1 . Every year I read over 2,000 college applications from students all over the world. It is quite _________ to choose whom to admit. _________. in the chaos of SAT scores and recommendations, one _________ is always irresistible (无法抗拒的) in a candidate: kindness.

The most surprising indication of kindness I’ve ever _________ came from a student who had excellent scores and a supportive _________ from his college consultant. Even with these qualifications, he might not have _________. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school security _________. Letters of recommendation are typically written by people like former presidents, celebrities, and Olympic athletes.

The security guard wrote that he supported this student’s admission because of his _________. This young man was the only person in the school who knew the names of every member of the guard staff. He turned off lights in empty rooms, consistently _________ the hallway monitor (监测员) each morning and tidied up the classroom after his peers left school __________ nobody was watching. This student, the security guard wrote, had a(n) __________ respect for every person at the school, regardless of position, popularity or power.

It gave us a __________ onto a student’s life in the moments when nothing “counted”. That student was admitted by unanimous (一致的) vote of the admissions committee.

Next year there might be a flood of security guard recommendations __________ this essay. But if it means students will start paying as much __________ to the people who clean their classrooms as they do to their headmasters and teachers, I’m happy to help start that __________.

2 . Just before New Year, the principal (校长) called me into his office and asked me to read a poem written by me at the New Year party. “Sure,” I said with a smile, my dreams of being a famous ________ floating in my mind.

For weeks, I worked on my poem, ________ bettering the structure, sound, and voice. I reread my Emily Dickinson and William Wordsworth for ________. I practiced reciting it aloud. I revised, revised, revised. By December 30th, the day of the event, I was ________.

Well, I was confident until I looked around and realized how many people were there. And how big the hall was, and how ________ I felt about myself. How could I ________ a piece of my poetry to 800 people? My heart was beating so hard I thought everyone around me could ________ it. I was nervous. I could feel cool shakes run down my back. I couldn’t remember why I had said yes to the ________. Then the light darkened, the crowd quieted. It was starting.

Suddenly, I was on stage with the bright white lights blinding my view of the audience and the feeling that my ________ was closing up. I leaned in to the microphone and tried out my ________ as I read the title: “Let There Be Light.” My voice boomed (声音低沉洪亮) from the speakers loudly and sounded much more confident than I felt.

The room was ________ as I began my piece, and I tried to focus on the words and ________ the people. The words somehow ________ in the right order, the lines flowed together properly, and I even remembered which words to ________. I finally came to the last line of the poem and breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was over.

The room was dead silent. Maybe no one liked it. I felt like I was going to faint. Then out of the silence there was ________, cheering, and smiling. I had done it. I had shared a piece of my poetry with the world.

4 . I live on Canada’s west coast and my son lives on its east coast. He has visited his mother and me a number of times and we have visited him there with some ______. We also talk online each week. However, because of Covid-19 travel restrictions and the long ______ between us, we hadn’t seen him ______ for more than two years. His mother is ill so we had talked about a possible future visit with him coming to us but nothing had been decided yet.

Then, one day, there was a knock at the door and when I opened it, in walked my son carrying a pot of flowers. He hadn’t told us he was coming and seeing him was a wonderful ______ and I was in tears.

I think that, as parents we tend to think of our children as being young and being in need of ______ even when they have reached adulthood. ______, though, the ______ appearance of my son and his month-long visit let me see him in a whole new light. My wife needs a lot of ______ these days and our son stepped up to help. There were some repairs and he helped to make them happen. He is a homeowner and is therefore skilled at fixing and ______ the things. He helped to prepare food, to help his mother get ______ when she had to move around, to make some repairs that I had been ______ and, in general, he took from me a(n) ______ I was carrying. I found I was working under his direction because of his outstanding skill. Through it all I could work shoulder to shoulder with this ______, confident man that I loved and admired. It was a wonderful and surprising experience.

My son left recently for his home and again I was in tears but it was ______ somehow. When he arrived I was crying because I was so happy to see him and so ______ to have someone help me take care of his mother. When he left, I shed tears of pride that such a wonderful person is my son and he honors me by calling me “dad”.

5 . Ten years ago I adopted my dog Rudy from a shelter just days before they were going to euthanize(使安乐死)him. We’ve had a special _________ ever since.

As a single woman in my 50s, I’ve found his _________ really meaningful. We do everything together. Every night we have a little bed time snack and then I get in my bed and he gets in his doggy bed right next to mine. But a year ago suddenly Rudy _________. Every night when I got in bed he’d jump up on my bed and start licking(舔)my face. I’d _________ make him get off but the next night he’d _________ the same licking.

I was considering taking him to obedience(驯服)school when it suddenly _________ me that he was licking the same spot on my jaw over and over again. I _________ my jaw and it seemed okay but it was so _________ for my dog that I decided to just trust him.I went to see a(n) _________ to clear my doubt but still felt silly telling her why I came. The doctor agreed to do some __________. It turned out I had a tumor (肿瘤) in my jaw. It couldn’t be felt from the __________ but somehow Rudy knew it was there. Though I’ve go much __________ now, the doctors said if I’d __________ until the tumor was big enough to be felt, it’s likely would have __________ . I saved my dog’s life and now he’s __________ mine!

6 . Earlier that evening, my mother called, telling me that my brother died in a car crash. I stumbled (跌跌撞撞地走) around the house ______ what to put into the suitcases. My husband, Larry, and I had been packing for moving to New Mexico. The house was in (a)total ______.

I tried to hold my tears. I ______ picked things up and put them down. I couldn’t ______. What I’d heard on the phone echoed (回荡) through my head.

Larry phoned a few friends. ______, someone asked to speak to me. “If there is anything I can do, let me know.” “Thank you,” I replied. I didn’t know what to ______.

The doorbell rang and I rose slowly for the door. It was Donna.

“I’ve come to clean your shoes,” she said. ______, I asked her to repeat. “When my father died, it took me ______ to get the shoes cleaned and shined for my father’s ______,” she said. I hadn’t even thought about shoes.

Shoes were gathered. Donna ______ herself on the floor and got to work. The love in the act released my tears. Watching her ______ on one task helped me pull my ______ into order. Laundry first, I told myself. One by one, the jobs ______.

Now whenever I hear of an acquaintance’s loss of a loved one, I think of one ______ task that suits that person’s ______. If the person asks, “How did you know I needed that?” I’d reply, “Because someone did that.”

7 . Woody Davis had always been generous and kind. He never earned much money, but always waved to everybody and _______others.

People in town are _______ for the good deeds he’s done over the last 50 years. Last year, they decided to try and return some of that _______. They started by cutting his firewood for winter. A couple of guys_______ his old and broken truck. Woody’s son, Clint Davis, said he didn’t know how much the community_______ his father until now. He said all the work his dad did for people has been _______ten times and that anyone can’t buy the _______that people have poured out for his dad.

Unfortunately, Woody’s days were _______. About a year ago, Woody contracted ALS(肌萎缩侧索硬化症). When CBS News _______him in January, his health was declining rapidly. He was already ________ to lift and talk, but his spirit was completely ________. Woody told the reporter that he could hardly ________all the help offered by local people. “I feel lucky that I am dying slowly,” Woody said. His words seemed ________.Woody explained that he was glad ________ he got to see how people felt about him and what he ________ meant to them before he died.

8 . I woke up with a painful back this moming.This was not______,since my back has given me problems for years,but today no stretching or moving would loosen it up.Still,I had five dogs waiting patiently by the door to go out for their mormning walk as usual,so I slowly bent down and started to pull my______ on.When I did,though,I saw that my shoes,like my body,were showing______ of wear.

From the split in one shoe,I knew that it wouldn’t be too long ______ I had to replace this pair,I only wished I could replace my back along with them.

Later,after walking the dogs,watching the sunrise and eating breakfast,I was feeling a lot ______        inside.My backpain had faded too,and my smile had returned.It was then that I remembered a letter a friend had sent me recently.Inside,she had pasted a ______picture of an old,wom-out pair of work boots,sitting on the ground.Their leather was cracked and their laces were worn,but they still looked ______ ,because inside,someone had planted a beautiful bunch of flowers.The flowers had grown tall and strong, ______their curious container.This picture reminded me again that ______ my body might have felt like a worn-out pair of shoes at times,inside it was a ______that continued to grow every day in love,peace and happiness.

At some point in your life you need to ______ who you really are.Are you the body that ______older every day,or are you the soul within it that remains forever ______ ?One day the loving spirit within you will have to ______out of its worn-out pair of shoes and walk on______them. May it bless everyone it meets along the way,heading for its Heavenly Home.

9 . Kwane Stewart, a vet at an animal shelter, stepped outside a convenience store and _________ a homeless man, with a small dog ________on his laps. Stewart noticed the dog’s scratched-off fur and chewed-up skin ________ of an allergic reaction to fleas (跳蚤). He ________ the man and offered to bring medication for the dog’s skin.

________ a week and a half later, Stewart found that the dog recovered,and that the homeless man could not thank him more.

Stewart, now 50, has his own practice in town, ________he finds time for street pets. He’s helped roughly 400 animals since 2011.

There’s a desperate need for his help. About 25 percent of the town’s homeless population owns a pet, but there are few healthcare________ available to them to ________ that blank, Stewart can often be found wandering dark alleyways and underpasses, ________ he thinks the homeless might be. He pays for almost all the ________ out of his own pocket. ________ he comes upon a medical problem that requires more attention than he can provide on the street,for which he ________ a GoFundMe account to help cover treatment costs.

He knows there are some people who question whether the homeless should even have pets. “I think that ________ anybody else, they need a pet, and they deserve a pet. They love their pet probably more than the_________ person. Because, you know, the owner is the pet’s   ________”.

10 . I love the quiet of late autumn afternoons. I just look out at the skyline with the white clouds ________ across the blue sky like cotton candies.

Granny is such a(an) ________ and optimistic person. ________, she lost her hearing decades ago, and her ________   has greatly changed since then. To help her ________   the hard times, I decided to teach her to play the ________   and we often sang in our backyard.

The ________ was our classroom. We ________   ourselves in two old bamboo chairs under the eaves (屋檐). The sun gave light to the old house. The wild ________   that hid in the trees also came to join us, and it ________   that they also enjoyed bathing in the sun.

The old cats ________ their heads up and moved slowly; the ________   cats ran around and played in the yard. The sun ________   on Granny’s grey hair that looked like beautiful vines.

Granny listened to my music attentively，and clapped her hands to the ________. She started to sing an old song gently. It was the most beautiful melody (旋律) in the world. ________，I felt that Granny was recovering from her illness and we both enjoyed the________   time we spent together.

As a student in senior high school, I am now faced with the ________   of schoolwork. I have to ________   my studies and be engaged in busy school life. But those days spent playing the guitar and ________   with Granny are my best memories. The beautiful sunlight is like a small orange lamp that guides me and ________   me to walk forward.