2 . On Friday evening in December, two weeks before Christmas, I lost my job. I hadn’t seen it coming. I was_________for the weekend, when my daughter, Kristil, and I planned to get our Christmas_________. Then I listened to my voicemail: “We’re sorry but your work assignment has ended as of today.” My heart_________.

I wasn’t just a single parent; I was the only parent. My paycheck was_________.

The next day as we searched for our tree, I struggled to be_________as I eyed each price tag(标签).

Over the next week, I applied for jobs _________ my bank account grew smaller. I felt as if the world was closing in on me.

On a weekend afternoon, back at home, I glanced out the_________. It had been snowing on and off all morning. I_________a woman struggling to open her car door against the wind. As she got out, I realized it was my old professor, Sister Esther Heffernan.

I rushed to the front of my building. “What are you doing out in this weather?” I asked as we hugged.

“Well, I tried to call you last week but couldn’t_________. Then I called your job and they said you weren’t working there anymore, so I thought I would come by.” She__________me a Christmas card. “This is for you” she said as she kissed me on the cheek. I__________her to her car and waved as she pulled away.

When I opened her card, hundred dollar__________fell onto the table. Tears of gratitude__________in my eyes as I counted. Sister Esther had given me $1,000.

On Christmas morning, Kristil and I gathered around our tree, and I__________watched as she opened her gifts. I silently thanked Sister Esther in my heart.

It has been 14 years since that Christmas, but I’ve__________forgotten what Sister Esther did for us.

7 . I sat down at my desk and started writing an emotional letter of thankfulness, but when it came to actually placing the letter into the mailbox.... I _________. I couldn’t do it. I suddenly felt a sense of _________and insecurity.

The letter was to an old teacher with whom I kept in _________via Facebook comments. For weeks, her Facebook page had _________me to live my life differently. Her volunteer efforts weren’t huge. _________, she was doing small, local good deeds. Gradually, she made me _________my outlook on the world and for some reason, I felt I should let her know how her example _________influenced my life.

I could have easily sent her an email, but that seemed not enough for such an important thank-you. That’s why I ended up _________the letter. But now here I was, standing before the mailbox, unable to place the envelope inside. What was stopping me?

It suddenly _________me that I was afraid of being too nice. I guess I felt strange __________it wasn’t like she was my best friend or a relative. Maybe my __________was too heartfelt. Thinking this over, I put the envelope in the mailbox __________.

Weeks later received a message from her. It turned out she was __________a tough time and my note __________the world to her. She said she had no idea she was making such a __________to others. Not only did this letter make her happier but her __________to it brightened my world and increased my level of happiness as well. I was so __________that it had such a great influence on her that I decided to write a(n) __________letter to someone each month. I’m more likely to __________the goodness in others and am subsequently more thankful for this __________life I’m living.

8 . In our discussion with people on how education can help them succeed in life, a woman remembered the first meeting of an introductory ______course about 20 years ago.

The professor ________the lecture hall, placed upon his desk a large jar filled with dried beans(豆), and invited the students to ______ how many beans the jar contained. After ______ shouts of wildly wrong guesses the professor smiled a thin, dry smile, announced the ______ answer, and went on saying, “You have just ______an important lesson about science. That is: Never ______ your own senses.”

Twenty years later，the______could guess what the professor had in mind. He ______himself, perhaps, as inviting his students to start an exciting ______into an unknown world invisible to the ______， which can be discovered only through scientific ______. But the seventeen－year－old girl could not accept or even ______ the invitation. She was just ______ to understand the world.And she ______ that her first－hand experience could be the ______. The professor, however, said that it was ______. He was taking away her only ______ for knowing and was providing her with no substitute(替代). “I remember feeling small and ______，”   the woman says, “and I did the only thing I could do. I ______ the course that afternoon, and I haven't gone near science since.”

9 . As the train picked up its speed, the passengers slowly settled down on their seats. I________the lower berth(卧铺), so that I could________the beauty from the moving train. I don’t know why I always________to get the window seat. Perhaps it is because of the view. A(n)________lady occupied the front seat of mine. She must be in her eighties, I________. She smiled at me. Out of curiosity, I gave her________. But both of us were________.

It was 4:50 pm. So, bed time was still in a long way. I couldn't________myself any longer and asked, "Aunty! Where are you going?"She________me for a while and replied, "Army camp, dear."

Suddenly my________doubled to know the reason. I________said, "Aunty, you are________someone?"She smiled and I continued to say: " Aunty, you must be feeling so________to see your child and your grandchildren. "

Perhaps, this question________her a little but she answered, "Oh, dear! You are so sweet!________, I had only one son who joined the________and was killed in a battle just a few days before. I had________so many new clothes for him. So, I thought why not________my son's clothes to some other soldiers, so that I would control my________and would be happy thinking that my own son has worn it. He was________, so I don't have any grand child."

I was astonished at her heart breaking story! But I admired the old lady from the core of my heart.

10 . So much English did I learn last year that even I , myself, couldn’t believe it. It was totally because of Ms. Ben and I truly   ____what she was doing. It might not seem as a big   _____to some, but to me it is. I have never met a woman so     _____and so determined to teach her students.

It seemed that English class never ___to me. I never knew how to study English and never understood some of the grammars. I can remember trying to ___get out of the classroom before Ms. Ben caught me and shouted across the     _____, “Winona, are you coming to extra class during ___?” It was a nightmare-she would always catch me with my one foot out of the door, and it never ___. Even then I just thought of it as a thing I had to do. It was funny to see how everyone would be in her room during lunch and then again after school. She would __ everyone to come every day, ___, we could complete our homework as scheduled with her help.

Many of the students thought of her as a bit of nag(啰嗦), but inside they knew that she was right and     _____her. Many of her tests were hard at first, but as the year       _____, we all improved a lot. I knew that it was because of her.

Even outside class, she was caring as ever. She always wanted to know what was going on in my (and everyone else’s) life, and she was always looking for everyone’s best     _____.

Ms. Ben is also a ___woman with a sense of humor that you just have to laugh at. However, when exams were approaching, she was more ___than ever about everyone doing well. Many of her previous students scored high, and so she   ____the same from us. Day after day there were students in the classroom       ______lessons. When it was time for our big test, I knew I was ready. I walked out of that test with my head   _____. I knew that I     _____and it’s Ms. Ben who had made me that way. I thanked all the hard work that she put into ___me and my fellow students.