3 . Whenever Michael Carl, the fashion market director at Vanity Fair, goes out to have dinner with friends, he plays something called the “phone stack” game: Everyone _______ the phones in the middle of the table; whoever looks at the device before the check arrives pays the tab (账单).

Brandon Holley, the former editor of the Lucky magazine, had trouble _______ her mobile phone when she got home from work. So about six months ago, she _______ putting her phone into a milk tin the moment she walked in. It remained there until after dinner. And Mare Jacobs, the fashion designer, didn’t _______ to sleep close to a buzzing gadget(小装置). So he banned digital devices from his bedroom—a house rule he _______ with audiences during a recent screening of Disconnect, a film that shows how technology has alienated (使疏远) people from one another.

As smartphones _______ to make their way into our lives, wearable devices like Google Glass threaten to destroy our personal space even further. Whether it’s a physical _______(no iPads at the dinner table) or a conceptual (概念上的) one (turning off devices by 11 p.m.), users say these disconnecting techniques are improving their relationships.

“Disconnecting is a luxury(奢侈品) that we all _______,” said Lesley M. M. Blume, a New York writer who keeps her phone away from the dinner table at home. “The expectation that we must always be _______ to employers, colleagues and family creates a real problem in trying to ________ private time. But that private time is more important than ever.”

A popular method for disconnecting is to choose a box for your cellphone, like the milk tin that Ms. Holley uses. “________ my phone is buzzing or lighting up, it’s still a distraction (分散注意力的事), so it ________ in the box,” said Ms. Holley. Others choose new rules. “No screens after 11 p.m.,” said Ari Melber, a TV host. “Now evenings are more ________ and I am sleeping better,” he added.

Sleep is a big factor, which is why some ________ to leave their phones out of their bedrooms. “I don’t want to sleep next to something full of photos and emails,” said Peter Som, a fashion designer, who keeps his phone plugged in in the living room overnight. “It ________ distinguishes daytime and sleep time.”

5 . When I was 12, I went on a 720-mile cycling trip with my brother and father. Before the trip, we ____ for the journey by having smaller rides. We were all ____ cyclists. When setting out, I ____for an adventure and wanted to see beautiful sights. But what I hadn’t expected was that trouble was ____ the corner.

One night, we were getting to a campsite and cycling down a large hill with ____ to take a rest from ____ up a mountain with aching legs. Suddenly, my brother’s front tyre slipped and he ____ into the middle of the road. My father and I stopped, asking if he was okay. Obviously, he was not hurt too much, but his leg was ____ the bike frame. From the top of the hill, we saw a light coming. Realizing a car was speeding, my father and I were in ____.

Instinctively, I rushed out in front of my brother in the middle of the road, and ____my hands wildly. The car rushed forward, but abruptly turned ____, bypassing my brother and me. My brother was saved from being run over by the car.

My father said I was ____ brave then, but for some reason, I didn’t think I was ____ my life because it seemed like the only thing to do. And I believe that in times of danger we should do what we know is right rather than consider ____ carefully. If I had thought about what I was doing that night, my brother might have been ____from this world.

6 . It was 7:15 a.m. and Gary Messina was on his morning run along New York City’s East River. Suddenly something caught his eye — a man shouter for help _________ the current pulled him away from the seawall.

David Blauzvern and John Green _________ their phones and keys on land and jumped in. Messina, a police officer, also joined them in the river. Just as the man was_________, they stabilized him, with Blauzvern _________ his back and Messina and Green holding him _________from either side. After ten minutes, they managed to get to the river’s_________and stayed as close to the seawall as they could.

Fifteen minutes later, a rescue boat turned_________. As they approached the boat, there came a new _________: The wave created by the current was sucking(吮吸;吞没 )them under the boat.

Blauzvern remembers being pulled down just as someone in the boat _________on to the man,__________ Blauzvern to let go. Somehow, he grasped a pole attached to the boat deck and dragged himself __________. The men in the water pushed the drowning guy while the men in the boat pulled him up and, finally, to __________. The man they had saved was taken to the hospital for medical aid. Details on his __________ have not been released.

As for the rescuers, each of them was at work by 10:30 a.m. “I was a bit late,”__________Blauzvern, smiling. “But I had a good __________.”

8 . Have you ever volunteered for something? Why did you do it? How did you feel when you finished?_______arrive early, stay late, go without breaks, and always smile. They do a job without being paid and they are willing to offer _______. Can you imagine what would happen to our work_______ everybody did that job in the volunteer spirit of “I want to” rather than in the contractual (合同的) spirit of “I have to ”? Contracts require you to do what you have promised to do. Volunteerism _______ requires you too, yet it leads to higher productivity at the same time.

Imagine what a(n)_______would be like without volunteers. Consider the organizations that _______volunteers in every area throughout our country. Our life would be less satisfying if no volunteers selflessly offer their time while _______no pay—and often little or no recognition.

What is the force _______helping others? Volunteers find volunteering _______ personal skills. It ________us to productively use time. More________, it teaches us it isn’t ________what you have, but more often what you ________that matters most in life. It teaches us to place a greater value on what we contribute to society than on what we ________.

Through volunteering, we make more than just a living with our lives—we make a ________ and create “ordinary” miracles.

9 . An executive was driving his new car on a street.He was _______for kids rushing out from between parked cars.

_______his car passed, a brick hit the car’s side door.He pressed hard the brake and drove the car back to the_______ from where the brick had been thrown.

He jumped out of the car,_______ a kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, “What was that all about and who are you?Just what the hell are you doing?”_______more and more angry, he went on “That brick you threw will_______much money. Why did it?” “Please, mister, please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do!”_______the youngster. “My brother fell out of the wheelchair and I can’t_______him up.” Sobbing, the boy asked, “Could you help me? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy.”

_______beyond words,the driver tried to__________the rapidly swelling lump(块)in his throat. He helped the young man back into the wheelchair and used a __________ wiped the scrapes(擦伤)and cuts,__________ everything would be okay.

“Thank you,” the little boy__________his brother to the sidewalk toward their home.

After that, he never did__________the side door in order to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your__________.

10 . Family meals are an important part of living with a family. A recent survey shows that most American children and their family _____ a meal at least four times a week. This is a(n) _____ sign, in my view. It is _____ dining together is able to benefit family members.

Firstly, having a meal together can help a family stick together, which helps strengthen each family member’s sense of _____. Family meals can teach younger people about their _____ by eating traditional foods. Family members can also relax together during this time, temporarily leaving the worries behind, and enjoy each other’s _____. Routine socializing helps family members show each other’s _____ which cannot only be expressed on Thanksgiving Day.

Secondly, family meals also play an important part in a child’s growth. For example, parents are able to _____ their children’s psychology(心理) at this time based on their deeds and expressions. If parents _____ to lead kids to tell something about it, they can eventually figure out what their psychology looks like. If there is something wrong with it, parents and kids can discuss about it and find the ______. Studies show eating together means that kids were not likely to have ______ to smoke, get into fights, or commit suicide. Children who eat with their families are more likely to ______ high grades in the end than those who do not eat family meals. And such kids are probably to be more ______, and make more friends.

Through family meals, parents can also ensure that their children are eating ______ foods to have strong bodies. It’s because children who eat together with their families can be taught to be not particular about meals.

These families ______ to eat more fruit and vegetables, instead of often eating at fast food restaurants like the others.