1 . It was a snowy day. I ______ the friend who sat with me on winter evenings, talking about our experiences and thoughts—a true ______.

I had almost given up hope of finding another friend like that after I ______ to this city. I wanted to invite a woman I’d met only twice to come share my dinner, ______ she lived an hour away, and it was snowing. I was sure she wouldn’t ______ to come. However, I decided to have a try. So I made the ______.

“Don’t feel you have to come if you don’t want to.”

“Is it snowing? I have a ______, and I’m in bed. I’ll think about it later, if that’s OK with you.”

“Of course it is. And here are your choices, if you decide to come. I’ve just been shopping, so I can ______ you macaroni (意大利粉) and cheese or fresh vegetable salad.”

There was a ______ for a moment. She was thinking.

“Since I’m sick, not the macaroni and cheese. Too rich for a cold. I ______ the vegetables,” she said, “Vegetables. If it’s not snowing too hard.”

An hour before dinner, the phone rang.

“I’ve got up. I’ve been in bed all day. Looking forward to the ______.”

I was happy.

An hour later, she ______, holding a piece of chocolate.

We sat by the fireplace, eating and chatting. The smell of the vegetables filled the house. And we ______ love, art and travels. Everything was warm and good.

As she left, she said. “Those vegetables were delicious. They kept me from ______. I didn’t choose macaroni and cheese.”

“Next time,” I promised. And I went inside, quite satisfied, because I knew there would be a next time, and I didn’t feel ______ anymore.”

2 . My father would take me to the Queens County Farm Museum to see the sheep, lambs, horses, cows, chickens. I worked for a friend who had ________ many wild animals. And I also did part-time work with other farmers. I wanted to gain some working ________.

I also wanted to do the work that gave me target and ________ my longtime dream of working hands-on with ________. So I researched online and found a(n) ________ at a natural reserve in Zimbabwe. I didn't even know where that was on a map! But they ________ me for a three-week program, which turned into a year.

We were researching and ________ the animals. We'd go out in a truck and make sure they were safe, ________ and uninjured. There were days when we discovered animals ________ in a trap, bleeding, and we calmed them down in order to ________ them. Traps can cause serious pain and sometimes even ________.

We built bomas-secure enclosures (围墙) for the animals to sleep—and ________ they were doing well with their babies. We walked with the white rhinos, taking them to different enclosures and enrichment (强化) areas to stimulate (刺激) their ________ with new smells and features. The lions needed enrichment programs too, so we made toys and built play areas for them.

Seeing these animals ________ under human care and being able to live in harmony, I realized this is what I was ________ to do.

5 . Joy Mangano is now an American inventor. She was divorced and had three kids under age 7 when she was 33, and was barely keeping up payments on her small two-bedroom home by working extra hours as a waitress. “There were times when I would lie in bed and think. I didn't know how I was going to pay that bill,” Mangano says.

But she had a special ability for seeing the obvious thing. She knew how hard it was to mop the floor. “I was tired, of bending down, putting my hands in dirty water, wringing (拧) out a mop,” Mangano says. “So, There's gotta be a better way.”

How about a “self-wringing” mop? She designed a special tool you could twist in two directions at once, and still keep your hands clean and dry. She set out to sell it, first a few at flea markets.

Then Mangano met with the media. But would couch potatoes (电视迷) buy a mop? The experts on shopping TV were less than certain. They gave it a try, and it failed Mangano was sure it would sell if they'd let her do the on-camera display. She said, “Get me on that stage, and I will sell this mop because it's a great item.”

So QVC, a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping, took a chance on her. “I got onstage and the phones went crazy. We sold every mop in minutes.”

Today she's president of Ingenious Designs, a multimillion-dollar company, and one of the stars of HSN, the Home Shopping Network. Talking about the household invention, Mangano says, “It is as natural for me as it is for a parent to talk about their child.”

6 . One very cold November morning William, who was a 20-year-old college student then, climbed on the edge of Waterloo Bridge in London. That morning, William escaped from a mental health hospital, where he'd been diagnosed(诊断) with schizo-affective disorder. He headed straight to the bridge, convinced that his disease was a life sentence.

Hundreds of people passed by without stopping. Only one man called David, then 25, calmly and quietly walked to William's side.

“You're alright, man? Why are you sitting on a bridge?”

At first William wanted David to leave him alone, but something in David's calm, down-to -earth manner struck a chord. William felt faith, like he could talk to him.

“It's cold here. Why not have some coffee in a warm cafe? Everything will be OK.” For the first time after the diagnosis William felt perhaps it really might. He climbed back.

The police, having received calls from passers-by, were waiting there. They quickly put him into a police car, in case he was to panic and jump. He lost sight of David, the person who'd brought him hope.

William ended up back in hospital. Eventually, he was well enough to return to university and finish his degree. Over the next six years, William often thought about the stranger who had talked him round. Eager to thank him in person, he posted a Facebook message nicknaming the good man Mike. His Find Mike post was shared millions of times around the world, as far as Canada.

William was very excited when David called him two weeks after his post. They had a reunion. ,finally having that coffee they had first planned all those years ago.

“Many people walked past, but because of David's kindness and sympathy, I've lived a good life. ” William said.

7 . One day, Luke Fortune drove from Oregon to Portland, where he parked his car in a paid garage overnight. The next morning, he ____ the car’s window had been broken, along with his ____ for the future: his computer was ____. “Everything important to me was on that computer,” said Fortune. “I felt ____.”

Two days after the ____, another young man called Fortune. Masoud Almazrouei was an exchange student from the United Arab Emirates. He’d been ____ by a man who said he had a computer for sale. Only $200. Almazrouei ____ a computer, so he bought it, took it home, and turned it on. Within seconds, he saw files and photographs. “I wondered who would ____ a computer with all of this on it,” he said. “I ____ it could be stolen.”Almazrouei found what appeared to be the owner’s phone number and called it ____.

“He told me the story and said it was his fault. I thought it was a ____. I told him if he really had the ____, he should take it to the police,” Fortune said.

___, a police officer called Fortune to say that a man had dropped the computer off and had said he was ____. He passed on the man’s number.

Fortune called and thanked Almazrouei and ____ paying him a reward of $200 —the money he was out. Almazrouei ____.

When a report about the two young men’s story made it to the local papers, Almazrouei received a(n) ____ from Wim Wiewel, the president of the university where Almazrouei is studying. Impressed with his student’s ____, Wiewel gave Almazrouei a new computer. “We thought since you ____ the computer, we should give you a computer so that you’ll have one,” Wiewel told him. “We’re very ____ you.”

“I'm going to miss you so much, Poppy, "said the tall, thin teenager. He bent down to hug his old friend goodbye. He stood up, hugged his parents, and smiled, trying not to let his emotions(情绪)get the better of him.

His parents were not quite able to keep theirs under control. They had driven their son several hours out of town to the university where he would soon be living and studying. It was time to say goodbye for now at least. The family hugged and smiled through misty eyes and then laughed.

The boy lifted the last bag onto his shoulder, and flashed a bright smile.” I guess this is it, “he said.” I'll see you back home in a month, okay？"His parents nodded, and they watched as he walked out of sight into the crowds of hundreds of students and parents. The boy's mother turned to the dog, “Okay, Poppy, time to go back home.”

The house seemed quiet as a tomb without the boy living there. All that week, Poppy didn't seem interested in her dinner, her favorite toy, or even in her daily walk. Her owners were sad too, but they knew their son would be back to visit. Poppy didn't.

They offered the dog some of her favorite peanut butter treats. They even let her sit on the sofa, but the old girl just wasn't her usual cheerful self. Her owners started to get worried. "What should we do to cheer Poppy up？"asked Dad. “We've tried everything.”

“I have an idea, but it might be a little crazy, “smiled Mom.” Without anybody left in the house but us, this place could use a bit of fun. Let's get a little dog for Poppy."

It didn't take long before they walked through the front door carrying a big box. Poppy welcomed them home as usual, but when she saw the box, she stopped. She put her nose on it. Her tail began wagging(摆动)ever so slowly, then faster as she caught the smell.