【推荐2】Last summer, my fiance Eugeniu and I decided to drive to Provence for a holiday. The weather was beautiful, but then, about 700km into the journey, it suddenly _______. I’d never seen the sky go so dark; the rain was heavy. We _______ a tunnel and when we came out onto a _______, the visibility was so bad that we could hardly see a meter in front of us.

_______, we had the odd sensation that the car was lifting at the front. The next second, we were _______ into nothing. On the way down, Icould hear rock pieces hitting the car and my heart pounding to my chest. After that, there was _______

Our car ended up landing on a road below the bridge. We were still _______, but I was in shock. I hadn’t _______ what was happening and was still thinking about my holiday. I had no idea the bridge had _______ — thought it might have been an earthquake.

At first we shouted, but then stopped because we didn’t want to lose ________ and pass out. We tried calling an ambulance, but there was no ________ under the rock pieces. My leg was bleeding and I was too tense — because of the ________ I didn’t feel pain. My fiancé had broken his neck. Rescue workers eventually found us while saving a man whose van was ________ from another section of the bridge above us. We’d been down there for four hours by the time we were pulled out.

It was only afterwards in the hospital that I realized the ________ of the tragedy — 43 people had died. Before, we had focused on earning money. When we went on this holiday, I had lovely clothes and shoes in my suitcase, and they were all buried under the ruin. Maybe that was a sign that these things don’t really ________.

【推荐1】Once you get your driver’s license in Germany at 18, your Mum might tell you “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can ever fly.” I remember that I always ________ “Yes, yes — nothing will ever ________ me. Calm down, Mum.”

One day, my brother, Philipp, and I ________ back from a party at around 4 am in the night. The streets had been ________ with rain, making it difficult to drive and ________ paying attention. We were just very ________, laughing and talking in the car. I loved to drive very fast with my favorite songs playing. I felt the happiness ________ through my blood. Suddenly I saw a car in front of ours with its huge lights on. Accordingly I ________ to the left side of the road to avoid any collision.

Just then, I heard Philipp ________ while the car was slipping towards us. I tried to stop it on the left side. A few seconds later, I made it. Full of ________ and sweaty hands, I looked at my brothe’s face. He looked at me, gave me a ________, saying, “Sophie, we are ________ alive!” I was just very happy to lie in my brother’s ________, feeling safe.

Now I am always afraid of driving in rainy days on slippery roads, which might be more dangerous for ________. This experience might have changed my ________ and the way I am behaving in different ________. I am more thankful for life because it can change in split seconds ________ being in charge of it. ________ the event wasn’t my ________, I would definitely feel ________ if we got injured. Now I know how valuable life is.

【推荐2】During his last day as a barista(咖啡馆服务员), Jason took orders and handed customers their coffee as usual. But then, a couple walked in and made a special _________: Could Jason sing for them? Gianluca and his wife, Kaylan were from Italy, and they had _________ from Jason before.

“Jason had previously noticed my husband’s accent and mentioned that he studied _________ in Italy. My husband was _________ at how good his Italian is and he loves opera, so he asked him to _________! We were impressed by his _________,” Kaylan said.

This time, Kaylan _________ the 28-year-old’s beautiful voice and shared it with the world. Her video _________ quickly, and thousands couldn’t get enough of the singing barista! Jason’s dream came true. In fact, he’d spent years training his _________ and hoping for a big break.

“My ____________ is to be a soloist(独唱者）at major opera houses across the globe,” Jason said.

Now, he is supporting himself by working for Starbucks and Grotto Pizza, where he’s known to ____________ his talent as well. And the extremely positive ____________ has raised the young man’s hopes.

“I hope the ____________ that people get from watching my video will be a reminder that the arts are a(n)____________need, not a luxury(奢侈品）.

While Jason’s wonderful Starbucks performances are ____________ soon, you can hear him in Opera Delaware’s Spring Festival! It won’t be long before he stuns(给人以深刻印象)audiences on stages around the world.

【推荐2】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.

【推荐3】Born into a family of motorcyclists, Bridget McCutchen was able to witness firsthand the ______ and excitement that riding a motorbike could bring from a very early age. But the idea of riding around the world hadn't ever ______ her until her older brother pointed out that she was still young enough to beat the world record for the youngest person to circle the ______ on a motorcycle.

McCutchen, whose longest road trip had been from Wisconsin to Washington, says she ______ the idea at first. But it kept coming back into her ______.

After ______ as much money as she could, McCutchen ______ in August. She has been recording her ______ online, stressing that there's a huge difference in ______ the world between traveling by car and on a ______ .

However, traveling by motorcycle on ______ roads comes with its dangers. McCutchen has ______ from the motorcycle on a few occasions and nearly crashed into trucks around blind corners.

Of course, if she is successful in breaking this particular record, the likelihood is that someone even ______ will come along and set a new record one day. However, McCutchen isn't ______ about this at all. In fact, she says she'll ______ help anyone who's keen to do so, even if it means that they beat her to it.