【推荐2】Fresno County went through a big wildfire last fall. When the fire threatened little Reese’s community, her family was _________ to evacuate (撤离) with some important things only. Then she had a great _________: her collection of baseball cards. _________ she had asked her dad to get her collection, but he _________ it due to limited time.

When her father _________ for that, she felt sad. It took the big _________ of baseball three years to collect those cards. Thinking they must have been _________, she couldn’t help crying. Her family tried every means to make her _________, but nothing worked.

Reese’s loss _________ some local firemen, and they decided to support her. They posted her ____________ on the Facebook page of their firehouse and ____________ baseball card donations so that those including Reese who had lost their ____________ and collections to the wildfire could start their hobby again.

Kevin Ashford, a restaurant owner, had been a(n) ____________ collector of baseball cards since 1990. He had a collection of over 25,000 cards worth about $50,000. He was thinking about ____________ them, when he noticed the message. Then he changed his mind. “It was a(n) ____________ decision for me. However. I felt pleased when I thought I could ____________ the problem quickly,” said Kevin.

Reese had never expected a(n) ____________ would donate packs of baseball cards. Clearly, Kevin’s donation was the ____________ one Reese had received, but it wasn’t the only one. Cards continued to ____________ in, so she decided to pass the kindness on. She and her family created a website to ____________ the baseball cards with those in need. Moreover, she is planning to send cards to children in hospital.

【推荐3】The Turnaround

Anxiously, I looked through the roster (花名册) posted on the wall. My body _____ as I saw all my friends’ names but did not find mine. I could feel the tears building in my eyes. I felt _____ inside, like nothing mattered.

When I got back home, my father noticed my sullen walk and gloomy face, and asked me what was wrong.

“All my friends _____ the school team. Everyone! Except me…” I stammered.

“Well, what are you going to do about it? Are you just going to sit there?” he asked.

I didn’t know what to say, just shaking my head. I thought hard for thirty minutes about what my dad said, and it started making _____. Nobody was going to give me a _____ on that team. I would have to earn it.

_____, there was a gym near my school, so as soon as school was over, I biked to the gym and trained hard. I ran, dribbled, and shot until I _____ on the floor every single day. There were moments when I didn’t think I could keep on going, but I _____ through it. After all, I thought, hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

After almost a year, I tried out for my seventh-grade team with great confidence. Regardless of the outcome, I knew that I had worked hard and learned something about mental _____. The next day, seeing my name printed in large bold letters, I realized I made it. The greater the effort, the ______ the reward, and I officially made a turnaround.

【推荐1】Not long ago, I was the guide on a wildlife-photography trip to Svalbard near the North Pole. After two days of _______, we arrived there and _______ several seals resting on the ice. I _______ my camera and a motion sensor near the edge of a hole to get a(n) _______ of a seal.

The next morning, I was woken up because a polar bear was _______ closer. At first the bear walked toward our boat. Then it made a(n) _______ turn and headed directly for my camera. The motion sensor reacted to the bear’s _______, making the camera start taking pictures. The bear circled the _______, gently sniffing it. Unexpectedly the camera _______ into the hole and disappeared beneath the deep ice.

That was the ________ moment in my photography career. I was so ________ with myself. A year later I obtained ________ to bring a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to find the camera. There was a lot more ice than the ________ trip. As I knew well, polar bears could be nearby. We decided to ________ it. The ice was so thin, and soon we ________ technical difficulties and had to pull the ROV out of the water twice. ________ on the third try the ROV found the camera. We shouted and ________ around on the ice.

I was overjoyed to see all my ________. I saw the polar bear breathing and sniffing the camera. ________ that camera is the most satisfying ________ of my career with the lovely animal and its habitat presented.

【推荐2】On January 3, Preet Chandi made history by becoming the first woman to complete a solo expedition across Antarctica to the South Pole.

Chandi, who calls herself Summit Preet, ______ her journey on November 24, 2021. Chandi once said she chose Antarctica because she wanted to ______ others.

“I want my eight-year-old niece to grow up without ______, knowing the possibilities of what you can achieve in life are ______,” Chandi said. She spent two years ______ for the final trip.

Chandi ______ a total of 700 miles in 40 days, arriving five days ahead of time. She faced winds of 60 miles per hour and temperatures of -50℃ while ______ a 90-kilogram sled (雪橇). Along the way, Chandi ______ daily voice messages, which you can hear on her website. In her final voice recording, Chandi said, “This expedition was always about so much ______ me. I wanted to encourage people to ______ boundaries and believe in themselves. I’m really proud that I’m an Indian woman doing something ______.” She added, “Everybody starts ______, and the more you try, the more you realize you’re ______ of.”

Chandi now ______ to set up an “adventure grant”, using money raised for the trip. This grant will give money to women of any age or background who want to go on an adventure. “It can be for any adventure they want to do, any ______ adventure that is pushing some kind of boundary,” Chandi told CNN. “It doesn’t have to be a polar expedition. And I really hope that this is something that will continue year after year.”

【推荐3】In May 1869, John Wesley Powell, a former Union Army major who had lost most of his right _________ in the Battle of Shiloh, led 10 _________ in launching four heavy wooden boats loaded to the gunwales with 10 months of supplies.

Three of the boats were made of oak, more suitable for cruising lakes than busting through rapids (急流). None of the men were _________ boatmen. The one-armed captain of the crew had maps with gaps in them. _________, it was the grandest expedition (探险) since Lewis and Clark. Over 500 rapids and 1,000 miles of _________ currents awaited them.

Though Powell had boats custom-made for the _________, they were heavy. He recruited men who knew how to _________ in the wilderness but had never navigated (横越) a river. He packed so much food that it _________ sank the boats from the start.

Much of the journey was spent _________ boats damaged while portaging around rapids and carving new oars out of driftwood. Food was lost or spoiled, game was scarce, and Powell went inland to __________with the Indians for food. The expedition spent days in __________ water and 115-degree heat. Three men deserted the cause along the way. The crew slept on boulders and __________ wet clothing the next morning. And most of the time, they had no idea what lay ahead. But at the end of the arduous journey, they had successfully __________ the challenges and mapped a wilderness previously labeled as “territory unknown.” As the West expanded, Powell’s maps would be __________.

Beauty is in the living of life, in looking beyond the challenges to the __________ of the small moments we achieve — sometimes against all odds.