By the time she turned 18, Liz had attended     1     total of twelve schools in as many years. She had lived in shelters and in parks, where she didn’t feel quite secure, but never in a permanent residence (住所) for more than a few months.     2     (laugh) at by the students at a dozen schools who considered her to have nothing in common with them, sometimes she felt quite embarrassed. More often     3     not, she wondered when she would change the situation. Her teachers always told the students that Liz should not     4     (make) fun of.

Homeless since early childhood, Liz struggled all her life to hide her circumstances from teachers and fellow students. However, learning proved to be a way for her to find confidence in herself again.     5     (concentrate) on her study was     6     (essential) important for her. She had strong belief that she could do better than others.

By the second year of high school, she realized that she could not succeed in getting the education she dreamed of without getting help to go beyond what her current school could offer. She talked to her teachers, who helped her apply for summer community college classes and scholarships. And in 11th grade, when she enrolled (登记入学) at Jefferson High School, she decided to complete the rest of her school career there,     7     meant that she had to take a bus each morning at 4 a. m. and could not get home until 11 p. m.

Her perseverance and hard work paid off, however. When     8     (pour) the story of her life into her Harvard University college application, she made a deep     9     (impress) on the teachers there and to her relief, she was accepted into the university. Her success is a combination of hard work and intelligence. Liz is worthy     10     being appreciated by all.

How deep can a person dive underwater without any     1     (breathe) equipment? As one of the world’s top female freedivers, China’s Xu Tongtong’s answer is beyond the limit.

Freediving is gaining     2    (popular) across the world. Divers rely only on their lung capacity to plunge as far as they can-either in open water in so-called “depth” events or in the swimming pool,     3     (simple) called “pool” events.

This year, the 35-year-old Xu     4     (dive) 100 meters underwater successfully in both constant weight (CWT) and constant weight bifin (CWTB) contests, becoming only the third female freediver on the planet     5    (reach) this depth. “When I dived 100 meters and grabbed the depth tag, I knew I had done it and     6    (swim) back to the surface with a smile,” Xu joyfully recalled of her     7     (history) feat (壮举).

Hailing from East China’s Anhui province, Xu changed from swimming to freediving in 2014. “I was able to enter the three-dimensional world from a two-dimensional space. That is     8     I fell in love with freediving,” she told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview. The biggest attraction of freediving lies     9     facing up to and overcoming our fears. The training is a process of constantly knowing oneself, said Xu. After three months of training and competing this year in Panglao, Xu decided to stay on the island to continue her training and coaching,     10     major source of income for this world-class freediver.

Ever since he was a young boy growing up in Rosario, Argentina, Lionel Messi always dreamed     1     becoming a World Cup champion. Now, he has achieved this.

On Dec 18, Argentina     2    (defeat) France in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This victory has helped Argentina win     3    (other) World Cup after their last win in 1986. For a long time, Messi     4    (compare) with Maradona, an Argentina soccer legend.

With excellent skills and great accomplishments, these two players are both considered the     5    (great) players in their era. Maradona succeeded in helping his team lift the trophy in the World Cup. Yet, Messi hadn’t before.

Messi has won many honors, including FIFA World Players of the Year. While he led the   Argentina team     6    (take) part in World CuIp four times before, his team’s best result was     7    (mere) runner-up in the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Many Argentine fans felt disappointed and even suspected Messi didn’t want to win     8     World Cup for his country.

But now, all rumors are cleared away. With his     9    (persevere) and skills, the 35-year-old Messi completed the sport of soccer by winning the final trophy     10     still excited him.