2 . Last May, my 15-year-old son, Benjamin, told my wife and me that he would attend a Kendrick Lamar concert. We ________ him that he was too young to go. But my son and his friend, Josh, ________ to take no for an answer.

Later I received a ________ from Josh’s father: “How about taking the boys to the Kendrick Lamar’ concert!?” While I felt ________ to attend a rap concert in my fifties, Josh’s father was as excited as the boys. He also knew how to get tickets and had started ________ the whole evening. By this ________ it was impossible to say no. I couldn’t imagine anywhere I would ________ less.

To learn about Mr Lamar and his ________, I downloaded and listened to all his songs days before heading down to the Scotiabank Arena.

The truth is the concert was really ________. The best part, of course, was how happy my son was. I stood when ________, I didn’t dance, and occasionally my son gave me an encouraging, accepting nod. ________ Kendrick Lamar is still not my favourite artist, I’m glad my son ________ me to him, and I’m glad I went.

It’s so easy to sit in our towers, ________ by age or upbringing background. ________, we have children, like Benjamin, to expose us to new experiences. If, of course, we have the ________ to listen to them.

4 . Every day, there are 25,000 flights in America. Accidents are so rare that flying is much ________ than car travel. But that doesn’t stop many people from feeling ________ when they are moving at 500 miles per hour, 33,000 feet above the ground.

That’s what ________ recently to a woman flying on a commercial airline. Floyd Dean-Shannon ________ the woman’s distress. As a flight attendant, he has plenty to do during a flight. But he paused and spoke ________ to the woman. Floyd calmly explained what the ________ was and all the other perfectly routine sounds you hear as a plane flies.

________ the woman began to calm down a bit, Floyd sat down in the aisle beside her and held her hand. He sat with her through the ________ flight. When Floyd learned it was another passenger’s birthday, he led the plane in a song to ________ — another way of making the woman feel safe by ________ her from her fears. He stayed by the woman’s side until it was time to land.

In a world where most focus on what’s happening on a screen, we can ________ occasionally and check on those ________ us. Like Floyd, we can be ________ enough to see to be there. We don’t have to be professional counselors; we just need to be ________. Having a friend when you most need it not only gets you through the ________ parts in your life — it also gives you the confidence to be a friend to others.

5 . It isn’t every day that the future and the past meet on national television.

Peter Davies, a 100-year-old World War II veteran from Macclesfield, England struggled to find ________ in his life after his wife passed away. ________, when his daughter suggested he offer his help at the local elementary school, he decided to ________ it.

Peter ________ at Dean Valley Primary School, Bollington, and he is a huge hit with all of the children he tutors. He makes reading into a fun game, and his new ________ as a grandfatherly figure makes him feel more ________ to his community than ever before. “The kids are ________ ; they are like sponges (海绵)” said Peter．“I’m sure I get more out of it than the ________ do. I’m not this old man who lives on his own. I’m part of the ________, which is great. Plus my street ________ is extremely good because I’ll be going ________ in the village and a child will shout out ‘Hello Mr. Davies,’ and I feel ________.” In 2023, Peter received a British Empire Medal (BEM) from King Charles III!

Now, ________ being just famous locally, Peter is a national celebrity. He recently ________ on television with the youngest recipient of the BEM, 18-year-old author and environmentalist Dara McAnulty.

“He is the ________, I am the past,” Peter said of Dara.

6 . “Dad, just touch the green button! The one with a little picture of a telephone on it!” I was shouting to my father as I _________ him on how to answer it.

My father is already in his eighties and lives alone. To communicate better and _________ his later life, I bought him an iPhone, but my father _________ resisted using it. After my repeated attempts of persuasion, he unwillingly _________ this strange device.

It took my father about a year to learn to answer and make calls. Fortunately, my father’s tech skills have _________ to FaceTime capability. During a FaceTime call, we had a rather _________ moment. As he couldn’t _________ me well, he held up the screen to his ear. This meant all I saw was his large _________. For a long time, I could still _________ Dad’s ear emerging on the screen, which made me laugh.

Then this past summer I introduced him to Wordle — a popular word puzzle. He caught on fast and became __________ about it. Now he looks forward to __________ the puzzle as soon as the new game comes out after midnight. Every morning he sends me a text, telling me the __________ of the day. This has unexpectedly strengthened our bond.

It is quite __________ that at 89, my father has mastered the iPhone to the level that he can access and send emails and texts, and even do his banking online.

The __________ to smartphones has been blamed for damaging interpersonal relationships. However, I can say the iPhone has __________ our relationship.

7 . Ritch Addison used to be shy. But once he got to high school, he decided he needed to change. And so he began to develop a sarcastic (讽刺的) sense of _______ to keep the other kids from bullying him.

“You know how sometimes people say the best _______ is a good offense?” Addison said. “I was _______ up my shyness and my fears.”

His new approach worked. He gained _______ and made more friends. And he started to become known for his jokes—like the time he _______ a classmate about a poor score on a math test.

Then one day, his good friend Holly _______ him aside. “You know, Ritch, sometimes you really hurt people’s _______,” she said.

Addison was _______. He had always seen himself as someone who made his friends laugh. He couldn’t _______ that he might be hurting them. “But I kept ________ on what Holly said,” he said. “________, I realized that she was absolutely right. I started paying attention to how my humor was ________ other people, and I changed it.” Over the years, Addison worked on being more ________ toward the people around him.

He went on to become a clinical psychologist. And now, he tries to help other people find more generous ________ about themselves and others. Looking back, some 50 years later, he says he ________ much of his change of attitude to Holly.

8 . As a kid, my life was like a kid adventure movie. My parents always played the parts of _________actors in the movie, leaving me as the shining star.

My father could _________ anything even if he was not a repairman. He always seemed to know exactly where he was going, and knew the most efficient _________ to get there. I never heard him express any doubts. His air of _________ made our home a safe place.

But since I became a father myself, I’ve come to _________ that my dad must have had moments of confusion. It never showed, and we never talked about it. I also began to _________ my father’s efforts as he worked _________ to provide for his family. Later I _________ stories about his dreams _________ in the name of being a “father”. Despite his talent in baseball, he gave up that__________ career to become my dad. I began to understand the balancing act he faced: family vs. the dampened __________ of his own soul. He __________ his personal dream to go after what was considered a higher calling — that of giving his kid a(n) __________ to follow his dreams.

Now I hope to give my kids the greatest gift my father gave me — warm, gentle __________ of their childhood. No matter how difficult their lives may become later on, they’ll always be able to take __________ in those sweet memories.

9 . In 2018, visually impaired (视障) Berru Merve Kul from Kocaeli, Turkey received her law degree from the University of Sakarya. Without the loving _________ of her mother, Havva Kul, who read Berru Merve’s lecture notes _________ through four years of law school, this achievement would not have been _________.

Havva read all the books and lecture notes, as well as _________ her visually impaired daughter with her homework. When Berru Merve _________ with a degree in law at age 22, the staff at Sakarya University _________ Havva to the stage as well. This was the university’s way of _________ their gratitude and appreciation to Havva as the school had no facilities or resources for visually impaired students. Havva made a(n) _________ to ensure that her daughter would graduate from law school.

The _________ help of her mother allowed the visually impaired law student to __________ barriers to finishing her degree. Havva stayed by her side every day to __________ attend to all her daughter’s needs. Upon Berru Merve’s graduation, the university acknowledged Havva’s dedication and commitment by __________ her an honorary law degree. Professor Bilen, Dean of the Faculty of Law of Sakarya University, __________ Havva for managing to open doors and create a better __________ for her daughter. There is nothing more __________ than family and friends who show unconditional love to relatives with disability, including the visually impaired.