1 . High school graduations are one of the most important moments in a teenager’s life. However, heading into the ______ on June 6th, David was stopped at the door by a gatekeeper. So you can imagine how ______ David was. Although his sneakers were not extremely unacceptable, David learned they were in ______ of the school’s dress code and he was ______ entry.

David was about to ______ his chance to walk across the stage with his classmate when he caught sight of a ______ face. Butler, a famous local educator, came to the graduation as a parent. Learning David’s unpleasant situation, he ______ the young man back to the entry to see if he could ______ the gatekeeper’s mind.

“I was hoping that she would let it go, but she ______ not letting this young man in, and I didn’t have time to ______ with her,” Butler said. “I wasn’t going to let him miss the most ______ moment in his life for anything.” Without missing a beat, Butler simply changed his ______ with David. Just as the ______ closed, David made it inside the hall. Eventually he ______ David from ruining his graduation day.

Although firstly ______ by the last-minute substitution, Butler’s family were thrilled that his quick thinking turned a very ______ situation into a joyful celebration. “I wasn’t ______ because Mr. Butler is always helpful,” a ______ parent of David’s said.

It’s said that a truly generous man will give the shirt off his back to someone ______. Now it seems, the saying also ______ to the shoes off his feet.

4 . A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because a disease made his leg lame (跛的). He ________ played with his classmates. When the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always ________ his head without a word.

One ________ the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He wanted the ________ to plant a sapling each person in front of the house. The father said, “Whose sapling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite ________” Seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, however, the boy had an idea. He hoped that the tree he planted would ________ soon. So, after watering it once or twice, he never ________ it.

A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was ________ to find that it didn’t fade but grew some fresh leaves. ________ the trees of his brothers and sisters, his tree was even greener. His father kept his ________, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said that from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding ________ when he grew up.

Since then, the little boy slowly became ________. One night, he lay on the bed but could not sleep. Then he got up and came to the________. To his surprise, his ________was splashing (喷洒) something onto his tree. ________, he understood — his father had been ________ fertilizing (施肥) his small tree!

He returned to his room, ________ running down. ________ passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist (植物学家)，but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt. Love is the ________ nourishment (营养) of life ________ it is just a drop of clear water, it can still help the tree of life thrive (茁壮成长).

5 . It was my first year of work as a doctor. That time was filled with frightening, uncomfortable _______ but the present one was the _______.

A woman in her early twenties had been _______ to theatre (手术室) after a traffic accident. She had suffered _______ injuries and the surgeons had been unable to save her life. After the consultant told her parents the news, I _______ them for some time as they were _______ quietly.

When I came out of the room, the consultant was standing outside. “I think it would be nice if it came from you,” he said. “What?” I asked.

“About organ donation,” he replied. I _______ hard. Surely, it felt extremely awkward and _______ to have this conversation while they were in deep sorrow. But the problem with organ donation is that every minute _______.

I opened the door and sat opposite them, ________ that I was only going to make things worse for them.

“It’s what she’d have wanted,” the mother said before I had even finished. The father ________. Although I had imagined they might ________ for me bringing up such a sensitive ________ in their moment of sadness, in fact they seemed pleased.

“She was always so ________,” her father added.

As the consultant and I left them, it ________ me that I’d been wrong in ________ it would be an awkward conversation. Nothing could take away the ________ of having lost their daughter. Yet this last, final act had ________ them and helped them feel that the ________ of their daughter lived on in this act of generosity.

________, it was one of the most heart-warming conversations I have ever had.

6 . December 24 arrived along with a heavy snow. It was my first Christmas Eve without my mother, and the day's usual ______ had disappeared.

The telephone rang. I ______ it and went to my bedroom to bury the continuous ______ , knowing it must be my friend Rebecca calling. How could I be ______ ? I wanted to be left ______ .

My heart felt as ______ as the falling snow. ______ can I stop missing my mother? I ______ the window. Seeing Rebecca's car parked out front, I went back to my bed and drew the covers over my head.

“Lucy!” she shouted. “I know you're in there. Answer the door!”

“Leave me alone!” I ______ back. I heard paper rustling (沙沙作响)as she slid ______ under the door.

“Merry Christmas,” she called out.

Not answering the ______ made me feel even ______ . It wasn't fair to my best friend. Her father and sister ______ in a car accident when she was eight years old. ______ , her mother had to return to ______ , and Rebecca was left to look after herself.

When she left, I carried the small package, sat down and ______ it. Inside was a golden pen and a journal. When I opened the journal's front cover, out fell a bookmark with a（n） ______ written on it.

“My words won't heal the ______ . But your own words can.”

As I started at the journal's blank pages, a single tear fell on the page which quickly ______ it.

That night, I ______ the phone and dialed her number.

7 . Every year in my birthday, from the time I turned 12, a white gardenia was delivered to my house.     1     Calls to the flower-shop were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender’s name and just delighted in the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.

    2     Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged these imaginings. She’d ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man across the street whose mail I had delivered during the winter.     3    

One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt so sad that I became uninterested in my upcoming graduation dance, and I didn’t care if had a new dress or not. But my mother in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things.     4     In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia—lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery.

My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22.     5