1 . Small acts of kindness can make a difference in someone’s day. That was just the case for Amie Mickey when she _________ a bumper (保险杠) sticker on her car reading: You Matter.

At first, she wondered if people would _________ it. However, much to her surprise, she began seeing a flood of _________ every time she hit the road. More often than not, people _________ slowly near her car would roll down their windows, raising their _________ and smiling. Sometimes, she even found some notes left on her windshield saying “You _________ too!”. Once she became _________ when a man driving a sports car at a high speed pulled his car alongside suddenly, mouthing, “You matter!” Though it took her some time to recover from the _________, she still felt happy. Last year, someone _________ her and said, “It is a (n)____________ sticker. None of stickers touched me like this.” The sticker really struck a chord (弦) with many strangers who ____________ to catch sight of it.

Stories like Amie’s really ____________ us. Sometimes a kind word or gesture may lift our ____________ and it doesn’t cost a thing except for a little extra thought. Maybe it means offering a friend a hug or praising the children when they ____________ well in school. Small acts of kindness can also make a ____________ impact on the world and help form general goodness.

5 . Last June I worked as a volunteer in a remote Aboriginal community. The residents there are short of the many material _______that most of us in big cities have, but their outlook on life is not even comparable to ours.

This community was hard hit by a _______ about two years ago.Many people became _______and multiple families had to live under one roof in houses that were_______ for just one family.However, people felt more of a sense of _______ when families had to live together in such conditions. They _______together to help each other in rebuilding their lives after the hurricane.

Family took _______ over everything in this community. If someone is in need, the extended family will provide any_______ needed. Children are taught from an early age that family is worth more than any material possession they will _______.They pass that value to the next ________,and the cycle continues in ________ solid family values.

On my third day in this community, two elders said they had felt a strong ________ with my spirit, and wanted to adopt me into their tribe. It was beyond my ________ as to how an outsider could be ________after just three days! One of the elders explained that no one was a stranger there.

Leaving this community was challenging indeed. Not only did my outlook change, my understanding of how life can be defined took a ________for the better.

6 . It was 1935, when I was 10 years old, and we lived in Brooklyn, New York.

A few days before _______ , my father was sitting on the chair, _______ , with tears in his eyes. The mailman was _______ our building and asked my father what was _______. I heard my father say that he had _______ his food and that the _______ was past due. He had tried to work as a _______ , but he wasn't a very _______ man, and the work had been too hard for him. "How much do you need?” the mailman asked. My dad said he needed $33 for the rent, and without _______ , the mailman took $50 from his wallet and ________ it to my father. My dad said, I don't know ________ I'll be able to pay you back." The mailman put an arm around my father and said it would be ________ if he paid him back or not. The mailman noticed me and said, "Isaac, things will not be this way forever. If you or your son will ________ this day, there will be times in the future when someone needs your help. Help them within your means and tell them what happened this day. This will be my ________. Merry Christmas.

As long as he lived, my father helped others when he could, and I've done my best to do my part in paying the mailman's ________ back.

7 . Driven by her passion for providing quality healthcare, a Latvian woman has won over the hearts of the elderly residing in the nursing home she oversees.

It is incredibly rare to find a Caucasian woman working as the director of a nursing home in Shanghai. But the fact that Anastasija Puzankova can even converse in Liantang, a Chinese dialect spoken only by residents in a small town in southwestern Shanghai, makes her one of a kind.

“I had always wondered how the elderly were getting along with others, or if they were well cared for. I realized that I could better serve them and understand their concerns if I spoke their dialect.” says the 35-year-old, who also speaks Russian, English, Latvian, French and Spanish.

Puzankova chose to study Sinology(汉学) out of her curiosity about China at the University of Latvia in 2003. The next year, she traveled to Shanghai as part of an exchange program and then she spent the next 10 years studying law at Fudan University, graduating with a master's degree in 2014.

Despite her qualifications, in 2018, Puzankova joined Haiyang Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates the nursing home, as an executive assistant. During that period, she performed so well in her nursing and management training that she was appointed the director of the home after just one year.

A caregiver, surnamed Cai, says the atmosphere at the home has changed since Puzankova took charge. “She makes life in the nursing home uplifting and purposeful.” says Cai.

“She throws monthly birthday parties for the elderly, creates a festive mood in the home for every traditional festival and frequently organizes handicrafts classes and activities to stimulate the minds of the residents.”

When family visits and group activities were delayed during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Puzankova came up with a similar idea at the home, purchasing vegetable seeds and growing them in the field near the nursing home so that the residents can observe the plants growing from their windows.

“Just watching the plants grow can lift their spirits. We can also serve these organic vegetables to them.” she explains.

Puzankova says, “I simply like communicating with people, understanding their personalities and offering help when they are in need. Making an elderly person happy isn't hard. It just takes a little time, love and thought.”

8 . My local supermarket is always busy. The first parking space I found was convenient, but I’d noticed a woman in a blue car _________ for a while. As I was _________, I let her have it. On the _________ of the car park I backed into the next available spot — it was a tight fit.

Pretty soon, I’d made my way through the supermarket and was back in the fresh air. Feeling good, I _________ my purse change into the hands of a homeless man and helped a _________ woman reverse park (倒车).

Just as I _________ my car, I saw the woman I’d let have my car space _________. She was giving a mean odd _________— half puzzled, half intent (热切的). I smiled and wished her a pleasant day. As I squeezed back into my car, I _________ the same lady looking in at me. “Hello,” she said, hesitantly. “This might sound crazy but I was on my way to ____________ some of my mother’s things off at the charity bins.” “You are just so much like her. You helped those people, I noticed, and you seemed so happy.” She looked at me meaningfully and passed a box in through the ____________, “I think she would like you to have it.” Shocked, I took it from her ____________. She smiled and walked away.

After a pause, I opened the box. ____________ was a beautiful gold necklace with a large grey pearl. It was the nicest gift I’d ever received, and it was from a complete ____________. The necklace was around my neck, a warm ____________ of human kindness.

9 . On one June afternoon，Gene and his brother Rouco were________Gene's yard. It had grown brown and was almost in________in the heat, and the situation needed changing. The new grass was already there, but the job was________. Suddenly, Gene wasn't feeling good. He went inside to rest and________ the couch. Seeing this, his wife, Melissa, called 911 immediately.

_____he was staring down death, Gene had one thing in his mind: the lawn. If the grass wasn't put down that day, it would________. “While he was having his heart attack, almost in and out of ________, he kept begging me to put it down because he didn't want it to go________,” Melissa recalled.

Soon the medical workers arrived and took Gene and Melissa to the hospital, leaving Rouco behind to________the situation. Within an hour, he had________to remove the old grass. He was about to lay the new ones when seven men---the same ones who had________his brother---walked off the emergency vehicle. It turned out that Gene had told them how_______ he'd wanted to get the grass down, so they returned to help.

Fortunately, Gene had a successful operation. He's now fully recovered,________his beautiful lawn at home. The couple are still amazed that those men went________their job duties. "These men________Gene from death, and then came back to save his grass. That's just so awesome.”

10 . I had driven home to celebrate my 38th birthday with my mother. When I arrived, I found her _______ proudly at the kitchen table, a chocolate cake and two boxes wrapped orange ribbon (丝带) in front of her. “Happy birthday!” she said, _______ at the boxes. “Open them.”

As she knows me _______ than anyone, she’d gotten me exactly what I wanted—running clothes. I _______ her and thanked her and proceeded(接着) to eat the cake.

“Too many _______,” I said, not really caring.

“You’ll run them off tomorrow,” Mom said.

Many adult children with a parent suffering from _______ memory will tell you there was one day that _______ to them that their relationship with their mother or father would be forever changed.

For me that day _______ two weeks later, when I drove back for another short _______. I came upon exactly the same ________: my mom sitting at the kitchen table; a chocolate cake resting next to two ________ wrapped in curly ribbon. The ribbon was green this time. That was the only ________ “Happy birthday!” my mom said.

I was totally ________. “What’s going on?” I asked.

Mom smiled. “Can’t I celebrate my daughter’s birthday?”

This was no ________. This was real life, and since my mother clearly only wanted to make me ________, I pushed aside my fear and fulfilled my role as the ________ daughter. I hugged her, thanked her and ________ the clothes... I did not mention to her that we’d done all this two ________ ago.

My house is her world now. My mother and I have the ________ conversation roughly 10 times a day. ________, I consider it a pleasure, because every minute is new for her.