5 . It was snowing in the midwinter, in a rural highway outside of town. Pepper and Cooper, a pair of beagles (小猎犬) walked with great difficulty through the ________ night. Cooper, a father-to-be ________ the roadside for a spot, where his struggling companion might rest safely. Her way was made ________ by the new life growing inside her. They needed a ________, dry place safe from the bitter wind.

That December night, Gus Kiebel was driving home from work when he ________ the pair in the flash of his headlights. Feeling curious and ________, he parked his truck and ________ the animals. Gus ________ down and stretched out his hands to the beagles, which made no effort to ________. He ________ the dogs on the passenger seat of his truck. Then he ________ his phone and called the number from the dogs’ tags. A man answered and immediately grew ________ and impatient when Gus told him why he was calling. ________, the man declined to ________ the dog. These beagles were ________, no home at all in this world. Then he called his wife Katie. “You can’t put them back in the ________,” she said. “Bring them home.”

Without enough ________ for two more dogs in their small house, the next day, Katie took them to a shelter nearby. In the days following, Katie phoned the shelter ________ to check up on Pepper and Cooper. Soon after Christmas, the beagles were ________ - as a pair, by a loving family. This touching story speaks to the best of our nature. And when kindness and love overcome ________ and neglect (忽视), it can feel like the greatest miracle of all.

6 . Juliette Lamour, a university student from Ontario, has won a $48-million jackpot (头奖)，becoming the________Canadian ever to win such a big prize.She bought her first lottery ticket after her grandfather gave her the________. “He said to me: ‘You just________18, go buy a lotto ticket and test your________’. So, I did,” said Lamour, when________her win at a media event.

Lamour said she had________all about the ticket until she heard news that someone from her________had won the jackpot. When she went to________her ticket through a mobile app, a jingle started to play and “Big Winner” flashed________

Now here’s where the story gets interesting. Thirteen years ago, Soo Today published a(n)________ story about two young sisters________their piggy bank to help people in need. It all started when Lamour had recently celebrated her 5th birthday and a catastrophic earthquake had just________Haiti, leaving much of the country in ruins. Lamour was________ to help without hesitation, donating a total of $61.38 in the piggy bank. That five-year-old girl who________donated all her savings to charity is now $48 million richer than any of her peers.

During the check________ on Feb 3, 2023, Lamour was asked about that story: “Is the universe somehow________you now for your childhood act of kindness?” “I don’t know,” she replied. “Everyone that’s reached out to us has made some________comments and I just keep________: ‘You deserve it. Good things happen to good people. Everything happens for a________.’I still don’t know why this happened, but I’m really just so________and I’m planning to do good things with the winnings.”

7 . Some people are type A personalities. I must be type AA, like the batteries: I never run out of_______. My five sibling (兄妹) and I used to spend most weekends sweeping warehouses and _______ shipping boxes at Dad’s company. By high school we were filled with a sense of_______because we could work fourteen-hour days.

During the summer we did yard work until _______fell, and then we’d turn on outdoor_______to play kickball. Years later, when we spoke on the _______, we never asked “How are you?” but “What are you doing?”

After I started _______Matt, I would stop by his apartment and often find him_______ on his sofa. And I’d ask what he was doing. “Just sitting here,” he’d reply. Feeling _______, I’d continue to ask: “Yes, but what are you doing?” He’d________ he was just sitting there.

This happened so many times that he became ________: “Why do I always have to be doing something?” he asked. ________, he declared he would no longer________ the question.

Matt and I________ while I was buried in a challenging PhD program. I often ________ six to seven days a week. A few months into our marriage we adopted two kittens (小猫). One Saturday Matt was out, and I fell ________while studying, the kittens sleeping on my chest.

I________, to Matt staring at me, an affectionate smile on his face. Panicked, I searched for a(n)________. “The kittens were having ________sleeping, so I lay down with them.”

Matt________. “It’s OK,” he said, “You’re allowed to take a nap (打盹)”

8 . Beep! Beep! Beep! I rolled over and turned off my alarm clock. It was still _________ outside so I turned on the light. I got dressed quickly because I knew both of my dogs would be _________ to get outside for their morning walk. I reached over to grab a _________ and stopped. It was technically still fall but the _________ here in the Appalachian mountains of my home didn’t follow the _________. It had been cold and snowy two days ago and chilly and rainy yesterday. I had forgotten to _________ the weather report for today, however, so I wasn’t sure if I _______ my light jacket or my heavy coat.

I _________ my light jacket, pulled it on and leashed up my bigger dog. I opened the door and stepped outside. Instantly I knew I had made the _________ choice. Each breath I exhaled was a frozen mist. The wind chill was bitter cold. The grass was covered in __________ and I tried to keep my __________ while my dog dragged me along behind him.

I shivered (打寒颤) and __________ a bit but finally turned my head up to the heavens. I looked up at the __________sky and saw it was full of twinkling stars. It was so beautiful and so peaceful. __________, I felt a warmth inside of me and __________ shivering. While my dog sniffed the ground, I opened my heart to the __________ of nature’s creation. In all of its sweet seasons it had never __________ to touch my soul. It had heated my heart on the coldest days and     ________ my spirit on the darkest nights.

Our lives here are full of sweet __________ as well. From the innocence and youth of Spring to the wisdom and wrinkles of Winter. __________ all your sweet seasons. Make each day a creation of your love.

9 . About five years ago, I was part of a pilot (试点的) group for my company. The group’s task is to _________ and guide people with disabilities and make them _________ in work.

I led the _________ process and hired a candidate with autism (自闭症). Before that, we only hired physically impaired (有缺陷的) people. Despite the candidate’s _________ for our company, our interview panel felt that this disability would prevent him from _________ skills and succeeding in his position.

I _________ my peers to give him a role. Our HR department didn’t support us to take the _________ so we could only hire him as a temporary employee.

The candidate slowly and surely _________ in the workplace and I gave him a lot of _________. Having experienced many setbacks, the candidate was __________ accepted by his colleagues and his leadership. I __________ to guide him closely, helping him __________ many challenges his disability presented at work and at home. The candidate also won __________ and many friends at the workplace. Five years passed in a flash, and he __________ me last night, telling that he got a formal offer yesterday from his manager as a(n) __________ employee with a job title.

I congratulated him and told him how __________ I was with his success. He said, “Sir, without your __________ all these years, I would not be here.” I told him “Your success is the __________ of your hard work and persistence. You are a(n) __________ to a lot of people with disabilities.”

How wonderful it is for a disabled person to succeed in his work and make his family __________!

10 . I walked into the vet with Lady Bird in a too-quiet pet carrier.

My husband and I had_________ her and her brother for 11 years, and in that period, they had never been seriously ill. _________ they were full of energy, always ready to play, and they were never_________ in that carrier.

After I had my third miscarriage and wasn’t sure if I would ever have children, our birds sat on my shoulder offering kisses as I _________. When I was pregnant with my first son, our birds _________ turns perching on my bulging belly like little guard dogs. It became a favorite_________ of theirs. And when two little boys_________ joined our family, our birds made them laugh.

At the veterinary clinic, I soon_________ that every little decision came with a large_________ tag. Did we want an X-ray? Did we want blood__________? Did we care about her enough to do everything? That last question wasn’t really__________. It just felt like it.

I opted for the test the veterinarian suggested and decided to__________ her there for a few days to be monitored. A staff member__________ her to me so I could say goodbye. Then another staff member asked me to leave a substantial down payment.

As I handed her my credit card, I started__________ all the people who wouldn’t have the__________ to make that payment. The pandemic caused two enormous shifts to occur in the pet realm. It created a swell of new pet owners. It also pushed more people into financial__________,leaving them unable to afford the pricey tests and treatments that are often needed.

That__________ day finally came, as a staff member at the veterinary clinic called. She asked if I was interested in cremation. The cost was more than $300. I __________. I said I would take her home and we would__________ her. My sons wanted to paint a headstone for her. We have chosen a special way—letting her go back to__________, to say goodbye to our loved family member who had been with us for years.