1 . High school is a time filled with memorable events such as graduation proms (舞会). For Josephine, her high school experience ________ due to financial difficulties, before she had the ________ to go to prom in the tough 1961. However, her grandson, Michael Ganczewski, decided to give her a magical ________ during his own senior prom.

When Michael asked Josephine to be his prom partner, she initially ________ his idea, ________ saying she was too old for a prom and Michael would have many young girls to choose from. She was not going to the prom, but she was just ________ for feeling loved. But for Michael, his grandmother was the perfect ________, and then he ________ her. On prom night, Josephine wore a beautiful dress.

Though ________ about her dancing skills initially, she soon discovered that the true ________ of the evening lay in simply being with her grandson.

Josephine admitted she wasn’t too ________ with this generation’s latest dance trends, but she ________ to do her best. Her grandson’s desire to make her feel cherished ________ her deeply. As she remarked: “For the rest of my life, I will never ________ that he wanted to show me a good time. That to me is very ________.”

As if the gesture itself wasn’t ________ enough, Josephine’s prom night ended with a ________—Josephine was crowned (加冕) prom queen, fulfilling a(n) ________ she had waited for since 1961.

This wonderful night, filled with ________ and joy, just showed the importance of the ________ between a grandson and his grandmother.

2 . On the morning of Jan. 21st, 2023, I was taking the subway to work as usual. A quiet subway ride felt like a mini ________ from my busy life. Yet I found myself spending that ________ time browsing my endless messages on the phone.

One day, I put down my phone and started writing ________ notes to people who had contributed to a donation activity I had ________. When I got off the train, I was in a noticeably ________ mood. Then an idea struck me that I could write one for every day of that year. As an organizer and consultant, I had no ________ of people I could write to, so I picked out a different ________ for each month to keep on task. January was “charity”, February was …, and I thought of ________ names right away.

In July, my “________” month, I had become good at getting my memories back and ________ people to send my notes to. On the top of the list was Jenny, a(n) ________ chef. She had cooked at my favorite restaurant (It is now closed down). I thanked her and specially mentioned her biscuits ________ into the Roman number Ⅵ for our sixth wedding anniversary.

________, I received a note back from her, ________ “I have never received such a touching letter before. It was ________ expectation and unbelievably thoughtful. And so needed at a time when I’m ________ professionally. Your letter was a fantastic reminder that ________ back is a good motivation for moving forward.”

Part of the ________ of what I did was ________ with people like Jenny — people, who weren’t ________visitors in my life but made a lasting impact. And I wouldn’t have known if I had not reached out.

3 . Khanna, a chef and humanitarian (慈善家), but most popularly known as the judge of MasterChef India, has a huge fanbase.

Eleven years back in 2013, Khanna was on a flight to New York. On the _________, an air hostess came up _________ him to meet a woman for a few minutes, who was _________ to speak to him.

Khanna _________ agreed, and a woman in her 60s came to see him. He respectfully _________ and said, “pairi painna,” a practice to touch the feet of your _________ as a sign of respect.

The woman said she saw him _________ the plane and so wanted to see him. Khanna asked her where she came from, and she replied that he might not have _________ the place as it’s a tiny village in Kolhapur. But Khanna’s instant _________ was, “It’s one of my __________ cities.”

She smiled and asked him to __________, too, just like a mother making her child greet. Khanna smiled, and she looked at him with __________ eyes and then thanked him.

The woman then prepared to leave and told him that she __________ every episode of MasterChef India only to see him smile because it __________ her of her late son, and it feels like his smile brings her son to __________ again.

She gave him good wishes and then left. Khanna then __________ on social media that whenever he feels __________ or under pressure, he thinks of the woman’s words and smiles and feels better.

This is what __________ is all about. You don’t realize the __________ of doing something good for someone, but it __________ affects you too!

4 . 18-year-old Lilly Baker was driving when an elderly woman in a wheelchair caught her eye. The woman was ________ to cross a train track but got stuck. Without ________, Lilly stopped to rescue her. Little did she ________, however, that doing so would ________ a narrow escape for them both.

With all of her ________, Lilly tried to pull the elderly woman to safety, but she faced difficulties. ________, in their attempt for freedom, they ended up ________ twice. Still, Lilly remained ________. She got an added rush of this determination when she saw a train coming right at them.

“He was honking (按喇叭) wildly and the lights started ________,” Lilly recalled. Soon after, Lilly managed to pull her and the woman out of the ________ way. Had they been much closer to the train, neither of them would have ________ it. “It’s a near-death ________,” Lilly said. “The railroad company told me that I was 18 inches away from getting ________.”

Ardmore Police Chief Jereme Robison was sent to the ________ to help. Despite his experience, he was ________ by the risky rescue. He took this moment to stress the fact that anyone can be a hero, no matter who they are. “________ comes in all shapes and sizes,” Jereme said. “You don’t have to be a 6’5 guy that’s ________ to get out and do something.”

The elderly woman has major leg injuries but, ________, she’s in the hospital and is expected to be okay ________. As for Lilly, she said she couldn’t be more grateful for the ________ to help someone.

6 . It was my last class before summer break, and I was finishing up the first year of a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program in poetry. Unsure if I deserved a ______ in the program, I worried I wasn’t as

______ as my peers. When the professor asked about our summer ______, I panicked. I didn’t want to appear idle (闲散的)，so without much ______, I burst out “gardening”. Surprisingly, my professor nodded and mentioned Emily Dickinson loved gardening. Emily Dickinson, a great American poet, studied plants as a ______. But I was in my twenties and had no gardening ______.

A few days later, I ______ some seedlings in a store. I thought I should get some. At least I could say I had ______ gardening. Wait, was that a jalapeno (墨西哥辣椒)? I ______ it up.

Over the summer, the plant grew, not big but ______. I was proud. Maybe I didn’t have ______. But then I had to move out of my apartment for some reason. I ______ with my friends. It was December when I found my new apartment, and my jalapeno was suffering: its ______ had fallen off. I set it next to a window by the kitchen sink, and ______ for the best.

I ______ to work hard in school. Then spring came. My plant grew with new leaves. And it flowered when I ______ my graduate paper, a book of ______, in May.

I was washing dishes one day when my professor called. “Your poems are strong...” he said. I’d done it! I went back to the dishes, but suddenly I found the flowers ______ my jalapeno were gone. Had I done something ______?   I looked closer. Where a flower had been, a tiny green fruit ______through.

7 . No one expected this from me. There had been an air of ________ rising within my family for months, and I felt totally overburdened with the school work and activities I had on my plate. So I ________.

I had completely no idea of returning home. It ________ some begging for a place to stay on the first night. I got enough cash for a room at a hostel on the second night by ________ my electronics (电子设备).

I spent the first few days full of optimism, ________ out around downtown New York. But that ________ soon gave way to fear. My money was running out fast, ________ me into financial responsibility. I ________ only what I needed at the lowest price when I was ________. Survival stress was a different beast than academic or familial stress. I was ________ as well as I could, but I was still greatly underprepared for living ________. So I took one more day to enjoy the city and my ________, and then I went home.

It had been less than a week, but it felt like much ________. Going back was much harder than leaving. Repairing my ________ with my parents was a difficult process. And missing a week of school was ________ enough, so my grades were in need of serious ________.

When all the dust settled, I didn’t want to run away from my ________ anymore. I grew up a lot that week and learned how to ________ self-control. I won’t ________ what I did to anyone. It didn’t provide any long-term ________ to any problem.

9 . As the other four players enjoy the crucial victory in an Arena Of Valor competition, they remained unaware that their teammate Lu Dong is a Paralympic _________ champion who plays with her feet.

At 32, Lu Dong has _________ a lot of medals over her 19-year swimming career. Meanwhile, she has enriched her daily life by _________ into various hobbies.

Lu _________ an interest in Arena Of Valor in 2017. _________, her appearances in internet cafes drew a lot of curious glances, which made her _________ However, it also led to generous compliments when others _________ her remarkable skills. “They praised me after watching me play so well with my feet, which gave me a sense of _________,” Lu said. Besides video games, Lu has _________ an hour daily to piano practice for the past three years and has also __________ her skills in both cooking and beauty makeup.

Losing her __________ in a childhood accident, Lu stop participating in P. E. classes to avoid __________ in her elementary school days, which made her physically and mentally __________. Luckily, she was recommended to join the provincial swimming team in 2004. She won two golds and two silvers in the youth group of the National Championship in 2005, earning a __________ in the national squad (代表队). Lu’s __________ performances in the pool caught the eye of Beijing Sports University in 2020, __________ the beginning of her college journey.

Changing from a (n) __________ girl to a national champion, Lu gained immense confidence. She no longer __________ to wear T-shirts in summer or to tuck her sleeves into her pockets in winter.

“It was swimming that __________ the girl who always talked a lot and the girl who was brave enough to __________ the fixed image of the disabled.” Lu said.

10 . In the post-war era, re-gifting and returning gifts to shops were commonly occurring.My mother and Aunt Florence ran a_________. For them finding desirable stock (储备物) for the store was an adventure. But the greatest_________of all was getting the wanted items without taking too many_________ones ‘paired’ with them. This pairing resulted in a highly saleable item being paired with something that had to be heavily discounted just to move it off the shelves_________at a loss.

One item I particularly remember was an ugly ornament (饰物) framed in a horseshoe.My mother was shocked by its_________ . My aunt patiently explained she had to buy it to_________some attractive crockery sets (瓷器套装) in high demand. She had paid ten pounds for it and hoped to get five pounds for it. After briefly_________ it at ten pounds, she put it on our bargain table, expecting the crockery sets would sell quickly and cover the_________ on it.Several days later she managed to sell the ornament for three pounds to a value d customer who _________to give it to a neighbour, who loved horses.

The following Saturday, our family was invited to a 21st birthday party, and my father was     __________with buying a suitable gift from the jeweler in town. However, he delayed his __________because he had his car repaired. As a result, he __________a wrapped present from our own store’s stock. Little did he know that it was the __________ .

At the party, as the presents were__________, my mother held my shoulder tightly when she saw the ornament. The__________of our family, the gift’s original purchaser, and the recipient’s (接受者) family were a mix of shock and__________. My father, realizing his mistake,__________that he thought it was a collector’s item due to the ten pound price tag.

The next day, realizing my mother discovered the ornament which had been sold had been returned by Sheila, the recipient’s mother, who __________a ten pound refund , Aunt Florence burst into laughter, though the relationship between the__________owners of the ornament sourced.