2 . Zora woke up early on Saturday morning, ________ for her long-awaited trip to the mall with her friends. They had planned this shopping spree (狂欢) for weeks and she had been ________ the days. Zora always had one ________ item she planned to buy for her mum.

As they walked past a fabrics store, Zora’s eyes ________ up. She had been saving up for months to buy a sewing machine for her mum to help patch (缝补) ________, and she knew this store carried it. She dragged her friends inside, and as soon as she ________ the sewing machine, she knew it was the one.

But when Zora checked the ________ tag (标签), her heart sank. It was much more expensive than she had ________. She started to feel disappointed and considered giving up on her ________ of helping her mum.

Her friends noticed her ________ and decided to help her. They took out some money and encouraged her to buy it, telling her how much her mum ________ it. With their ________, Zora decided to spend on the sewing machine, and as she walked out of the store, she felt a sense of pride and ________.

The rest of the day flew by, and they headed back home. Zora realized that her ________ were the real friends she had. They had helped her at the important moment and created ________ that she would cherish (珍藏) forever.

4 . On my first day in America, I was excited, but nervous as well. It was my dear neighbor Susan who helped me   _________ my new life far away from home.

There was a knock at the door. When I _________ it. Susan came in with a homemade apple ple. She hugged me and said, “Wow, you   _________ be the precious (珍贵的) Chinese dull (娃娃)!”

With a big smile, she   _________, “Alice, I am sure you have never tried a home-made apple pie before! You are going to _________ it so much!”

To be honest, I was greatly surprised by this welcome from a _________. And the apple pie made me _________.

Susan was very helpful to me.

When I was thinking about the clothes to wear on Halloween, she suggested I _________like a traditional Chinese girl. “I happen to have a traditional Chinese dress and guess _________, I’m a great make-up artist!” She said. Susan did not hide (隐藏) her excitement, when she pushed me to the __________ to examine our work after an hour of hard work. The clothes fit me perfectly! I am sure that I stood out from the crowd that Halloween, and I am __________ for her help.

My first Thanksgiving was another highlight (亮点). __________ the festival morning, I was surprised to find a gift box in my front yard. There was a note on it: “Hello Alice, I’m the Thanksgiving bunny (兔子)! Enjoy your __________!” I looked around and caught Susan looking at me from her porch (走廊). Seeing that she had been __________, she hurriedly picked up a newspaper and pretended (假装) to __________ it. I couldn’t help __________. When I walked up to her, she said, “ __________ was not me. It was the Thanksgiving bunny!” Susan is such a __________ person; She is the American above all others I need to thank.

I saw that the spirit of the Chinese saying, that “Neighbors carry more__________ than distant relatives”, is alive and well in America. Susan filled my heart with   __________ and joy, just as angels do.

5 . Every day, there are 25,000 flights in America. Accidents are so rare that flying is much ________ than car travel. But that doesn’t stop many people from feeling ________ when they are moving at 500 miles per hour, 33,000 feet above the ground.

That’s what ________ recently to a woman flying on a commercial airline. Floyd Dean-Shannon ________ the woman’s distress. As a flight attendant, he has plenty to do during a flight. But he paused and spoke ________ to the woman. Floyd calmly explained what the ________ was and all the other perfectly routine sounds you hear as a plane flies.

________ the woman began to calm down a bit, Floyd sat down in the aisle beside her and held her hand. He sat with her through the ________ flight. When Floyd learned it was another passenger’s birthday, he led the plane in a song to ________ — another way of making the woman feel safe by ________ her from her fears. He stayed by the woman’s side until it was time to land.

In a world where most focus on what’s happening on a screen, we can ________ occasionally and check on those ________ us. Like Floyd, we can be ________ enough to see to be there. We don’t have to be professional counselors; we just need to be ________. Having a friend when you most need it not only gets you through the ________ parts in your life — it also gives you the confidence to be a friend to others.

6 . Many years ago, I was living with my best friend and we had many happy moments together. But there was one night that ________ our lives forever.

On the night of November 25, 2011, I got into a fistfight with my best friend in our kitchen. It all started because I was trying to help him. He was drinking a lot, arguing with everyone and ________ himself from others by keeping silent most of the time. This had been going on for weeks and finally I decided it was time for a(an) ________ I told him that he needed to stop drinking so much and tried to ________ his alcohol and he got angry and started ________ with me. It was scary, but by the end of the night, we were able to calm down and talk to each other.

I thought alcohol ________ was his main problem. But he was just using alcohol to ________ himself through. He was lonely, heartbroken and struggling to connect with people. So during the Christmas season a few weeks later, I gave him a ________ that I didn’t even know I had.

That Christmas my friend didn’t have any place to go, so I invited him home to my parents’ house in Lancaster. They ________ cleaned up our guest room for him and even bought him some Christmas gifts. I’ll never forget the night we arrived at my home. My parents were already ________, but my mom had prepared dinner for us, baked some cookies and left us a note. My parents are known for their ________, so I wasn’t surprised by this warm welcome. But when my friend read my mom’s note and saw all that she had prepared, he broke down and cried. That’s when I ________ how much I took my loving family for granted.

That year my friend and I both received gifts that we would ________ forever. I gave him the gift of a warm, loving, safe place to spend Christmas. And he gave me the gift of a new ________ on life. If I hadn’t shared my home with him, I wouldn’t have understood how ________ I am.

7 . Every August, teams with players about 10 years old play baseball across the US, with the aim to become Little League _______. In this year’s game, Isaiah Jarvis, a Little League batter (击球手),   _______ the pitcher (投球手), Kaiden Shelton, who threw a baseball that hit him in the head. The   _______ scene brought tears to the eyes of the crowd in the stadium.

On August 7^th, Kaiden Shelton, from Texas, _______ Isaiah Jarvis, from Oklahoma, at the plate. With two strikes against Isaiah, Kaiden _______ lost control of his pitch. The ball hit Isaiah in his helmet, sending him to the ground. The field staff immediately _______ him and found him to be OK. He decided to remain in the _______. Yet Kaiden, the pitcher, appeared to be _______.

Isaiah called a timeout upon seeing his _______ battling emotions. He calmly walked toward Kaiden and gave him a big hug, trying to ________ him. “Hey, you’re doing just great.” Kaiden later shared with NBC News. “These ________ words from him really helped me.”

A video of the moment was posted online and attracted more than 6.5 million views. Danny Graves, a sports announcer, said Isaiah’s ________ was the best thing he had ever seen in Little League baseball.

The Texas team won the game 9-4 to ________ to the Little League World Series. And Isaiah was also ________ to the game to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The pair told NBC News they think their newfound ________ will last beyond any tournament.

8 . This party sounded so fun! Annie stood at Michael’s front_________waiting excitedly for him to answer. “Just be yourself.” Annie’s dad had advised when he’d dropped her off. But who else could she be but herself?

Michael opened the door, _________Annie with a welcoming smile. Bu when she followed him in, she felt_________She didn’t recognize a single kid. And they were all older! As she sat down, every kid stared at her. Her colorful new_________, she believed, was stupid compared with the other girl’s tasteful dresses in soft golden colours. The thought made her ashamed.

Michael told others she was_________. But after that introduction, Annie felt even worse as all the kids looked at her doubtfully. She sat there with a frozen smile on her face, feeling anything but herself. The kids all started to eat, chatting and joking as they_________their mouths.

“Pass me some of those strange_________” a girl said to her. All at once, without any_________from her own mind, Annie blurted out the words, “They’re not exactly bananas. They look like bananas, but they taste_________different. Some people call them plantains or the potato of the tropics.”

Now all the kids were__________Annie again, but this time their faces were interested and__________. Someone asked her more about plantains, and she__________everything she knew about them, which was a lot. They started asking her questions. They wanted to know about her family and her pets. A girl even__________Annie for her dress.

“You are the__________of the night!” Michael said when the evening was over. Annie sighed, relaxed and happy. She wasn’t sure about being a star, but Daddy was right, she’d__________to be herself after all.

9 . It’s interesting how our contacts influence our tomorrow’s day. People we are in relationships with _________ us. When we change, we inevitably change our lifestyles and attitude. Let’s see whether your friends _________ your future and if so, then in what ways they do so.

When we _________ someone for the first time, we are trying to find out more about each other. The first _________ you make on others counts. But your _________ contact with each other forms the general opinion of the person you are _________ with. If you are a positive person who has a(n) _________ personality, do not be shy to demonstrate it to strangers. Strangers become our friends and if you ignore this fact and _________ to be who and what you really are not, then you may _________ a lot of good friendships. Also, be wise and learn to __________ the right sort of people. This is important for your future.

Friends usually meet at places or go outside. Not only do you learn about their personalities and characters, you also __________ what hobbies they have. Your friends’ interests may become your interests. If you make friends with someone whose main activity is __________, you will most __________ want to work out too. If your circle of friends __________ people who lead a passive lifestyle and do not take care of themselves, it is very possible that you will sooner or later turn into a(n) __________ person.

10 . When I was 14, I invited some friends for a party at our home out in the country.

I planned it well, but something _________ happened.

When it was time for us to ride the bus, Nora, one of my friends, didn’t _________ I felt _________ Why would she tell me she’d come to the party and then _________ without letting me know? So, I decided to call Nora and get some _________, I needed no apologies but I demanded to know why.

Nora _________ she had to stay away from school because she was sick. Anger still seized me and I _________ to listen, “What kind of friend are you?”Nora began crying on the phone, hurt and surprised. For the rest of the school year, we _________ hung around again, and I forgot about my _________ call with Nora. __________ had happened   between us at some point, but I shrugged(抖肩)it off.

Years later, I began to reflect on that ugly phone conversation. Now, I __________ it. I recognized how selfish, and __________ I’d been, caring only about myself. I wanted to make things __________. I composed an apology letter to Nora and soon got her __________ So finally, we did bring a sad moment from the past to a __________ conclusion, healing both of us.