3 . Ten years ago I adopted my dog Rudy from a shelter just days before they were going to euthanize(使安乐死) him. We’ve had a special______ever since.

I’ve found his______really meaningful. Every night I get in my bed and he gets in his doggy bed right next to mine. But a year ago suddenly Rudy______. Every night when I got in bed he’d jump up on my bed and start licking(舔) my face. I’d get______and make him get off but the next night he’d do it again.

I was considering taking him to obedience(驯服) school when I suddenly______that he was licking the same spot on my jaw over and over again. I felt my jaw and it seemed okay but it was so______for my dog that I decided to just trust him. I made an appointment with the______and felt silly telling her why I came in but she agreed to do some______. It turns out I had a tumor(肿瘤) in my jaw. It couldn’t be felt from the outside but somehow Rudy knew it was there.

I’m feeling much better now but the doctors said if I’d______until the tumor was big enough to be felt, it’s likely I would have______. I saved my dog’s life and now he’s saved mine!

4 . On a beautiful Wednesday morning, I awoke in a shared room in the hospital. Long curtains had been pulled around my bed, ________ me from the other patients. I had broken my right leg the night before. It was still summer, but mine was ________.

On the other side of my bed curtain, I heard a patient cheerfully ________ every nurse as they entered the room, as if welcoming each into his home. He called them by name and asked ________ about their families. I never heard this man whisper a word about his own ________.

That night I wept (哭泣). I thought about how my schoolwork would be ________ and all the things I could, temporarily, no longer do.

I awoke early the next morning, ________ of the uncertain days ahead. The ________ of the room was soon broken by a quiet voice from behind the curtain. “Good morning,” the voice said calmly, clearly ________ at me. “Are you doing okay?”

The man must have heard my ________ the night before. Hesitantly, I responded. From there he drew me into a(n) ________. We talked endlessly through the curtain to pass the time, without seeing each other. Every day he would greet me with cheer, “Good morning, Caroline. You are going to ________ this.”

This stranger became my cheerleader, as if it was his mission to lift me up from my ________. He ________ me to find the best in all difficult circumstances. Life is not always easy, he would say, but you have to ________ and look for the positive.

Days later when the curtain was drawn, I saw this ________ old man for the first time. ________ his own ill health, he continued to coach me from his hospital bed in the days that followed.

My discharge papers (出院证明) were finally signed and I waited ________ to get home. As I was wheeled out of the room, I said my final goodbye to the old man.

I often think of my exceptional roommate and of what a(n) ________ he was to me. The impact he made during those difficult days in hospital still ________.

Thank you for being my ray of sunshine!

5 . I was ready for bed when the phone rang. “This cannot be good,” I thought as I hurried to see why I was called so late at night. My mind quickly ran through the list of family members that might need my help.

“Lindy, this is Leslie,” she said. “I hope I didn’t disturb your sleeping.” I was confused that she should call me at 11 pm. We occasionally spoke with each other at some community events, but to say we were friends was a stretch.

I asked what she needed. She replied, “Do you have room for turkeys in your freezer?” We had lots of room in our freezer. My husband’s business had taken a downturn and we were pretty much at the bottom of our food supply. “Sure,” I responded. “Did your freezer break down?” “Not exactly,” Leslie replied. “But if you give me directions to your house, I will explain when I get there.”

Later a huge freezer truck pulled into the driveway. Leslie and her husband got off the truck. Leslie explained her husband owned a small grocery store that had just lost its lease(租约). They had to empty all the freezers before midnight that night. They thought it was a shame to just cast all this good food into garbage cans. So she began to go through her list of contacts, dropping off food to those who might be willing to take it. When Leslie put turkeys in our freezer, she asked, “Is it OK if we just fill this up?” She told me that ours was the last place they planned to stop at and anything left would have to be discarded.

At last, I asked her, “When will you come back for all this?” Leslie just laughed and replied, “We don’t want it back. It is yours. We have been delivering food since 5 pm and have exhausted our list of contacts. That’s the end of it. Thanks for helping out.”

Over the next several months we ate well and shared turkeys with friends, family and neighbors. When the food in our freezer finally ran out in May, we were back on our feet. Our income increased and buying groceries was no longer a problem.

7 . On my way back home, I waited at the crosswalk for the traffic light to change colours. A man dressed in a UCLA shirt stood next to me. We exchanged friendly smiles. His friend came by and commented that he was excited that it was Friday. The man replied that he had to work on the weekend. He shared, “I have two little kids at home. I am thankful for any work that I can get. ”

I smiled, as the man's words made me happy in a dark week of midterm exams and job interviews. As we made our way across the street, he told me he had been shot and had seven surgeries in the past couple of years. He called getting better a “vacation” because in that kind of situation, that was the only way he could deal with what had happened.

At the end of the crosswalk, before we left each other, he said, “Through life's terrible moments, you find life's greatest gifts.” I took a left. He and his friend took a right to the parking lot. I looked back at him, thankful that our short conversation had made my day. He looked at my way. We exchanged nods and smiles, the same exchange we first made when we stood by the crosswalk moments ago.

Though we never shared names, I will forever remember his story and his inspiring life. When people ask me what I love most about my university, I tell them about the creative professors and excited students. UCLA supports its students to follow their dreams, whatever that path may be. As a college senior, I am incredibly grateful for my college experience.

What I remember most about my university life are memories of smiles and life lessons. There was that night when a group of us watched the waves and waited for the sunrise, the time my professor and I discussed equal rights, the class in which my group members and I danced to our textbook reading. These are life stories that make me smile and teach me lessons.

You never know who may inspire you next. It may be the person standing next to you at the crosswalk or the student sitting next to you in class. Simple life stories and beautiful exchanges come with just a nod, a smile, and a crosswalk. You never know what you can learn from them, from courage to positive attitudes towards life.

Something happened when I_________ hearing my name, though. It became a whole other type of isolation (隔离). Before I became Mama, I was Melissa. “We loved the name, and there were no other Melissas. It was special,” my mom said. Then I_________kindergarten, and there were three Melissas in my class. From that moment until the start of middle school, I was Melissa S.

Even though I didn’t love adding a _________ to my name in school, I never really had a(n)_________with my name. I never thought about changing my name. Even as a grown-up, I have never thought a different name would_________ me better. I am Melissa, and my name is a big part of my identity (身份). Except during the pandemic, when a big part of myself went_________. After a few months at home, I decided to do something just for me. I_________for a writing class that I’d wanted to take for a long time. Before COVID-19, I couldn’t get to the class because of ____________concerns. But now that the course was being offered online, I was so excited I could finally take it while looking after my boys.

On the first day, the teacher began class by ____________us all by name and introducing our first ____________. “I want you to start by writing ‘Right now, I am,’ and then continue with whatever ____________ that,” she said.

Ten minutes later, she asked us to begin ____________“Melissa, we’ll start with you,” my teacher said.

“Right now, I am happy,” I started to read. “I’m happy to be writing, and____________ happy to hear my name.”

10 . It was Christmas morning. The ground was white with _________. The birds could not get anything to _________.

Bessie looked out of the window and saw them jumping about the street. They were _________ food. Bessie was a kind little girl. She felt _________ for the poor birds. She wanted to ask them to come into her warm home. _________ she knew that they were afraid to come in. At last she thought of a good idea. She decided to make a Christmas _________ for the birds. Bessie put a little tree outside the window. Then she hung on it little baskets full of _________ and small pieces of bread.

_________ the birds did not come to the tree. But by and by two or three came near and looked at it. They ate some of the seeds and bread. Then they flew _________ to tell the other birds about it. Soon many birds flew here to get their __________. They liked them as much as Bessie liked her Christmas presents. They sang songs to give their __________ to her.

Being __________, Bessie told her parents that she would give some of her bread to the birds every cold day. But her father said that she could not feed all the hungry birds even if she gave __________ of their bread. Thinking for a while, she said that all the birds would be fed __________ other children did the same.