Linda was a new comer in the neighbourhood. She 【小题1】 (stay) all week at home suffering from severe flu when early one morning, there was a knock on the door. Two young ladies were demurely holding leaflets and a TV set model. She impatiently informed them she wasn’t interested in any TV and abruptly shut the door. A few hours later, the same two ladies were back again with homemade chicken soup. Linda was quite taken aback by this lovely gesture. Being new to the area, she didn’t know many neighbors who could assist her with shopping or errands so the gesture 【小题2】 (appreciate). How touching this deed was, especially in today’s world 【小题3】 sadly, kindness and thoughtfulness seem so rare.

Last summer, Katie Steller was on her way to work. She stopped at a traffic light, where a man, in his 60s, 【小题1】 (apparent)looking out of luck, was sitting alone. She rolled down her window.“Hey!”she shouted.“I’m driving around to give free haircuts, Do you want one right now?”The man, missing a few teeth, paused and laughed.“Actually,”he said,“at this time tomorrow, I【小题2】(attend)a funeral(葬礼)of my friend. I was really hoping to get my hair cut.”

Then, Steller unloaded a red chair from the car. The man, named Edward, took a seat. As his curly graying hair was being cut by Steller, he told her about growing up in Mississippi, about moving to Minnesota, and no matter【小题3】busy he was, he still talked to his mom over the phone every day. He said his family consisted【小题4】four people and that he had been living in Minnesota for about ten years. The【小题5】(interact)between them was very relaxing and constructive.

Steller knows that a haircut can change a life. One changed hers: As a teen, she suffered from ulcerative colitis(溃疡性结肠炎)that was so serious, her hair thinned severely. Seeing this, her mother arranged for Steller’s first professional haircut.

“To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just a sick person helped me feel cared about and less alone,”she says.

After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own hair salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day. Not long after finishing cosmetology school(美容学校)in 2016, she realized her dream. Two years later, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project,【小题6】(reach)out to people on the streets.

Steller said,“As you know, I can’t have their problems【小题7】(fix), but maybe I can help【小题8】(they)feel less alone for a moment.”Steller listens to people’s stories of loss, addiction, and struggle to get back on their feet.

An offshoot(衍生物)of the Red Chair Project is the Steller Kindness Project, in which people who commit acts of kindness are invited for a free makeover(美容)at Steller’s salon, In exchange, they tell their stories, which Steller shares on her website. It is her hope that by reading about kind acts, others will be inspired to do their own.

【小题9】is evident that it has been working well.“You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give to them. Kindness and generosity can contribute to a【小题10】(harmony)society,”says Steller.

Most young boys don’t like growing flowers and watering them. But for 16-year-old Angus, working in the garden isn’t just 【小题1】 hobby - it has changed his life.

Angus has a special illness, 【小题2】 IQ is lower than a normal boy. Six months ago, he started learning how to grow flowers. Now, he spends hours in the garden growing flowers, watering and 【小题3】 (look) after them. “【小题4】 he worked in the garden, it was difficult for Angus to concentrate in class and sometimes he didn’t want to go to school,” said his mother Kim. “Now he can’t wait 【小题5】 (go) to school and he is happy every day. We can see Angus is able to work in a garden center in the future.”

Research shows that working in the garden improves mental and physics health. In the past, soldiers in Egypt 【小题6】 (treat) their mental problems after war by working in the garden. Even now, some doctors advise people to work in the garden to treat their mental health problems. And doctors also advise young people 【小题7】 Angus to work in the garden.

The lives of hundreds of 【小题8】 (child) in Britain with special needs, like Angus, 【小题9】 (change) by this special kind of education in the recent years. When working in the garden, they have a chance to learn a lot of important skills, such as how to work with other people and how to take care of plants. Besides, they become 【小题10】 (confidence) after working in the garden.