There, they’d lift rocks in the river to find fish. It puzzled him why that ________ in particular stayed with him. He decided to call Grandma Joy.

It would be their first real ________ in years. She invited him over and he said “yes”. When the door opened, everything inside looked the same. But he was looking at a woman who had ________. They made small talk. Grandma Joy said that she had many ________ in her life. One of them was that except her time at Blue Rock State Park, she’d never had the chance to see what she called the great outdoors.

Brad left his grandmother’s house and went back to his routine. But he couldn’t help thinking of Grandma Joy and her sadness of not seeing more of ________. She just lived a simple life that stopped at the edge of the county line. He thought it would be a lifelong pity if he didn’t ________ her. Then he came up with an idea that even he knew was ________. He would take his 85-year-old grandma on a camping trip to a national park. He told her his crazy idea. The old lady ________ him by asking, “When do we leave?”

Having arrived there, Brad made a campfire. They sat next to each other, feeling the warmth and looking at stars. They ________ the lockbox of their past, talking about families and friends, about loss and pain. They told each other they’d wasted too many years being ________. So they decided to go on more trips together.

They have now visited 62 national parks. The open road provided time for the pair to ________ their secrets. Grandma Joy highly valued Brad’s company during the trips. She said she wouldn’t ________ him for anybody. Now, they’re not just traveling partners, not just grandmother and grandson, but ________.

7 . Jennifer finds Cecelia reading a newspaper alone in the room. “Hi Cecelia, do you_______me? Jennifer.” The 91-year-old resident at Newburgh elder care center says a friendly hello, but doesn’t seem to recognize Jennifer today.

It’s one nice spring afternoon. Jennifer invites Cecelia to go down to the_______. She helps Cecelia head to the elevator. Cecelia wheels herself forward, as Jennifer_______guides her from behind.

The two have been getting to know each other over the past few months since Jennifer, the recent Boston University graduate, began to volunteer in the center,_______residents with Alzheimer’s disease (阿尔茨海默症).

Down in the courtyard, Cecelia begins reading a poem, slowly and lyrically (抒情地). Jennifer listens attentively, and then asks if Cecelia knows who wrote the poem，to help her with a “_______stretch”. Together, they reflect on the poem’s meaning. Cecelia’s deep understanding of the poem suggests that she is such a_______lady. Jennifer tells Cecelia, “You’re the one who makes me_______coming here every week. I love learning from you. You’re like my teacher.”

“You give the old people a_______to think and to know they get good care,” Cecelia replies.

Jennifer’s relationship with Cecelia has played an important role in_______ her passion for looking after older generations. “We should take time to listen to them. Just listening is an act of__________,” Jennifer says.

8 . It was a September day. Today was the first day of high school for a freshman, Kayla. Kayla had always been a bit of a shy kid, but she had always ______ her studies. She was determined to make full use of her high school years.

As she walked down the hallways, Kayla couldn’t help but feel ______. The older students seemed so confident, while she felt small and unimportant, But Kayla was determined to succeed, no matter what ______ came her way.

It wasn’t long before Kayla’s determination was put to the ______. In her first week of school, she was assigned (分派) a (n) ______ project that required a lot of research and planning. Kayla did her ______, but she soon realized that she was in over her head. As she struggled (努力) to complete the project, Kayla began to ______ herself. She wondered if she was cut out for high school. But then, something ______ happened.

Kayla’s classmates began to notice how ______ she was working, and they started to offer her help and ______. They gave her advice on how to ______ her time better, and they shared their tips for ______ assignments. With their help, Kayla was able to complete the project on time and with great ______.

From that day on, Kayla ______ that high school was not a challenge to be faced alone. With the help and support of her ______, she was able to deal with any difficulty that came her way.

9 . Though new term had begun for weeks, the new girl Molly still remained _______ around her classmates. Now she was sitting at the picnic table alone. She seemed unsure of what to do or say, yet I could see her eyes longing for _______.

Brianna, the class clown, was standing near the playground making the other students laugh, as usual. “Brianna, Molly looks awfully _______. Would you invite her to join us?” I said.

Brianna sighed. I could tell that she was _______ to do what I was asking of her, but I also knew she was so sweet and kind. I had specifically _______ her for this task. She looked at her friends, then at Molly.

Knowing this choice was _______ her, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a D-buck, our class currency(货币). I needed to _______ her cooperation.

“Here, I’ll _______ you for your time.”

She offered an insincere smile, grasped the green paper, and headed off.

I watched closely as the girls talked. When they finally walked back together, I sighed with _______.

A minute later, Brianna came back and handed me the D-buck.

“I shouldn’t keep this.” Her eyes fell to her feet, __________ radiating from her quiet voice. “I don’t want Molly to think I only went to get her so I could earn a D-buck. She’s my friend.”

Then Brianna skipped back to amuse her classmates again, and who laughed for the first time that week? Molly.

10 . “Dear department, I would like your approval if I can have a unicorn (独角兽) in my backyard if I can find one. Please send me a letter in response.” In mid-November, Joyce wrote a letter to the local department of animal care and control with a(n) _______ request.

Director Annabelle Bradshaw wrote back a few weeks later with good news. She said the department does in fact license unicorns under certain _______. Those include polishing the unicorn’s horn (角) at least once a month, giving it _______ access to sunlight, moonlight and rainbows, and feeding it watermelons at least once a week.

_______ that Joyce would meet all the requirements, Bradshaw sent her a “preapproved unicorn license” for her future pet. “It is always   _______ to hear from young people who consider providing a loving home to animals.” Bradshaw wrote. She deals with a lot of “emotionally exhausting” issues on the job. So Joyce’s letter has _______ brightened her spirits. The first-grader also _______ her for wanting to ask permission in the first place, and doing her research to figure out how to go about that.

Joyce’s mother didn’t want to _______ her when she asked for a unicorn at first, so advised it might come down to getting approval. Joyce agreed and she _______ and an hour later she came back and said, “Will you help me ________ this?”

While the letter was received and replied to in a matter of weeks, Joyce thought the license would be a perfect present for her birthday this month.