1 . “Just sign here, sir,” the deliveryman said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

The package consisted of a long, narrow box ____ wrapped in brown paper. ____ the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside—a very old one with a beautifully carved wooden handle. ____ he had not seen it in more than 20 years, he recognised it immediately.

Oscar was 16 when he first saw the____ umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its beauty, Oscar felt a strong desire to find its ____.

Oscar ____ the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat ____ Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O’Brien.

Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O’Brien’s house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I ____ you?” she asked.

“I’d like to return it if it’s yours,” Oscar said, ____ the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for.

“Why, yes! It’s mine,” replied Mrs. O’Brien with a ____ smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your ____?”

“No, ma’am,” he said. “My grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.”

“Well, that’s ____ what my father used to say. What is your name, young man?”

Years later Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O’Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how ____ it was. Why had it arrived here today?

As if ____, a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, ____ gesture long ago.

2 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

3 . 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 __________.

4 . 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.

5 . Agnes Lloyd’s 70th birthday came, but the day went normally. Her husband _______ many years ago. She had not heard from her children for a long time, which was _______.

The last bell of the day rang. She picked up her _______ and walked towards her car planning to buy herself a chocolate dessert although her doctors don’t _______ it for her age. But who cares? It was her birthday, and she _______ it.

The thought made her smile as she _______ her car when a sudden “MRS. LLOYD!” _______ her. Agnes dropped her purse onto the ground. She looked around and was _______ by what she saw.

Her students were standing there carrying birthday signs. She hadn’t _______ they had prepared such a surprise for her. Her student Christian came over, picking up her purse, and ________ her to the rest as they all started singing Happy Birthday.

As the song continued, tears ________ in her eyes. As they finished the song, small pieces of coloured paper began flying all over the place ________. But that wasn’t the best part.

Some of the students parted and her three children stepped out holding a birthday cake with two ________ that formed the number 70. “Happy birthday. Mom!” They exclaimed together, and that’s when Agnes lost her ________ for the first time.

Don’t forget your parents, ________ your life gets busy. We need to act and remind them that they are loved.

6 . Six-year-old Ryan Coutinho wasn’t used to smiling. He felt _________ after losing almost all his teeth at the age of three.

Now he does. And he is always _________ to Amanda Mattos.

The boy lives in a _________ family. He had his teeth pulled out because of cavities(蛀牙). Only a few on his lower part remained. Ms Mattos, 25, met Ryan at the boy’s school for the first time two years ago, where Ryan’s teacher told Mattos he _________ smiled and communicated little. Ms Mattos would like to _________ the boy after contacting his mother, but his mother _________ the offer. “They couldn’t afford the _________,” the dentist said. “They were still shaken by the _________ that took his teeth out.”

Ryan’s story could have _________ here. But two years later, by accident, his mother got a job as a cleaner at the __________, which Ms Mattos owns. The boy had a pain in one of his remaining teeth. He went to the clinic for a(an) __________ and met Ms Mattos again. “I asked him what he wanted. He replied: ‘a smile like my friends’,” the dentist said.

Ms Mattos agreed to do it for free. The mother happily __________ the kindness.

Then, two days after Brazil’s Children’s Day, Ryan finally got a new denture(假牙).

“We all cried. It was very moving,” Ryan’s mother said.

“All this is __________,” Ms Mattos says. “Isn’t it pleasant if someone __________ smile because of your __________?”

8 . After my doctor’s appointment (约定), I took a seat in the hallway, waiting for my mom to pick me up. Sitting beside me was a _________ gray-haired woman. And as I _________ my library book to read, I could feel her eyes carefully looking in my direction. My thoughts kept moving from the beautiful woman to thoughts of _________. My classmates had been _________ presents to buy for each other upon graduation. I had never _________ that kids bought presents for graduation. I had no money. And I couldn’t ask my parents: they had no money either.

I was still in thought when _________ I heard some noise at the entrance. There was an elderly woman in a wheelchair and another older woman trying to _________ her along. People coming into the lobby were too busy to help them, _________them struggle alone. I jumped to help them. I helped them by opening both sets of doors and rode with them in the _________. Then I made sure they found the right office. They thanked me. I told them it was my __________ I was on my way down in the elevator when I realized that I had left my backpack on the lobby chair. There was nothing of value in it. But then I __________ that my library book was also on the chair.

Luckily they were both safely on the chair, just as I had left them. As I sat down, I could feel the beautiful gray-haired woman’s __________ eyes on me. She seemed proud for some reason. Then her taxi arrived, and, without a word, she was __________. I opened my backpack. To my surprise, __________ inside it was a fifty-dollar bill!

The beautiful with the __________ look in her eyes suddenly came into my mind. I had been kind to a stranger, and in turn, a stranger had been kind to me.

9 . There is nothing more comforting than the sound of the Singer, a sewing (缝纫) machine. It ______so many memories of my grandmother and mother. The______of turning different materials into something fashionable always______me.

I began sewing as a child alongside my grandmother, a loving woman who taught me how to use a machine and how to sew my first______. It was a simple pullover blouse (衬衫) made from an old pink and white pillowcase. I wore that with such______because wearing something you______yourself just makes you smile. Then, one day I made a mistake, sewing the inside out, and had to start again. This taught me to be______and focused on details.

Later I received the old Singer from my mom, but it was left to gather dust in the corner.Once Covid-19______, I had too much time on my hands and in my head.I got the Singer ______ and began sewing again.

“Measure twice, cut once" is a Sewer’s proverb. We all hear it and I rarely use it, just like road maps, but it is______. It’s a way of life.

In a time when tomorrow is ______,I found a sense of hope and creativity through rediscovery. Relearning how to sew has______my boredom and made me more patient with myself. It also helps build an emotional______with my older generations through this one thing that we______.That brings me joy. And I’ll______that joy for as long as possible.