1 . Ryder was born with a serious illness and has never been able to walk. When he started attending preschool, he had to be _______ to the end of the road in the _______ to wait for his school bus by his parents every day. As Ryder was unable to _______ for this bus if he was late like his schoolmates, he would have to wait for up to 15 minutes out in whatever _______ there was. Although his father had _______ a patio (露台) umbrella at the end of his driveway to provide some _______ from harsh weather, he still would get wet.

Then his father _______ for help on Facebook looking to see if someone might have an old bus hut (小屋). After the post, he was suggested to reach out to the _______ class at Westerly High School.

_______ , he sent an email to Dan McKena, who had been teaching construction technology at Westerly High School, asking if he’d be ________ in this kind of project. Delightfully, Dan ________ with an “absolutely” and then he worked hard on the hut with his students for weeks.

The hut made of wood was ________ enough to shelter both Ryder and one of his parents or a nurse comfortably and was finally ________ to the home six weeks later. Now, Ryder ________ it every day and his parents wait inside it every day while they await his returning home. He considers the hut ________ and does like to hang out in it from time to time.

2 . The boy’s name is Aaron Moreno, and he’s 8 years old. He started his own business selling_________ in Los Angeles.

The story began earlier this year, when his mother _________ her job because of the pandemic. They were already in a financially _________ situation: Aaron’s older sister had been sent back to Mexico to _________ with her grandparents. They even ended up homeless, living in shelters.

In June this year, the situation got so bad that Aaron _________ to start a business selling plants to help his mom support the family. He hoped to make it_________ to bring his older sister back home from Mexico.

At first, he bought plants in the downtown Los Angeles and took them with his mother to resell at various places in the city. He called the_________ “Aaron’s Garden”.

It was hard work, as they had no tools of their own. They had to carry the plants by their_________ on public transportation. By June 24, he had a social software account that he used to start _________ what plants he was selling. Providers started bringing him plants to__________.

On July 13, __________ by Aaron’s initiative （倡议）and hard work, a friend of the family started a GoFundMe __________, and Aaron’s Garden started to get media__________ as well. “People support us by buying plants, following us, leaving us__________comments, and they tell us nice things to keep us moving forward. It’s what we__________, ”Aaron told local TV station.

All the hard work__________. The GoFundMe campaign had an initial__________of $1, 000, but it’s raised nearly $70, 000. Thanks to both the business and the__________ of donors, the family has__________ behind the shelters where they were living. The family has now moved into their own home and Aaron’s __________ has come back from Mexico!

3 . A professor was teaching his class. All the students were listening to his _______ with great interest. But there was one student whose_______ of mind showed he was in a bad mood.

The professor took notice of this student on the first day but did not say anything. But when this _______ for a week, he asked. “You are _______ in spirits all the time. What is the matter? Have some trouble?”

“Sir, that...” the student said. “... something has happened in my past, _______ which I remain troubled. I don’t know what to do.”

The professor was a(n) _______ good person. He called the student at his house in the evening.

When the student _______ the professor’s house, he was greeted with a _______ welcome. The professor went to the kitchen and started making lemonade for his student. He _______put more salt in the lemonade.

__________ the student had a taste of it, his mouth became sour. __________ this, the professor asked, “Did you not like the lemonade?”

“No, sir, this is not the __________. Just a little more salt in the drink,” the student said. “Now it’s useless. I will throw it away.” The professor __________ his hand to get the glass of drink from the student. But the student refused, saying, “No, sir. If you add more__________, the taste will be fine.”

Upon hearing this, the professor became serious and said, “You are right. That’s what I want to__________. Just as salt cannot be taken out of the lemonade, those bad experiences also cannot __________ life. Adding more sugar can change the taste of lemonade. In a(n) __________way, sweetness has to be dissolved (溶解) in life to forget bad experiences. I want you to take the sweetness in your life into __________ now.”

To his relief, the student __________ him and decided from then on he would not be troubled by the __________.

4 . Chen Yuzhu, a 29-year-old young man, opened his first Chinese beef rice noodles restaurant in 2014 in the neighborhood of New York City’s Queens borough. He then took the flavor of his childhood memory to three other states in the US, building a recognized brand.

Actually, he started his own catering (餐饮) business after he lost his job and found noway out. It was at that time that beef rice noodles of his home village flashed in his mind.

However, the early days of setting up his business were not that easy. He frequently worked 18 hours a day, transported food at 2 am and promoted (推销) the restaurant near the New York City subway entrance by yelling, “Special noodles from my hometown, Guizhou!” But it didn’t work well. During the first two weeks. daily sales were only $200 at most, which wasn’t enough to pay the rent. He felt so anxious that he tried every possible means. Two months later, his Chinese beef rice noodles finally gained great popularity. His store has become hot spots for vloggers (视频博主) and he has made himself famous among locals as the“Rice Noodle Prince”.

“At first, running restaurants was for survival, but then I felt a sense of achievements. I became more open, inclusive and made a lot of friends. And the process to learn, make efforts and get inspired was really cool.” Chen said.

7 . Last week, our forum(论坛)asked if you had any funny or strange stories about using English. We didn’t expect to get so many posts! Here are some of our favorites, to remind us that some of the English we learn in the classroom is rather different from the English in the outside world.

8 . When Julie got back home from school that afternoon, she noticed a pigeon sitting very closely to the front door of her ______. It seemed the pigeon hadn't moved at all. Julie moved ______. She noticed the pigeon had a wound on its wing. She was worried that a dog or a cat would eat the ______ animal. Julie ran upstairs to tell her mom about the pigeon.

"We have to help it!" Julie insisted. Julie's mom made a disgusted face. "I don't want to. Pigeons have diseases," she said. Julie began to cry. This made Julie's mom feel bad. She ______, but she gave Julie some ______. The pigeon had to stay in the kitchen in a storage bin. Julie's mom didn't want to touch the ______ bird.

While Julie tried to feed the bird bits of moist bread, Julie's mom looked online for local animal ______ organizations. She felt silly trying to save an injured pigeon though. Finally she found an organization that would take the bird, but not until the next morning. Julie stayed up all night ______ the bird.

The next morning Julia and her mother took the ______ to the bird rescue organization. Many people on the train gave Julie and her mother ______ looks. Julie's mother just shrugged. When they got to the destination, the worker smiled warmly, "It's so kind of you to do this. This means ______ to the pigeon!" ______ goodbye to the worker, Julie looked so ______ with a slight flush on her cheeks. On their way home, leaning on her mother' shoulder. Julie said softly, "Thank you, mom, for your ______ and company." Julie's mom patted her head, "I'm proud of you, sweetheart. You've taught me ______: Every life deserves to be respected and loved."