1 . 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.”

2 . 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.

3 . One spring morning, my husband was in the yard cutting down an overgrown tree.

He then __ it across the front yard and put it on a pile of wood.

I was inside the house tending to some things, when suddenly he came into the house, looking __ and said, “I’m not sure if I should tell you this. ”

“What?”I said, totally expecting the very worst.

“Just come with me, ” he said. I __ him out to the yard. He pointed. “There, ” he said.

In front of us were four baby birds in the tree branches, having fallen out of their nest (巢) during the terrible ride, __ amazingly all still alive.

I immediately picked them up and made a “nest” in the front of my T-shirt. My husband just looked at me and said, “You won’t be able to keep them ___. You have never nursed a bird back to health before. ”

Luckily, we were able to find the nest in the center of the tree. I placed the baby birds inside the nest. They had no feathers (羽毛), so these tiny birds had no protection __ the sun. I thought they wouldn’t make it through the day. As we stood far enough away from the nest, I wondered if their mother would ever find and __ them as her own.

I couldn’t believe it! Within a few minutes, a Blue Jay flew in and was jumping around the nest. She then flew up to the nest and __ herself on her babies, spreading her wings to __ them. And soon, the father joined the __ and continued his task of bringing food to the family while she warmed and kept the baby birds safe.

On one rainy day, I remember seeing her wings were spread especially wide across the nest. It was a __ sight, to see how a bird with a tiny brain, the size of the tip of my little finger, still had the will to so deeply __ her babies.

Then one day, all four baby birds jumped out of the nest and were gone. The parents had done their job and now the youngsters were __ to go make nests of their own.

I ended up __ that nest. Whenever I look at it, it reminds me to never give up no matter how bad things look, and be inspired by the inner___ of the Blue Jay parents to provide for their family.

4 .

It was a Sunday afternoon in May. Paul Blachut was busy working at a restaurant in scenic Augsburg, Germany. Many tourists came for food at the pretty place beside the river, where the meltwater was cold at this time of year.

A mother and her daughter were _______ the cooling water by the riverbank. They were playing with an inflatable tube happily when _______ the girl lost her footing and was caught in the river’s current. It happened so fast that the girl desperately grabbed (抓) on to the tube, which her mother was sitting in, throwing her into the river, too.

Blachut heard the sudden shout, “Two women are drowning in the river!” Then he hurried to the _______ , where he spotted them trying to grab anything they could. He was horrified to see that one of them kept sinking. Blachut’s mind _______ , “How can I help them?” _______ having no lifesaving training, he rushed down to the riverbank. Quickly he _______ his T-shirt and jumped into the river. He didn’t care about the cold; all he could think about was saving the women. It was obvious they were _______ .

As Blachut got closer to them, he could _______ that the mother seemed to be in the most trouble. She was drowning. He _______ a film in which a lifeguard grabbed a drowning victim’s body, pulling the person ashore while swimming on his back. Blachut tried this, but the woman’s clothing made her so ________ ; he kept being dragged under, too. He needed a new ________. He quickly dived under the drowning woman, ________ her upward and using that momentum (水势) to take her toward the shore. At that time, an onlooker was able to ________ the woman’s hand, pulling her ashore. Then Blachut jumped into the river again. He swam downstream, got hold of the daughter, and was able to get her out in the same way, too.

Several onlookers expressed their ________ for Blachut following the incident. However, Blachut was ________ about his role, “The whole rescue only took several minutes and I am happy to receive your praise.”

5 . Sleepy-eyed, I arrived in Jordan just before midnight: Picking up the rental car, the agent mumbled (咕哝) something about a gas station. Trying to stay _______, I really didn’t pay attention.

The next morning, I headed the desert castle excitedly. While driving, I noticed that there wasn’t a fuel gauge (指示器) on the dashboard. That was _______, but I didn’t think twice about it. I had just got the rental so there would be plenty of fuel.

After passing numerous gas stations, I was finally in the open desert. Complete _______. And that’s when my car suddenly came to a stop.

What? In the middle of nowhere, I stared at the engine with no idea what to do. _______ seized me.

Within 10 minutes, a Jordanian _______. He didn’t speak English and my Arabic was limited. After _______ my car, he told me through hand gestures that I was out of gas. Who knew that rental cars didn’t come with a full tank of gas there?!

The man _______ me to get in his car and drove to the nearest gas station to get extra petrol. We then got back to my car to put the gas in.

When I pulled out my wallet to pay him, he refused. My thanks, a smile, and one photo together were all he wanted. Before we fully _______, he even followed me a bit to ensure that I was safely on my way even though it was not getting late.

Today, whenever I think of Jordan, this memory _______ comes to mind, and my heart swells with gratitude. It is the stranger who saved my trip and reminded me of the importance of ________.

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 ________.