1 . During the first weeks of his retirement from the fire service, Max had felt lost. And that’s when Polly, a library manager, helped him sign up as a _________ , for Robot Club in the library.

Max hadn’t volunteered before and he didn’t know anything about _________ . He opened the packs containing the robots, nervously staring at the mess of parts. A dozen primary-age children gathered around the table, _________ eagerly. Almost double the number of adults crowded around them, watching.

Glancing around the _________ at the many parents and carers accompanying the robot builders, Max knew he had to face this _________.

“Okay, team,” he started _________, adopting the tone he’d used to _________ his unit during his firefighting days. “We’re going to build these robots one step _________.”

The children nodded, their hands busy with screws (螺丝) and plastic limbs. Max wandered from table to table, _________ words of encouragement, and slowly but surely, __________ the instructions in his mind.

An hour passed, and the room was filled with the sound of chatter and clinking parts. As the final minutes of Robot Club ticked away, Max stood back and __________ the room. Robots of all shapes and sizes stood on the tables. The children were excited, __________ their creations to anyone who would look.

As they began to leave, many children stopped to thank Max. Each “thank you” and “see you next week” chipped away at the sense of __________ he had felt since retiring. He hadn’t put out a fire today, but perhaps he had __________ something far more important — a new __________ for himself.

At one table by the window, a lady just finished up her lunch. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a sandwich and some salad, with a cup of tea to wash it all down. She seemed to be in her own little world, staring out the window every now and then, like she was waiting for something. After a bit, she got up, paid for her meal at the counter and left.

Her table was still a mess, with bits of her meal left behind. I, a young boy, had a hard time, and had been watching her from the table around the corner.

I was in rough shape. My clothes were too big. My hair was all over the place, and my face had streaks (条痕) of dirt on it. When the lady left, I saw my chance. I quickly sat down and started wolfing down the leftovers (吃剩的食物) like it was the best meal I’d ever had.

But then, the waiter walked over. He was an older guy who’d probably seen everything. He didn’t say anything at first, just watched me for a second. I got scared, stopped eating, and tears started to fill my eyes. I thought the waiter would kick me out for sure. Instead, the waiter took away the half-eaten plate, and my heart sank.

I got up to leave, but before I could get far, the waiter came back and asked me to wait for a moment. The waiter gave me a full and fresh meal.

Seeing what was happening, all the people in the cafe smiled.

I couldn’t thank the waiter enough with a full stomach and a happy heart.

4 . Will you go on this ride with me? ”my friend’s eleven-year-old daughter Jenny asked. She stared at the ride, eager to experience the same excitement as the brave group of riders in front of us. I couldn’t say no.

After climbing into our seats, an attendant reached up, pulled down the bar, and locked it in place. The ride lifted us slowly, then turned us over like the blueberry pancakes I had eaten three hours earlier, and hoped to keep in their proper place. As I stared at the concrete directly below us, I had a sudden feeling of great fear. I wondered if I had replacement coverage (保险) for the phone that I was sure would slip out of my pocket and break into a million tiny pieces. I wondered when my new health insurance would kick in.

The ride touched down after twisting and turning our bodies. My friend was waiting for us at the exit. “How was it?” she asked. “Fine. No big deal,” I said, even though my head was spinning (旋转) like one of the other annoying machines dotting the midway.

Jenny walked ahead of us and convinced me to keep taking chances and sample more rides

“Oh, look at the pirate ship (海盗船)!” she said. “That looks like a calm ride.”

“Let’s go, Auntie!” she said as she rushed to join others in line.

I followed her, feeling confident the ride would be uneventful. When I reached the bottom, I tapped out like a WWF wrestler admitting defeat. Although my body was shaking and my head was still spinning, I felt exhilarated just like I was on the top of the world. That morning, I set a goal, took my first step to reach it, and felt the joy of achievement.

Each time you try something for the first time, you will grow — a little piece of the fear of the unknown is removed and replaced with a sense of satisfaction.

5 . Ryan's class at Tully Elementary School was planning a hike at Falls of the Ohio State Park. But since the site isn't wheelchair _______, her mother, Shelly, tried to find a way to make sure she could _______.

Ryan missed out on a _______ class trip last year as a third grader. When Shelly learned about the upcoming class field trip, she instantly began to _______ making a plan B. "I was preparing for an 'alternate field trip day'," she wrote on the "Team Ryan" online page, _______ for her10-year-old daughter, _______with spina bifida (脊柱裂) as a baby.

That is, until Jim, a teacher at the school, offered to carry Ryan around on his back all day. This way she could _______ the trip with the rest of her _______. He used a special _______ to carry the 55-pound girl on his back across the park-and the previously heartbroken Ryan became extremely ________.

The ________ meant so much to Ryan and her family that Shelly wanted to get the ________ out. Since she posted on the web photos of Jim and Ryan on the field trip, they have been ________ thousands of times.

"We are so ________ to have the whole school that never makes her feel left out," said Shelly. "These beautiful people should be known to the world to educate and ________ others."

8 . A 12-year-old boy was called a hero after he saved a kid trapped in a car outside a supermarket. Ben Theriot was _________ with his mom Nikki Fields in Tusla, Oklahoma, when they heard the _________ cry of a little boy trapped in the back seat of a _________.

The day was very hot, with temperatures reaching 116 degrees Fahrenheit outside. Inside the car, the _________ must have been terrible. Quickly, Fields and Theriot decided that the boy had to be _________.

“It was so hot. I just got on the phone with the _________, and with 911,” said Fields. “I _________, ‘We’ve got to get this boy _________ immediately.’”

Following his mother’s orders, Theriot went into her car and found a small hammer. “I started _________ the side window, but it didn’t break,” he recalled. “I started attacking it a lot more, and then it __________,” Theriot added.

“He just jumped right into action and didn’t even __________,” Fields recalled. “I am proud of my son. I’m glad he knew what to __________.”

Soon the police arrived on the scene and got the boy out of the car. “Time __________ in that situation. Within __________, that boy could have passed out or even got __________,” said Officer Jeanne Pierce.

Before we     1     the ship, Shackleton calmly called us together and told us to     2     our most essential supplies—the small boats, our food, the cook stove, candles, clothes, and     3    . This was no time to     4    .