2 . On the day of a daughter’s graduation ceremony, a father congratulated his excited daughter. He planned to teach his daughter a _________. He said to her, “My darling, I’m so _________ that you have graduated from college. You grow up. Now I’m considering selling my car, and can you help me get a good price for it?” The daughter happily _________. Then the father instructed her to take the car to different places and then choose the best offer.

The daughter knew that her father’s car was a good one. She was _________ that the car was worth a good price _________ it looked pretty old. She went to the first place – a used car market, and returned to her father, saying, “Dad, they offered me 1,000 dollars but it can’t _________ me.” Then she drove to a pawn(典当) shop and was told that the car was old-fashioned and worth 200 dollars, which really _________the daughter. She told the result to her father and _________, “ It drove me crazy. They only paid attention to its _________.” The father smiled without saying a word. The next day, the daughter went to a car club and showed the car to the workers. They told the daughter that it was a rare car and very hard to __________ in the market because it had been no longer produced. They said they were __________ to buy the car any time at 50,000 dollars and even more.

The daughter couldn’t wait to tell the good news to her father. The father said, “Don’t be surprised and the car has its __________ there! The right place __________ you in the right way. Therefore, if   you are not liked or valued by someone, do not be too angry. It just means you are in the wrong place. You should __________ and go to a better place where you are __________ and certainly go far.”

4 . In January 2020, my life was like a perfect movie. I was the _________ in my amazing group of best friends. They were all a year older, but you would never have known. I was only a senior two student but had _________ to secure a spot on the swim team. Then my teammates and I traveled in Hawaii.

Little did we know we would _________ to chaos. Our school was _________ down for two weeks due to COVID-19. Although feeling unhappy, my best friends made promises about how we would stay close during the lockdown. Shortly into quarantine (隔离区), I _________ hobbies and did anything I could to keep myself busy.

Looking back, I felt like a fool for thinking that two weeks would be a _________ to a pandemic. Months went by and the new school year began. I couldn’t accept the _________ that training in the pool became impossible. The pain of missing my friends began to _________. I felt like I was drowning.

It occurred to me that my best friends, who were now _________, would leave me next fall anyway. That made me ____________, making November the ____________ month for me. I couldn’t describe the feeling of just lying on my bed with tears ____________ down my face.

Alice in Wonderland became my life as I kept falling down a never-ending hole. Still, all the same, I felt ever so ____________ to climb out of this darkness. As the winter holidays ____________, things started to pick up. I was ____________ by the Christmas spirit. Sure, it was ____________ this year but still, I looked forward to the ____________ activities: Christmas eve dinner, opening gifts with my family on Christmas Day.

I made a New Year’s resolution to become more ____________ to my studies. As I did that, I found the college conversation became less ____________. I thought about all the ____________, the passions I would pursue. I became more excited about the unknown.

5 . Joe and Della were a new couple. They were both interested in art--one in painting, the other in music. They lived in a small flat. They loved each other and they were happy.

But one day they found that they had spent all their money. One afternoon Della told Joe that she had found a _________ and was to give her three music lessons a week. For that she could get fifteen dollars a week. But Joe was not _________ because he didn’t want to stay at home, playing with his art while Della was at work. He wanted to earn some money too.

Every day they parted in the morning and _________ in the evening.

A week _________ , Della brought home fifteen dollars, but she looked a little _________. Joe took eighteen dollars out of his pocket. They were both _________ to have so much money at hand.

The next week, Joe _________ home another eighteen dollars but Della came home with her right hand in a bandage (绷带). Joe asked Della what was the _________. Della said, “It was because of an iron-- I mean a plate of soup spilled on my _________.”

“What do you do every day, Della? Do you __________ give music lessons?” Joe asked. “Tell me the __________!”

Della cried. She told Joe that she was working in a laundry (洗衣店), __________ shirts. A girl accidentally __________ an iron on her hand and she got a __________ burn. But Della asked Joe how he had guessed that she wasn’t giving music lessons.

Joe told Della that he worked in the engine-room of the same laundry where she worked. They both let out their __________ and laughed.

7 . I hadn’t worked since April 2019 due to health issues. But I had no money left, _________ I decided to look fora part-time job.

I had been applying and _________ since July, but was always _________. I felt pretty down.

This past Tuesday evening it was very _________. While I was waiting at a bus stop shaking, I saw a young woman walking up to the bus stop. She had a T-shirt, shorts, and slippers (拖鞋) on. I asked her if she had a _________ or anywhere to go. She shook her head and told me she had lost her apartment because she lost her job.

I opened my bag and took out some _________ so she could buy something to eat. I then took off my jacket and shoes and gave them to her. She looked at me in _________ and thanked me with a hug.

After I got on the bus a miracle of spreading _________ happened. I stepped up to pay the fare (车费) but the bus driver _________ me and smiled, “I saw what you just did and your fare is on me!”

Then a lady on the bus asked, “What can I do for you to give back what I just saw?” I __________ said a paying job would be nice. She asked for my name and __________ and said she would call me the next day.

The next day she called me and said that she had a part-time __________ in her company and wanted me to meet with the manager. I couldn’t believe it!

I went for the interview __________ and got a call this afternoon. I will start Monday morning at 9 am! I never __________ to get so much back in __________!

9 . A couple of years ago, I stepped off the subway in Upper Manhattan, worn out after a long and stressful day at work,________ about the warmth of my bed. I stopped in a grocery store on the way to my apartment to buy a bag of popcorn.

A man about three times my size ________ in front of me at the cash register and turned toward me, telling me I looked________. I smiled uncomfortably and became noticeably more ________, as a young woman does when a ________ man starts talking to her at night. He turned toward the cashier and said that he was going to get my snack too. I politely declined his ________ and was already pulling out my wallet, but this man wouldn’t ________ me to say no. He ________ the cashier a couple of extra dollars to cover my popcorn and told me that he hoped my ________ got better. He walked out of the ________ and I never saw him again.

The world could use a little more ________ . Most of the time, it’s so ________ to get caught up in your own routine and everyday personal worries that we just don’t remember to ________ those around us. The man who ________ for my popcorn has ________ with me and inspired me to pay it forward to others who look like they could use a hand.