1 . An old man went to live with his son, his daughter-in-law, and a four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was very poor, and he couldn’t walk steadily (平稳地). The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Rice often dropped on the floor.

The son and the daughter-in-law became angry with the old man, so they put a small table in the corner. There, the grandfather ate alone, while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the table. Since the grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

The four-year-old son watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with a piece of wood on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” The boy answered, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work. The words struck the parents so hard that they were in silence. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks (脸颊). Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.

I am a proud mother of three children, my last little one delivered in the middle of this pandemic (疫情). She was born in August and her name is Aida.

Shortly after having Aida, my mother-in-law Ann showed me something she learned from her friend’s mother in an art class she attended weekly. She had a loom (织布机) and showed me how to knit a scarf. She showed me one stitch and gave me a small loom with her half-done project.

I spend a lot of time looking after my sweet little girl, so I have some extra time to do something with my hands throughout the day. I enjoyed making the scarf so I purchased a full loom set and tons of thread and started to make woolen hats since it was winter.

I realized the homeless population in my town in Southern California really needed some more warm weather clothes. I started to give away my hats here and there to the people asking for food outside the food shop down the street where I live.

My oldest son Siddhartha got involved in the project and made a hat as well. I found out that there was a non-profit up the way from me that made masks for farm workers and that they were asking for winter warm weather clothing donations. I made over a dozen woolen hats and gave them to hand out to farm workers.

Then I made woolen hats for everyone in my husband’s family as Christmas gifts, and gave woolen hats to all my neighbors I was close to. There was a new family that moved in down the street and I did not know them very well. Why not break the ice with some handmade gifts? So I made hats for the mom and the one-year-old baby. I knocked on the door and handed the gifts over and my neighbor was so happy to receive them.

My new neighbor told me she wanted to learn my skill.

Our story spread and more and more people wanted to join us.

3 . My new birthday tradition is a big hit today. I ______ it a couple of years ago. It goes like this: I put the ______ number of one-dollar bills as my new ______ into my pocket and surprise strangers around town.

I know, $25 isn’t much but that’s my attempt (努力) at spreading kindness. I ______ strangers at local shops including McDonald’s, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Blenders, Kyle’s Kitchen, Yogurtland, along with ______ tips (小费) to some of the folks behind the counter.

Reactions (反应) were wonderful as I ______, “It’s my birthday and paying for this is my gift to you.” I would ______ the money and leave. Recipients (接受者) and even people working at the shops were astonished and excited.

I love it when people tell the story of the ______ guy with the Batman mask who paid for their coffee or burgers.

The ______ one of all was the last one at a restaurant. I paid for a young man’s ______. He was shocked and delighted. When I left and got into the car, he ______ me and told me I had made his day. Besides, I got the news that his ______ was in three days and we’re both Capricorn (摩羯座). So I told him that he can fill 25 ______ in his pocket and make people ______ the way he felt right then.

He wished me a happy birthday and a Merry Christmas, and I drove off ______ with my Batman mask on.

What a great birthday!

4 . Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her senior high school life was unhappy and that she was tired of struggling with homework all the time.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, h placed potatoes, eggs and coffee beans in them. After 20 minutes, he took them out, putting the potatoes and eggs in a bowl and the coffee in a cup.

Turning to his daughter, he said, “Look closer, and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After puling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to taste the coffee. Its good smell brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans were in the same adversity (逆境)—the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The strong and hard potato became soft and weak in boiling water. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new. “Which one do you want to be like,” he asked. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond?”

In life, challenges happen to us all, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

5 . It was the first night of a tiring seven-day 250km race across the Gobi Desert a year ago. Mr. Leonard___________a little dog going around his camp trying to ___________herself.

“Cute, but I’m not giving you any,” Leonard thought. Like all ___________, he had packed just enough for the whole ___________. He’d been running competitively for three years, and he had a___________ to win.

The next day, at the starting line, the dog ___________ him again. He waved her away, worried that she might be stepped on by the runners. ___________, the dog followed him all the way until the day’s race ___________. That night the dog snuggled (偎依) up to Leonard and even___________ to get a little food from him. By then, he was determined to name her Gobi.

The pair went on to finish the seven-day race, with Gobi____________ a distance of 125km on her own, and winning Leonard over, enough for him to make a____________ — he would take her home to Edinburgh. “Seeing Gobi on the race ____________my attitude to things. It made me think more about stopping and helping her, rather than just focusing on winning, ” said Leonard, who finished second. “It also made my running more enjoyable , giving me a lot of pleasure.”

As Leonard was preparing to get Gobi home, she was missing. With a group of 20 local volunteers coming to his ____________ , he finally found her. After that, Leonard never let Gobi out of his____________. Now Gobi’s favorite activity is still running, and she__________ does at least 8km a day with Leonard up the hills.

7 . Patrick never does homework. “Too boring,” he says. He always plays baseball and basketball after school. His teachers tell him, “Patrick! Do your homework, or you can’t learn anything.” But what can he do? He hates homework.

One day, his cat was playing with a little “doll”. He found it wasn’t a doll at all, but a man of the smallest size. The man called, “Save me! Don’t give me back to that cat. I have magic. I will help you if you save me!”

How lucky he was! Here was the answer to all of his problems. So he said, “If you help me to do my homework until the last day of school, I will get good grades.” The man agreed. He began to do Patrick’s homework. The man didn’t always know what to do and he needed help. “Help me! Help me! ”he said. And Patrick had to help. Day after day, Patrick had to work harder. Finally the last day of school arrived and the man was free to go. As for homework, Patrick didn’t hate doing it any more. Patrick got his A’s. His teachers and classmates were all surprised. Who really helped Patrick?

9 . Last week, Tom and his mother went to a restaurant to celebrate his fifth birthday. When he and his mother were talking there, a waitress _________ curiously from a distance. Eventually, the waitress realized that the mom was talking in sign language to her little boy who also had _________ aids in his ears.

When the waitress _________ that it was Tom’s birthday, she decided to give the boy a special gift. She went to the Internet and _________ how to say “happy birthday” in sign language. She quickly got all the rules down. Then, she went up to Tom’s table and _________   to him, “Happy birthday to you!” Tom and his mother were really _________

Later, Tom’s mom said this was the first time he had _________ in sign language with people other than her and his teacher. It was a simple phrase _________ it was an important gift for Tom.

She added that the _________ from the waitress made her very moved. “Thanks to the __________ waitress, his fifth birthday is one that we will __________ for a lifetime,” the mom said. “My boy was always worried that he would appear very __________when he was talking in sign language. Today, he saw that someone __________ tried to talk to him in his   __________ language. It’s very __________ for him. ”