1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . 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.

4 . 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.

5 . A hero isn’t just a superman that flies around saving people. A hero can be a volunteer worker, a teacher, or even a _________ member. My hero just so happens to be my dad, which may sound like something _________ to you. You would also say your mom or dad is your hero because they raised you, or you’re always able to _________ them. My _________ are like that as well. _________, I still consider my dad a hero above everybody else and he _________ deserves it.

My dad has always been caring and loving. When I was young, he was the one that stayed at home with me, taking _________ of me and loving me wholeheartedly. He also helped me with my _________ so I could do well in my schoolwork. I couldn’t ask for a _________ dad. I love how my dad __________ my mom as well. He is a fantastic __________, so my mom is willing to share her sorrows and joys with him. Besides, my dad is always __________ to offer a helping hand, sharing housework and solving her problems at work. He has also shown others his good __________ by serving our country and helping the community.

My dad isn’t a great person who changes the world, but he has __________ my little world. He is a great __________ for me and I’d like to be an ordinary hero like him.

6 . When you left us, it was the end of a long, painful road. Since then, I was_______my favorite memories of you.

I remember us taking our family dog for walks together on the _______ sand dunes (沙丘). I remember sitting on your knee, watching candlelight _______ inside. Once I bought you a gift — a _______ printed on a glass board, titled “Walking With Grandpa.” _______, you wrote me your own poem, too. I imagine how you must have taken time finding the right words, how you printed it out and cut the paper to _______ before placing it in the frame.

However, Alzheimer began its _______ through your life. In your last few days of life, I was _______ when sitting by your bedside silently, feeling very worried and afraid. I didn’t know what to do or how to _______.

Now, I am an adult, I wish I had been ________ — that I had come close to you and told you how deeply I loved you, how you filled the ________ which was the absence of my father in those 10 years of my life, so that I didn’t realize anything was ________. It’s only now that I am aware that when I ________ a relationship with my father, the reason why he fell short of ________ is that he wasn’t you. I really hope you know how much you ________ to me.

7 . Every year on my birthday, a white gardenia (栀子花) was _________to my house. But no card or note came with it. Calls to the flower shop were always _________— it was a cash purchase. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s identity and just _________in the beauty and heady perfume of that one magical, perfect white flower lying in soft pink paper.

But I never stopped _________who the giver might be. My mother _________to these imaginations. She asked me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness who might be showing _________. I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy I fell in love with or one who had a _________on me even though I didn’t know him.

One month before my high-school graduation, my father died. My feelings _________from sorrow to fear and anger: my dad was _________some of the most important events in my life. I became completely __________in my coming graduation, the senior-class play and the ball. But my mother would not hear of my losing any of those things. Mother and I had gone shopping and found an impressive dress, but it was the __________size. When my father died, I forgot about the dress.

The day before my ball, I found that dress — in the right size — hanging over the living room sofa. It was __________to me so lovingly. I didn’t __________if I had a new dress or not. But my mother did. She wanted her children to feel __________, filled with a sense that there was a beauty even in the face of __________.

My mother died ten days after I was married. The following year the gardenia stopped coming.

8 . My heart pounded wildly as I saw three missed calls. After a half-dozen rings, my mom called me back. “Daddy had a heart ______ while he was surfing today. He’s dead. I’m so sorry.” I ______ to my knees in the grass, ______with sobs.

That evening, I ______ a one-way ticket to my mom. I emailed my adviser on the way to the airport. His______ brought a wave of relief: “I am so sorry! Please take whatever time you need.” During the next few weeks, my research ______ crossed my mind, and my adviser reminded me with unconditional ______, “Please don’t feel any pressure to ______ back to lab.”

After a month away, I felt the ______ thing for me would be to try to force a ______ to school. But as graduate students and professors offered well-meaning ______, I felt embarrassed and isolated by my sadness. I was ______ and uninterested in my research. I began to doubt whether my fascination for ______ would ever return.

Then a senior graduate student asked me how I was going. I didn’t ______ her well, but something about her made me ______. I broke into tears, and she shared with me her experience of ______ a loved one during graduate school. It was the first time since I returned that I felt somewhat ______.

From then on, I slowly began to feel a bit more ______ each day. I am still learning how to handle my ______. That sadness will never go away. But I also feel proud that I ______.

9 . Childhood should be full of friends, play, and happiness. But when children are _________ and without their peer group, they may _________ a helping hand to get back on track. That’s why schools in India are teaching _________.

Actually, it is important to _________ kids to be resilient (有弹力的). They needed a(n) _________ that could train students to identify emotions and ways to channel them.

The happiness course was _________ started by the Indian government in 2018. It _________ mental health, well-being. It also encouraged _________ peer connections for elementary school children. The course included storytelling and teamwork activities.

“The happiness course is a(n)_________, and schools should welcome it. The objectives include developing self-awareness, mindfulness, critical thinking, and helping children __________ life skills to deal with stress,” said Shikha Banerjee, the principal of the Seth Anandram Jaipuria School in Kanpur.

“Mindfulness is the cornerstone of the happiness course and its biggest __________ is that every day 1.6 million children in Delhi start their studies in school with mindfulness. It has __________ as a turning point in the lives of students studying in Delhi schools and has relieved (缓解) children from stress and __________ their focus in studies,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said during the Mindful Education Awards 2021 program.

The award is an initiative to __________ the efforts of schools in creating a mentally and physically healthy __________ for the development of children through teaching mindfulness.

10 . I love persimmons(柿子). A few years ago, preparing to travel from San Francisco to Boston, I_________two persimmons, one of which I_________in the flight departure lounge(候机室), waiting to board the_________.

A lady _________me and asked from which store in the airport the fruit was bought. She looked a bit _________hearing that it couldn’t be purchased from any airport shop. I thought to myself, “I can_________the second persimmon to her.” When I _________her the fruit, she at first _________ , but when I insisted, she was visibly glad and appreciatively accepted. I_________my corner of the lounge, satisfied to have made someone else__________and that I thought was the end of the story.

Sometime during the flight, the lady caught up with me in the aisle(过道) to__________me again for the persimmon. She__________that she had grown up in Japan, where there was a persimmon tree in the yard of her childhood home. She now lived in Boston, where she hadn’t been able to find the fruit. The taste of this one persimmon was precious to her, __________her with memories of her parents and grandparents by our senses of taste and smell, as if magically.

Only then did the influence of this tiny act dawn on me. To this day I am__________by it so much that the taste of the persimmon I never ate gives me more__________than all the ones I have eaten, combined.