1 . Hey! You have a hairless spot on the back of your head! " Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug it off. “It’ll grow back.” I worked to sound________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger and there was still no________ of any hair poking through the skin. I began to________but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, wiling this to________happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection to try, which would be________to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the________My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________Though aware that I should________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________ hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect my self ________then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

2 . Patrick, Scheels store’s fishing manager, always helps customers with their angling (垂钓) needs, but one______stood out.

One day, a young boy named Xander entered the store with his mother, Brynn. Patrick noticed his eye were filled with______about the world of fishing. For nearly an hour, they______their shared passion.

Brynn shared the______of Xander’s connection to angling, explaining, “My dad, a fisherman, passed away last year, but Xander never got to go fishing with him. So over the last year, he’s been______grandpa, wishing he could go fishing with him.”

______by Xander’s longing for a connection to his late grandfather, Patrick decided to take action and______Xander his first fishing pole. “It was sixty dollars and he bought it with his own money,” Xander said. This______gesture brought tears to Brynn’s eyes, and she acknowledged that such acts of kindness aren’t ______.

However, Patrick’s generosity didn’t ______here. This fishing enthusiast went a step further by______a memorable fishing trip for Xander and his family. To______that Xander had a fulfilling experience, two professional anglers from Scheels______him on the trip, offering guidance and teaching him valuable skills.

Patrick’s kindness was ______a breath of fresh air for Xander and his family, who described the fishing trip as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.“I felt like it was my______to pass on the good word of fishing,” Patrick said.

4 . That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one o’clock in the morning after a tiring practice at the _________. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my _________. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about _________ both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.

As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began _________, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible _________. Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking _________ people under blankets.

About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half _________ to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. _________, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my _________ falling to the sidewalk.

Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to __________I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.

Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was __________. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out __________a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, __________ up a small square shape.

It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some __________ of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were __________ to help each other.

5 . I was ready for bed. My eyes fell on the musical _________ on my bedside table. In it was a photo of Dad smiling, and once opened, it would play his _________ song recorded before his death. It was propped (支撑) open just enough so the recording wouldn’t play.

Dad was a _________ man. He was always singing me his little made-up songs to share joy although he was _________ off-key, not hitting every note.

Dad was a man with big heart. When my house burned down a few years ago, Dad _________ my family into his home. When we tried to offer some _________, he said with his characteristic voice, “Don’t be _________!”

With happy _________, I fell asleep.

“Beautiful and marvelous!”

Suddenly, I was awoken hours later by the _________ song. The card! I snapped it shut (啪的一声合上).

How did that card just start playing? I checked the windows, all tightly shut. But why couldn’t I __________ the feeling that something was wrong?

I decided to __________ downstairs. Opening the door to the laundry room, I was hit with a strong smell of __________. The heat lamp had fallen, and the carpet was burning.

The __________ wasn’t too bad. I let out a shaky breath with __________. What could have happened? Perhaps another house fire. But we were safe. All thanks to Dad’s one-of-a-kind __________.

6 . At only 9 years old, Lesia Cartelli was badly burned in a gas explosion at her grandpa’s house. In fact, the burns were so_____that her own grandfather didn’t recognize her. But now, this brave woman uses her miserable past to help other burn _____ find healing.

Lesia and her cousin were playing in their grandpa’s basement on that_____ day. A gas leak started to burn, causing the whole house to _____. The explosion threw many of the 9 family members in the home across the street. Lesia pulled herself out of the house. Flames still covered her little body so she _____ in the dirt and snow to put them out.

Lesia_____ several months in the hospital, undergoing operations and skin grafts(移植). Once released, Lesia’s scars drew _____ and questions from people, so she started isolating herself.

“When I was burned, everything in my life changed,” she said. “My friendships changed. I hated going to school. You are_____ things you never had to before.”

Lesia could have remained_____ in her whole life, because when bad things happen, we can ______ choose to escape or to treat it as a chance to ______. Lesia chose the latter, realizing she was put on this Earth to do more than just survive.

“My life got______ when I started to look on my life as a gift,” Lesia said.

Lesia______Angel Faces, a national nonprofit organization offering support to girls ranging in age from 11 to 19 to help them heal ______.

Lesia’s Angel Faces allowed the girls to bond with fellow burn victims, helping them get rid of the feelings of ______ loneliness.

10 . Opening my car window, I called out, “Ma’am! Ma’am!” The only lady in the parking lot ________ until she saw me. “How nice you look today!” I said.

Her face registered ________ for a second when she found I was a stranger, and then she smiled. “Thank you!” she ________. I stared at her and felt her shoulder ________ a bit more and her final steps to her car seemed ________.

I have made it a point in recent years to compliment (赞扬) people, especially women and girls. Instead of just thinking ________ in my heart that someone did a great job, I say it out loud. It’s like having a(n) ________ in my head. When I see someone who ________ a kind word, the cheerleader jumps up and down and throws her pompoms (绒球花) in the air. As women, we have learned from our role models to be ________. Even when we do receive a(an) ________ compliment for what we’ve accomplished, we downplay our own ________ as the world expects us to show ________. Now, when I compliment a woman and she ________ the game of denial, I say to her, “Just say thank you.” Most of them are relieved they can ________ the compliment. It’s a good beginning to accept the praise without feeling ________ isn’t it?