When I was 13,my family moved. Mary and I kept in___through letters, and we saw __on special occasions—like my wedding and ___.Soon we were busy___children and moving to new homes, and we wrote less___.One day a card that I ___came back stamped “Address Unknown”.I had no ____how to find Mary.

Over the years, I thought of Mary often. I wanted to 1__stories of my children and then grandchildren. I needed to share my sorrow when my brother and then my mother died. There was an ____place in my heart that only a friend like Mary ____fill.

One day I was reading a newspaper ____I noticed a picture of a young woman 1__looked a lot like Mary and whose last name was Wagman—Mary’s married name.“There must be thousands of Wagmans，” I thought,but I wrote to her ____.

She called as soon as she got my letter.“Mrs Tobin！” she said ____，“Mary Allen Wagman is my mother.” Minutes later I heard a voice that I ____at once, even after 50 years. We laughed and cried and asked about each other’s lives.

Now the empty place in my heart is ___，and there’s one thing that Mary and I know____： we won’t lose each other again!

On my first day of the sixth grade, I noticed one little girl called Amy on the school bus. “Don’t ________ her,” Lauren said, who sat beside me. “Or they will make fun of you.”

Amy had many _________ differences — lots of reasons for other kids to make fun of her. Her eyes weren’t straight. Her glasses were an inch thick. And she had really ugly teeth.

Every day__________ we drove to and from school, kids would shout insults (侮辱) at Amy. “God, what a (n) ______face! Stop looking at me!” “Mr. Rolland (the driver)! Amy took off her __________, and now her eyes are ________ me! Make her put them back on!” For a while I shouted my share of insults, just so I would fit in (合群). ________, I didn’t want them to treat me the same way they treated Amy.

But while I was insulting her, my heart ________ for the girl. I could see that the insults were making her look _________, because she was so ashamed ( 羞愧) and alone. Then I wanted to_________ her. I just didn’t know how to stop my schoolmates ________ the night of our class roller-skating party.

Our whole class was there, including Amy. Amy didn’t know how to ________, but I could see how much she wanted to__________like the rest of us. So I skated over to her and took her by the hand; we began the journey together around the skating rink (溜冰场). She just smiled, and sometimes she would laugh in________.

On the school bus the next morning there was much news about Amy and me _________ together, _________ nobody insulted her or me. And they didn’t do that for the rest of the year.

After graduation, I never _________ Amy again. However, I never forget her and I have always _________ if I changed her life for the better. But I know for sure she changed my _________. After becoming her friend, I no longer tried to impress (给……留下印象) people by trying to _________ like them. I became myself.

After getting married nine years ago, I moved to an absolutely new town._________as I was, with various new things to explore, I was still lonely. I was desperate to establish_________.

This could explain my enthusiastic "Count me in!" when_________to participate in a half marathon. Considering my usual 3 miles, I must have been_________—13 miles seemed a（n）_________task.

However, the initial_________gradually wore off. I found comfort in burying myself in training. Though taking it slow, one mile, and then two, I gradually made_________. Mile after mile, I managed to step beside my new friends. We talked about our favorite music and_________funny stories about our children. At about mile 10, the conversations_________. We shared our past and hopes for our future, our fears and regrets. By the time we were running 12-mile legs, I was__________that I'd made lifelong friends.

__________, the day of the race arrived. At the start line, armed with my friends, I already felt like a champion. My time training had__________. I managed to hold a steady pace and kept up with my__________. Finally, we crossed the finish line together.

Although it started as a__________of building social ties, running not only provided me with friendships, but with a skill that would__________me the rest of my life.