1 . “Tom, you have a hairless spot on the back of your head!”Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug (耸肩) it off. “It’ll grow back. ”I worked to sound ________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger, and there was still no_________of any hair becoming visible through the skin. I began to________, but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________ my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, willing this to ________ happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection ( 注 射 ) to try, which would be ________ to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________, the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the __. My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig ( 假 发 ) to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________. Though aware that I should ________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________, hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________ for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect myself ________ , then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

3 . After my cancer diagnosis (诊断), my friend gifted me a lucky bamboo plant in a deep-green pottery bowl. Despite my physical limitations, _________ the green plant became an achievement during a time when I felt _________.

As a family physician I was used to _________ care, now I was the one relying on others. The _________ change left me feeling unsettled. Watering the plant, as small an act as it was, _________ me to my old identity and taught me I could still be a caregiver and be _________.

Through surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy (化疗), I _________ looking after the plant, and it thrived (茁壮成长), so did I.

But before long, _________, it began to show signs of stress. No matter what I did, the _________ kept browning and dropping to the __________, which made me frustrated and uneasy. I seemingly related its struggle to my own health, fearing it __________ the return of my tumor (肿瘤).

As my anxiety eased, I __________ guidance online to figure out how to better take care of the poor little thing. Following the __________ found, I transplanted it to a larger pot, allowing more room and nutrients it required. When it returned to the sunny window, we both began to thrive again!

Now, the lucky bamboo was not just a __________ item in my home but a representation of life, and the ability to find __________ even in challenging circumstances.

4 . Martin is my youngest son. He likes staying alone and be seldom laughs. As the boy’s mother, I was _______ about him. I took him to see the _______ in many hospitals, but it didn’t work well.

Nothing could make him happy except the recycling truck passing by my house. Every afternoon, he raced to the front of the house, waiting for the _______.

When we were late and _______ the truck, Martin would be very disappointed. One day, I stopped the truck and _______ myself.

“Nice to meet you, too. I’m Vince.” The driver greeted me in a happy _______.

“Your coming is the most exciting moment for my son.” I smiled.

After knowing our story, he said, “Could you please give me your _______ number? Maybe I can send you a message _______ I arrive.”

Then began our _______ with Vince.

Recently, I said to him, “It’s my little boy’s birthday tomorrow. Can you do something special for him?”

The next day, as I was standing by the driveway with Martin, we saw the ________ truck running down the street with a loud beep. Like a superman in a movie, Vince stopped and walked towards us with a box in his hand.

“Today is your birthday, Martin, and here’s a gift.”

He handed the box to my son. Inside, there was a green model truck like his. My son, surprised, looked up ________ and thanked him.

After chatting for several ________, he was about to leave for work. I tried to give him some ________ for his help. He kept shaking his head and ________ my money, saying, “Today you, tomorrow me.”

I was deeply moved by these ________ words. And I have been ready to help others whenever I can. You will never know when you’re going to be the one that needs help.

Holidays are not necessarily for fun or rest. Doing something meaningful can also gain special pleasure. When the final bell rang, the students were reminded that there was no school on Monday—the Labor Day. “Enjoy your extra day off” said the teacher to her class.

An extra day off unsuited Kayla just fine. She loved breaks. She wanted to go out to play with her friends. When the school bus dropped Kayla off, she ran into the house happily.

“How was school, Kayla?” asked her mom.

“It was great, Mom. I am excited about no school on Monday.”

“You just started back to school two weeks ago. Already in need of a break, huh?” asked Kayla’s mom with a laugh.

Kayla slept in the next morning. Saturday was her favorite day of the week. I trained most of the day, so Kayla enjoyed playing videogames inside. On Sunday, her friends came over and they played basketball for several hours.

Then it was Labor Day, you know, the extra day off that Kayla was so looking forward to. But Kayla was awakened early that morning by her dad. He told Kayla that in honor of Labor Day, the family would be cleaning both inside and outside the house. Kayla couldn’t believe it. This was a holiday. A day when she was supposed to be enjoying freshly squeezed lemonade while playing in her tree house. As Kayla wiped here yes, she began to wonder if this was just a bad dream.

“Kayla, your breakfast is ready. We have a lot of work to do today. Let’s get a move on,” said Kayla’s mom. As she sat down at the kitchen table, Kayla asked her parents，

“Are you serious about working today? Isn’t Labor Day a holiday?”

“Yes, Kayla. It is,” replied her dad. “But your mom and I thought working hard today would make you appreciate why Labor Day was observed in the first place.”

At first Kayla felt disappointed at her parents’ plan for the holiday.

But things began to change as she was doing the chores.

Six-year-old Ismail Zulfic was born without arms and used to be scary of going into the water after a incident in a pool. So that changed when the little boy met Amel Kapo. He sets up a local swimming club after noticing how disabled kids struggled to swim in pools for lack of special equipments for them. Kapo taught Zulfic swim. Zulfic was able to swim well after a little months of practice. He even won a gold medal in a local swimming competition for disabled people, finish well ahead of other swimmers. This butterfly without wings shows up that desire, will and perseverance are things that real pay off.

8 . In 1990, Hal Donaldson was 23 years old, fresh out of college and found himself in Calcutta, India, where he was asked to interview Mother Teresa.

Donaldson says about the great woman famed for feeding the hungry, “She wasn’t wearing shoes and her ankles were swollen. She sat down with me and was very polite.” After the interview, Mother Teresa asked him, “What are you doing to help the poor?” Donaldson admitted that he was young and wasn’t focused on helping others. With a smile on her face, Mother Teresa said, “Everyone can do something.”

Those words deeply struck Donaldson and forced him to face hard truths about himself.

Hal Donaldson grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. When he was 12 years old, his parents were hit by a drunk driver; his father died, and his mother was seriously injured. To make ends meet, they went on welfare. Donaldson says, “I had holes in my shoes and clothes. When you’re teased at school for that, you just want to escape.”

He managed to do just that. Donaldson got into college and turned his focus to making money for himself. He says, “I was just trying to find my way out of insignificance.” However, it’s easy to overlook others along the way. I was the guy that would see a homeless person and cross the street, so I didn’t have to confront (面对) him. My focus was on climbing to the top instead of helping those trying to climb with me.

Donaldson returned home from India with a different thought. He traveled to eight cities in America and stayed on the streets and listened to stories of the homeless. “My heart broke,” he says. “I knew I could no longer just live for myself.”

Inspired by Mother Teresa’s words and the stories he’d heard across America, Donaldson loaded a pick up truck with $300 worth of groceries and handed them out to anyone who needed help. In 1994, Donaldson created the nonprofit organization, Convoy for Hope, which works with communities across America and around the world. Their work focuses on feeding children, women’s empowerment, helping farmers and disaster services.

A funny thing happened to Arthur when he was on the way to work one day. As he walked along Park Avenue near the First National Bank, he heard the sound of someone trying to start a car. He tried again and again but couldn’t get the car moving. Arthur turned and looked inside at the face of a young man who looked worried.

Arthur stopped and said, “It looks like you’ve got a problem.”

“I’m afraid so. I’m in a big hurry but I can’t start my car.”

“Is there something I can do to help?” Arthur asked. The young man looked at the two suitcases in the back seat and then said, “Thanks. If you’re sure it wouldn’t be too much trouble, you could help me get these suitcases into a taxi.”

“No trouble at all. I’d be glad to help.”

The young man got out and took one of the suitcases from the back seat. After placing it on the ground, he turned to get the other one. Just as Arthur picked up the first suitcase and started walking, he heard the long loud noise of an alarm.

It was from the bank. There had been a robbery (抢劫)!

Park Avenue had been quiet a moment before. Now the air was filled with the sound of the alarm and the shouts of people running from all directions. Cars stopped and the passengers joined the crowd in front of the bank. People asked each other, “What happened?” But everyone had a different answer.

Arthur still carrying the suitcase, turned to look at the bank and walked right into a young woman in front of him.

She looked at the suitcase and then at him. Arthur was surprised. “Why is she looking at me like that?” he thought. “The suitcase! She thinks I’m the bank thief!”

Arthur looked around at the crowd of people. He became frightened, and without another thought, he started to run.

As he was running, Arthur heard the young man shouting behind, “Stop! Stop!” _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The taxi stopped in front of the police station. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________