1 . Jaxon Carter, a 6-year-old boy, lost his mother very early. Her passing away left the little boy and his dad in _________. Soon after that, Jaxon had to move to a new _________ to study, which proved to be a great _________ for him.

Jaxon has been an outstanding and _________ student, despite his sadness over losing his mother. Jaxon recently had his graduation ceremony where he _________ a valedictory (告别的) speech. However, a normal speech everyone expected _________ an emotional and heart-breaking one as the boy paid tribute to (致敬) his late mother.

“When I started kindergarten here in August last year, I was a little 5-year-old boy who had lost my beautiful mother a month before. My kindergarten year helped me grow braver, smarter, more kind-hearted, and more _________,” he said in the _________. He thanked his teacher, who he _________ as someone with a “big heart”. “When I was __________, she used to tell me it would be all right.”

Lastly, he dedicated his speech to the person he __________ missed his mother. “I dedicate my speech, good grades, all school awards, and my kindergarten graduation to my beautiful mommy, who I will always __________ and miss so much,” said Jaxon. “I know she will always be with me in my __________.”

The audience __________ him as they were all brought into tears by the boy’s beautiful and heartfelt __________.

2 . Tiffany Hammond and her son Aidan communicate in some familiar ways, like hand gestures and body language. But when Aidan wants to ______ himself with words, he uses a tablet (平板电脑).

Aidan is autistic (患孤独症的) and does not speak, so when his mom asks ______ , he can press a button on the screen to answer them. The family has designed routines around his autism, but people outside the household don’t ______ .

“Every single time we go outside the house, there’s something bad happening. There’s a______ , and there’s a mean stare,” Hammond said. “And he feels lonely a lot.”   However, that loneliness and those reactions from outsiders ______ Hammond to find a way to ______the ways in which people with autism can express. They just communicate in a(n) ______type of way. The result of this experience is a children’s book from Hammond titled A Day With No Words. The book followed Aidan through a regular day, showing his ______routines.

Hammond also wrote about the ______ of the book to want people to give kindness and the goal she hoped to ______ with the writing.

In an interview, Hammond said,   “I want to ______ all the things that I see in him. He loves being outside and swings, and he loves life. He is ______ like other people. I want to______ the regular life that I have with my son, and it is supposed to ______ a loving letter to him.”

______, a day with no words can be full of meaningful communication.

3 . We have to admit that we all get defensive(戒备的)sometimes. Defensiveness is a human________in certain situations. Not everything makes us defensive - it seems that specific situations________ defensiveness. I was usually a________ individual, but there were always some cases where my insecurities________ me and I got defensive and doubted my ability.

In my family’s eyes, I was________ my elder sister. I was an outgoing kid who liked undertaking outdoor work________ my sister was shy and preferred to do household chores. We were responsible for sharing different housework. My parents were satisfied with such “perfect”________ in our life. But problems started to________ after I got married. The members of my new family are all great cooks. I suddenly found myself a(n)________ . Any time the subject of cooking came up, I became________ and defensive. When I went deeper and________ the reason, I discovered it was due to its conflict with my value. I perceived their reaction to my poor cooking skills as a(n)________ .

It took me years to________ myself and my cooking abilities.________ , my new family did much to make me feel relieved. I know it is the insecurities that make me annoyed easily. Over time, I’ve learned to calmly     ________ those insecurities and I have learned to be happy with “good enough”. Now I’m aware of the trap and________ myself not to connect the feeling of inadequacy with my sense of self-worth.

When our defensiveness________ , it can feel like we are being blamed for something. Being defensive can________ effective and honest communication. Sometimes, it has the________ of preventing the issues from being resolved. So we should get rid of too much defensiveness to make ourselves________ constantly.

4 . Todd was a sadly quiet 11-year-old boy struggling to adjust to the death of his mother. His father had left long ago, and Todd was living with an aunt who made it _______ that she disliked to take responsibility.

On several occasions, his _______ Sheryl heard his aunt tell him, “If it weren’t for my generosity, you’d be a _______ orphan.”

Sheryl took extra pains to make Todd feel _______ in class, and encouraged his interest in making things. Just before Christmas break, Todd shyly _______ her with a small decorated box he’d made.

“It’s beautiful!” Sheryl cried.

Todd replied, “There’s something special _______ that my mom gave me before she died.” She said, “It’s the only thing I can _______you and still have plenty leftover. It helps you feel better when you’re _______ and safe when you’re _______.”

As Sheryl started to open the box,Todd ________ her, “Oh, you can’t see it.”

Sheryl asked ________ , “Well, what is it?”

“It’s ________. You’re the first person since my mom that I love.’

Sheryl hugged Todd tightly and said, “I’ll ________this forever. It’s the best gift I’ve ________ got.”

She kept it on her desk until she ________ , and touched it whenever she was sad or scared. It never ________ to make her heart smile.

Years later, Todd sent her the autograph book (签名簿) he wrote during his graduation from a medical school. It’s been in the ________ ever since.

In truth, love—not diamonds—is the________that keeps on giving. ________ , love generates itself. The more you ________， the more you have left.

5 . It was wintertime 30 years ago. I was a young father with 3 little children to support. My college education, however, didn’t ________ me a good job. Now I was working in a sawmill (锯木厂) for just above the minimum ________. Every day before I went to work, I would ________ band-aids around my fingers. Working 8 hours a day in the cold dry air had ________ cuts and scars.

That day was harder than normal. We were ________ of workers and the machines kept breaking down. We could see our ________ as the heaters weren’t working. When the day finally came to an end, I ________ my legs to my car. There I took off my work ________ to see my aching fingers. The cuts were worse than ever and ________ leaked through again. As I made a (n) ________ to fix it, my bad back cramped (抽筋). I had never felt that ________ before. I finally started my car back home and ________ fought back the tears. I wondered why life was so hard and how ________ I could keep doing this.

As I opened the door, I ________ a weak smile on my face. But it soon became ________ as my daughter screamed a sweet “Daddy”. When she threw her little arms around my neck, my heart ________ with love. All my aches and pains disappeared in her ________! In that second I remembered again I was here for ________ and I knew I could move on.

In our lives, we all have ________ fingers and band-aid days. But with love we can survive.________, work may give us a living, but love gives us a life.

6 . I had been saying goodbye to my mom for ten years. That was how ______ she had breast cancer. At first, there was the fear that she would die. But as she ______ series of treatments, life took ______ a new normal. But cancer is an unrelenting (冷酷无情的) foe. It was a journey from ______ to hope again and again, and only painkillers could keep her ______ . At 66, my mom was dying, but we could do nothing. I ______ praying for God to heal her but rather to take her. I learned that dying is the ______ healing. How brokenhearted when a patient or family is ______ a death.

My mother showed me how to fight her foe with knowledge, humor and ______ . And when the time came, she showed me how to die with grace, dignity, humor and wisdom. ______ , while it is hard to escape from the ______ , I want to anticipate the joy of the day when all the pain and hurt of this world will be over. One day, I will die and ______ those I love. One day, those I love will die as well. I don’t want it to envelop me to the point where I cannot enjoy life and make ______ that will last not only in this life, but hopefully into the next.

In those ten years watching my mother die, I learned that we cannot ______ avoid grief in this life. But we can seek out and remind ourselves to anticipate the joy, no matter how ______ things are.

We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.

7 . I am a medical student from Zimbabwe, studying at Gannan Medical University. As a(n)________ living in China since 2016, I have ________ firsthand the country’s rapid economic growth and have learned a lot about reducing ________. Such a programme should be ________ by the world, especially Africa, where many countries are still underdeveloped. Governments need to work together with ________ people. The development of a country is not the government’s ________ alone. Its citizens also need to ________. As a concerned citizen of Zimbabwe, I want to contribute to my ________, using the wide ________ that I have gained in China.

In 2020, I decided to play my part in boosting my country’s ________ by starting my own business. ________ the fact that I live in China where the prices of materials are relatively low, I decided to start a brand of women’s shoes, which are ________ in China and sold both in my country and here in China. I have learned a lot from the Chinese shoe factory. It is my ________ to open a shoe factory in Zimbabwe, where my Chinese partners come to ________ us and help build the factory.

Using the ________ accumulated over time, I have been able to give back to my community. I founded a ________ organization, Patience of Hope Foundation, which aims to pay school fees for poor children in ________ parts of Zimbabwe. Through the organization, we have ________ many children and provided food for poor families. I am so ________ to China, which I consider my second home, for giving me the chance to learn and contribute ________ to my country.

8 . The Healing Power of Music

Since Mom died and Dad lived alone, he was often angry, and lately he was getting more and more confusing. Today _______ to be worse than usual. He had a new aid named Linda, from our home country of Lithuania. The _______ of a stranger was bound to make Dad even more _______ .

Sure enough, Dad started _______ as soon as I got in the door. “This new girl doesn’t know anything,” he whispered with dissatisfaction.

“It’ll take some time for her to learn how to help you,” I _______ him.

The three of us sat _______ in the living room. I wished I could think of something to say. Lord, please help us feel more comfortable with this arrangement.

Linda _______ to her feet. Walking over to Dad’s record player, she _______ a Lithuanian folk record onto the turntable (转盘). The familiar accordion (手风琴) music played. Dad started _______ along to it. Liuda smiled.

The music seemed to drive all the ________ from the room. We chatted about Lithuania. It was one of the ________ visits Dad and I had ever had.

When I left, he hugged me good-bye and asked me to ________ old photos with him and Linda next time. ________ , I had a look at the old Dad, the man I’d always loved ________ time with.

I’d come to Dad’s house expecting the ________ . But with Linda’s help and a little music from the old country, I’d found what I would always love.

9 . When my older daughter Hope was five years old, she was looking for a gift to give me for Christmas. Not having any _______ of her own, Hope went to different neighbors and asked if she could do small _______ to make some money. I don’t know how she _______ it, but that Christmas she gave me a gift I will never _______.

Because money was tight, I had not been _______ to subscribe to the newspaper. Reading a newspaper is one of my _______, and I would look for one at doctors’ offices or anywhere else a _______ one might be found.

Hope _______ this as we often read these freebies together. Her gift was wrapped in bright festive paper and taped together with clear tape. _______ enough to be held in my hand, I questioned the ________ of the gift. Hope laughed, “You’ll love it!” Inside were two ________. “It’s for a newspaper,” she said. “We can go and get a ________ one out of the machine!” I held those precious quarters in my hand and knew then that I was a very ________ woman.

That was many years ago. Hope is in college now. When she left for college, I gave her a jar of quarters, a reminder that her love was ________ to me. It was a reminder that love costs nothing, but means ________ to a mother and her daughter.

10 . In the dining room of my grandfather’s house stood a large clock. When I was a child, the old clock_________me very much. I was surprised at how the clock would chime (敲) three times, six times or more, with a wonderful clear_________. I often paid attention to it instead of the foods when I had_________. And always the clock stood like an old family friend,_________the family. I found the clock comforting and familiar. Year after year, the clock became a part of my memories.

It was even more_________to me when my grandfather carefully wound up (上发条) that clock with a special_________each day. The key was_________to me. It kept the clock_________. It kept the clock chiming. How did it do that? I watched as my grandfather took the key from his pocket and_________the door in the old clock and used the key to wind it up. He never let that clock wind down and__________. When I got a little older, he taught me how to open the door, __________let me wind up the clock myself. I remember the__________time I did, I felt so excited…

After my grandfather__________, every time I saw the clock, I couldn’t help crying. Never could I see him again. The__________ on the clock were frozen. It stopped. I took the key with my__________hand and opened the door. All of a __________, I was a child again, watching my grandfather. He was there, smiling at me. I stood there,__________in the memories. Then slowly and__________, I wound up the clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock…The dining room and the house seemed to be filled with__________. In the image of the clock, my grandfather also__________again.