2 . My mom enjoyed inviting people for Thanksgiving. After my family moved far away from all our _________, Mom started filling the house with _________ guests—whoever had nowhere else to go for Thanksgiving.

I missed our big family gatherings before moving here, but Mom had a(n) _________ heart. This year, when Mom showed me her guest list, almost half the size of our small town’s _________, I was annoyed.

Our first guests arrived: three foreign exchange students. Mom’s original plan was to _________ one. But she was told those unable to go home sometimes _________ in tears, so here came three. The next guests _________ through the door, a single mom and her six kids. With more guests, the volume and the temperature in the house instantly _________. Luckily, dinner was ready before the house or I _________. However, seeing my name card placed among the six kids, I murmured angrily, “How would I get such an __________ seat?”

After dinner, Mom suggested sharing something we were thankful for—another annual __________ at our house. “I’m so __________ to your family for opening up home to us.” The single mom spoke with watery eyes. Then one student expressed how much it __________ to be with a family on Thanksgiving.

Suddenly something __________ me: the essence of generosity and inclusion. Thanksgiving is about more than family—it’s about a shared __________ full of kindness.

3 . Kairo was waiting for his mom to pick him up from school one day. She arrived with the car windows down, playing his song, Easy Now, as loud as the volume could go. That’s when she told him that he was nominated for a Juno Award, in the category of Reggae Recording of the Year.

“I’m so glad that reggae music is being recognized and appreciated here in Canada,” Kairo said. At age 13, Kairo is the youngest artist ever nominated for Reggae Recording of the Year at the Junos. “It’s really special to be recognized at such a young age, and it motivates me to keep making more music,” said Kairo.

Kairo’s mom, Kim, recalls her son being interested in music from a very young age. “Kairo would try to play the keyboard before he was tall enough to reach it,” she said. Listening to music from the “golden era” of reggae music is a normal thing in their household, she added.

Reflecting on his inspirations, Kairo said that if he could change anything about himself, it would be when and where he was born. “I would have loved to be born in Jamaica during the 1960s, at a time when reggae music was becoming more popular around the world,” said Kairo. As a Canadian reggae artist outside of Jamaica, Kairo said he feels that music needs to return to the “roots” of reggae. He said that music should spread a message about love and peace, not things like violence and hate. “As a black musician in Canada, I have a lot to talk about, and a lot to sing about,” he said.

Kairo’s music is about staying positive, despite negative things that we might see in the world. “There are some injustices that I can see in the world and I talk about them because they need to be spoken about,” said Kairo.

It was a warm Sunday. 16-year-old Stella settled down with a book, enjoying her quiet moment when her friend Bog came over with his 6-year-old sister. “Stella, please! I need you to help to watch Hazel! I have a lecture to attend this afternoon,” Bog begged.

Stella frowned, not thrilled with the idea of babysitting a little girl. However, Bog didn’t offer her any other choice. He dropped Hazel off with Stella and quickly ran away before she could react.

With a heavy sigh, Stella unwillingly turned her attention to Hazel. “Fine, just stay there and don’t cause any trouble,” she grumbled (嘟囔). To her surprise, little Hazel smiled and obediently sat by the table, drawing quietly without making a single noise.

For the next hour, Stella was quietly engaged in reading without being disturbed by Hazel. Gradually, her annoyance disappeared and she got accustomed to the company of Hazel. After a while, Hazel cautiously approached Stella, holding a picture. “Look, it’s you and me,” she said in a low voice. It was a simple drawing of two girls, hand in hand, smiling.

Stella’s heart softened as she looked at the drawing. She felt guilty about treating Hazel impatiently. Setting her book aside, Stella smiled warmly and said, “I love it. Thank you!” Then Stella began to join Hazel to create it together.

Just as they were lost in a world of colors, a sudden phone ringing broke the warm atmosphere. It was a phone call from her friend, reminding her about the long-awaited plan to go skating on the ice rink (溜冰场). Stella’s heart sank because she had forgotten all about it. She was torn between the desire to go skating and her duty to look after Hazel. She was also worried that taking her to skate would prevent her from enjoying gliding (滑) freely on the ice.

As Stella hesitated, Hazel looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

Hazel admiringly watched Stella and her friends gliding on the ice.

5 . One day Mrs.Wilson went shopping with Tracy and Ben. They went to the supermarket in the new shopping center.

“Why do you buy things here?” Tracy wanted to know. “Because they are cheaper here than at the corner store near our home,” Mrs.Wilson said. “Help me check the prices, please.”

The Wilsons were not rich and Mrs.Wilson was always careful with her money. She looked carefully after the prices of things. She bought lots of things in the supermarket. When they got home, the children said, ”We don’t think you saved money by going to the supermarket.”

“Of course I did,” Mrs.Wilson said. ”Everything was cheaper there.” “We know,” the children said, “but we came home by taxi because we had too much to carry. The taxi fare was more than the money that you save!”

Mrs.Wilson added everything up. Her children were right.

I clicked the link (点击链接), sign un here. This wouldn’t be my first half marathon (马拉松赛跑); I had run a flat half when I was thirty-eight. But that was eleven years ago. Now, it was November 2022, and I’d had a shoulder injury before, and I was turning fifty. So, as awful as running 13.1 miles seemed, I was going to do it.

I signed up for a women’s training group, a group of strangers with whom I would spend a few months preparing for the race, and then I was directed to sign up for the actual race. I imagined a course somewhere beautiful in Florida. Or perhaps in sunny California, I was shocked when the race website opened, and I was greeted with the words, “Zion at night, half marathon in the darkness.” In Zion? At night? Oh, no.

I looked at the website. Was it to late to quit? Actually, I had just signed up for a coaching group that was meant to “encourage me through running”. Giving up before I even started seemed like a terribly shameful thing to do. I looked through the photos of the race.

I lost all my confidence. Runners wearing headlights and running shoes filled the computer screen. I couldn’t do this, I thought. I hadn’t run on paths in Delaware. I hadn’t run on paths or up hills. I clicked onto the next photo and looked at the happy runners advancing alongside a frightening cliff (峭壁). I was also afraid of heights.

A text came through my phone. It was Nicole, our training group’s brave leader, a woman who has run hundred-mile marathons. This is what happens when you run a race with someone who has strong willpower. “Sign up for the 4 am start time,” she wrote.

As I filled in my name and address, I tried to think about how likely I was to get injured during training. Realistically, that was my best way to get out of this race. I filled out the form and started worrying. About everything.

But Nicole encouraged me, saying that she was with me in spirit on every run.

On the day of the race, we drove to Zion at 4 am.

9 . It was a normal Wednesday. I was getting dinner ready when suddenly a painful ring sounded in my ear. I ________ that I needed to call my grandmother. Something was wrong.

I ________ a call at once, but she didn’t answer. That was ________ because she always answered. I ________ again and again, but there were still no answers. I began to ________, as she lived alone, I knew she needed ________. I called my father, telling him I thought we needed to drive to ________ on her.

On arriving there, we found my poor grandmother ________ on the floor of her dining room, her shoulder clearly broken. On seeing us, she began to ________. I held her hand while my father called 911. She was unable to tell me what had happened, but I could ________ by the plate of food on the floor that she had been lying there since dinner last night.

Soon we were at the local hospital’s emergency room (急诊室) . ________, she had not suffered any other injuries besides her broken shoulder.

She took my hand, saying, “I was calling and calling you to ________ and help me.” I looked at her blankly (茫然地) for a moment and took out my ________ to check my call records. There were no incoming calls from her, only some ________ ones. And then I knew that the love between grandmother and granddaughter is ________.

10 . As some of the student moviemakers started unloading (卸载) a ton of things needed for filming, I sat in my seat reading a book. Emptied of its movie-related contents, the truck now became the place to leave personal things. My job was to stay nearby with the keys so that if anything was needed I could open the truck.

Knowing that I could stay at a corner somewhere and finish the book that a friend asked me to review, I found a park bench (长椅) to sit on. I noticed that a man was sitting on one end, but there was plenty of room for at least two more bodies. Walking over, I sat on the end seat so that I could rest one of my arms on the armrest.

The man on the other end looked at me strangely but remained seated. I quickly discovered that he’d probably spent the night on the bench. I looked at him and smiled, and he smiled back with a mouth of blacked-out teeth. That was it. He wasn’t bothering (打扰) me, and I surmised I wasn’t bothering him.

We both sat there for over an hour. I was reading. He was attentively (专心地) watching the filming. He then stood, walked in front of me and bowed. I looked up, not knowing what was going to happen next. In a shaky but clear voice, he said, “Thank you.”

“For what?” I questioned.

He looked at the ground, saying, “Usually people won’t even look at me, let alone sit by me. Thank you for treating me kindly.”

I honestly didn’t know what to say as he turned, picked up a small, dirty backpack, and walked quickly around the corner. I was shocked. I hadn’t done anything special; I shared a bench. That’s all it was to me.

We were not different. Both of us just wanted to be well treated.