The second Sunday in May is a volunteer day in my neighborhood. Last year，my neighbors and I decided to ________in the cancer ward (病房)at the Royal Children’s Hospital. As Children’s Day was coming，the hospital wanted us to make some________ with children.

The day before we went to the hospital，many of us were feeling quite________. We didn’t know how we would react when seeing those sick________. As we were preparing morning tea for them at my home，I ________ some neighbors to make chocolate bread and candies.

We arrived early at the hospital and were greeted ________ by the staff-it was ________ to know that they were welcoming us and the brightness we would offer. Our first ________ was to offer morning tea to the children who seemed a bit shy—it seemed that nothing broke the________ better than candies!

It was then time to start making cards—we brought crayons，glue and shiny things to________the children! We talked with them and helped them make cards. It was surprising that our ________ immediately went away. Although they were seriously ill，they were ________. Most of them chose to use bright colors as they believed they would be ________ soon. For a time，we even________ they were ill.

We left the hospital when it was dark. Although we were tired，we were happy to see ________ on those children’s faces.

A little boy with polio (小儿麻痹症) always thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world. He _______ played with his classmates; when asked to answer questions, he always _______ his head without a word.

One spring, the boy’s father told his children to plant a sapling (幼树) each in the _______, adding, “Whose seedling _______ best, he or she will win a gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift, but seeing brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees _______, anyhow, he hit upon an idea that the tree he planted would die soon. So only watering it once or twice, he never _______ it.

A few days later, he was _______ to find it grew some fresh leaves, and compared with other trees, his tree appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his _______, bought him his favorite gift and said, “From the tree you planted, you would become a(n) _______ botanist when you grow up.”

Since then, the little boy gradually became __________. One night, he suddenly __________ what the biology teacher once said — plants generally grow at night. He came to the courtyard on tiptoe and found his father __________ under his tree with a ladle (长柄勺). Suddenly, he understood his father had been __________ watering his small tree! Tears ran down his face without __________.

Love is the best nourishment of life; even if it is just a ladle of clear water, it can make the tree of life __________.

I’ve been in an 18-year love-hate relationship with a black walnut (核桃) tree.

It’s a unique tree. In late September or early October, falling _______ as hard as baseballs are a potential _______ to the heads of you, your children, your neighbors and those that reside next door to them. Umbrellas are a _______ while dining in the garden in early August, and as for me, I wear my bike _______ while working in the garden.

The black walnut also _______ a chemical substance as a _______ strategy (策略) through its roots. It’s _______ to several common plants. There have been many new plant varieties that I brought home with _______ that maybe the black walnut would accept them, but they _______ to grow well.

Have I thought of ________ this giant pain in my tiny backyard? Yes, ________, cutting down this tree standing at 15 meters with an over 2-meter trunk is ________. It’s also protected under the law. Rightfully so. ________ are important to the urban forest and to numerous birds and insect species which ________ to healthy and biodiverse environment.

Sometimes I think about my life without the ________. I can’t imagine a spring without the ________ who arrive every year and noisily sing before dawn in the tree. I’d miss falling asleep on lazy weekend afternoons as I ________ into its leaves before the nuts are likely to fall at any time.

Every spring I often wonder: What are the chances of being ________ unconscious while barbecuing? Like any good relationship, I’ll never be satisfied. I’m stuck with this tree, so I give it the space it requires. In return, my walnut offers ________ to wildlife and a reminder that acceptance, ________ resistance, is the better way to be.