1 . One day, Fainsilber Katz, who is 60 years old, went to visit her favorite ______ . She parked her car and ______ the beach with everything she ______ for the day: a chair, a beach umbrella, flippers, sunglasses and a cooler. With so many things, it was ______ for her to keep her body balance when climbing over some rocks.

When she reached a part of the beach entrance, she found there was a large step down. Unsure whether she could take the step ______ , she stopped, ______ what to do. ______ a young man, about 30 years old came over to Fainsilber Katz, and asked, “Do you need some ______ ?” “Sure!” Fainsilber Katz ______ .

The man took some of the things that Fansilber Katz was ______ . Then he gave Fainsilber Katz his ______ to walk her down the ______ . Fainsilber Katz felt ______ .

The man’s act of ______ comforts Fainsilber Katz and reminds her that when life gets hard, one doesn’t have to do it ______ . Where there is a help, there is a hope.

2 . My son “graduated” from elementary school this week. I put the word in quotations(引语)because as a rising 6th grader, he wasn’t receiving a _______ —and because the school used a _______ term to describe the milestone. On reflection, the school’s term felt even more _______ than the traditional name of the _______ of one stage of a person’s education: they called it Moving On.

At the Moving On Ceremony, each member of the 5th grade class _______ one sentence of reflection on what they were thankful for or would _______ about their primary school years. One _______ words caught my attention — he said he was _______ for what he called “a step on the ladder”. I was really _______ by this 11-year-old’s ability to summarize the emotional heart of the “moving on” moment. That was totally beyond my imagination.

Growing up is the work of a ________ — a ladder that has no top. And the gift of a “moving on” moment is that we get to celebrate the firm foothold   (立足点)we’ve gained on our ________ step, even as we reach upward toward the next. We get to ________ —not beyond what we’ve learned and accomplished so far, ________ because we are able to build on today’s experiences to move ahead toward tomorrow.

We look forward to our son ________ more graduations in his lifetime. But perhaps more than that, we pray that he will have the ability to recognize many “moving on” moments to celebrate and enjoy with ________ .

3 . This morning I was reading a book outside my favorite beachside coffee shop when an 18-year-old boy sat down next to me and said, “The ______   in your hands is great, isn’t it?” I closed the book and we started ______ .

He told me he was getting ready to ______   high school next week and then started his college life in the fall. But he had no ______ what he wanted to do with his life.

He asked me many questions, and I ______ them as well as I could, trying to give ______ advice with the time I had. And after a half-hour conversation, he thanked me and we parted ways.

But on my way home I realized the ______ I had with that 18-year-old boy was ______ quite nostalgic (令人怀念的) . He made me ______ the time when I was his age, more than twenty years ago. I had so many ______ back then. So, I started thinking about his questions again, and I began remembering all the helpful little things someone told me ______ I was 18.

The ______ is that you’d better do your best, one ______ , not all at once. And above all, laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t ______ when everything develops. Life is short, yet ______ . Enjoy the ride!

4 . It was early winter several years ago. I had pulled out my old winter coat for another year’s use. It was still in pretty good shape although it was looking dirty from so many winters’ wear. I didn’t really need a new one but I wanted one and casually mentioned it to my daughter one day. She was such a sweet, loving girl that I should have guessed what would happen next. A few weeks later she gave me a new winter coat as a gift.

I put the old one in my closet and started to wear the new coat every day. Each day, though, when I opened my closet, something troubled me. It seemed a shame that my old but still good coat should just sit there keeping no one warm during the cold winter days. After a few weeks, I took it out and drove to a local charity shop. I knew that there was someone who couldn’t afford a coat but could get my old one.

My new coat is my old coat now. It is getting a little dirty and worn, too. It has black marks on the sleeves. It is in too bad shape to even donate to charity. I wonder if I should buy a new one soon, but I think I will wait for a while. I don’t really need a new one and maybe I can find something else to give to the charity shop instead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Want is a growing giant whom the coat of Have was never large enough to cover.” Perhaps the best way to deal with our wants then is to give instead. Love, after all, brings us the most joy. And the more of it you give away, the more of it you have.

9 . Columbia high school girls’ soccer team had lost every game in the season until a new ______stepped in two years ago.

Stuart Henley, a former soccer player and now a truck driver, ______the team and started training hard in February 2020. He ______the progress of the girls to team-building activities to help them bond on and off the field. He focused on the basics of football like passing, ______, and movement to try and bring the girls up to a good standard. His ______: coaches could give them guidelines, but girls ______what they felt they needed to work on.

Obviously, the girls were onto something big in the new season. They ______the skills they had learned and teamwork into their ______, which led them to an ______run of eight games, until they were sadly beaten 3-2 by Wyrley Pumas Team. Although this means they have been _____ the league title, the team have still exceeded (超出) expectation by earning the ______to the county’s top division.

“Whatever brings you down will ______make you stronger, especially for girls.” Captain Chelsea said, “Stuart has really ______our girls the philosophy of playing soccer. We’re going into next season full of confidence and ready to compete against tougher ______, but for now we’re still very much enjoying our ______.”