2 . When I was little, my mom put her love into making traditional Chinese soups for me. I’m talking Ching bo leung (清凉补), with a lot of herbal(中草药的) ingredients that give the soup a _______ taste.

As a kid, I never _______ drinking them because the taste made me sick. But my mom would try her best to _______ me to drink her soup.

First, she would state all the health benefits that the soup has.

“How can this strange water improve my _______?” I’d roll my eyes.

Then, she’d tell me it tasted _______ this time because she added chicken to make it taste more restaurant-style.

Lastly, she’d bribe (贿赂) me with a piece of candy.

And somehow that would _______. I’d take a deep breath and drink it without stopping. After I finished, my mom would _______ eating the Chinese soup ingredients (Tang Zha in Chinese).

I _______ why she did this. I could just _______ the soup but how could she eat the soup ingredients?

She’d always say, “I ________ eating them.”

When I was young, I ________ believed her.

But as I got older, I ________ she was only saying this because she wanted the best for her daughter.

Recently, I recalled (回忆起) this ________ while feeding my daughter a mango (芒果). I cut the mango into two halves and then ________ the seed (果核).

My daughter was ________ and asked me why I ate the seed.

I told her, “Because I love eating them.”

4 . Faced with a medical emergency, most people would freeze or panic, ______ a child. But Suzie McCash, then just four, not only kept a calm head but took ________ action to save her mom’s life.

Suzie, from North Tyneside, had just returned home with her mom Rowena. But as soon as Rowena ________ through the door of their house, she began to feel dizzy. Rowena ______ from a life-theatening allergy to salicylates (水杨酸盐), ______ in oranges and almonds. Within minutes, she had collapsed in the hallway, ______ to breathe.

With dad Wiliam at work, it was ______ little Suzie to save her mom’s life.

She carefully described her mother’ s situation to the ______ call operator, “Mommy had an allergic shock. I then got her medicine to make her feel ______.” Then Suzie was asked if she could ______ the front door of her home, and replied, “I can’t really reach the lock, but I’ll have a ______.” When doctors and nurses arrived, Suzie managed to let them in, and they were able to give lifesaving ______ to Rowena.

“Her dad and I told her she must have ______ because we have no idea how she managed to open the front door on her own!” Rowena later said. “When she was little she loved playing ______, which helped her stay calm and remember what to do in an emergency. I’m so _____ Suzie saved my life.”

5 . While I was driving a motorbike with one hand, a lady suddenly stepped into the street. I braked ______ to try to avoid her. As a result, I fell heavily to the ground and my left arm became completely paralyzed(瘫痪的).

Thus, I had to ______ everything I used to do with two hands. As a person who would rather get lost than ask for directions, asking for ______ is difficult for me. But I never expected things would ______ after years of swimming training for the 2020 Paralympics(残奥会).

When swimming, I need to wear a tight racing suit. It took a lot of practice to become ______ slowly putting one on with one hand. However, ______ one was a different story. I was once stuck and half naked in a swimsuit. I still refused to bother others and was even ______ to reach for a knife to find my way out. A girl near me saw me struggling. She rushed over and managed to ______ me in a minute.

At a Paralympic event, everyone player has a(n) ______. Being unwilling to ______ a helping hand made me a(n) ______ one. However the ______ in that changing room helped me start to become a new normal person.

At first, learning to ask for help was the adaptation that proved to be more difficult than putting on a ______ with one hand. After some efforts, I realized learning to do so was not the decision I had ______ made, but it became the win I______ wanting most.

7 . In a world where acts of kindness often go unnoticed, a good story that has been discovered reminds us of the power of care and the effect it can have on someone’s life.

It all started with a “Kindness Week Challenge” given to Brennan by his 8th-grade teacher, Ms. Watkins. Little did he know that this challenge would lead to a wonderful friendship with 84-year-old Ms. Ann.

Brennan’s promise to send his little attractive things every day for a week developed a habit of checking up on Ms. Ann and sending gifts regularly(定期地), long after the challenge was over.

Their friendship has now lasted for over five years, and Brennan still visits Ms. Ann every month with flowers, cakes, chocolates, cards and more.

They talk about everything from his high school life to his college goals. The pair has found that they share a common love of chocolates. Ms. Ann always hopes to hear about what he’s doing and loves to share her own stories from a different time. They have become the best friends, with Brennan treating her as his great-grandmother.

Brennan’s mom, Traci, takes pride in her son. She said, “The best thing a teenager can do is to take care of the elderly. I’m so glad my son has added more sunshine to Ms. Ann’s life. I hope he always remembers the joy he’s brought her, and his fun talks with her, keeps his kind heart, and thinks of others.”

Ms. Ann’s daughter Emma, with her husband Gould, has a 2-year-old son. They are thankful for Brennan’s friendship as they cannot always be with Ms. Ann. Brennan’s kind heart has brought more sunshine into Ms. Ann’s life, and her encouraging words have helped to inspire(启发)him in return.

It was exam time at Marc’s school. Every day, their teachers gave them loads of homework and told them the test was very important and that they ought to spare no effort to perform well in it. Everyone followed the teachers’ instructions and made preparations for it, except Marc. He just turned a deaf ear to it. He thought he would rather play football than study.

His mum and dad repeated the importance of revision for exams over and over again. They told him that he should be working hard preparing for the test. But the weather was sunny and he thought he had better things to do.

“Shall we go to the park?” he said to his friend Huck one afternoon. “It’s a nice day. We could play football and kick around.” Huck shook his head. “I’m supposed to review my lessons,” he said. “I’m going home to do some math.”

Marc was amazed. “You’d rather do math than play football?”

“Math is important. Besides, my mum says she will buy me a mountain bike if I do well in the math exam.”

“That’s crazy,” said Marc. Huck shrugged (耸肩) and replied, “Wait until I beat you in the test and you will watch me riding past on my mountain bike!”

“You won’t beat me,” said Marc.

“Oh yes, I will.”

“Oh no, you won’t! That will never happen. Just wait and see!”

For the first time ever, Marc wanted to perform well. He couldn’t bear it if his friend came top and he did badly. So when he got home, he opened his math book. But there was so much to do. All of a sudden, he felt like he’d forgotten everything he had learned that year! He didn’t know where to start. When his sister Lily came in, he was sitting expressionlessly by the desk, just staring out of the window.

“You don’t look happy, Marc. What’s wrong?” she said.

On the day of the exam, Marc went to school with great confidence.