You never know how good your neighbors are until there’s an emergency.

It was after midnight when Clifford _________ to the sound of a noise next door. Outside, he saw that the house next to his was on fire, and there were three people _________. A mother with a teenager and a 5-year-old child were _________ for help inside the burning home. Unable to get down the stairs due to thick smoke and _________, the only way out of the big fire was through the window. Thinking fast, Clifford ran into his backyard and _________ an old mattress(床垫) out and placed it beneath the woman’s window.

“Come down, come down,” he called up to the family. He assured the panicked mother that he would _________ the child. In an act of _________ and desperation, the mother handed her child out of the _________—into Clifford’s arms. Next, it was the mother and the teenager’s turns. Luckily, their landings were _________.

Nine people are homeless after the house was __________. The Red Cross is working to help the victims recover from losing their home and __________. The house suffered about $1 million in damages, and the fire was so hot that it even melted the siding(墙板) of the house next to it. Two __________ from the Boston Fire Department suffered minor injuries.

After the big fire, Clifford was praised for his bravery. Later he said he was happy he could help the family __________ from the flames. He says the mother he saved was so __________ and she couldn’t stop thanking him for helping. It took a lot of courage for him to run towards that fire! Clifford didn’t think twice about running toward danger to help these __________. Everyone would all be fortunate to have a neighbor like him!

Emergency on the Mountain

Ana was a 12-year-old girl living in the mountain. Her ______ was to become a village nurse like Leta, her neighbor. She spent almost all her spare time reading the first-aid book by herself.

This morning, Leta went to Santiago to ______ a short-term training class by a group of volunteer doctors for first aiders to learn medical ______. Before she left, Ana begged Leta to take her along but Leta ______, saying that it was a ______ potato because Ana was too young to learn anything important. Ana was very ______, so she decided to wander around to refresh herself. On the hillside, she saw Rafi standing on a donkey’s bare back, some kids around him. Rafi was only 13, but he was always doing something to get attention. “No wonder adults don’t ______ kids with anything important”, Ana said to herself. She had just turned away when she heard a few ______ and Rafi fell off the donkey. Ana ran to where Rafi was lying and ______ that one of his legs bent a little sideways between the knee and the ankle and that all the other kids were ______ not knowing what to do. She remembered what the first-aid book said about broken legs.

“Vin!” Ana called to one of the boys. “Go and get Rafi’s mama and find someone with a truck.” She turned to the other kids. “Give me your shirts. We need something to ______ his leg with so it doesn’t move around.” Ana found a strong, straight stick, which she’d use to ______ his leg. She carefully wrapped the boys’ shirts around his leg and the stick. When Ana was done, Rafi came back to himself. Ana ______ comforted him until Rafi’s mama came over. Behind her was a neighbor in a pickup truck. They lifted Rafi into the truck, then drove down the dusty hillside toward the hospital.

The next day, Leta came to Ana’s home. “I heard what you did,” Leta said. “You kept your ______ in an emergency. That’s an important skill.” Ana’s face burned. “Now, listen. The volunteer doctors are coming here tomorrow with vaccines. We need some extra ______. Can you help?” Ana didn’t hesitate. “I would love to and I’ll bring my first-aid book.” Ana said excitedly.

In 2012, Laura Eshelman man was in the middle of a mental unsettlement. She was having ________ in finding work. “I was leaving a downtown business where I had another job application ________. I was feeling pretty ________ and decided to go to the Whole Foods across the street,” Eshelman recalled.

As she crossed the street, Eshelman ________ a man asking for money on the corner. But he was ________ by passersby. As Eshelman ________, he turned to her, and asked if he could have a little bit of money. She was ________ and said: “Leave me alone. I don’t have anything to give you. Get away!”

Eshelman ________ into the grocery store. But suddenly she realized how ________ she had been to the man. Eshelman rushed outside to find him. She apologized and ________ some coins from the bottom of her _________.

As she ________ him the change, the man said, “It’s OK. Everything ________ will disappear.” And all of a sudden, she felt like somebody was seeing her ________, and she started to cry.

“That moment on the street was one of the few ________ in that extremely dark period of my life,” Eshelman later said.