During my quiet moments, I often think back to the days when my children were young. Life was hard and very ________ for me then, because I had a(n) ________ and challenging job. I worked from morning to night.

Then I was ill in hospital. After I _________, I went back to work, only to be told I would be _________. The company was making budget (预算) cuts, and ________ to lay off (下岗) some workers. I was one of them. My boss handed me an envelope (信封). I was ________ when I opened it and saw the check (支票) I had received. It was ________ enough to get us over the difficult time. I was ________ , though, and left the company.

Every coin has two sides. Then my children and I had the ________ of our lives as a result of my getting laid off. I ________ a great deal of money on childcare, and we discovered how much ________ we could have on a small amount of money. We did all kinds of activities and led a ________ and happy life together.

The week before my unemployment benefits ended, I found a part-time job at a local pharmacy (药房). I ________ during the hours my sons were in school. I kept the job for eight years. The ________ I got there enabled me to find a similar job ________ I moved to another town.

When I think back to the days I ________ my job, I realize that although I was sad then, it was the ________ thing that had ever happened to me. ________ being laid off, I had the ________ to spend quality time with my children, and even to find a more ________ job to balance my role as mother and employee.

In 2019, Thierry Henry, a bus driver, found there was a rise in bike thefts in his city, Reykjavik. Rather than ________ that the bike was gone forever, he decided to take matters into his own hands and started to track down the bikes and return them to their ________ owners.

The 44-year-old has helped return hundreds of stolen bikes in the past 4 years. His social media account has over 14, 500 members and helps people track down more than just lost bikes. His page ________ to people who have lost tools, cars and other items of high value. On top of his noble act, Henry has helped the bike ________ to reform in the process.

________, Henry would deal with the thieves with anger. However, over time, he realized that most of the thefts were driven out of poverty and other issues. He went from feeling ________ towards the thieves, to developing empathy (同理心) for their situations. It was very tough at first. But Henry decided to try to ________ them and just talk to them.

From this moment onward, he reached out to the thieves, offering help and guidance. After the change in his ________, Henry found that the bike thieves began to often hand back the bikes to him. Amazingly, some former thieves that Henry helped now ________ him in looking for the stolen bikes.

“It’s like a ________ that has got bigger and bigger, ” says Henry. “It’s not only me. Many times, someone spots a bike hidden in a bush and takes a picture. Then someone else comments, ‘hey, that’s my bike’”.

Thanks to Henry, everyone’s looking out.

In the front of our yard stood a big red pine tree, which looked really beautiful. For 20 years, it was a beauty which _________ all who passed by. It shaded (遮蔽) the bright sun over my small _________of roses that I had _________ for bees.

Early last year, a heavy snowfall _________ our city. While we were enjoying a quiet Saturday morning, the house shook and we heard a loud crash. The _________ had fallen, taking out most of the rose bushes in our yard. So we called forestry _________, who cut off its branches and took the _________away. There were wood shavings (木屑) and holes _________. The yard was in a mess.

In March, I _________ a few new rose seedlings (幼苗) from the market to replace those that I thought hadn’t lived. But in May, plenty of new __________ were growing in the yard! As the __________ shone down, the flowers were able to grow and attract __________ again. Once more, our yard __________ a beautiful garden!

Life might be hard for you at the moment, but you never __________ what the future will be. It might just be much __________.