Last year, with Christmas approached, my sisters and I felt quite thrilled. However, one day after Christmas, my father gathered us together. He told us he can’t afford any presents, even our traditional treat. As the oldest child, I felt upset and understandable. My mother had a serious disease, who cost my family much money to constant seek a cure. On the Christmas Eve, we heard a knock on the door. Unexpectedly, two our neighbors came in with some gifts. It kept we entertained. I will never forget the two kind neighbors who have always been inspiring me to share anything with those in need.

The Molai Forest, named after its creator, was once an area    1    (strike) by floods. Teenager Jadav noticed    2     sharp fall in the number of birds and snakes in the nearby forest area and wetland.  

The boy soon turned to his elders and asked, “What if all of us die like these snakes one day?” The grown-ups only laughed. But the boy comforted    3    (he), saying “I will make the planet greener.” 

From then on, Jadav started planting bamboos. He found a small island and planted many young trees. He worked     4    (extreme) hard at this for over three    5    (decade). His work paid off and the land became a    6    (beauty) green forest.  

In 1980, Jadav worked with a team    7     carried out a tree plantation project. And when the project was discontinued after 3 years, he continued    8    (plant) trees.  

Forest is his home now. He regards the recognition and awards he got    9     his wealth. Jadav finds all his    10    (happy) in the forest.

    5     (pick) up her “Lifetime Achievement” award, proud Irene    6    (declare) she had no plans    7     (retire) from her 36-year-old business. Irene said, “I don’t see any reason to give up work. I love coming here and    8    (see) my family and all the friends I    9    (make) over the years. ”  

Granddaughter Gayle Parks said, “We don’t have any idea who put grandma forward. When we got a call    10    (say) she was short-listed, we thought it was a joke. But then we got an official letter and we were blown away. We are so proud of her.”

A teacher gave his     1    (pupil) some sunflower seeds to let them learn to look after a plant.One boy in the class,    2     loved sunflower seeds,was very excited.He planted the seed and looked after it    3    great care for many days. 

When the first shoot(嫩芽) finally appeared,the boy,    4     (fill) with impatience,went to see his teacher.The teacher said that he would still have to take care of the plant for quite some time before he was able to collect many seeds from just one sunflower.The boy was    5    (disappoint),but he kept     6    (look) after his sunflower. 

However,he grew     7    (increasing) impatient,and did little else but pester(纠缠) his teacher for wanting to take out the plant.As soon as the boy saw the sunflower’s first seeds,he cut the plant.But the plant was still green,and of course the seeds couldn’t    8    (eat). 

The boy was annoyed.He had put so much effort into     9    sunflower,but in the end he wasted it all for his impatience.And he was even     10    (angry) when he saw how big his classmates’ sunflowers grew.Finally,he decided not to be so impatient any more.

8 . I was on a bus one March evening. The driver didn’t _________to start the bus soon because it was not yet full. A middle-aged woman got on. Tired and sad, she told her story _________, not to anyone in particular. On her way to the station, half of her money was stolen. The other half was hidden under her blouse, so she _________still had some left. A few minutes later, she stopped crying, but still looked _________.

When all the seats were taken, the driver started the engine. The conductor began to collect fares. When she came to an old man in worn-out clothes, he _________ that he had spent all his money when he had accidentally got on a wrong bus and now he was trying to go home. On hearing this, she ordered the old man to _________ the bus. The old man was almost in tears as he_________ her to let him take the bus home. The driver took the conductor’s side and repeated the conductor’s _________.

The woman was watching the incident. When the driver and the conductor raised their voices at the old man, she interfered (干预).

“Stop _________ him! Can’t you see he’s only trying to get home?”

“He doesn’t have any money!” the driver __________.

“Well, that’s no reason to throw him off the bus,” she insisted.

Then she reached inside her blouse, took out her__________money, and handed it to the conductor. “Here’s his fare and mine. Just stop giving him a hard time.”

All heads turned to the woman. “It’s only money,” she shrugged.

She rode the rest of the way home __________ a happy smile, with the money she’d lost earlier __________.

On the road of life, the help of strangers can __________ our loads and lift our spirits. How much sweeter the __________ will be when we make it a little smoother for others!

9 . A five-year-old dog named Kelsey has been praised as a hero for helping to save the life of her owner who slipped in the snow and broke his neck.

The man, Bob, was alone when he left his Michigan farm house on New Year’s Eve to collect firewood. Expecting a journey of only several meters, Bob was wearing just long johns (衬裤), a shirt and slippers when he went outside, although the temperature was around -4℃.

After the accident, he was unable to move in the snow. Fortunately, Kelsey came to his assistance. “I was shouting for help, but my nearest neighbor is about 400 meters away, and it was 10:30 pm,” Bob explained. “But my Kelsey came. By the next morning, my voice was gone and I couldn’t yell for help, but Kelsey didn’t stop barking.” Kelsey’s companion kept him warm by lying on top of him. She licked his face and hands to keep him awake. “Kelsey kept barking but never left my side,” Bob recalled. “She kept me warm. I knew I couldn’t give up and that it was my choice to stay alive.”

Bob spent 20 hours in the freezing cold. When he finally lost consciousness, his dog kept barking. Finally, hearing the barking, Bob’s neighbor discovered him at 6:30 pm on New Year’s Day and called the emergency services at once. When Bob arrived in hospital, his body temperature was below 21 ℃. However, doctors were surprised to find that he didn’t have any frostbite (冻疮). They believed it was because of Kelsey’s determination to keep him warm. Dr. Chaim Colen, the doctor who treated Bob, said, “Animals can help and his dog really saved him...He was very fortunate.”

Bob said, “I was very grateful to both Dr. Colen and my Kelsey. They saved my life. They are truly heroes!”

10 . When Amanda Lemay heard the story about a baker and his wife who were traveling around the United States in a van, learning from expert bakers, she wanted to do something similar. So she got rid of most of her possessions and made an old ambulance with her dad into a lovely home on wheels.

Lemay’s ambulance is actually a former emergency response vehicle for the US Navy, built on a 2006 Ford E350 Cutaway. Renovations were done by her and her dad. Now the dark blue vehicle has a lot of built-in cabinets on all sides, offering a lot of storage space, while the rooftop has 400-watts of solar power panels and a small roof deck where Lemay practices yoga. The inside is tastefully done to suit Lemay’s work and hobbies.

As Lemay mentions, not only did her father help, but so did the rest of her family. Lemay’s mother helped sew the decorations on the removable cushions, and her sister crafted the leather pulls. It was truly a family affair.

Her current nomadic lifestyle fits well with her work doing audiobooks, voiceovers, and publishing work. In the end, this unexpected path has Lemay rethinking what it means to be truly sustainable, now that van life has gotten her to become minutely aware of the water, electricity, and other daily resources that she uses. But all these day-to-day concerns are balanced with a greater sense of freedom.

“It’s almost mind-blowing, it feels like a completely different life because I’m doing the work online, and I can do things on my own schedule. Pretty much most of my days are mine — so by living in the van, I can be where I want to be, and do the things I want to do, and spend time outside.”