2 . Draper was the owner of a secondhand bookstore. One day, when he was sorting through a pile of old books, an envelope _______ from one. Inside was an undated letter and a faded photo of a woman holding a little girl on her lap. The letter said if Bethany was _______ it, it meant the author had died.

Tears were welling up in Draper’s eyes. These were a _______ woman’s last words to her child. He had to _______ Bethany. “Whoever it is will keep this.” he thought. “You wouldn’t throw away a letter like that.”

He supposed if the book ended up in his shop then Bethany was likely from around Bishop Auckland. And he thought he would _______ the little girl’s face. Even if she’d since left the area, there might be someone in the town who would recognize the picture.

He started with the local newspaper. The Northern Echo ran the story of the _______ letter.

Meanwhile, Bethany Gash, now 21 and a(n) _______ herself, was on Facebook about 10 miles away when a close friend messaged her to check out the _______. As she read her mother’s _______ which she thought had been lost forever, she said she thought she must be ________.

Bethany was only 4 when her mother ________. Five years later, her family moved to a new home and the letter, put away in the pages of a book for safe keeping, was unintentionally ________.

She remembered unpacking and looking for the letter, and then ________ searching through everything in the hope that it was there. “That’s when I realized it was gone and I’d never see it again,” she said.

Draper ________ the letter in person. He also brought her a children’s book for her son. Bethany was greatly moved to have the letter back, and also touched by the stranger’s ________.

3 . A couple in Ohio accidentally dropped off a bag containing almost $ 100,000 at an Ohio charity shop. Thanks to_______employees, they got money back.

The employees were going through_______last week when they came across a_______. Inside was $97,004. “It was so much cash,” employee Kelsey Croy said. “I looked in the bag and we_______ it right there on the desk. And it was $97,004.” Thankfully , the owner_______a receipt for tax purposes when they donated_______that morning. The employees_______called the couple but there was no_______ .

Not wanting to_______that amount of cash in the store, they called the Zanesville Police Department.________ repeated calls, officers finally got a hold of the couple. The couple hadn’t realized the money was________. They told the police they withdrew all their money to another bank. On the way, they________at the charity shop to donate a bag of clothes. That’s________the money ended up there. “When we finally________them, they just asked if they could get it sometime tomorrow,” the officer said.

The couple has since made contact with the original ________who found the money to thank them. “I’m just glad that I meet with a bunch of honest and loyal people,” Croy said.

4 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.

Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境) — the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

5 . How to release your art potential? Traditionally, people may bury themselves in learning painting skills at a studio and begin from drawing lines. However, Maggie Wiebe, a 21-year-old girl from Stamps School of Art& Design at the University of Michigan, has her own method.

Wiebe and her school friend Jessie Rice are trying to do something that shows their love for art and also benefits the environment. For the past year or so, they have tended a garden at their campus farm, planting a variety of colorful flowers, as well as flax (亚麻) to make linen (亚麻布) and paper to be used in art.

Inspired by a group of old ladies in Canada who plant sustainable art materials and post their videos on social platform YouTube, Wiebe learned about how to plant, harvest and separate fibers. She planted different fruits and vegetables traditionally used to dye (给……染色) fabrics (织物) . She then put their peels (外皮) into boiled water and added hot pressurized air to make a dye. For her, it’s a demanding but enjoyable process.

Wiebe and Rice plan to eventually buy some land in Detroit to grow these sustainable art materials — a dye, fiber and pigment (颜料) garden   —— “a bigger version of what we’re already doing”, Wiebe told Minnesota News. “We’d set it up like an organization where artists can volunteer a few hours a week and then use all of the plants that we grow.”

Wiebe also likes fiber-based art, such as quilting, weaving and sewing. She has applied those techniques to her recent works, displayed as part of the annual Senior Exhibition at her school. During her sophomore (高中或大学二年级) year, Wiebe joined the Michigan Daily as an illustrator, learning to conceptualize and complete complex illustrations on tight deadlines. Wiebe’s works received a lot of help from others. “Because the art school doesn’t have departments, we have studio coordinators who take care of each studio,” she said. “I see them every day, and they’ve helped me a lot.”

6 . Last year, I started the journey of being a remote product designer. The thought of a flexible (灵活的) schedule, a comfortable home office, and the escape from the _______ public transport was incredibly _______ . The first few weeks were filled with a long-lost feeling of _______ .

However, the _______ of working from home gradually set in. I had started my day with the best _______ , promising myself quick breaks and regular stretches (伸展) . But deadlines, endless emails, and virtual meetings _______ me to my computer throughout the day, leaving me little time to _______ . Gone were the short walks to a coworker’s desk and the quick lunchtime walks around the office complex. Finally, my world was _______ to the walls of my home, my steps _______ in meters only rather than kilometers.

One day, I tried ________ one of my favorite dresses and it wasn’t passing through my waist (腰) at all. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a ________ person carrying extra weight, rather than someone enjoying freedom. The ________ of work and personal life had left me feeling like I was a never-ending motion machine.

This incident (事件) marked the ________ of a journey of self-discovery. I made up my mind that I needed a (n) ________ not just for my waistline but for my overall well-being. It was a promise to prioritize my physical and mental health, and a promise that I could ________ control over my life and my body.

8 . An unpleasant smell floated into my nose as the bowl of fried stinky tofu settled onto my grandmother’s dinner table. I immediately sat back. The smell ruined my appetite, and I pushed the dish away.

“It’s supposed to stink. Just give it a try!” my grandmother said.

Holding my breath, I unwillingly took a bite. To my surprise, the tofu beneath the fried skin     was warm, soft, and mouthwatering. Thus, stinky tofu became more than a household tradition. It became my favorite dish.

Along with the stinky tofu, I would meet my Uncle Chan on every visit. As an immature boy, I never understood my uncle’s condition of Down syndrome(唐氏综合征).He was an unfriendly and terrible creature in my eyes. He constantly walked around the house, talking to himself. Whenever he was within view, I would run away in fear.

However, one day, my view of my uncle suddenly changed. I was just getting out of my bed when I heard soft steps approaching. It was my uncle. My muscles froze. He slowly sat next to me and touched my face gently, as a mother would stroke (抚摸)a baby. A wide smile emerged from his blank expression. How beautiful his smile was! I could not help but smile back. My fear disappeared gradually, and my muscles relaxed.

My uncle very much resembles stinky tofu. Stinky tofu smells unpleasant on the outside, yet feels warm and soft in the inside. Like stinky tofu, my uncle’s Down syndrome made me keep my distance at first. Yet, I learned that deep inside, he is harmless and has a loving nature.

The outside and inside of the stinky tofu exist as two extremely different worlds. Perhaps that is what makes it such a tasty dish. Not only is it delicious, stinky tofu offers a valuable lesson: never judge people at first glance, for true beauty comes from the inside.