1 . It was more than two years since I’d been biking home from work and someone had opened a car door into the bike line, sending me flying like Superman. It caused my ________ damage.

After that, I worked part-time at my full-time job. I could ________ only 20 hours a week. I’d hoped I would return to work ________ . But I didn’t. After four hours of work, I’d go home and take a three-hour nap. ________ , my employer, unable to let me work part-time for long, ________ me.

When I told a friend I might never ________ , he responded, “Well. .. your base intelligence is twice that of a normal person, so it sounds to me that you just can’t be a(n) ________ anymore. ”

I knew he meant well, but I was still ________ . He assumed that suffering brain damage meant I was less ________ than before. And I worried: Is that what everyone else thinks, too?

About nine months ago, I was at a gathering of maybe a dozen ________ , and one man mentioned he’d just left his job ________ a disability. He mentioned his disability and kept on talking, as ________ as I might say, “I ate bread for breakfast. ” Nobody showed a reaction except I felt really ________ that he had the confidence to say it at all.

I could ________ my disability at ease, I thought. That’s a(n) ________ I could make.

2 . Alwan, owner of a Bronx corner store named Lucky Candy, aims to help kids in the neighborhood from needy families—and keep their math skills sharp too. The ________ is simple; answer a math question-say, what’s 8 x 8 + 50?——and get five seconds to ________ as much as you can from the shelves of Lucky Candy, all ________ . Lucky Candy is located on a.busy street in the Bronx, which is what’s known as a food ________ ,where affordable,healthy food is often in short supply.

For Alwan, ________ is as essential as breakfast. So he thought up this clever way to brighten his young neighbors’ days.

“I think about questions I used to get ________ at school when I was in elementary school,” Alwan says of how he ________ questions for the kids.

When a young math genius gets an answer ________ , one of two things usually happens. Some kids rush for the candies, and who could ________ them? Others grab things like rice and   ________,clearly thinking of family at home.

Alwan ________ the sprees(玩乐)with his paycheck. But his boss， also his father，Aobad, doesn’t mind ________ too. A Yemeni immigrant, Aobad knows that in one of the ________ , most competitive places in the U. S., a bit of help goes a long way.

At present, Alwan’s story is ________ quickly on social media not only because of the emotional reactions of the participants but also Alwan’s connection to his ________.

3 . It’s funny—as a writer, it’s easy to share your knowledge, or your personal stories with an unknown listener of many. You think your friends and family may not read your articles. But as I began to talk more openly about Chinese traditions and food, I learned that they were interested, curious and really hungered for it. Their interest and curiosity grew and the culmination of their interest and curiosity was this past Spring Festival. They would like to spend the Spring Festival with me. It was an inconvenient Monday. I’d never had the Spring Festival when anyone but my father cooked.

I took the day off work in a madness of last-minute preparation. I drove 45 minutes out of town to a Cantonese BBQ shop where I bought a whole roast duck (烤鸭) and watched, fascinated, as it was changed into bite sizes. I shopped at a faraway international market like madwoman, looking for Chinese vegetables and other foods that would be new for my guests I called my dad, asking for six-second pointers on how to make dishes I’d never made. I texted him pictures of the sea fish I picked out, and the red clothing they threw on for luck.

In just a few hours, I cooked a dinner of 15 dishes for six friends who cared enough about me and my culture to come over on a cold winter Monday night to celebrate my tradition with me. We drank, ate and toasted the beautiful night. And that night, I felt what it was to be loved for my culture as well as our food.

4 . I'll call him Peter because I didn't know his name. He was a waiter in a restaurant to which I had taken Robert, my five-year-old son, for his ______. Robert wore his new ______, proud and joyful.

Peter greeted us warmly and brought his ______ close to Robert's level to talk with him. Robert lifted his left foot so Peter could see his boot and then he asked Peter to ______ it. Before I tried to stop his ______ request, Peter got down to Robert's boot and took a long smell. Then he thanked Robert for ______ the special smell. Robert smiled at Peter's reaction.

When ______, Robert took more time than a fast-food customer should. Eventually, he ______ an orange juice. Peter praised his ______, which brought a bigger smile to Robert's face. Peter followed us ______ with our food as the birthday boy picked the perfect table. My heart was filled with thanks for this man who made my son feel ______. Though Peter did what Robert asked calmly, I still criticized (批评) Robert for his impolite deed.

Peter treated all customers with extreme ______ and politeness. Eight years later, Robert can still feel Peter's   ______. In life, we often ______ people by material worth or university degrees. However, the true ______ of a person comes from how they treat others.

8 . On Mother’s Day, most people were unwilling to work, but I felt lucky when I climbed into the flower delivery van (小货车). My own mother was no longer alive to appreciate the flowers, so brightening the day of other moms was _________ for me.

I _________ onto the road. First up on my list of deliveries was a nursing home. Someone named Mary was _________ a vase of pink roses from her children. I told the recipient’s name to the nurse on _________. “Roses for Mary?” the nurse said, “Room 224. It’s a nice _________, but sadly she won’t know the flowers are there.”

“Happy Mother’s Day, Mary,” I _________ at the doorway of Room 224. “Your children sent these _________ flowers to you.”

Mary made no response. _________, I had an idea. I set the roses beside Mary and pulled out my cell phone. I combed her short gray hair into place and took a _________ of this loved mother with her roses. “Just look at your mama,” I texted Mary’s daughter. “The roses were a ____________.”

I had many other ____________ at nursing homes like Mary’s. Carnations for Bonnie, lilies for Maryanne, etc, I took many pictures, sent many texts and spread much ____________. It was dark by the time I returned to the shop. All that ____________ were some boxes. I intended to break them up for recycling but found some flowers inside one of them. Had I ____________ anything? I felt around in the box for a card and ____________ my list of deliveries again. No card, no ____________ for these! I rushed into the shop. “These weren’t on my ____________,” I said as I set the flowers on the counter. “I’m afraid someone has ____________ her flowers mistakenly.”

“No ____________, Rita,” my coworker said, “Those flowers are for you, Your friend Patrick wanted you to ____________ flowers of your own today.”