3 . My mother turned ninety. I knew I needed to find a senior _______ center. Not for her — for me. If I were at her age, I would want to stay in shape to _______ life, getting a lot of pleasure. Yes, walking in local parks was my _______, but I wasn’t so active as before.

I called a nearby center, “Do you have aerobics (有氧运动) classes _______ for seniors?” “Sure. Come and check us out! We start at 10 am,” the receptionist (接待员) replied and _______. The next morning, I went there. One part of me was _______ that the class was too easy, not doing me any good. The other part feared it was too hard for me to _______.

When I came into the room, a woman _______ me, “Oh, you’re new. Welcome.” Then the music started. The hour-long workout woke up the muscles I didn’t often _______ in daily walks, suiting me fine. I became a member there. My classmates ranged in age from fifty to ninety. Most gave the exercises their own ________, doing as much or little as they could. ________ no one kept score. Soon I learned physical well-being wasn’t the only ________ there. During breaks, people chatted happily. Whenever some people were ________ we asked around. Were they busy? Were they in hospital? Moreover, we signed cards for those who were ill.

I ________ to be in good shape now as I’ve hoped. Still, I’m grateful for things more valuable from the class — close friendships and new social ________.

4 . It is easy to get carried away in an argument.

While having a rational conversation with someone who has a different opinion might seem like a challenge, it is possible. One way is to approach the other person with empathy.

The Empathy Challenge is an exercise created by Zoe Chance, senior lecturer at the Yale School of Management. At Yale, Chance teaches a course called “Mastering Influence and Persuasion” where -students learn to communicate more effectively.

In her blog, Chance explains that it’s important to listen to people who disagree with you. “As they explain their position, you listen for their underlying values. Finally, you look for common ground as you reflect those values back. That’s it.”

Chance first took this challenge herself before asking her students to try. As she couldn’t understand why many people chose to vote for Donald Trump, she found three Trump’s voters and spoke with them.

Through asking questions, Chance was able to empathize with them and realize they had similar feelings. One man, an Orthodox Jew, explained that he supported Trump because Trump’s daughter and son-in-law are Jewish. The next man was a Russian immigrant passionate about freedom. The third was a lawyer who believed that authenticity(真诚) was important in political leaders.

Although Chance and Chose people had different political beliefs, they were able to relate to the life values of others. And that’s the point of the exercise-to understand others as fellow human beings.

5 . I was walking down the street in a small town the other day and passed a couple sitting on a bench. “She must be 180 centimeters tall,” I heard the woman say to the man. I turned to look at them straight in the eye at once. I felt angry and awkward that they were talking about me and staring. The woman suddenly said, “Oh, she must understand Chinese.” “Yes, I do,” I replied. Then, they both smiled and laughed, and so did I.

This was yet another time in the town when strangers stared or talked about my appearance. It’s either because of my unusually tall height as a woman or because I am a foreigner. As a shy person, this makes me feel quite uncomfortable. I just want to fit in! I usually just try to ignore such people, but this time, as soon as I talked to the couple, they went from judgmental strangers to people I just shared a warm and funny moment with.

It reminded me how important it is to have the right attitude and to be understanding. There aren’t that many foreigners in the town, so it’s only natural that Chinese people here will feel curious about foreigners and how they look different. Although, when people stare at you it feels a bit hostile, but most people arc simply curious and may even want to chat with you.

In short, I can’t change this situation. The only thing I can change is my attitude toward it. Life is too short to be influenced by the little things. We need to enjoy each moment with a positive and open attitude!

7 . A girl is smiling at me from a picture on my desk. She is one of my sponsor (资助) children. I didn’t spend much money helping her. The joy from helping her gives me, however, is over the picture.

I can still remember the first time that I decided to help a child. It was many years ago, I was only a middle school student. I had a little extra (额外的) money each month. I didn’t feel like buying anything, though. A few years ago, we lost everything in a house fire. That fire bought me a lot. I cleared that I didn’t need a lot of things to be happy. From then on I began to care about the suffering of children in poor countries. With my mom’s help, I soon found a few groups and joined them. They were helping others around the world.

It felt so good being able to reach out and help others in need. It felt so good being able to make even one life better. I could feel the love growing in my head and beginning to change me. This feeling makes us into better people with bigger hearts. It helps us to love, to be kind, and to make this world a better place.

8 . While Sam Bloom was on a vacation in Thailand, a balcony railing collapsed (倒塌), sending her falling 20 feet to the ground. The _________ left her with numerous injuries, including a broken spine. Her life was _________ changed.

In the many months that followed, she fell into a deep _________. Before her accident, she spent her time _______her family, surfing, exploring the outdoors, and traveling the world. Her _________ sense of self disappeared overnight—as she _________ it in her piece in a Time article, “I was no longer a(n)_________ woman, and I no longer _________ myself as a wife and mother.”

A few months after returning home, her son Noah _________ an injured baby magpie that had fallen from high in a tall pine tree. After no veterinarian (兽医) would rather __________ her in, the family decided to try and __________ her back to health themselves.

Due to its wobbly (摇晃的) walk and black and white __________, Bloom’s three boys decided to __________ the baby bird Penguin. And so, this __________ new creature became a member of the Bloom family. This new addition required constant __________, needing to be fed every two hours and kept warm constantly. This new __________ fell on Sam, and soon, Penguin became a form of __________ in soul to Sam.

“I didn’t feel as __________ anymore;my instincts as a nurse and mother came to life when I was __________ to this tiny, feathered soul. I didn’t __________ it at that time but, in a way, we were keeping each other alive.”

9 . Yesterday after work, the boss told me I was fired. When I walked along a riverbed sadly, I suddenly realized it was New Year’s Day, a day to start afresh.

I passed by a man holding his son, one or two years old. The baby’s face was in pure joy, and his innocent eyes were full of wonder. The simple sweetness of the baby made me moved.

Walking on, I saw a young couple repairing their bicycle. They smiled at me and said, “Happy New Year!” I smiled and wished them the same. It was a simple thing, but for a moment it brought me a sudden joy.

I kept walking, enjoying the cheerful singing of birds. With people around laughing out loud, an old woman immersed herself in her sewing. She didn’t seem either happy or sad. A feeling of timeless peace flowed through me and all fear of what the future might bring disappeared. I thanked her in my heart, and moved on.

As I reached home, I was filled with great thanks and hope for life, which took me a long time to find. Actually, happiness could be simple and easy. Now I knew whatever the New Year would bring, there would be joy and enough love to help me through the hard times we all had to face.

“Happy New Year!” I said to myself.