1 . Mike Veny was walking to his truck one afternoon when he received an email from a colleague _________ that some information he needed for a project wasn’t available. Immediately, he became _________ and thought about a growing list of complains: a coworker who _________ him, people on the street were looking at him funny, his dad hadn’t _________ him all week... Veny, who works in a company that _________ mental wellness (心理健康), recalled, “Bad feelings stormed faster and faster until things _________ 10,000 times.”

_________, Veny had a plan for dealing with these. He _________ in the middle of the street to collect himself and then got into his _________. He thought about the answers to three __________: What do I feel? Anger, but also sadness at losing work and fear of whether I would get the motivation by going to the __________. Where do I feel it? In my chest and stomach. What do I need now? Time to feel the emotions rather than suppress (压制) them.

Next, he went to the gym. The music was loud and he became relaxed while he __________. When he got home, he did yoga, which he says helps him let go of his __________ emotions. In bed that night, Veny __________ he had a smile on his face. He said, “I felt like I was in __________ again, like I had taken my power back.”

2 . Compassion (同情) literally means “suffering together”. Among many emotion researchers, it is __________ as the feeling that arises when you encounter a person’s suffering and feel motivated to __________ his or her suffering.

Compassion is not the same as empathy (共鸣), though the two concepts are __________. Empathy refers more generally to our ability to feel the __________ of another person, while compassion goes a step beyond and appears when those feelings and thoughts include the desire to __________.

When we feel compassion, our heart rate slows down. Then a chemical is produced in our body and _________ regions of the brain linked to empathy and caregiving light up, which often results in our wanting to __________ other people and offer assistance.

Compassion often comes in two forms, which vary __________ where these feelings are directed. Your experience of compassion may focus on other people, or it may inwardly focus on yourself.

When we __________ compassion, we can start by __________ another person’s situation. We look at what they are __________ without passing judgment on their behavior and put ourselves in their shoes. And then we’ll find ourselves filled with compassion.

Compassion tends to have a __________ impact on our life, ranging from improving our relationships to boosting our psychological __________. One study found that people who volunteer out of concern for others can be as __________ as the receivers. The finding suggests that compassion itself can be a __________ to the givers.

3 . I once had a real show of what love is about from my son, Branton, who was then eight and totally unkind to his little sister, Susan.

One Autumn evening, I discovered Susan was ________. I thought she was in the house at first. By the time I ________ she was gone, Branton was comfortably on the sofa watching his favorite television program with a friend. After I’d searched every room for Susan, I began to be ________. It was dark by then, and she was only 5. Our house in the country had many ________ surrounding it.

Careful not to betray my ________, I announced, “Susan is gone.” There was a pause, then Branton ________ and looked at me. “I can’t find Susan,” I ________. “She isn’t in the house, and I don’t know where she is.” He was up as if a bomb had blown him off the sofa. “I’ll find her,” he said running to the door. Then he stopped and turned to his friend. “Get up, Jeff,” he ________, “We’ve got to find Susan. Hurry up.” Within two minutes he’d rung two doorbells to ask if the ________ knew where his sister was. Branton, still running at top ________, came up and passed me by, calling, “Susan, Susan.”

As we headed up the big path into the woods, I heard the sound of a child ________ out. It was Susan. I tried to comfort her we were coming — while attempting to ________ falling in the mud. Meanwhile, Branton ran on ahead, apparently ________ nothing. In another minute he had her in his arms. As I ________, I heard him saying repeatedly, “Susan, are you all right?” as tears streamed down his cheeks.

That night I told Susan, who frequently ________ Branton’s trick, that we all should know what Branton really felt about us.

4 . It was Mother’s Day. Our teacher Amelia said each of us would get a mug (马克杯) later and that we would_________mugs for Mother’s Day. They were white, saying “world’s best mom” on the side. I couldn’t read it at first, but I _________the words quickly. Dad had taught me them.

When Amelia_________a mug to me, I told her I didn’t want one. She didn’t seem to have_________my answer and asked me why. I replied, “Mom _________ two years ago. Even if we missed her, Dad said she wouldn’t come back, so I was _________to give her a mug.” Amelia seemed a little_________about my unlucky experience, touching my head_________. And next to me, Amy had already_________sunflowers all over her mug. It__________me that Dad preferred others to secretly prepare gifts for him and that I also could do one for Dad. In these two years, he was more than Dad. He had been making great efforts to learn to be a__________. Even my nice braids (辫子) were all his works. He__________a gift.

So I told Amelia about my__________and took a mug out of her hands, Amelia hugged me and said in a quite__________voice, “You and your dad both are great!” Her eyes looked full of water. Later, after school, I__________the mug at the bottom of my schoolbag__________I knew how much Dad loved a__________and how long he hadn’t had one. When I met him, I__________presented the mug to him and told him it was a Mother’s Day mug. My behavior was obviously beyond his__________. Dad just stood there, opening his mouth but saying nothing. His seven-year-old girl has learnt to give back with__________to Dad.

5 . 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 __________.

6 . 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.

7 . 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.

8 . 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.

9 . 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.

10 . 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.