We were a group of people who took a bus to work every day. One of the _____ was a small old man who took the bus to the health centre every morning. He always _____ behind the driver. No one ever paid much _____ to him.

But one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled at others. The driver nodded. The rest of us were _____ as usual.

The next day, the old man got on the bus and said in a loud voice, “A very good _____ to you all!” Some of us looked up, _____, and said, “Good morning.” From then on he said good morning to us every day and we began to _____ to each other.

One morning he had some flowers in his hand. The driver turned around _____ and asked, “Are these for me, Charlie?” We never got to know if his name was really “Charlie”, _____ he waved the flowers and said yes. People laughed. Every morning after that Charlie always ______ a flower.

Until one morning Charlie wasn’t ______ at his usual stop. And he wasn’t there the next day and the day after that. What might have happened to him? When we came nearer to the health centre, a woman ______ the driver to wait a moment. We all held our ______ when she went to the door.

She said she knew who we were talking about. The elderly gentleman was sick. We ______ him back on Monday.

The next Monday when Charlie got on the bus, all of us who he had brought happiness to in that summer sat with a ______ in our hands.

I had a student today who got his finger stuck inside a test tube in science class. It was really quite stuck. This young man’s finger ________to get whiter and whiter right before my eyes.

Remaining________, I suggested he carefully rotate (转动) the tube. It wouldn’t move a bit. He ________ soap and cold water. Still stuck. Meanwhile ________ was breaking out in the class. Finally, I ________ the young man to our secretary who was a miracle worker raising three kids of her own. With her in charge, I was________ all would be OK.

To get the students back in order, I shared my own story of getting my knee stuck between the rails of a balcony. Same kind of curiosity, I remembered ________ then how far I could thrust ( 塞 ) my knee between the rails. Inch by inch, I kept pushing and________ I knew it, my knee was stuck and ________ before my eyes and in front of lots of ________ at a popular Las Vegas hotel!

Hearing my story, many students followed with their own stories of heads, arms, fingers stuck in places they shouldn’t________. A few minutes later, the young man came back, test tube unbroken and finger________ to a lovely shade of pink.

I just couldn’t get mad at this kid. He’s only twelve. I too got my knee unstuck, but not without great ________ . The excuse for me, however, was not ________ but plain stupidity. I was________ fifty years old when this happened.

The moon had gone behind a cloud and there weren’t many stars in the sky. As I took a glance (一瞥) at my neighbour’s house, I saw a flame (火焰) in his _________. I thought he was having a midnight fast food so l went back to my bed.

Soon, there was a _________ smell in the air and I guessed something was wrong. At once, I jumped out of bed and went downstairs to _________. I saw fire coming out of my neighbour’s kitchen. Right away, I shouted, “Fire! Fire!” But there was no one nearby to _________ my shouts for help.

I _________ into my house, called the Fire Department and went back to my neighbour’s house. I rang the doorbell, hit on the door and _________ my neighbour’s name but there was no answer. I managed to _________ the house and rescued a cat and a rabbit.

I tried to throw water through the kitchen window _________ it was no use; the fire was too strong. _________, a fire engine arrived and soon the firemen put out the fire. They arrived just in time as the fire was going to ____________ to the other rooms in the house.

When my neighbour came back, he was __________ because his kitchen was burnt down, but he thanked me for calling the Fire Department and for saving his __________. He wanted to give me some money __________ but I did not accept it.

Weeks later, my neighbour repaired and restored his kitchen. He __________ me to see his new kitchen and there he gave me a medal that he had __________ ordered from a factory. It made me very happy.