1 . When Shelby Lattimore, a math and science teacher, saw her third graders weren’t attending class, she found a fun way to change that. The 25-year-old teacher started her class ______ to encourage them not only to ______ but to get excited about learning.

In the class, students can choose from a variety of “______”, from being a door holder to being a cleanup crew. They get “paid” every two weeks and the ______ they get depends on which job they take on. The money is not real but play money spent on a homework pass, a seat change, and so on.

Each month, Lattimore’s students also have to pay “rent” for their class desk and chair. To keep things interesting, Lattimore also introduced a new ______ to her current class. At the beginning of the school year, she ______ students $5 and then once the new year hit, the ______ increased to $7. “So that was kind of an ______ that they had to make,” she said.

Students can buy rewards once a month. The reward ______ low, medium and high price ranges, with $2 candy being the cheapest option to a more ______ $5 “lunch with Ms. L” reward. Students can also ______ until they have enough money for the most expensive reward, for example, being the teacher for $ 30.

Today, Lattimore has seen how much they’ve learned about various ______ from budgeting and saving to reading a receipt and ______ change. She has also heard from students’ families, who are ______ of this idea because their kids are learning something they never learned at this age. “That’s really the goal here, to not just ______ them this year, but to keep it going,” she added.

2 . I’ve always loved horses, but for years my riding took a back seat to my four kids’ soccer games, dance recitals and so on. As my children became more _______,I decided it was time to put myself _______the calendar, not always being at the beck and call of my family.

I have a work-to-ride rent at a nearby stable (马厩). As soon as I arrive at the stable, I always _______ to take a deep breath or two, inhaling the sweetness of freshly mown hay (干草). Then I go for a joyride. Sometimes, I’m_______by a friend and other times I ride solo, but it’s always a reset and _______ of my batteries for another week in the real world.

One day, as I wiped off my bridle (马笼头), my friend Mary asked with sad eyes, “Did you hear about Heather? She _______ her son last week.”

“No, how awful! Heather’s son is around my age.” I murmured.

“Yes, it’s tragic,” she said. “I _______to her yesterday. She seemed okay despite everything.”

“Yesterday? She was out here?”

“She and her grandsons went for a trail _______. This is the best place to be when you need to _______real life,” Mary commented knowingly.

I nodded ________. Mary’s husband had just ________a horrible disease, and whenever she wasn’t taking care of him, she was here to take care of herself. We all ________ various levels of heart-hurt on a daily basis. Our stable is pure________— from worry, frustration, hurt, even unimaginable loss.

Relief from real life. We all need it, somewhere, somehow, because life is ________. I’m so glad I’ve found that horse time can make the hardest landings a little ________.

3 . This morning, I went to the shop to buy some things for breakfast. On the way back home, I decided to _________ some money from my bank account. As soon as I arrived home, within 30 seconds, the doorbell rang. I _________ the door to find two strangers standing there. They asked if I had _________ any money. At that moment, I wasn’t _________, but upon checking, I realized I was _________ missing some money. I expressed my _________ to them and tried to offer them some money as a _________, but they refused to accept anything.

I decided to _________ the footage (片段) from my video doorbell to see where I might have dropped the money. In the video, I saw two young boys walking behind me on the road, and they _________ me to inform me about the lost money. I was touched. They could have easily __________ with the money, and I would never have known.

I posted about this incident on my social media, which gained a lot of __________. A woman named Helen Pye messaged me, expressing her __________ because the boys were only 17 years old. Helen Pye revealed that the boys were her son Jarrod and his friend, whom she considers to be __________ young men.

This __________ filled me with hope and gratitude. Their good deed reassured me that __________ things happen when we choose to look for them with an open heart. I hope they get a good deed payed back to them one day.

4 . When I was growing up in Auckland, my relationship with clothing was all about utility (实用). Clothes needed to be __________ and keep me at the right temperature. I had a very clear picture about myself: Someone who didn’t __________ clothes. Naturally, I came to __________ the act of shopping, an activity where __________ were largely unavoidable.

But it all began to __________. My first day out in London was unexpectedly cold. Jetlagged (时差) and overwhelmed (不知所措的), I walked into a department store. That’s when it __________ me; I think: It was the __________ procedure that was important, the weighing up of __________, the imaginative projection of the person you might be in this scarf, versus that one. This was the important bit, far more than the __________ act of choice. And it was not __________ at all.

Over the remaining two years in London I began thinking about what I liked, what my __________ was—whether a style, a fabric, a color. I began to see that shopping didn’t __________ need to involve a purchase. The world opened up. I stopped avoiding my own reflection. I still wear items of clothing that I __________ during my stay in London, 20 years ago now. More than this, I __________ people differently. I try to look with care and __________ at how they present themselves to the world, and the stories and messages these choices send.

5 . If you walk around the Rahway Trail in the South Mountain Reservation of Millburn, New Jersey, you might spot more than vegetation and creatures. Small fantastic _______ are hidden in the tree trunks and branches — an amazingly lovely sight in this _______ normal-looking forest nowadays. The idea to _______ small wooden houses to the landscape came from Therese Ojibway, who 10 years ago wanted her son, who has autism (自闭症), to have a safe space to _______ in the wilderness.

“So she found Rahway Trail and started constructing the houses and leaving _______ decorations here and there for her son,” said Julie Gould, one of the keepers of the trail.

The South Mountain Conservancy later noticed the sudden _______ of little houses around the forest. Learning Ojibway’s story, they _______ her to continue building her magical kingdom to what is now known as the Fairy Trail.

“She thought this was a(n) _______ way of getting little children like her son into nature, _______ them to use their imaginations and creativity,” said Beth Kelly, another trail keeper.

Ojibway and her son moved out of the area a few years ago, but the Fairy Trail ________. Gould and Kelly were ________ asked to become the “Makers and Keepers” of the trail. The women, along with ________, continue to help build little wooden homes for kids with special needs.

“To give these kids ________ houses to live in, most of the homes are made out of natural elements that can then ________ back into the forest. We get ________ when we see the children come here and the kingdom make their day.”

6 . Kim Stemple, a special-education teacher, faced terrible diseases during her stay in a Boston hospital. While ________ with depression in her hospital room, Stemple received an unexpected present from a friend: a medal.

Before Stemple got too sick to ________, she had been a marathon runner and the medal brought back her racing memories. It served as a much-needed pick-me-up, ________ her of the strength and perseverance she once possessed. ________, it worked like a charm, and then some, ________ her spirits and renewing her determination.

Inspired by this life-changing ________, Stemple began to think about how such a simple act could bring hope to others going through ________ times. And from this ________ of inspiration, her charity, We Finish Together, was born. This initiative ________ medals from strangers — runners, dancers, swimmers, singers, and even spelling bee win-ners — and donated them to individuals in need.

Part of the process ________ the donor writing a personalized note on the ribbon, giving the recipient a unique ________ to someone who cares. Indeed, for those who were ________ in hospitals and battling health challenges, being presented with a medal and reading the warm ________ really made a big difference. It ________ a reminder that they were not ________ in their struggles and that there was always support available to them.

7 . Many people agree that pets are family. It’s because they _______ pets like human family members. Unfortunately, so many animals have much _______ lives than us. And it seems like we can never get _______ days together.

Julia Earheart knows _______ how strong the love for a pet and the pet _______ to its owners can be because she has her own pets. Based in Michigan, Julia works as an independent photographer with plenty of _______ customers. But it’s her non-paying customers that get the most out of the sessions.

When elderly and sick pets _______ their final months with their humans, Julia offers to take pet photos for _______. She photographs these owners and their pets so even when the pet dies, its owner can enjoy every last moment together.

And these pictures couldn’t be more beautiful but heartbreaking at the same time. “The shoots can be emotional and difficult, absolutely,” Julia said. “But when you look at the pictures, you can see that _______ is possible even when there isn’t much ________ left.”

Julia wants the owners to be able to spend the money on vet bills and toys ________a photography session. Thanks to her, some lucky owners can ________ the final days with their companions so the owners couldn’t be more ________.

“I won’t be able to get to all of them and that’s the hardest thing for me,” Julia said. Even though she can’t help all of the owners, she is an angel for giving this ________ gift to so many heartbroken pet parents. Above all, she uses her talent to________love and comfort.

8 . Back in the day when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life, I was studying to become a firefighter. As a firefighter, you’re _________ thinking of other people and trying to help children. That’s the mindset.

One dark night I _________ at a burger place. I got my burger and started to head for my car when I was _________ by a homeless man. He was very dirty and obviously very hungry. He asked me for some _________ to buy a little food. As I was pulling out some, I had an idea.

I _________ to see if he wanted to eat a real dinner, so I asked him to follow me back into the burger joint to order. He was _________ of the way he looked and said he did not want to. But I _________. When he eventually followed me in, the people behind the _________ refused to let him in, but I told them that I was buying him dinner and he had a _________ to be there. After some negotiating, they finally __________. It seemed like he was __________ a bit to be finally sitting at a table. Well, I asked him to order whatever he wanted. He only ordered a burger, so I had to __________ him to order whatever and however much he wanted. He __________ ordering enough to fill his stomach at least 3 times over!

Now I often think about this story, because to me it’s not just about helping someone out by __________ them, but giving him the respect and __________ of being a human being and allowing him to feel good about himself that was truly rewarding.

9 . While driving in a small Colorado town, I stopped as a group of people crossed the road. As I watched, I ______ a thin, poorly dressed old lady taking a(n) ______ suitcase.

She managed to carry it for a few yards before setting it down on the ground. After trying several times, she was still ______ with it when the traffic started to move again.

Having experienced similar ______ in the past when traveling, I ______ alongside her and leaned over to call out through the window, “Excuse me. Would you like a ______?”

She stopped, gave me a ______ look and then started to walk hesitantly toward me, pulling her suitcase hard. “If you want to tell me where you’re going, I’ll ______ you off. That suitcase looks ______ heavy,” I said.

“Well, all right,” she answered in a ______ voice. And after we had both lifted her luggage into the back of my pickup, she ______ herself without a word on the front seat. My attempts at conversation were a ______, except for directions to her destination. When we arrived there and got her suitcase down, she ______ her hand into a pocket, saying, “What do I ______ you? I don’t have much.”

Surprised, I said, “Nothing. I was glad to be able to help.”

Her expression changed immediately, and she stared at me unbelievably. “Well, thank you, lady. No one has ever done me a(n) ______ like that before. God bless you.” Then she disappeared down the street, while something warm occurred in my heart.

10 . Justin Horner was driving down a freeway in Portland, when his tire blew out. He _________ to the side of the road and made a sign that said he needed _________.

Three hours later, a truck _________ pulled up. Out came a family of four. They were Latino, and their young daughter acted as the _________ between her parents’ Spanish and Horner’s English, so that they could work together to _________ the car. They spent about an hour on the repair.

“I just _________ them,” Horner recalled. “And I tried to give the daughter a $20 bill. And she just wouldn’t _________ it.”

But Horner was stubborn, and he put the money in her _________, and walked away. Then Horner heard their daughter asking him if he was _________. Indeed he was, and she came over with a tamale (玉米粉蒸肉). They exchanged thanks and the family __________ to drive away.

“I __________ the tamale and my money was in it,” Horner said. Horner immediately ran over to the truck to get the father’s __________.

The father saw Horner __________, rolled down his window, gave him a wave, rolled up the window and drove off. Horner also saw the young girl __________ goodbye through the window.

A few months later, Horner posted his story on social media, which drew thousands of likes and hundreds of __________.