1 . A gentle wind blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was _________. She was on the beach, looking up at the ball. She was amazed by its _________, deep red in the middle, gradually fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

The atmosphere _________ her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents must be _________ where I am.” She didn’t know how her parents would react when she got home three days after she was _________. But she was determined to shake off the bad habits she _________ from others unknowingly.

The sun had set by then and it was getting _________. She tried to imagine having her favorite _________ on to keep warm. Eventually, she saw her front door. It seemed different, as if _________ had taken care of the outside garden for days. She was __________, because her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, but now... It all seemed __________. She couldn’t understand what was going on. She entered the __________. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said, “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went __________. Believe me. I can find our daughter.” Ellen was her mother, but where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her mother, lying on the bed, breathing regularly, with her eyes closed. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t __________ for days. Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up she found she was in her own comfortable bed in her nightclothes.

It felt so good being back home. She was very, very __________ to her parents and promised not to run away again.

2 . A Texas community came together to celebrate a birthday party for a little girl who had a deadly illness.

“My little girl has been _________ the day to come,” Mom Lex Fitzgerald said “She’s been so _________ to celebrate with all her classmates and friends.” Despite Willa’s excitement, the guests she had invited _________ to arrive.

In a last desperate (孤注一掷的) act, Lex posted on website page in the _________ that a few families in the community could _________ them and turn the day around for her daughter.

“If anyone is looking for something to do right now, welcome to _________ at my daughter’s birthday party,” she wrote online. “Maybe it’s her last party. We’d love to _________ with you.”

“The _________ was life changing,” she said. Families _________ what they were doing, selected gifts, and rushed to the __________. Within minutes, families were showing up __________ to share the day with Willa. Lex said, “At first, there was not a __________ person at her birthday table. But later, there was not a single table empty in the restaurant.” Lex posted a video on the Internet that showed Willa posing for pictures in front of a table full of __________.

“I just want to __________ all of the people who came today to be with us,” Lex said. “You not only showed up for my little girl, but for me as well. You picked me up and encouraged me forward when I felt like I had failed as a __________. Thank you.”

3 . A man sat at a subway station in Washington D. C. and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him. They stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet their schedule.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother followed him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded (鼓掌), nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most gifted musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell’s playing in the subway station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

5 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

6 . I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (给贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. So we both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened,I saw my shoes flying at me.I jumped to my feet and started yelling (叫喊). She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled (爬行) under her covers (被子), sobbing (哭啼). Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart. Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression was such disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the meaning of living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

9 . I can’t miss the little old lady with her kerchief (方头巾) on her head, a black umbrella blowing all over. I can tell she is freezing. She is standing at a bus stop, and I’m driving by, late for my early morning shift. I decide to stop and offer her a ride.

Of course, she declines, but when I ask again and insist, finally, she gets in the car. I take her to her destination, and by the time she gets out of my car, she is smiling and thanks me.

I was late for work that day, but I was so glad that I stopped. That was 40 years ago, and the beginning of a new habit, one that continues when I’m out driving in bad weather.

If there’s someone at a bus stop, especially if it’s an elderly person waiting at off hours and in bad weather, I will pull over and ask if they need a ride.

Once, a young doctor jumped in. She had finished a long shift and had been waiting and waiting at the bus stop. She had no hesitation and, for the first time, I was able to help someone who performs miracles (奇迹) on a daily basis. That felt good.

But the best part of my ride offers is the conversation. I do tend to ask a lot of questions: where are you from, where are you going, family, background, pets and whatever else comes to mind. Surprisingly, everyone wants to chat. We are usually laughing by the time the ride is over. “What a shame!” I often think when they hop out, as the stories were just getting started.

Now as retirement approaches, I believe I have found my calling. I will be happy to join a community driving program to take people to one appointment or another — or perhaps just to the coffee shop to sit and listen for an hour.

As the years pass, perhaps I will be the one standing at the bus stop. Perhaps there will be somebody who rolls down a window and offers me a seat for a little ride. I will continue to take that leap of faith in the kindness of strangers.

10 . Half a year before graduation from college, my son began to look for a job. Due to the financial crisis (危机), fewer companies would like to _________ new staff. My son targeted a company that was _________ to hire only one person while over twenty people were_________ the job.

After the interview, only three people could enter the final round, which would later_________ the person that was fit for the job. And my son entered the final round.

Unexpectedly, the final interview was unbelievably _________. The interviewer only said to them, “All of you are very excellent. Please go home and wait for our _________. We will tell you the _________ in three days. Good luck to all of you!” On the morning of the third day, my son received a text from the company that he was not hired. We all felt very _________.

At nightfall that day, my son suddenly told me _________ on his phone, “Dad, I have been offered the job!” __________ the text sent to my son was also part of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only my son’s reply was “Thank you”__________ the other two said “Goodbye”.

Only then did I know that my son’s hope came in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not __________ to say “thank you” to the one who disappoints you. Saying thank you shows __________ for others’ work and shows your __________. Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get more __________ compared with others!