1 . In my childhood, my mother spent her evening hours doing something for someone else. Sometimes she knitted (编织) hats for babies, and at other times, she cooked chicken soup for sick neighbors. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when one evening my mother announced she had undertaken a new project.

“I am going to telephone seniors,” said my mother. “Every night? But you don’t even know these people.” “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “What’s important is that I listen.” I was sixteen years old and couldn’t understand why my mother was willing to spend her evenings talking to strangers. She had friends and my two older sisters to call if she felt lonely. “They will talk your ear off. Some people didn’t even stop to catch breath,” I said.

My attitude didn’t stop my mother’s enthusiasm for the project. That evening, she settled on the sofa and dialed. For a while, I listened as she asked the woman on the other line about her day and what she had eaten for dinner. When she finished the call, I said, “Why do you care whether she had cookies or rice pudding for dessert?” My mother grasped one of my hands and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’m the only person she talked to today.”

It took me more than thirty years to fully understand the meaning of that statement. Now, as my mother is nearing eighty, I find myself thinking about those nightly calls she used to make. I am often the only person who telephones my mother, and sometimes I’m the only person she speaks to all day. I ask her what she cooked for dinner, but mostly I just listen as she describes a walk she took, or how her dog Lucky stole foods from the refrigerator. I realize that my mother’s calls were life lines that ensured housebound seniors remained connected to the world. Without her, their world would have been empty.

2 . In the cold and plain living room, Matt is sitting in his chair. His eyes don’t shine anymore. His skin is wrinkled (有皱纹的) and pale. He looks extremely old and weak. Today is his birthday, and he is by himself. The only thing that he has been doing all day is thinking about how sad and lonely his life is. As he was looking at some old pictures, he found one special with him and his friends from college. This picture brought back the days when he had friends and his life was full of happiness. Also, it brought him a sad memory. This memory happened forty years ago, during his last year of college.

Through college, Matt has a friend named Mark. Mark was tall and thin. He wore a thick glass. He was shy, smart and responsible. Also, Mark didn’t have as many friends as Matt did. He considered Matt as his best friend. As good friends, Matt and Mark went bowling together, they knew everything about each other, and they hung out. Also, they overcame many problems together. They were really good friends.

On his twenty-fourth birthday their life changed. On the night before Matt’s birthday, Mark called Matt, but his voice sounded strange. He said, “I have an important project to work on. I am having some problems with this. Maybe, you could come over and help me with it. Could you?” Matt asked, “What time?” Mark kept in silence for a minute, then he said, “Is 8 p.m. good for you?” Then Matt answered, “OK! See you later.” At the night, it was Matt’s birthday. So, he didn’t want to spend his birthday helping Mark with his project. Matt went to a club with some other guys.

Curious About Everything

Jackson did not feel good so he stayed at home from school today. He did not like to be sick. It was no fun at all. He got out of his bed and walked into his brother’s bedroom. Carter, his brother, loved cars. He had them all over his room. Jackson touched one of the black tires. He wished Carter was home. Carter liked to talk about the model cars as he was putting them together.

Jackson left Carter’s room and walked down the hall to the room his twin sisters shared. Ella liked wearing pretty clothes and Madison liked riding her horse. Ella decorated the wall behind her bed with pictures of girls in fancy clothes. A big poster of a horse was on the wall behind Madison’s bed. Jackson turned and walked back out of the room.

He walked back down the hall and into his little sister’s room. Sophie was the youngest kid in the family. She loved to dance and you could sure tell that from looking at her room. A big poster of a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员) was over the dresser. She was wearing a funny pink outfit with a special skirt. Sophie told him what the dress was called, but he couldn’t remember right now.

As he stood there, trying to remember what it was called, he realized all of his brother and sisters’ rooms looked like the things they loved. Carter had cars in his room, Ella fashion, Madison horses, and Sophie ballet. Jackson wondered what his room said about him. He walked back down the hall and stood in the doorway of his room.

His bed was a mess. There was a racetrack on his floor, a plastic hat that was part of a magic trick set he got for his birthday, and a couple of plastic dinosaurs lying on their sides. Some clean clothes were stacked (堆放) on his dresser. His walls were bare. No posters of any kind.

“Are you feeling better?” his mom asked as she walked into the room.

Jackson asked his mom why his room looked different from the others’.

“A person doesn’t have to like just one thing. Some people, like you, are just curious about everything.” the mom said.

7 . One night, when I was eight, my mother gently asked me a question I would never forget. “Sweetie, my company wants to _________ me but needs me to work in Brazil. This is like your teacher telling you that you’ve done _________ and allowing you to skip a grade, but you’ll have to _________ your friends. Would you say yes to your teacher?” She gave me a hug and asked me to think about it. I was puzzled. The question kept me _________ for the rest of the night. I had said “yes” but for the first time, I realized the _________ decisions adults had to make.

For almost four years, my mother would call us from Brazil every day. Every evening I’d _________ wait for the phone to ring and then tell her every detail of my day. A phone call, however, could never replace her _________ and it was difficult not to feel lonely at times.

During my fourth-grade Christmas break, we flew to Rio to visit her. Looking at her large _________ apartment, I became _________ how lonely my mother must have been in Brazil herself. It was then __________ I started to appreciate the tough choices she had to make on __________ family and work. __________ difficult decisions, she used to tell me, you wouldn’t know whether you made the right choice, but you could always make the best out of the situation, with passion and a __________ attitude.

Back home, I __________ myself that what my mother could do, I could, too. If she __________ to live in Rio all by herself, I, too, could learn to be independent. I learnt how to take care of myself and set high but achievable goals.

My mother is now back with us. But I will never forget what the experience has really taught me. Sacrifices pay off in the end. The separation between us has proved to be a blessing for me.

10 . Addison Witulski is only 9 years old. Her 7-year-old brother, Kaden Witulski, was born with a heart condition, and now he ______ surgery (外科手术). Addison overheard her grandma, Kim Allred, discussing the ______ matters with her husband, JC Allred. Allred appeared to be ______ not being able to afford traveling to Houston, where Kaden’s surgery is set to take place, on top of paying bills, ______ she suggested hosting a bake sale.

Overhearing what they said, Addison decided to ______ money by herself. She went ahead with a lemonade stand. When Addison started ______ the lemonade stand last Saturday, Allred thought she was just doing it for ______. But when the little girl ______ $54 at the end of the day, it made Kim Allred feel ______. Seeing a 9-year-old want to ______ her brother like that is unbelievable!

Addison’s best friend, Erika Borden, wanted to ______ too, so they had another lemonade stand the next day. Here, Addison decided to sell her drawings of butterflies, trees and birds for $l, as well as a cup of lemonade for 25 cents.

“Halfway through the day, she came running into the house saying her butterfly pictures were selling ______ and she had to make more,” Alled said. “It was lovable how ______ she was taking it.”

Erika’s mom, Mace Petty, promoted the lemonade stand on Facebook and within minutes, cars were lining up to have a drink to show their ______. “I wanted people to know this wasn’t just an ordinary lemonade stand; these kids had a ______.” Petty said. “Seeing the kids take part in such a real-life situation can give the rest of the world great hope for humanity.”