1 . It’s really easy to feel all alone in life, especially when going through hardship. But sometimes the best thing we can do is to allow ourselves to ask for _________, like Erin did.

Erin worked at a McDonald’s in Michigan. But her pay wasn’t enough to cover rent and she and her twin girls ended up _________. She wanted to sleep in her car which was _________ right outside of the girls’ school. However, she wasn’t sure whether what she was doing was _________.

So, she asked police officer Heather Kolke if they could stay there. But the conversation didn’t stop there. Heather, also a mom, knew she had to _________. She and her fellow officers found Erin and her daughters a temporary place to stay in. That wasn’t all though, they even got her an _________ and went with her to offer moral support. Luckily, Erin got that job.

Heather also planned a birthday party for Erin’s daughters, with local businesses _________ balloons, cake, and pizza.

The whole community ultimately got _________, raising $2,300 in cash, as well as clothes for the kids, items for their new _________, gift cards to help them make ends meet.

“It really warms my heart to know that there are people out there who __________. It is a reminder that there are good people in the world,” shared Erin.

2 . About six months ago, I joined a gym. Every morning, there was one personal trainer there who practised at the same time that my little group did our________. He worked out with such a quiet________that he made it all look very easy, although I knew all too well how hard he was working. Whenever I tended to complain and________, I watched him push himself to his own limits, and I found myself________to work as hard and without complaint.

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching him do chin-ups (引体向上). He made them look________. I broke away from my group and asked him if I could try a chin-up. I had never tried before, but he just made it look so easy. He eagerly stepped aside and________me to step up to the bar. I pulled myself up without thinking...once...then twice. That was all I had in me. I had no________left. I told him that was all I had, so he stepped up behind me and________me up for a third and fourth “pull”. It felt so good.

The next day when I was done with my workout, I asked him to spot me again. Again, I did two. Again, on Day 3 and so on. I thought it was a________that I could only do two. but when I came lo the gym at the end of the week, he was standing there, nodding his head and said to me he was________with my chin-ups. He told me that when they are training firefighters, the men are required to do five chin-ups, and women are required to do one or two. He________that most people couldn't do them at all, and that he was amazed that I could. He further told me that if l________every day, I would be doing five or six in no time. At this point I should probably________that I am 50 years old... and female.

If he had told me at the very beginning how________it was, I more than likely would not have tried at all. ________I might have tried, but given it only half an effort, because failure would have been the expectation. I applauded him for letting me believe that for me, it was not only a possibility, but that success was a realistic expectation.

4 . After one night of partying in college, drinking and taking pills prescribed for my arthritis (关节炎) and migraines (偏头痛), I woke up the next morning and remembered nothing. I started hiccupping (打嗝), and it wouldn’t ________. After a week, I went to the campus hospital, but they said ________ was wrong. How much I would hiccup ________. They would get worse if my stress levels were up, or if I hadn’t had much sleep.

When I first spoke to my family, they thought I was ________ it. It was only when I saw them in person that they started to believe me. They could hear me hiccupping all night, so they knew it was ________. The doctors thought it was all in my head. It made no ________ that I would lie about such a thing — it was painful and annoying.

I got kicked out of class because I was ________ others. I wouldn’t go to the movies because I thought I would ________ everyone. The problem was physically and mentally ________.

Then I stopped taking pills and drinking. My life got back on track, but the hiccups didn’t ________. Over the years, I’ve been given lots of different ________. I thought things might never get better. After eight years, my hiccups never stopped completely, but the medication eventually made them less ________. I’ve now been living with hiccups for 12 years. I feel mentally ________ for going through this, as well as a more patient person. I’m so ________ to having them that it’s like blinking to me, ________ my daughter does still laugh when she hears me hiccup.

5 . On a trip to California, my family stopped for lunch. As we walked toward the entrance to the restaurant, a man, with a messy beard and dirty hair, jumped up from a bench and opened the door for us. Regardless of his _________, he greeted us in a _________ way.

Once inside, my daughters whispered, “Mom, he smells.” After we ordered our lunch, I explained, telling the kids to look _________ the dirt. We then watched other customers approach the restaurant but many ignored him. Seeing this rudeness truly upset me. The day I became a mother, I had decided to set a good example for my children. Yet sometimes when things didn’t go right, being a good example was _________. When our meal arrived, it suddenly _________ to me that I had left the car-sick pills in the truck. With the windiest trip ahead, the kids needed them, so I excused myself from the meal and went to get them.

Just then, the “doorman” was opening the door for a couple. They rushed past him without even acknowledging his _________. Letting them in first, I said a loud “thank you” to him as I went out.

When I returned, we talked a bit. He said he was not allowed inside _________ he purchased food. I went back and told my family his story. Then I asked our waitress to add one soup and sandwich. The kids looked _________ as we had already eaten, but when I said the order was for the “doorman” they smiled. When it was time to _________ our trip, I noticed the “doorman” enjoying his meal. Upon seeing me, he stood up and thanked me heartily. He then extended his hand for a handshake and I gratefully accepted. I suddenly noticed the tears in his eyes—tears of __________. What happened next drew great astonishment: I gave the “doorman” a hug. He pulled away, with tears breaking down his face.

Back in truck, I fell into deep thought. While we can’t choose many things in life, we can choose when to show gratitude. I said thanks to a man who had simply held open a door for me, and also said thanks for that chance to teach my children by example.

6 . Intentions matter

When my daughter was very young, she broke my favorite cup. She was moving it aside, and it slipped from her hand and broke on the floor. I loved that cup and was really disappointed, but____I didn’t punish her. It was an accident. She didn’t____to drop it. Intentions matter. Or do they?

I can’t help but feel that our modern world does not____intentions. We are all so ready to find fault with another person and so concerned with our own responses that we don’t consider the____of others.

There are____opportunities to be upset these days in the celebrity news cycle, in politics and in our own interpersonal interactions. Every single day, someone is torn apart on social media for something they have said or done.

A friend of mine says, “It’s not how the message is intended; it’s how it’s received.” He means that we need to be____when choosing our words because they can easily be____by the person we are addressing.

We all at times express ourselves poorly, make errors of judgment or have a moment of____where we say the wrong thing. All of us have offended someone at some point in our lives.

The internet is full of people seeking to make things worse.____there are also many decent people who____get things wrong or simply do not know better.

I get that there is much to be angry about. The world is full of injustice. The actions and words of other people can cause harm;____, the actions and words of other people matter.

But intention has to matter too, for us to make sense of the world, and for us to effect change.____intentions can help us to feel better about our fellow humans. When we appreciate intent, it can help to lessen the impact of their message.

On a more practical level, understanding intention can help us respond to people with____instead of anger. People who wish to do the right thing are often willing to listen. When we scream at people in anger, we____communication and make them less open to change. Remember, humans are____as divided as social media suggests.

Did the person throw the cup, or did it slip from their hands? Now, more than ever, I think the answer matters.

9 . On a cold winter evening, I was walking home, tired and hungry, when suddenly came screams (呼喊声) from behind some trees. _________ , I slowed down to listen, and realized that what I was hearing were the sounds of a fight. A girl was being _________ not far from where I stood.

“Should I go to help her?” I thought. I was worried about my own _________ , and I regretted having suddenly decided to take a new way home that night. “What if I’m hurt too? Shouldn’t I just _________ to the nearest phone and call the police?” But already the girl’s _________ were growing weaker. I knew it was time for me to act fast because I could not _________ to the life of this unknown girl _________ it meant risking my own life.

I am not a _________ man. I didn’t know where I found the courage and physical strength, but once I had finally _________ to help the girl, I became suddenly changed. I ran behind the bushes and ____________ the attacker off the girl. Struggling, we fell to the ground, where we fought for a few minutes until the man jumped up and escaped.

____________ heavily, I stood up and came up to the girl, who was crying behind a tree. In the ____________ , I could not see her clearly, but I could certainly ____________ her shock. Not wanting to frighten her any further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.

“It’s OK,” I said ____________ . “The man ran away. You’re safe now.” There was a long stop and then I heard the words, said in both wonder and surprise, “Dad, is that you?” And then, from behind the tree, stepped out my youngest ____________ , Katherine.