I once stopped behind several cars，waiting at the red light. The wind blew fiercely. Ahead of me stood a young woman alongside the street rubbing her bare hands together and dancing to keep _______. Beside her rested a sign that read，“I have a baby and no _______.”

Homeless and unemployed people are a _______ sight in many of our large cities，and most people drive by without _______ assistance. No doubt they have been _______ that giving them money develops a dependent _______，or that the cash may be used to buy alcohol _______ the food it was intended for. Like me，they may have been taught that one should give money to a local charity，as these organizations can _______ those in need far more effectively.

As I waited for the light to tum green，I felt _______ about that woman. She was ________ in need. And whether or not she actually had a baby really didn't ________. What should I do？

Should I give her money？As I ________，the window of the car in front of me was ________ down and a hand reached out holding a pair of warm gloves. The driver ________ her own gloves and gave them to the woman. I saw the young woman ________ the words“Thank you”and a broad smile lit up her face.

As I hesitated，somebody else ________. As I tried to decide the best way to help，somebody else just did what she could. I made myself a（n）________ that day to always do something. Whether it is big or small，just do something.

Something is almost always better than nothing！Too often we underestimate（低估）the ________ of a touch，a smile，a kind word，a listening ear，or the smallest act of ________，all of which have the ________ to turn a life around.

When I was a kid, the very thing that aroused my interest about New Year's Eve was trying to stay wake until midnight. My parents didn't force me to go to bed early. However, I usually fell asleep before the New Year arrives. It wasn't until my 10th birthday when I could stay up late but was able to cheer with the rest of the family. I woke up happily next morning. When asking if I wanted to make a New Year's wish, I said I would try to fight less with my brother. Unfortunately, the wish was lasted only until dinner time. The reason was that my brother and me got into an argue about who would set the table.

The Italian dinners we had every Sunday when I was a boy were feasts fit for a king. There 【小题1】（be）loaves of Italian bread ready to be eaten. They were great with butter and even 【小题2】（good）when you dipped them in the sauce（调味汁）. My grandma，【小题3】 we called“Nanny”，would always bake them a day ahead so they would be ready. I remember watching her hands make the dough（面团）. I would often ask to help only because I wanted to have 【小题4】 bite of the dough before she placed it in the pan to bake.

One day I 【小题5】（foolish）asked Nanny why she didn't just buy bread at the store 【小题6】（save）time. “Because it is not as good，”she said in 【小题7】（she）thick Italian accent. Then she laughed，smiled，and gave me a piece of bread to eat.

Nanny was right. Today I buy my bread at the store and it isn't as good. It is factory-made and lacks all the taste，【小题8】（warm），and love that Nanny put into hers. Store-bought happiness is a sad substitute for homemade joy. If you want lasting love，permanent peace，and 【小题9】（end）joy，then you will have to bake them 【小题10】your own.

   When Dekalb Walcott Ш was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized (崇拜) basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the1990s. Not him.

“I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr, ”he says of his father. So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. “I'm jumping up and down, saying, ‘Mom, can I go? Can I go?’”

The experience changed Dekalb's life, and he told his dad on a visit to StoryCorps. “My eyes got big the moment the alarm went off, ” the younger Dekalb says. “This is the life that I want to live someday. ”

Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together-father supervising (监督)son.

“You know, it's everything for me to watch young row, ”his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.

“I received a phone call that night. And they said, ‘Well, your son was at this fire. ' I said, ‘OK, which way is this conversation going to go?'”Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.

“And they said, ‘But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him. ’”

“And the word went around, ‘Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that’s Walcott!That's Walcott up there!’So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on earth for a dad. ”

Dekalb Walcott Jr. has retired. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. “You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch (火把) down  to my son. ”

   Catalin Baciu from Romania wanted to make money in Germany. So, he and his wife, Oltita went to Bucharest, the capital city of Romania to get legal papers to move to Germany. However, when they arrived, they were surprised by what they saw. “Hundreds of street children were living in a busy and dirty city of two and a half million people. Many of them were using drugs. They all seemed lost. Most of them were under ten years old. Oltita had tears in her eyes,” Catalin said.

Many of these streets children were orphans (孤儿). They had grown up in the government orphanages, but had run away. They thought any place would be better than the orphanages. But the streets were cold and hard. The winters were freezing. The children had to sleep in warm sewers (下水道) under the ground. Many of the children even became involved with crime and violence (暴力).

The Baciu’s did not like the sight of so many pitiful children in Bucharest. They wanted to leave immediately and go to Germany. However, that night, Catalin and Oltita stayed with a friend in Buchares. “The friend we were staying with was working with street children. I was deeply touched by what he and his fellows were trying to do…they were sacrificing (牺牲) their jobs and lives to save street children,” Catalin said.

After that visit, the Baciu’s completely changed their life plan. Instead of moving to Germany, they began working with street children in Bucharest. They started by opening a home called House of Hope, which provided a warm and loving place for children who needed to get away from the streets. Many hospitals and business workers called House of Hope when they found troubled kids. Everyone knew the House of Hope would help.