1 . My father was an ill-humored man. I knew he loved me and his love was _______. He just didn’t know how to express it.

One evening we went out for a night on the town. We were sitting in a famous restaurant that had a small but lively _______. When there came a familiar waltz tune (曲调) I decided to invite him for a dance. “Dad, you know I’ve never danced with you. I begged you but you _______ wanted to. How about right now?”

I waited for the usual _______. But instead he considered thoughtfully and then a surprising twinkle appeared in his eyes. “Let’s hit the floor and I’ll show you just what kind of moves an _______ guy like me can still make.”

My father took me in his arms and I felt overcome by _______. As we danced I _______ my father but he avoided my gaze (注视). “Dad,” I finally whispered, tears in my eyes, “why is it so hard for you to look at me?” At last his _______ dropped to my face and he studied me. “Because I love you so much,” he said. I was struck dumb (愣住) by his response. It wasn’t what I had _______. But it was of course exactly what I needed to hear. His own eyes were teary and he was blinking.

I had always known that he loved me. I just hadn’t understood that his deep emotion had ________ him and made him mute (沉默的). “I love you too, Dad!” I said softly. He stumbled over the next few words, “I’m sorry that I’m not good at showing feelings. It’s ________ for me, but just remember how much I love you.”

When the dance ended I excused myself to the ladies’ room and during my ________ everything changed. Dad fell down ________ in his chair. Everything was really all too ________. He was gone.

Now I still remember our waltz on the dance floor and his sudden confession (坦白) to me. It was indeed the first, last and only dance that I ever had with my father. What a blessing that we had the chance to say ________ it was too late.

To me, a hero is someone who goes out of his way to make others happy. My hero is Mr. Wright, my chorus teacher.

When I was 12 years old, my dear grandparents passed away. Losing them was the hardest thing I had to go through. It was as if my whole world had fallen down from under me, and I _______ into this huge hole of depression.

_______ I was battling depression, I was determined to make my high school years the best of my life. So I joined Women’s Choir. Mr. Wright was the choral director and he was so funny that the first day I knew I had made the best _______ of my life. As the year progressed, I began to smile again.

Then one day that all changed. My friends started talking about me behind my back. I was _______, and I sat by myself. Mr. Wright came over and asked what was wrong. The look in his eyes told me that I could trust him. Trying hard to _______ back tears, I told him the whole story.

When I finished, he told me, “If you never learn anything from me, learn this: No one is worth _______ your joy.” What Mr. Wright said really struck me. He _______ cared about me and what was going on. I’ll never be able to thank him enough, because he not only saved me but has _______ every day of it since. Any time I feel like giving up, I remember Mr. Wright’s words and _______.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet you, Mr. Wright. You are an __________ teacher, and I hope you realize that. You’re my hero.

4 . A little boy told his mother that there was a teacher-parent meeting in his school. To the little boy’s_________, she said she would go. This would be the first time that his classmates and teacher met his mother and he felt _________of her appearance. Although she was a beautiful woman, there was a severe scar (伤疤) that_________nearly the entire right side of her face. The boy never wanted to_________why or how she got the scar.

At the meeting, the people were _________by the kindness and natural beauty of his mother_________the scar, but the little boy was still embarrassed (尴尬的) and_________himself from everyone. He, however,_________ a conversation between his mother and his teacher.

The teacher asked_________, “How did you get the scar on your face?”

The mother replied, “When my son was a baby, he was in a room that caught fire. Everyone was too afraid to go in because the fire was out of__________, so I went in. As I was running toward his bed, I saw a piece of wood coming down and I placed myself over him trying to protect him. I was knocked __________but fortunately, a fireman came in and saved both of us.” She __________the burned side of her face. “This scar will be permanent, but until this day, I have never__________what I did.”

At this point, the little boy came out running toward his mother with tears in his eyes. He held her in his arms and appreciated her great __________of sacrifice (牺牲), He held her hand __________ for the rest of the day.

14.

A．honour

B．spirit

C．happiness

D．pride

5 . “I hate New Orleans! I wanna go home!” I _______ to my mother as we moved boxes. _______, going home was not easy because my home was 1,100 miles away.

I was born and _______ in Virginia. Virginia was my home, and I never expected that to _______. Last year, my parents decided to move to my mom’s hometown, New Orleans.

Only three months after my parents made the _______ to move, I found myself moving boxes into our new house. My announcement to my mother that I _______ the new environment was mostly due to the fact that I felt like my entire life had been turned upside down. Far away from almost everyone and everything I had ever known, I was _______. To make matters worse, I was starting high school in two weeks. Starting high school is a scary _______ on its own.

I spent my first few months in New Orleans, _______ wanting to go back to Virginia. But after that, I ________ that I had a choice. I could continue missing my old home, or I could start trying to build a new home right here. I ________ the latter.

As soon as I stopped giving all my ________ to how much I missed Virginia, I was able to begin accepting the love that local people were giving me. I joined some clubs at school, which gave me the chance to make friends. My neighbors taught me how to cook some local food, and I found a wonderful ________ of neighbors. Overall, I seized every possible opportunity to ________ myself and to rebuild my life.

Because of my resilience(适应力) in creating a new home for myself and the ________ that local people have shown to me, home is right here.

6 . Vanessa Bryant made her first public comment Wednesday since the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe Bryant and one of their daughters.

“We are completely devastated (摧毁) by the _________ loss of my adoring husband, Kobe—the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna—a loving, thoughtful and wonderful daughter, and amazing _________ to Natalia, Bianka and Capri,” Vanessa Bryant wrote.

The Bryants would have _________ their 19th wedding anniversary this April. They had four daughters including Natalia, Bianka, Capri and the 13-year-old Gianna who died in the crash.

“There aren’t _________ words to describe our pain right now,” Vanessa Bryant wrote. “I take _________ in knowing that Kobe and Gianna both knew that they were so deeply loved. We were so fortunate to have them in our _________. I wish they were here with us _________. They were our beautiful blessings _________ from us too soon.”

“I’m not sure what our lives hold _________ today, and it’s impossible to __________ life without them,” Vanessa Bryant continued. “But we wake up each day, __________ to go ahead because Kobe, and our baby girl, Gigi, are shining on us to __________ the way. Our love for them is __________. I just wish I could hug them, __________ them and have them here with us right now.”

In the meanwhile, Vanessa Bryant asked for continued __________ of her family’s privacy as it is “going through this new reality”.

7 . Far from a Family Christmas

My Air Force room in Florida was empty and quiet—I was alone. My five roommates were gone for the holidays;   I had chosen to remain behind in the camp. Being young and far from my home, I felt _______. My room was comfortable enough, _______ I hadn’t realized until then what made it so—the _______ of others walking, joking or just lying on their beds.   

I was not able to sleep. I was _______ of being on my own—in fact, I preferred it at times—but tonight was poor. Tossing and turning in the darkened room gave no _______. The last sign of daylight had disappeared, _______ my inner sadness. Besides, the glow of Christmas lights on the tall pines would only _______ me of my great misery (痛苦).   

_______, I heard weak sound of men attempting to sing. Yes, the voices grew louder and came my way. I _______ still, enjoying the sound.   

In the corridor (通道, 走廊) ________ my room, voices came near enough for me to hear Christmas carols (颂歌) being offered. Suddenly, there, four airmen, identities unknown, were slightly unsteadied (摇晃) by holiday ________. The first held a Coke bottle with a lit candle ________ its top. The others formed a dancing line behind him.   

________ I was in the room, with joyful faces in the flickering (摇曳的) light, they sang me several carols, ________ me a merry Christmas and left as fast as they had arrived.   

I slept soundly soon after, burying my face in my pillow, ________ that someone had cared.

10 . Research confirms that performing acts of kindness and sharing thankful thoughts have many positive effects on mood and health. They are among the top five predictors of happiness. When you feel thankful for something, that's gratitude. You never get it out of ________; you are clear who or what is responsible, whether that's a loved one, a stranger, or a higher power. Gratitude is how you ________ to others when you see yourself in connection with things larger than yourself. However, this understanding of our reliance on others is becoming more ________ today. With commercial and social media, everything makes the younger generation feel that they are the ________ of the universe. If it's all about them, why thank others?

If true, there would be a disturbing ________ trend. Canadian researchers found that people who wrote thank-you letters or performed good deeds for a six-week period decreased their pain, upped their energy, and improved their mental health. And you can ________ these benefits at any age. Old people who choose to be thankful are less likely to worry about their ________ health.

Gratitude tends to be easily spread, as well. Those who are helped are more likely to pay kindness ________. One study found that when someone is thanked, it more than doubles his or her chances of being helpful again, likely because he or she enjoys feeling socially ________.

If you aren't particularly grateful now, you can learn to be. People who keep a journal of three positive things that happen to them each day ________ health-inducing thankfulness. At first, it may be difficult to recognize the good things that occur. But ________, your brain gets trained into a more appreciative mode. And in the end, the journal becomes a book of joyful ________. Gratitude training certainly comes to your aid during the dark times because a greater ________ for life is the part you focus on.

Sharing your gratefulness directly with the person you feel grateful to, the benefits of happiness ________. You don't need a scientific study to know that showing and accepting gratitude can ensure you an ________ life, a much better life than you thought.