2 . On a hot summer day when I was 13, I was bored in my attic (阁楼) bedroom. Thinking about how to _________ that boredom, I leaned (斜靠) sideways, and my hand landed on a floorboard, which _________ up and almost hit me in the head.

When I looked inside the open space _________, there was something like a book. I _________ it out. It was old and small: Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. I wondered whom these quotations were supposed to be _________ to, because I’d never heard of this book. And _________ I was bored, I decided to see what was inside the book. I started to _________the pages, reading about different _________. I learned about comfort, hope, love and even loneliness.

I began spending all my free time reading Bartlett’s. It felt like a new world _________before me. I learned about different quotes and phrases, and I got to __________ how language could be used to __________ complex emotions. I also realized how those emotions I’d felt while reading Bartlett’s became __________ in the characters I encountered in novels.

When I went to college, Bartlett’s came with me. Over the years, I’ve kept my __________ copy, which I still often refer to. I’ve bought a few of the newer __________, but the first one is the one that __________ me, that helped me escape from the boredom, and see more than my young mind and heart could understand.

4 . 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.

7 . One day, hundreds of people were stuck in traffic on the highway in below-freezing temperatures due to a snowstorm. With the conditions making it _________ for rescue workers to help, many were trapped overnight with no access to _________.

But one stuck driver found a _________ spot in the despair. As she was sitting in her car fearing the _________, Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, _________ a bread truck just ahead of them in the jam. Willing to try just about anything, they called the customer service number listed on the back of the truck and left a _________ begging for the driver to open the back and _________ bread to the hungry passengers around them. It was a last-ditch effort, and the couple wasn’t very _________ about getting a response. But to their _________ they soon received a phone call from the company’s owner, Chuck Paterakis, with the news that he was __________ the truck’s driver to open up and pass out loaves of bread from his cargo. Overjoyed by the news, Holihan and Noe __________ the truck’s driver to bring much-needed things to the cars around them.

The simple loaves of bread were surely a ray of __________ in an impossibly disturbing situation. Holihan herself calls it “one of the __________ moments” she’s ever witnessed. This company could have made a(n) __________ from the bread but instead chose to help the people around them. That is just so incredible that someone chose __________ over profit, especially in a situation where people were so desperate.

8 . I have had no interest in football for as long as I can remember. While my classmates played, I _________ to stay in the library. I never _________ the passion for the game and would throw away the sports section of the newspaper, as if it _________ the rest of it. As I grew up, I proudly wore my _________ .

But occasionally, whether in a taxi or when meeting a friend's father, I found myself faced with a _________ opener like, “Terrible season we’re having, eh?” or simply, “Who do you support?” My heart sank, knowing my response would unavoidably _________ them, despite their good intentions.

I realized that my _________ had closed off many conversations, outings, and even potential friendships I might have _________ enjoyed. Although I couldn't change the fact that I found football boring, I began to regret being a(n) _________ .

Then I became a father. I didn’t want my boy to __________ this valuable social experience, so I took him to watch the Lions play. During those matches, we sat close to the field, surrounded by families who had a genuine __________ with the players. My kid’s questions kept me somewhat __________ in the game. Slowly, I started to__________ for the Lions.

During one victorious match, we even met David, the Captain, who happily __________ for a photo with my son. __________, I had an answer to the question,“Who do you support?”

9 . My mother has always been one of those rare people that sees the good in everyone and does good things. She’s had her ups and downs but has always_______a positive, sunny outlook on life and been very_______to people.

One day, my little sister fell and hurt her ankle, desperately needing a_______to the hospital emergency room. My mother immediately_______into crisis mode, packed my sister into the car, and drove to our local hospital. In such a_______, my mother didn’t call to tell my father. When she got to the hospital, she realized she needed to_______with my father immediately.

While waiting for my sister to be examined, my mother_______her way to the pay phone to place her call. She put her coin in, called my father and told him everything. After she hung up, the phone_______several additional coins that Mom wasn’t owed.

Realizing that the phone was_______, my mother decided to leave the________coins by the phone. She told us that in a crisis, people might not remember to bring________with them to make that emergency call.

I’ve often thought about her________from an adult’s perspective. I realize that someone seeing the money by he phone may have________taken it because not everyone was as________as my mother. But I like to believe that my mother’s faith was ________and that someone who needed them found the coins waiting there.

10 . Three years after getting lost in an unexpected snowstorm in Sheffield, a cat named Oscar has been reunited with his family.

After Oscar’s _______ in January 2020, his owner Katie Salt checked CCTV (监控) put posters up around the area and _______ the word on social media. They also reported him _______ to Petlog with whom he is microchipped, and contacted various shelters and vets in vain. In a press _______ from the Kennel Club, Katie said, “We _______ concluded he must have died during the snowstorm, but we still scanned our _______ everywhere, whenever we were out driving, and to be honest this never _______ .”

Three years later, Katie received a _______ from a vet to say that they had Oscar—he had been living in a garden just six miles away! The garden’s _______ had been looking after Oscar and when Oscar was ill, this kind man, who possessed the garden, took him to a vet for ________ , where they found a microchip and were able to finally ________ Katie. Now ________ , he has been enjoying warm cuddles with his long lost family.

Bill Lambert, a spokesperson for Petlog, said, “We’re so ________ that Oscar and Katie have been reunited. Their story shows just how important it is for owners to ________ their pets, keep their contact details up-to-date with their microchip database, and to ________ hope no matter how much time has passed.”