2 . As a high school coach, I did all I could to help my boys win their games.I____for victory as much as they did. However,a dramatic____happening after I refereed a game____my view on victories and defeats.

The game was between New Rochelle and Yonkers High. It was well played and __ contested. When there were only 30 seconds left, Yonkers was____by one point. When Yonkers ___their last shot, New Rochelle recovered the ball, and tapped (补篮) it in for what looked like___. The clock showed the game was over, but I hadn't___ the final buzzer (蜂鸣器) because of the___ noise.

Not having got help from the other official, I____the young timekeeper. He said, "Mr. Covino,the buzzer went off as the ball rolled off the rim (篮筐), before the____tap - in was made. "Coming up to New Rochelle’s coach O’Brien, he added, "I'm sorry, Dad. The time ran out before the final___."

Suddenly, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, Coach O’Brien's face ___. He said,"That's okay, Joe. You did what you had to do. I’m____of you. "

Turning to me, he said, "Mr. Covino, I want you to meet my ___, Joe. "Then they walked off together, the coach's arm around Joe's shoulder.

3 . In Stornoway, the biggest town in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides islands, a yellow van (厢式货车) sits on a narrow, one - way street.Driver lain Mackenzie has loaded his books in the van, organized his customers’orders and is preparing for his last turn of the week on the island of Lewis and Harris. The 16-year-old van runs three days a week,covering more than 800 miles of rough roads to deliver books to more than 800 residents.

The Outer Hebrides are home to Scotland’s highest concentration of "very remote rural" residents.When mobile libraries began operating in 1952 as a local council service, they were the main source of books for residents there. Even now, mobile libraries still serve as a lifeline to many, residents. Without them, some residents would be more than an hour’s drive from their nearest library branch. Mobile Iibraries remain integral to these communities. Visits by drivers like Mackenzie are sometimes the only regular face - to - face contact customers can count on in any given week.

Still, there are worries about the mobile libraries' future. As many people have moved away, in search of greater opportunity, villages across the islands are facing depopulation and a decreesse in resources. As a result, services have declined. In more remote areas, when school is not in session, public transport is available only once a week. Budget - saving proposals have offered to substitute the mobile libraries with online books and volunteer - run community centers. But residents say theee don't come close to the personal experience of physically choosing books, and none offered access to the limited Gaelic(盖尔语) resources available.

When the mobile library service was at risk of being cut, the Outer Hebrides communities, which own Scotland’s highest density (密度) of Gaelic speakers, voted to save it. In December, the local council approved two new vans. For longtime drivers Mackenzie, the approval for replacement vans marks a victory.