Last year when Tom graduated from school, he came to Sydney. He didn’t like to work on his father’s farm and hoped     1    (find) a job in a big city. He went from one company to     2     but no one wanted him. With little money     3    (leave), he got to the station, sad and     4     (tire). All he wanted to do was go back to his small town. It was very late at night and the station was full of people. They were waiting to buy tickets of     5     last train. He bought the last ticket, and he was very happy.

At that time, a woman with a     6    (cry) baby walked to him and asked him to sell her the ticket. He gave her the ticket because he thought they needed it more than he     7    (do). After the train left, he sat on the bench and didn’t know where to go.     8    (sudden), an old man came and said, “Young man, I have seen     9     you did to the woman. I am the     10    (own) of a big company. I need a good young man like you. Would you like to work for me?”

Last October , while     1    (tend) her garden in Mora , Sweden , Lena Pahlsson pulled out a handful of small carrots and was about     2     (throw) them away. But something made her look closer , and she noticed     3    shining object. Yes, there beneath the leafy top of one tiny carrot was her long-lost wedding ring.

Pahlsson screamed so    4     (loud) that her daughter came running from the house. “she thought I had hurt myself,”says Pahlsson

Sixteen years earlier, Pahlsson     5     (remove) the diamond ring to cook a meal. When she wanted to put the ring back on    6     (late), it was gone. She suspected that one of her three    7     (daughter) —then ten, eight, and six— had picked it up, but the girls said they hadn't. Pahlsson and her husband searched the kitchen, checking every corner, but turned up     8    . “I gave up hope of finding my ring again," she says. She never replaced it.

Pahlsson and her husband now think the ring probably got swept    9    a pile of kitchen rubbish and was spread over the garden,     10    it remained until the carrot’s leafy top accidentally sprouted (生长) through it. For Pahlsson, its return was a wonder.

If you used to collect small objects, I’m sure(if you were anything like my younger self) that you used to collect mechanical pencils.

In one of the math preparatory classes I     1    (go) to in elementary and middle school, we used to receive mechanical pencils as prizes for doing well on the in-class exams or answering questions in class. This was       2     I built up my collection of Cadoozles, which are short mechanical pencils decorated with brightly colored spaceships and ice cream bars. But I’ve long since used up all my Cadoozles and a majority of the mechanical pencils that I     3     (hide) in an empty mooncake tin so many years before, which makes me reflect fondly back on those old days, when receiving a mechanical pencil was as easy as drinking a glass of water.

Mechanical pencils are not only more convenient than your traditional Ticonderoga in the sense that they never need     4     (sharpen); they also produce thinner, cleaner lines, which is extremely important for drawers and drafters. Furthermore, they are environmentally friendly, since you don’t have to buy       5     wooden pencil whenever you run out of lead(铅芯). You can simply refill your mechanical pencil! There is only one slight negative I must remark on,     6     is that as someone who calls mechanical pencils “lead pencil” in casual conversation, the term “lead pencil” is confusing. Mechanical pencil lead is actually not made from the chemical element lead. It is made from a mixture of graphite and clay, which     7     not give you lead poisoning. This is contrary to what my third-grade teacher said when she saw my classmate John clicking his mechanical pencil against his index finger out of boredom: “John, stop that! You’re going to get lead poisoning!” I think all the third-graders (and teachers) in the world would feel much       8     (safe) if they knew what really made up the pencils they use every day.

It used to be so easy to grab a mechanical pencil whenever I needed one, but now    9     the mooncake tin has become increasingly lighter, I have learned to appreciate my writing instruments more. Perhaps I should have collected a few more Cadoozles when I was younger; perhaps I should have appreciated the feeling of holding up the mooncake tin when it was three-quarters full, hoping that there would always be a new pencil for me     10     (use) tomorrow.

Thanksgiving was drawing near and I was feeling sad about being separated from my family in Indiana. Would I have to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving dinner by    1     (I)?

That night at Dubya’s Restaurant, which was my favorite place to dine, I chatted with Dubya, the     2     (own) of the restaurant. “It’s too bad that this place won’t be open     3    Thanksgiving, or I could just come here.” I said.

“Why not join my family for the holiday?” he said in a warm voice. I knew Dubya and his wife well, but I didn’t think we were close enough     4     (share) Thanksgiving dinner. I was sure he was joking. But Dubya soon handed me a note on which directions to their house and their phone number     5     (write).

And two days later, I reached Dubya’s house. As     6     (expect), the food was great but the company was even     7     (good). I truly felt I belonged there.

Of course, I wrote them     8     thank-you letter the next week, but I couldn’t really put into words     9     that Thanksgiving dinner invitation had meant to me. I’ve never forgotten their     10     (kind) and that very special Thanksgiving.

One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about being late for school. There were many people waiting at the bus stop, some of    1    looked very anxious and    2    （disappoint）. When the bus finally came, we all hurried on board. I got a place next    3    the window, so I had a good view of the sidewalk. A boy on a bike    4    （catch）my attention. He was riding beside the bus and waving his arms. I heard a passenger behind me shouting to the driver, but he refused to stop    5    we reached the next stop. Still, the boy kept    6    （ride）. He was carrying something over his shoulder and shouting. Finally, when we came to the next stop, the boy ran up to the door of the bus. I heard an excited conversation. Then the driver stood up and asked, "Did anyone lose a suitcase at the last stop?" A woman on the bus shouted, "Oh dear! It's me." She pushed her way to the driver and took the suitcase    7    （thank）. Everyone on the bus began talking about    8    the boy had done, and the crowd of strangers suddenly became friendly to one another.