The other day, I had an experience of giving and receiving!

It had come to my ___ that a lady was going into hospital for an extended period of time. The hospital had ___ her with a list of clothing items needed in the rehab (康复治疗) program for her ___. Because she lived on a very limited ___, she didn’t know how she could afford the required ___. I had extra clothes that were her size, so I ___ the freshly washed clothing, added several articles for daily use, and ___ them to her. When I presented the ___ to her, she was completely caught off guard (措手不及). ___ the extra clothes will make her recovery a bit easier and less ____!

On the same day, I had heard about a bolt of fabric (布料) for sale and made ____ to pick it up. When I went into the fabric store, the woman who ____ the store spontaneously (一时冲动地) decided to give me the bolt of fabric ____. Now I was the one who was completely caught off guard! One of her relatives then ____ to drive me to get the fabric, and her husband even carried the ____ roll of fabric out to the car for me!

Not only had I ____ expected to pay for the fabric, but I had also ____ to take a long bus ride to get it and carry it home. I was so ____ to have suddenly received such a(n) ____ gesture from not just the store owner, but also her husband and her relative.

I guess what goes around really does ____!

On a trip to California, my family stopped for lunch. As we walked toward the entrance to the restaurant, a man, with a _________ beard and dirty hair, jumped up from a bench outside the restaurant and opened the door for us. Regardless of his _________, he greeted us in a friendly way.

Once inside, my daughters whispered, “Mom, he smells.” After we ordered our lunch, I explained, telling the kids to look _________ the dirt. We then watched other customers approach the restaurant but many ignored him. Seeing this rudeness truly upset me. The day I became a mother, I had determined to set a good _________ to my children. Yet sometimes when things didn’t go right, being a good example was _________. When our meal arrived, I realized I had left the car­sick pills in the truck. With the windiest trip ahead, the kids needed them, so I _________ myself from the meal and went to get them.

Just then, the “doorman” was opening the door for a couple. They rushed past him without even acknowledging his _________. Letting them in first, I said aloud “thank you” to him as I _________.

When I returned, we talked a bit. He said he was not allowed inside _________ he purchased food. I went back and told my family his __________. Then I asked our waitress to add one soup and sandwich.

The kids looked puzzled as we had already eaten, but when I said the order was for the “doorman”, they smiled. When it was time to __________ our trip, I found the “doorman” enjoying his meal. Upon seeing me, he stood up and thanked me heartily. He then reached out his hand for a handshake and I gratefully accepted. I suddenly noticed the tears in his eyes—tears of __________. What happened next drew great astonishment: I gave the “doorman” a __________！He pulled away, with tears rolling down his face.

Back in truck, I fell into deep thought. While we can't choose many things in life, we can choose when to show gratitude. I said thanks to a man who had __________opened a door for me, and also said thanks for that __________ to teach my children by example.

I once worked as a PE teacher. One day, my left arm got severely ________ in a crash, and it was later amputated (截肢) below my elbow.

Back home after the operation, I found everything a ________ . My husband Owen tried to help me with things, but I wanted to be ________ . I called my left arm Stumpy and tried to ________ .

I really wanted to get back into ________ . Figuring that getting active would aid my ________ , I started going to the gym. First I tried to swim and got to the ________ of the 25 m lane. Then I tried triathlon (铁人三项). I learned how to ________ the bike with one arm and started running again. Within a year, I ________ New Zealand’s first athlete with disabilities to win silver medals at the Paratriathlon World Cup.

I began ________ the youth with physical disabilities to get into sports for the disabled through ________ action. In 2020, I got a bronze medal after competing in the first qualification race for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. ________ , when COVID-19 hit, all travel plans stopped. Thus I decided to do New Zealand’s ________ event, the Coast to Coast.

Generally, the ________ run for 36 km, cycle for 70 km and go kayaking (划皮艇) for 50 km from Kumara Beach on the South Island’s West Coast to Christchurch’s New Brighton Beach. I ________ hard over the next six months. Kayaking with Stumpy was very painful, but I tried not to let it ________ me. At the three-day event, I ________ the finish line. At the last few kilometers, I heard loud ________ . So many people came to support me.

People are surprised that the three years since having my arm amputated have been the ________ of my life. I think life is short, but things can ________ in a heartbeat.