In a warm home, a young girl named Shireen was busily preparing for a special occasion. As she tiptoed (踮着脚走) to tie a balloon, hunger was evident in her eyes. How did her family do this every year? It was so hard to go without food or drink from lunch until sunset. She found this period especially challenging, because today also turned out to be her grandfather Babajoon’s birthday.

Suddenly the phone rang. Shireen answered to find her friend Amy on the other end, inviting her to the park. “Can I join Amy and Maya? They want to show me their new toys,” Shireen begged her mom. Understanding the struggle of Shireen, her mother gently replied, “Sorry, sweetie. You’ll get tired and thirsty running around in the sun, especially on an empty stomach.”

Disappointed, Shireen felt angry, thinking of her friends enjoying themselves. The burst of hunger and anger made Shireen question the significance of giving up meals of the period. Realizing Shireen’s upset, her mom explained that the most important thing was to know how it felt to be hungry, allowing them to understand those less lucky people’s feeling and experiences and developed compassion (同情).

To cheer Shireen up, her mom suggested baking a birthday cake for her grandfather. Her dad was passing by and heard their conversation. He considered it a bad idea, fearing that it would be too hard for Shireen on an empty stomach. However, Shireen had made her mind. She wanted to surprise Babajoon with a cake, not just any cake, but a beautiful chocolate one.

Shireen and her mom set out the materials: cocoa powder, sugar, flour (面粉),eggs and butter. Her mom selected the cocoa and flour. Shireen measured sugar into the mixer and added the butter. She liked watching the mixer turn the separate materials into a soft yellow paste. She cracked the eggs one by one into the bowl. “Oops! There’s some shell.” Shireen tried getting it out with a spoon.

The process of making the cake brought moments of joy.

Finally evening approached.

3 . On any given weekend, young people get together for an evening of fun, but not me. I am a _________. While my friends are socializing at get-togethers, I work in the dining room. It is 8:00 p.m. and I _________ the restaurant and take in all the action—people from all _________ of life interacting with each other.

In the left corner of the restaurant are several small round tables, and at this moment, they are all _________. At one table sits a couple. The woman is _________ playing with the diamond ring on her left hand. Are they _________? The man is holding his cup tightly. The woman anxiously begins to tear her _________ into tiny pieces, not for tears.

In the center of the dining room things are _________. Five men in their thirties and forties are sitting around a table. One guy whispers something to the guy next to him, and the other three insist that these two _________ what they are whispering about. __________ one of them will touch the table a few times to __________ a particular point.

In the far right corner of the restaurant, a middle-aged man is sitting on his own. Although he is __________ he is definitely not lonely. His cell phone has not __________ his ear since he came in. I cannot tell whether his phone call is __________ or pleasure because he alternates from serious tones to lighthearted chuckles. Every once in a while, he asks his server to __________ his cup of coffee. He adds sugar and stirs his coffee rather loudly, but the noisy clinking of the __________ against his coffee cup is __________ out by the music that is being played.

This is my job. I take food orders and __________ people, from couples’ fighting to people having a good time talking. My job might not be the most __________ rewarding job in the world, but every night I learn something new about human __________. That makes me happy.

4 . A man being called a “hero” rescued a 7-year-old girl Wednesday evening, who was ________ wandering alone in Englewood neighborhood. 46-year-old Tony Taylor ________ the girl near 59th Street and Halsted at approximately 5 p. m. without a coat or shoes.

“I did what anyone should have done,” Taylor said. “I jumped out of my ________ in traffic, stopped traffic, took my coat off, ________ and I called 911. Her feet were ________ and she was just crying and crying trying to walk through the snow. I asked the girl her name and she couldn’t ________ . Her mouth was ________ so badly.”

Taylor put the ________ in his car to warm up next to his 5-year-old daughter, and his daughter hugged the girl, ________ her they were going to pray for her. “She just looked at me and said, ‘Mister I love you’ and I said ‘I love you too.’ I said ‘you will be ________ and I called help and help is ________ .’ And she just said. ‘Thank you,’” Taylor said.

The 7-year-old told Taylor she did not want to return home because she said her parents ________ suddenly. The girl said she had left her ________ home, according to officials. Police said the girl was transported to Comer Children’s ________ for body check. Taylor ________ praise from people across the community for his ________ .

“This could have been a total ________ situation. We could have been standing here today offering rewards for a ________ child. But ________ we are standing here praising Taylor and his wife,” community police officer Early Walker said. Taylor and his wife said Thursday that they are interested in ________ the 7-year-old girl once she is out of the hospital.

5 . It was a good day to fly a kite with the warm sun and the right wind. However, one lonely kite looking worried and _________ preferred to stay in the back of a closet. He didn’t like flying. You see, the higher the flight, the _________ the fall. It was that which _________ the kite most of all.

At 2:00 pm, his boy opened the closet door. “Come on,” said the boy, “It’s the _________ kite day.” As they came to the park there were happy kids everywhere flying kites that sailed _________ high in the air.

The boy started _________ to get the kite going. He ran all through the _________ while other kids stared at his kite that dragged and _________.He heard a boy _________, “That kite must either be stupid or __________.” Kneeling, the boy thoughtfully asked the kite, “Why don’t you fly? Are you afraid?” With all of his pride, the kite tried to __________ it, but the look in his eyes told the boy he had guessed it.

Then with a kind smile, the boy said, “Everyone gets __________, but Dad says that’s okay. And by facing __________ boldly we can scare some away. That’s how it was with me and my bike. Maybe biking and flying are a little __________.” The light of hope that shone in the boy’s eye made the kite decide to give flying a try.

The boy started running to give the kite __________. Instead of fighting the wind the kite gave himself to it. At first he was careful not to __________ down. Then he __________ and saw the whole town! Gathering courage, he made a great loop-the-loop in the __________. Every child was squinting to watch that kite sail.

In the sky, the kite learned facing fears boldly can scare some away. To __________ at new things, you must be willing to grow. That means not holding back but __________.