When I was a young girl, my parents tried their best to make ends meet. My father was a teacher, and my mom     1     (stay) at home to take care of me and my new baby brother. What was more, my mom also took care of two foster (收养的) children, a 12-year-old and a 4-year-old, because no one else had room for them in the area.

That Christmas, my parents faced     2     difficult choice. My dad told my mom that he could either pay the rent     3     give us all Christmas presents.     4     (nature) they decided that rent was more important. They could not even buy a tree.     5     (make) us all happy on Christmas Eve, my mom suggested that we drive into Rochester to look at the city     6     (decorate) by beautiful festival lights, and we all agreed.

On our way there, my dad noticed a huge stand of Christmas trees by the side of the road, and a large sign on the biggest tree. The sign read: “MERRY CHRISTMAS! If you haven’t got your tree yet, please help     7     (you) to one of these. No need to leave any money-just have a     8     (wonder) holiday!”

I didn’t understand at that moment     9     my dad started to cry, but I know now. I think it was the     10     (good) Christmas we ever had.

Many years ago, in a village lived a simple, good-natured fellow    1    (name) Rip Van Winkle. He was very lazy. To avoid work, he would walk away into the forest.

One day, Rip just walked on and on and reached the    2    (high) part of the mountains.    3    (sudden), he heard a voice calling his name. He looked around and saw a short, old man with his thick hair and a grizzled beard, walking towards him with a barrel. Rip hurried    4    (help) him. Together they reached a place where there were some more odd-looking men. His companion emptied the contents of the barrel into glasses and made Rip drink it.

Rip obeyed as he was trembling with fear. Since he was    5    (thirst), he drank a few more glasses and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

On waking up, he    6    (find) that he was at the place    7    he had first met the old man. He began to go back to his village.

As he neared the village, he met    8    number of people but he didn’t know any of them. The villagers also stared at him    9    (equal) surprised.

Then an old woman walked up to him and looked at his face    10    a moment, saying, “It is Rip Van Winkle! Welcome home again, old neighbour! Where have you been these twenty long years?”

A couple of years ago, on one of     1     hottest days of the year, I was pulling my car into my home when I saw a man cutting the grass at the bank next door. I didn’t know him, but I     2     (realize) he needed a cold drink. I    3     (quick) went in the house and took a drink     4     my fridge and went back outside. Then I stood on my sidewalk where he could see me when he turned the mower (割草机) around. I held up the drink and pointed to him. He nodded. When he came over to accept the bottle from me, he thanked me again     5     again and said he was just now considering     6     (go) to the nearby gas station to get something to drink. Ever since that day, he     7     (do) a lot of things for me. He often cuts the grass around my sidewalk, and gives me good     8     (suggestion) whenever I need help. However, he refuses     9     (take) any pay for all these things. He just shakes my hand and gives me a smile each time. I’ve been repaid in     10     (kind) so many times.

Jack Lund, 91, of Richfield, retired     1     the U.S. Postal Service after a perfect 69 years on the job.

“Nobody has ever accused     2    (I) of being smart, and I didn’t know you had to quit when you are 65. I have enjoyed driving the truck, so you could say it is     3    I wanted to do all my life,” said Lund.

Lund never failed in his duty. His fellow employees described him as     4    (rely) and always delivering despite poor weather or car trouble. One time there was four feet of snow on the mountain and he     5    (insist) on heading for Phoenix. After    6    (stop) by a highway patrolman (巡逻者), he said, “This is a mail truck and you can’t stop me unless it is impossibe.” And the patrolman     7    (eventual) let him go.Last week, Lund decided it was time to retire.

On Wednesday, a ceremony was held     8    (honor) and thank him for his years of service at the Richfield Post Office.

Lund said that though he hadn’t made a lot of money, he had led     9    happy life. As for what’s next, he believes his life will be different without the     10     (responsible) of delivering the mail but he can handle it.

Montana firefighter Ryan Benton recently showed a very different side of his profession when he was photographed calmly reading to a young girl after a car crash. The picture is particularly     1     (attract) as it shows a strong contrast to what we might expect from a frightening scene like that: a moment of calm.

The picture     2     (take) by a fellow firefighter,     3     also posted it on the Billings Fire Fighters Instagram page. While Benton avoided     4     (make) comments about the photo, fellow firefighter Cameron Abell told the Epoch Times about     5     touching scene, “That firefighter, Ryan, that day     6     (arrive) there to clean up the car accident, and he offered to take the time to make those kids feel clam. In fact, Ryan has devoted     7     (he) to doing that for years. ”

    8     (actual) , for the last few years, firefighters' trucks have come with book bags supplied by Rimrock Credit Union and Usborne Books to lend some comfort to kids in terrible situations.

For Benton, the moment     9     (share) calmly with this little girl was just part of his job. And while Benton shied away from any publicity, as Abell pointed out, “we all know when somebody does something like that they should get praised     10     it. It's good to recognize their good work.”