It was a few days before Christmas many years ago. It looked like it would be a poor one for my family. The factory where I was working had laid off (解雇) many of us workers, so we didn’t have much ________. My wife and I had saved cash to buy our young children some toys, but an unexpected car repair had taken most of our cash. We decided that we could only ________ to get one small gift for each of our children.

We arrived at the ________, walked down the parking lot and saw people putting gifts into their ________. We searched all through the store ________ to find one thing each of our small children would like. ________, we were able to get one for each of them. We ________ the checkout (结账台), bought the toys and were surprised that we even had a few dollars ________. As we walked out of the store into the winter ________, I stopped and dropped those ________ into the charity box (慈善箱). I didn’t have a dime (一角硬币) left but that didn’t ________. Suddenly, it felt like Christmas.

I think the wonderful actress Dale Evans ________ it best when she said: “Christmas, my child, is love in ________.” It doesn’t have to be a gift of money, either. When we ________ our smile, it’s Christmas. When we give others our ________ and compassion (同情), it’s Christmas. When we do anything at any time to help another, it’s Christmas. May you do all you can to make it Christmas every day of the year and every day of your life here.

I know what courage looks like. I saw it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now when I look back can I _______ it without tears filling eyes.

Our flight _______ the Orlando Airport one morning. But immediately upon take-off, it was _______ that something was wrong. The aircraft was bumping (颠簸) up and down. All the _______ travellers looked around with knowing smiles. If you _______ much, you see these things and learn to act _______ about them. However, we did not remain calm for long.

Minutes after we were _______ , our plane began falling quickly. The pilot soon made a serious _______ . “Attention, please! We are having some difficulties. Our indicators show that the control system has _______ . We will return to the Orlando Airport. Our ________ will prepare you for a bumpy landing.” In other words, we were about to crash. Many travellers looked visibly ________ now. No one faces death without fear, I thought.

Then several rows to my left, I heard a woman’s voice, speaking in a(n) ________   conversational tone. All around, people cried. Many ________ . Finally, in this chaos I saw her talking to her child. The woman, was ________ at the face of her daughter, who looked four years old. The child listened closely, sensing the ________ of her mother’s words. The mother’s gaze (凝视) held the child so fixed that she seemed ________ by the sounds around her.

Finally, I ________ over and could hear this soft sure voice with the tone of ________ . Over and over again, the mother said, “I love you. Remember, whatever happens, I love you always.” Fortunately, our landing gear (起落架) held at last and our touchdown was not a(n) ________ .

However, the voice I heard that day never ________ .That mom showed me what a real hero looks like.

When danger strikes, firefighters are heroes who put their lives at risk to keep everyone safe. But in ________ moments, they can also go the extra mile for someone with something so simple yet ________. This is especially heartwarming when children are at the receiving end of their ________. Now, a firefighter went out of his way to make sure that a kid didn’t feel ________ when their team spent a day with some local children.

A video shows a(n) ________ between some kids and a firefighter. To make the experience more ________, the children are all wearing red firefighter helmets (头盔) — except one. Her locks are in a high ponytail (马尾辫), ________ her from putting her helmet on. That’s when a young firefighter ________, bringing out his tool to cut a ________ in the child’s tiny helmet.

The firefighter is ________ by the kid’s older cousin, who dutifully ________ his fingers out to mark the width of his cousin’s hairdo. The other kid then puts the helmet on his friend, making sure her hair ________ through the hole — and it does! Happy with the result, she shares a fist bump (碰) with the firefighter, ________ showing off a brand new firefighter helmet.

What passes for a small ________ — a firefighter creating a helmet in several seconds — can make a big ________ to a kid’s confidence. This small act brought visible joy to the child and made her feel welcome in an otherwise lonely moment.