3 . It was a cold evening and my daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn't notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box. But Nora did. She wasn't even four, but she _______ at my coat and said, “That man's cold. Daddy, _______ we take him home?”

I don't remember my reply. But I do remember a sudden _______ feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her _______, whether it was _______ in flight or children playing. But now she was noticing _______ and beggary.

A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and _______ it to an elderly person. It was quick and easy. I _______ us up. Nora was _______ about it. She could understand the importance of food, so she could easily see how ________ our job was. When Sunday came, she was ready, but I had to ________ myself to leave the house to fetch the food package. On my way to the school, I fought an urge to ________. The Sunday paper and coffee were waiting for me at home. Why do this? ________, we phoned the elderly person we'd been appointed. She ________ us right over.

The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed. ________ inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when it came time to say goodbye, we three hugged, I walked home in tears.

Professionals call such a(n) ________ “a volunteer opportunity”. They are opportunities, I've come to see. Where else but as volunteers do you have the opportunity to do something ________ that’s good for others as well as for yourself? Nora and I regularly serve to needy people and ________ clothes for the homeless. Yet, as I’ve ________ her grow over these past four years, I still wonder-which of us has ________ more?

4 . When I first met Begay at Los Ninos Elementary on “King and Queen Day”, she was wearing a smile ear-to-ear.

This morning, though, Begay was______. The parent she had been trying to_____was a no-show again. Begay______needed to talk to her. Her boy was smart, but now about a year behind. She______there were problems at home. He was always late and had already missed too much school.

By 8 a.m. , kids were arriving, and Begay’s______quickly became a beehive（蜂窝）of activity. Forty-five minutes_______, the little boy finally walked in, shoulders sunk, head_______. Rather than______him in front of the class, Begay welcomed him warmly. He was testing Begay’s long-held_______that no child is a lost cause, no matter how______he seems. “It’s the unspoken       _____teachers start out with,” Begay said.

During lunch I sat down with Begay’s students and asked them what they liked about her.

“ She never gets angry, “ said one girl. A boy______:” She’s funny and likes telling jokes.”

Before we left the______, the shy, quiet girl next to me______,” She teaches me when I don’t want to learn.”

Her_______stayed with me. When I_______it with Begay, I told her that I felt it was a very       _____thing for a child to say. She agreed.

“They never______that to me.” said Begay, “But that’s what I_______. I want them to enjoy school. I want them to feel like someone_______them.”

5 . Lazer loves running, and although he experiences a series of potentially fatal heart problems, he always cherishes a new finish line to inspire his _______.

By 2008, Lazer had undergone six heart _______, and the last one left him _______. In an attempt to feel_______, he decided to_______ his diet and, at the suggestion of a friend, started drinking more nutrient-packed juices._______, he began to feel good enough to _______ his sneakers and hit the_______again.

“After _______ the hospital, my goal was not to ________. I wanted to live my life as I desired, and that meant to ________ running and be in the best shape that I can,” he says. “I wasn’t going to be sedentary and sit on a sofa and ________ the remote. The big thing for me was that I wanted my own life. I was going to do everything I could to get my life back.”

To Lazer, that meant running, since it was such a big part of that life. ________, just months after that sixth surgery in 2008, he was back________ the starting line of the Las Vegas 26.2. And this past November, he crossed the finish line of his 18^th ________ race.

Lazer ________ running as one of the main reasons he’s lived well beyond that one-year prognosis he got back in 2004. “I believe I started running ________ knowing that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be living too ________,” he says. “Running is a part of who I am—I am ________ to be the best that I possibly can be. It’s such a huge part of my life that my life seems out of order if I’m injured or I can’t run. It’s kind of my ________.”

6 . I was in a big hurry today, I had to be somewhere before noon and the traffic was terrible. As I was making my way through the traffic, I saw an old man standing on one leg and trying to _______ to the passing cars, with the _______ that one of them would stop. No one stopped. He looked very sweaty and I felt so _______ that he had to stand like that in the terrible _______. I decided to help him. As soon as I _______ him, I put my hazard lights on and pulled over. He was _______ to see a woman, and hesitated to come into my car.

I called out to him, “Why don’t you get inside. It’s so hot for you.”

He _______ seemed a little shocked but he opened the door and got into the seat, I _______ the air conditioning for him and then we started our _______.

He kept thanking me and blessing me all the way. He was a ________ army officer and he said he had been ________ for over three hours.

I thanked him for his blessings and asked him where I should drop him off. He said, “I am sure you are a busy lady, ________ let me get down here. It will be ________ for me to get a taxi in this area.” I ________ him a taxi and he got down to bid me good bye, thanking me and blessing me again.

I then rushed on to where I had to be. As soon as I got in, I got a ________ from my husband saying his company had ________ a big contract. This was a very big ________ because my husband’s company was brand new. I was so happy. I ________ that I had done one small kind thing and ________ we had got so much.

I took my husband shopping that day to ________. My husband has asked me to buy something to someone to share some of our good luck.

7 . I often thought carefully and seriously about what my mother had said. At thought of my past conduct, a blush (脸红) of ______ rose to my cheeks, as many little acts of ______ and unkindness came back to my memory. So I decided that for the future, both in great things and small, I would ______ the Golden Rule.

It was not long after this that an ______ occurred of trying my principles. One Saturday evening when I went to Farmer Thompson’s inn to ______ the charge of my mother’s washing for the boarders. He was obviously busy ______ with some horse dealers and hardly noticing me as I made my ______, except to swear at me, as usual, he ______ handed me a banknote.

Glad to ______ so easily, I hurried out of the gate，and then, pausing to pin the ______ in my folded scarf. I ______ that he had given me two bills instead of one and my first impulse was joy at the ______ prize. “It is mine, all mine,” I said to myself. At that moment I _____ what my mother told me: Don’t do what ______ wouldn’t like others to do on you. Turning round, I ______ along the road with breathless speed until I found myself once more at Farmer Thompson’s gate.

“What do you ______ now?” asked the old fellow, as he saw me again.

“Sir, you paid me two bills, instead of one.” said I, ______ in every limb.

“Two bills? Did I? Let me see; well, so I did. Well, I am glad you are ______.”

I returned home with a ______ heart. I felt grateful that I practiced my life ______.

8 . At a young age, Darrius Simmons fell in love with the piano. As he watched others play, he was _________ by the joy the piano gave them. He wanted to experience that, too, but knew for him it would be a/an _________.

“I decided at age 10 that I wanted to learn how to play the piano, _________ it was going to take a little bit _________ work for me to learn,” Simmons says. “I knew most people had 10 fingers while I had four, yet I was pretty _________ I could make it work.”

The Warren, Ohio teenager was born with a genetic _________ called ectrodactyly (先天性缺指畸形). He has three fingers on his right hand and _________ finger on his left. But it didn’t _________ Simmons from following his _________. With no formal training, Simmons taught himself by ear how to play the piano. He practiced and practiced, finding a way to __________ the keys with four fingers while mastering the pedals with his prostheses(假肢).

Simmons knew he would have to __________ his own style of playing. “I couldn’t base it __________ the technique of somebody who has 10 fingers. It just wouldn’t __________.” He says. “That’s __________ it was hard for me to take piano lessons. It’s very __________ for somebody who has learned how to play with 10 fingers to adjust and teach me with only four.”

The now 18-year-old not only learned how to play and read music but also began composing.

His mother, Tamara Simmons, isn’t surprised by Darrius’ __________. She knows how focused and __________ he can be.

From mastering music to beating __________ challenges, Darrius Simmons sets out to __________ the world. “I like to be somebody’s __________,” he says. “If I play in front of a whole crowd and I see one person smile, that’s a job well done.”

9 . Exams never made me break out in a nervous sweat with tears threatening to ruin my already-trembling façade — but this one did. Even booking my piano exam reduced me to a blubbering mess of anxiety.

I feel permanently scarred inside churches — no longer admiring their beauty because, over the years, I have received such terrible marks from examiners hiding behind the stained-glass partitions. Despite being 15 — too old, too cool to be frightened — I remember trembling inside the bathroom stalls before my tests. I wished I never had to play in front of others.

But this time, after booking my Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music piano exam, I went back to my normal routine. A little practice here, a little practice there. And then it happened.

My trusty, 10-year-old electric piano gave out. Middle C started to sound like an F-sharp and all other keys sounded like they were a fourth above their natural tone. Thankfully, my precious, boredom-saving buttons still worked. I could still change my piano’s settings from “piano” to “harpsichord .” I admit, it was a lot of fun banging on my wacky keys. Each note bonged like the sound on children’s TV shows when a character repeatedly runs into a wall.

Goofiness aside, I had to get my act together. I hated practicing but I really wanted a good mark. When I told my father what had happened to my piano, he only glared at me with disappointment, “When I was your age, I learned to be resourceful.”

Hmm. I had a broken piano, an exam coming up in a few months and a father who refused to buy me a new piano because he wanted to teach me a “life lesson”. I finally came upon a decision: I’d practice at school.

Going to a private school had to have its benefits, so I looked for a place to play. The school had many pianos but only a few in tune. Within a few days of searching, my piano books, my artistic best friend and I headed off to a music room at every available opportunity.

I loved finding new pianos in hidden corners of the school and I laughed at the dusty old historic pianos. They really had character. I spent hours in those music rooms while my friend honed her art skills in sketching and drawing. She suffered through my annoying, repetitive scales while I looked over my shoulder once in a while and admired her work. Not only did I become a better musician, but I also managed to gain a few subpar skills as an art critic.

As my exam drew close, all the music teachers knew to look for me in the piano rooms during recess, after school and late on Fridays. In anticipation of my assessment, one of my music teachers let me perform for her as a mini practice exam. To my surprise, she was greatly impressed.

Within a few months I went from not caring about my playing to feeling actually, maybe, kind of proud of my work. And over countless hours spent in my favorite, soundproof music room, I discovered that behind the piano, I could become anyone. Talking to other people never came easy to me, but I was able to express myself through music. I became overjoyed. It was like I had developed a sixth sense, one that only musicians could understand.

When I played, my worries about what others thought of me and how I viewed myself merged to reveal who I really am. All my adolescent musings made me feel like I was in a cage, but music gave me the key. Sitting behind a piano and creating music combined the movement of my body and the inner workings of my heart.

Music had never been the love of my life but that was changing. I loved the idea of being on a stage and creating something for others to enjoy and remember. Actually, it wasn’t a something, but rather a feeling that the audience would carry outside into a world where music wasn’t the only thing that people cared for.

When the time came to play in front of an examiner, instead of fearing my judge, I feared nothing but being unable to represent all my hard work. All the anxiety I had about going up on stage dimmed, and when the lights went on, all I could think about was the marvellous journey I’d had to get here. Trilling the keys reminded me of when I’d spent nearly two hours alone in a music room, more content than I had been anywhere else. Playing the melody reminded me of the bittersweet music experiences of past years.

Many days later, I received my mark. Not only did I earn a rarely mentioned “well done” and an 82 per cent, I had rewritten what music meant to me.

Now whenever I get caught up in the daily struggle, I remember the hard work that it took to reach my goal. Whenever I feel discouraged, I never forget to look at the gleaming keys of my new upright piano. As my father always says, some lessons are just learned the hard way.

10 . Rishi Sharma, a young man, is living his life differently. When he was a kid, Sharma was __ by the men who __ World War II. They were lucky to __ bullets (子弹), finally returning home and living a simple life, which interested Sharma very much. Sharma watched many documentaries on WWII and became __ that some of these men were still alive and he could __ them.

One day, Sharma came across the information that Lyle Bouck, a WWII hero, was living quite near his home. __, Sharma looked up the __ and dialed. Soon after, he __ visiting military veterans (退伍军人) in nursing homes.

Since graduation from high school, Sharma has made it his __ to interview as many WWII veterans as he can. Because many of them are in their 80s and 90s, Sharma __ that he has just around 10 years before the veterans of the so-called greatest generation are gone. Therefore, he’s __ everything else in his life — college, dating and hunting a job — to __ himself to this cause.

For each veteran __, Sharma creates a DVD of their stories. These men are known for their stoicism (淡泊) and the __ to discuss what happened during the war. __, with frequent contact with the veterans, they’re finally __ to share their stories.

Sharma tried to meet at least one WWII veteran every day until the last of them __. In May 2016, Sharma founded Heroes of the Second World War, a non-profit organization aiming to __ the stories of WWII veterans. He also launched a GoFundMe page which has __ in more than $186,000 up to now. Sharma uses that money to pay for his travel and __ equipment. He hopes to collect as many stories as he can — for their sakes, and for ours.