1 . I was deeply moved by the kindness of an elderly flower seller at Sydney’s Central Station one evening. I was feeling as cold as the chill winds ________ the steps of the workers who buried hands deep into coat pockets. In many ways, 2022 had proven a ________ year. My teenage daughter had left home for university, my job of 23 years was no more, and a creative project I’d given my all to for years had also been ________ called off. I also found out a person who I’d thought was a friend was ________ it.

A year earlier, I’d dreamt about an earthquake. In the dream, a red light flashed inside a building and then the earth began to ________. Walls collapsed and pieces of brick rained down on me as I ran into the open, feeling ________ for the people I hadn’t loved enough. ________ I was buried completely by the falling world, I reached out my hands and ________, “Abuelo, ayudame,” in my native Spanish. “Grandfather, help me!”

Now, with the very real aftershocks of a number of ________ endings, I walked into a little flower shop to buy a gift for a friend. The gentleman at the checkout looked at me and turned away for a moment, ________ with a beautiful flower. “For you. You need to smile today.” he said in a rich and nice voice, ________ me the flower with eyes full of care. It took all my strength not to ________ tears. Then he wrapped me in a ________ hug that made me want to tell him everything. ________, I just thanked him and headed for the train. How did he know? I wondered. For the first time in weeks, I felt ________.

2 . Once there were two neighbors, one rich and the other poor. The poor farmer had little land and his neighbor had much______. The rich could not be____as he was trying to become richer day and night. But the farmer working on his farm played with his family and____his life. The rich man was so_____ at his neighbor’s happy life and consulted a wise man about his_______ The wise man said, “It's our hard work that____the pleasant life instead of wealth.” The rich could not be________. The wise man showed him how it happened to make him believe it.

The wise man _______one gold coin in the farmer’s field. The farmer found it, took the gold coin and _____   it in a box. He didn't tell his family____   he feared they spread the news to others. The wise man continued the______with another gold coin for the second day, which was also kept secret. At last, the farmer_____ 99 gold coins. The farmer wanted to get 100 gold coins to_____ farmland. But the wise man ___burying gold coins.

Afterward the farmer became____to get another gold coin to pay for farmland. He kept on digging all his land and he ignored the usual____which produced grains for his family. He kept on____the 99 gold coins often. He was in a state of sorrow for not getting the hundredth. Therefore, he no longer had the mood to____with his children.

If we become____with our possessions, we can lead a very peaceful life. In fact, we can be peaceful as long as we don't compare our wealth or lifestyles with others’.____what we own and we would be happy.

3 . When I was a kid，my parents sent me to a summer camp in New Hampshire. At the _______we did tons of great things like swimming, sports and archery, but for me，the most memorable experience was an overnight trip of mountain climbing. If you’ ve ever_______a mountain, you know it's a _______challenge, especially when you’re carrying your food and shelter on your back. When campers got tired, they _______started complaining.

“ How much farther is it?”

“I can't go any further.”

“My _______is too heavy. Can you carry it for me?”

The reply of the _______ was,“ Suck it up(忍耐一下)！”. The _______ is that the complaining campers were nowhere near the point of _______. If they had been, the teachers would have noticed the signs and given them_______. The kids simply weren't used to the physical challenge. Once they realized they weren’t getting any sympathy, they ________the discomfort, and in most cases ________ having a great time. In my camp days, I don't ________a single camper complaining at the top of the ________.

There are two ways to deal with an ________ situation. You can complain, or you can make the best of it. If you complain, you might feel like you're getting that ________energy out, but you’re probably not going to cause a positive change. It’s much more likely that your complaining will cause the ________ of those around you. No one likes a complainer. They're ________ and they hurt the group. Complaining makes life________for everyone. Instead, if you determine to master your own ________, to move past it and focus on a ________, it’s my experience that you’ll realize it wasn't bad in the first place.