【推荐1】I was sitting in the living room with my pet, Toby, when there was a loud knock on the door. “The whole area’s flooding. You need to leave at once!” a rescuer _________.

My mind went to my son, Sunil. Following my cancer diagnosis, he’d moved in with me as I couldn’t walk without _________. Tragically, in late 2021, Sunil himself was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was now in _________ in another town, with only weeks to live. I _________ I may never see him again.

After four days, the water had subsided (消退) enough for me to_________ my home. It was beyond _________. Three days later, the_________ out had re-opened, and I could visit Sunil. I stayed by Sunil’s side _________ he sadly breathed his last. I’d lost my home and only child within two weeks, leaving my world in darkness.

A month later, I was sitting alone as pets weren’t allowed in the_________ accommodation. A young gentleman, Myles, approached me and explained, “I’m a tradesman and was about to return home. But when the floods __________ the area, I thought I’d stay and help someone.” He promised to clean and decorate my house for free if I __________ the cost of materials. Meanwhile, I was moved to Rainforest Resort, where the owner kindly allowed me to have Toby. Slowly, __________ was coming back into my life.

Each week, Myles would send me photos of his __________. In July this year, after sixteen months, I __________came home. I see Myles regularly when he comes to do the finishing work, and we’ve developed a great friendship. He’s shown me that __________ people can be found even in the darkest times.

【推荐2】Born in America, I spoke English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. When I was three, my parents flashed cards with Chinese ________ at my face, but I pushed them ________. My mom believed I would learn ________ I was ready. But the ________ never came.

On a Chinese New Year’s Eve, my uncle spoke to me in Chinese, but all I could do was ________ at him, confused, shaking my head. “Still can’t speak Chinese?” He ________ me, “You can’t even buy a fish in Chinatown.”

“Hey, this is America, not China. I’ll get some ________ with or without Chinese.” I replied and turned to my mom for ________.

“Remember to ask for fresh fish, Xin Xian Yu,” she said, handing over a $20 bill. I ________ the words, running downstairs into the streets of Chinatown.

I found the fish ________ surrounded in a sea of customers. “I’d like to buy some fresh fish,” I shouted to the fisherman. But he ________ my English words and turned to serve the next customer. The laugh of the people behind increased ________ their impatience. With every ________, the breath of the dragons on my back grew stronger—my blood boiling—________ me to cry out, “Xian Sheng Yu, please.” “Very Xian Sheng,” I repeated. The crowd burst into laughter. My face turned ________ and I ran back home ________, except for the $20 bill I held tightly in my hand.

Should I laugh or cry? They’re Chinese. I’m Chinese. I should feel right at ________. Instead, I was the joke, a disgrace (丢脸) to the language.

Sometimes, I laugh at my fish ________, but, in the end, the joke is on ________. Every laugh is a culture ________; every laugh is my heritage (传统) fading away.

【推荐3】To be frank, I was not so passionate about running. But my ______with running has changed over the past year. I’m a full-time ______ living in Vienna. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I ______ there was no hope of her living much longer. ______ to stay with my mother, I moved back to Linz. As a result, my work as a musician didn’t ______.

I have been ______ psychotherapy (心理疗法) for more than three years, which has helped with my anxiety, but back in Linz, I decided to do something else positive for myself, as looking after my mother ______ me. I wanted to do something physical and running ______ that need.

Getting up before six was ______ for a musician like me. But I made myself go running three times a week. After starting last summer, I would run with _______ members and talk about my mom with those I’d come to know better. It helped me put my mind in the appropriate place to ______ another day. And it helped me process my feelings after my mom ______ in October.

Although therapy has been the ______for all the positive things in my life, running has added to that. Together, they have changed my ______to life and I’m now less anxious than I was. While running, I feel grounded and live in the ______.

【推荐2】One can never find his/her potential until he/she has a try. When I retired five years ago, I started running. I was not a natural _______. I wanted to lose weight and it seemed that running was a _______ way. At first it was very hard—I was mainly walking more than running when I started—but I didn’t _______.

When I started training running, I was just trying to build up stamina (耐力), and just the idea of even going two miles, but even walking was a _______. In the beginning, I just walked as much as I could and then as time went on, I gradually began running. Later I kept on adding more and more _______.

I _______ my coach, Albert, in my running club, and he’d been running for over 25 years. He had a lot of knowledge and often sent various quotes to _______ and encourage us.

Running the Los Angeles Marathon for the first time was probably the greatest _______ of my life. I was really prepared, thanks to Albert. I learned a lot of life lessons during the _______: you have to believe in yourself ________ nobody else will. When I crossed the finishing line, I was so excited. I remembered just getting to the ________ and realizing, “Oh, my God, I’m going to do this!” I heard them say, “Welcome to the finishing line，” and I thought, “Wow, I was actually going to ________ this!”

I could never have ________ myself doing the Los Angeles Marathon, and here I am and I ________ it. I was a true example that it’s never too late to present yourself with a new image, as long as you have faith and let that faith ________ you.

【推荐1】A Life-Giving Touch

On March 25, 2010, Kate and David heard the words every parent ________: Their newborn wasn’t going to make it. Their twins – a girl and a boy – were born two minutes apart and 14 weeks premature (早产的), ________ just over two pounds each. Doctors had tried to save the boy for 20 minutes but saw no improvement. His ________ was nearly gone.

“I saw him gasp (喘息), but the ________ said it was no use.” Kate told the Daily Mail five years later, “I know it sounds stupid, but if he was still gasping, that was a sign of ________. I wasn’t going to give up ________. I wanted to let him know us.”

Kate ________ the boy, whom the couple had already named Jamie, from his hospital blanket and ordered David to take his shirt off and ________ them in bed. The first-time parents wanted their son to be as ________ as possible and hoped the skin-to-skin ________ would improve his condition. They also talked to him.

“We were trying to encourage him to ________.” Kate told the Daily Mail, “We explained his name and that he had a twin who he had to ________ and how hard we had tried to have him. Then something miraculous (奇迹般的) happened. Jamie gasped again – and then he started ________. Finally, he reached for his father’s finger. Our ________ boy had made it.”

“We’re the ________ people in the world.” Kate said gratefully, “The experience makes us cherish them more.”

【推荐2】Adrian’s “Amazing Race” started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn’t hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a ________ school for the hearing-impaired (听觉受损的), he learned sign language and got to mix with other ________ children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another ________ his mother. She wanted him to lead a(an) ________ life. So after speaking to an adviser, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.

Later on, Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a ________ school. But the headmaster tried to ________ them from doing so, saying regular school couldn’t ________ a special needs student. His parents were determined to take the ________ and push him hard to ________ his work every day because they wanted to prove that, given the ________, he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got ________. It was a big ________. The pace was ________ so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn't always ________. But he stuck to it and did a lot of ________ work after school.

The ________ made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life ________ school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains. He ________ entered the World Yacht Race 05/06----being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.

But none of these achievements would have been ________ without one of the most important lessons from his mother. “If you ________ yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results.” She often said.