【推荐1】Sometimes we didn’t have the strength to face one more challenge.

_________ back, I have felt this way several times throughout my life. One dark time _________ above the rest. At the time, I was 26, _________ full time, a husband and a father of two. This would be enough to deplete (耗尽) anyone, but my one-year-old son Paul had just had his fourth operation.

After that operation, my wife and I brought him home. _________, things got worse. I drove my wife and him back to the _________. The news removed what was left of my spirit. The doctors thought it was a _________ enough issue that they needed another operation. The first thing I thought was, “I don’t think I can _________ my son having another operation. I don’t have the _________”. Fortunately, many friends came to encourage us. In the end, my wife and I _________ good news. It turned out that my son had a bad reaction to medicine. But he would be just __________.

It has been years since that day, but the __________ I learned has stayed with me. When we are __________, friends are strong for us. When times are hard, we have a __________ to feel powerless. But it is in these times that we must __________ we need the strength of friends. It is friends who get us through whatever __________ ahead.

【推荐2】Vasco da Gama, born around 1469 in Sines, Portugal, is best remembered as the first European to sail from Europe to India. The sea ________ he found helped Portugal build a rich empire overseas.

As a young man, studying navigation and astronomy, he served as an officer in the Portuguese ________. In 1497, he ________ the king of Portugal he could find a sea route to India by sailing around Africa, which would allow Portugal to ________ the rich Indian spice trade.

Earlier Portuguese expeditions had ________ the southern tip of Africa. But these trips were long, difficult, and ________. Was it possible to travel from Europe to India in a single ________?

In July, Gama ________ from Lisbon with four ships. By January 1498, the expedition ________ Mozambique on Africa’s southeaster coast. But Arab traders in Mozambique ________ disliked Portuguese. They ________ Gama away.

Farther north, on the coast of Kenya, Gama hired an Arab to ________ his ships across the Indian Ocean. In May 1498, they arrived at Calicut in India, where pearls, jewels, and wonderful spices were ________ for sale. But the king and local merchants refused to ________ with Portuguese.

In ________, Gama made a second voyage to Calicut with warships and soldiers. After many ________ battles, Gama ________ merchant ships and killed many locals ________ the king of Calicut surrendered. Gama sailed home ________ with a rich cargo of spice. In 1524, Portugal built a valuable trading empire in India. ________, the Portuguese king named Gama the governor of Portugal’s possessions there.

【推荐3】Many people associate the English language with literature, whether that is poetry, novels or plays. However, for Nathan, English is ________ those writings. It is a device that can give people ________.

Winner of the 2021 Student of the Year Linguist（English）Award, Nathan was born with a stutter（口吃）. As a child, his speech disorder ________ whenever he had to speak in public. "That was when I would get really ________ and lose confidence in my speech," said the college student.

However, even at a young age, he knew avoiding the problem was not a（n）________. Through speech training and discipline, Nathan was able to ________ this barrier, evident from the many awards he has ________ after taking part in debates at his school. Having gained confidence from public speaking, Nathan began volunteering to teach ________ to primary school students from ________ communities. He believes that having a "wealth gap" between your classmates can make you ________ you're inferior（低级别的）. "They really had to find their confidence," Nathan explained, and English was a ________ for the students to build their self-esteem. Nathan hopes people will understand that "your ________ would really be able to shape your identity and individuality".

As a person who once had trouble ________ his opinions, he knows the value of speaking with ________. That is why the language is crucial to him. However, while some may ________ the winner in a Linguist category would want to pursue a career in language, Nathan wishes to follow a ________ in science. Nevertheless, he believes English can be an essential part of that journey, because scientists need language to ________ their findings with the general public. "Scientists are specialized but to make a massive ________, their message must ________ the general public," he explained. "Language is very important to ________ abstract concepts."