One hot summer day, a young couple and their four-year-old daughter, Tzippie, were on their way to the mountains for a few weeks’ vacation. Suddenly, a huge truck in the oncoming road, _______ into the family’s small car. The family were seriously _______ in the accident. They were immediately taken to the _______ hospital, where Tzippie was brought to the children’s ward (病房)and her parents were taken to the ICU. Tzippie was not only in great pain, but she was also very _______ because her parents were not nearby to give her comfort.

Martha, the _______ who looked after Tzippie, understood Tzippie’s fear and _______ and became very _______ to her. After many _______ of treatment in hospital, the family was allowed to go home. There was a_______ parting as Tzippie and the loving nurse said good-bye to each other. For a few months the family ________ a close relationship with Martha. When they moved overseas, ________, they lost touch with each other.

Over thirty years passed. One winter Martha, who was now ________ her seventies, became seriously ill and was hospitalized. There was a certain nurse on duty who noticed that Martha had very ________ visitors. She tried her best to give the elderly lady special care. One night when the nurse was sitting near her elderly patient and they were chatting quietly, she told the patient what had ________ her to become a nurse.

Now, you can guess the end of the story. Kindness seems to be able to find its way back to the giver because life really is all about giving, receiving and ________.

My history with music was not good. I still remembered when I took my short-lived piano lessons, my grandfather said _________ to my grandmother, “Why didn't he make any progress with much practice?” I _________to make my piano performance attractive. However, my efforts were _________ .

So I gave up playing any musical instrument until my old friend Leroy _________ me to play the violin with him when I was 57. It made me enjoy the joy of playing music again. One day, Leroy _________ a text informing me that there was a music performance and he wanted me to join him. Thinking of my past, I _________ his invitation. I expected to hear his words that I would become _________with practice on stage. But he said, “OK, only play if you want to.” I was totally _________by the unexpected answer and made no ___________ except to tell him goodbye.

No one was forcing me to participate(参加), but I faced a special ______________. Should I play on stage or just watch a movie? I had chosen the “movie route” too many times and this time I was ______________to grasp the opportunity. After a long and careful ______________, I played my violin with Leroy. ______________I didn’t lose all my nervousness, it was enough for me to overcome my fear. Finally, I ______________a full performance in front of the audience.

A short time later, my friend Leroy passed away, but his ______________ stayed. It helped me not only in music, but in all aspects of life. When I focused on what I wanted to do, fear will be replaced with joy.

When I was a boy growing up, we lived across a river from the main road next to a set of rail road tracks. The only way to our house was across a _______. Our only neighbor, Frankie, lived in a(n)_______house on the hillside behind our home. His house, _______, was over a hundred years old.

Frankie was already nearly 80 years old when I was _______. He was a first generation, Italian immigrant who had never married. He had _______on the railroad for over 40 years before retiring but still worked hard every day. I would watch him with _______grow plants on hillsides. Frankie was _______by today’s standards. He had no electricity or running water and would _______once a week with water he boiled. I never seemed to_______the smell when I visited him, though. His ________remained broken even after all his years in America but somehow I never had any trouble ________him.

Frankie also ________ me in my spiritual growth. He did this mainly by ________. He never lectured or taught. He just showed me how to live with honesty, kindness, and goodness. He showed me the joy of nature, the ________that can come from just sitting outside on a sunny day.

When Frankie ________, we found he had over 40,000 dollars in the bank, a ________at that time, from a lifetime of saving. It was sent to his brothers and sisters________living in Italy. We often wondered why he hadn’t used it to buy a better home and live more ________. Looking back now, however, I know the ________. He had food, shelter, clothes, and warmth both in his house and in his spirit. He ________nothing more to be happy in his life.