Jenny lived in a small village. When she was a child, what she liked to do most was to watch the blue sky and enjoy birds flying freely in the sky. She always ________ that some day she could also fly like a bird.

When Jenny was in the fourth grade, her teacher asked her to write a passage about her ________. In it, she wrote that she wanted to become an air plane pilot in the future. However, to her surprise, her paper came back with an “F” on it. Jenny felt ________ and sad. In her heart, she didn’t want to ________ her teacher’s opinion. Why was it impossible? But the people ________ Jenny didn’t support her and told her over and over again, “Girls can’t become pilots; never have, and never will. You’re ________.” Finally, Jenny felt hopeless and ________ her dream.

Several ________ later, Mrs. Salton, her high school English teacher, gave the class a ________ about what they would be doing in the future. Jenny thought hard about it, “Pilot? No way! Artist? No talent! Waitress? I can do it.” ________ she wrote it down. What Jenny wrote surprised Mrs. Salton, “Is that what you are really interested in? I think you will be _________ to do something full of more challenges.” Jenny felt excited, but she was still ________ that she would be laughed at again. The teacher continued, “Everyone has their own talent. If you don’t go for your dream, ________ will do it for you.” Hearing that, with great courage she wrote down her old dream.

Mrs. Salton’s words ________ Jenny a lot. After ten years of hard work, Jenny’s dream came true. She became one of the first three women ________ in the world.

3 . It was 8:00 am. A group of college students got out of my car to make a ________ in the park. As the driver, my job was to stay ________ so that I could send them if they need something.

I could have two or three hours’ free time, so I decided to go somewhere and do some ________. I found a beautiful park bench. I noticed that a man was sitting on one end, but there was plenty of ________ for more than two more bodies. Walking over, I sat on the end seat to have a rest.

The man on the other end looked at me but didn’t move. I quickly ________ that he may spend the night on the bench. His clothes were dirty, his hair was ________, and soon I caught a bad smell of body sweat. I looked at him and ________, and he smiled back with a mouth of blacked-out teeth.

We both sat there for over an hour quietly. I was reading. He was watching the video making. He then stood up, walked in front of me and bowed. In a little trembling (颤抖的) but clear ________, he said, “Thank you!” I looked up at him ________.

“For what?” I asked.

He looked at the ground, “Usually, people won’t even look at me, let alone sit by me. Thank you for treating me as a ________.

Hearing his words, I just sat there ________ because I really didn’t know what to say as he turned around and walked away quickly. I was shocked and moved at his words. I did ________ special to him. I just shared a ________ bench instead with a stranger to me.

To me, he was just someone who wanted a place to ________. That’s exactly what I wanted. There were no differences between him and me. I finally got to know that my actions truly meant something to this poor ________ man. So, treating others in an equal way can also make difference to the world.

4 . “Do you want to grow your own vegetables?” Mom asked. “Yes!” My eyes got wide. Mom smiled at my ________. She gave me a book on gardening and I carefully planted some seeds (种子) in the back yard.

After supper, I rushed to see how much they might grow. Nothing! My mouth dropped. “Someone stole my seeds!” Mom laughed. She said “Johnny, go and ________ the book.” I read the book and knew something needed to be done.

Early the next morning, I ran to the back yard. Everything looked the same, but I wasn’t that ________. As the book said, I lightly watered my seeds and stuck my finger in the soil to make sure it wasn’t too dry.

The next morning I raced to the garden again. No ________. “Why is it taking so long for the seeds to grow?” I asked. “Grow up!” I shouted. “Please, just grow,” I almost ________. Mom said as last time, “Read the book, and take care of them ________.” So I read again. I removed (除去) the grass from the soil and watered the seeds. That night I even ________ the little seeds and told them I was looking forward to seeing them spout (发芽) all the time.

Then one morning I walked out to my garden. I wasn’t ________ to see anything. To my surprise, a bit of green came into my eyes. “They grew!” I shouted! I could see little green ________ growing everywhere! I was so excited. “They finally grew! The book is ________. It took several days for the seeds to be in the soil before popping up.”

John was having a daily test in the history class. As he started filling in the ________, he felt that someone was watching him. He looked over at Matt, who was staring at John’s test. Matt ________ looked away when he saw John catch him.

The next day, Mr. Garcia asked John to his office and said, “Do you know why you’re here? You and Matt have had the ________ answers in the past three tests.” John didn’t know how to answer.

Mr. Garcia continued, “I know you are friends. Matt’s going ________ a hard time at home, but that is not the ________ to cheat. I want you to think about that.”

When John came back, he found Matt and said ________, “Look, Matt, I know I didn’t cheat! I know it’s too coincidental (巧合的) that three of our papers have ________ !”

Matt’s face turned red, “I’m sorry. Many things are happening at home, ________ I just can’t focus on study. My dad lost his job, my grandmother is sick, and that means I must ________ my little sister!”

John thought about how ________ Matt was. Then he made a decision, “Well, I guess you could come to my house after school some days, and we could study together.”

The next week. Matt came to John’s house four times. They ________ their notes, and John showed Matt how he organized the facts. Matt got the ________ of learning pretty quickly.

A few weeks ________, Mr. Garcia was returning papers as usual. John looked over at Matt and saw the big 90 at the top of his paper. After class, Mr. Garcia talked to John again. “Well, I hear you’ve been giving Matt some study tips. You really helped ________,” Mr. Garcia smiled. “You’re a true friend, John. I hope you know that.”

It was impossible since John didn’t really think of Matt as a good friend. But as he thought about all the time he’d spent with him, he ________ Matt really had become a good friend.

6 . Chinese traditional culture is made up of many customs and traditions passed down through generations (世代).

One important value is “filial piety”, which means ________ and caring for elders. This is really important in Chinese families and communities, and it means having good ________ with family and others in the community.

In China, people celebrate lots of traditional festivals around the year. The most important one is the Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival. Families ________ for big dinners, give lucky money in red envelopes, and set off fireworks (烟花) to ________ the new year. There are also other festivals like the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival. These festivals have special customs, food, and ________ that show Chinese culture.

Art is also important in Chinese tradition. Calligraphy (书法) and brush painting are very valued ________ of art. Calligraphy is a way of writing that is also beautiful and ________. Brush painting often shows nature, ________ Chinese people like to respect and enjoy nature.

Traditional Chinese medicine is a very old way of keeping the body ________. It uses things like acupuncture (针灸), herbal remedies (草药), and qigong to prevent sickness and help the body get better ________. In Chinese culture, people think that the mind, body, and spirit are all connected, and that is ________ they use these methods to stay healthy.

Chinese food is famous all around the world for its delicious taste. There are many different styles of Chinese food, _______ hot food in Sichuan and delicate (精致的) dishes in Guangdong. Each place has its own special cooking ________ and Chinese food reflect the country’s geography and diverse (不同的) population.

Today, people in China are working hard to ________ their traditional culture. They want to make sure the customs are passed down to future generations. These efforts help keep Chinese traditions ________ and make people proud of their cultural heritage (遗产).

7 . It was Sunday and Mike was going to his friend’s house for the day. He was so _________. He thought it would be fun to _________ video games to his friend, Toby.

Toby lived on the other side of the town and did not _________ any video games. He didn’t really ever play them, but he didn’t want to tell Mike. He was _________ that Mike would tell the other kids at school. When Mike arrived and suggested playing video games, Toby got _________.

“I thought we could go outside and play tag or hide-and-seek,”said Toby.

“I don’t usually play such kind of games,”said Mike.

“Well, we don’t have a television or a _________ because my parents don’t have much money, and we can’t afford those extra things, so I usually play old-fashioned games, like tag or hide-and-seek, or dodgeball. Would you please not tell anyone at school that we are _________?”asked Toby.

“You shouldn’t worry about what other people _________,” Mike told Toby. “I’m sure the games you play are just as fun as video games.”

The two boys went outside and began playing hide-and-seek. Toby’s parents had a big _________ with many cool places to hide. Mike and Toby played for over an hour! After lunch, they played tag. Mike had so much fun. “I should play these games more often,” he said to Toby.

Three o’clock _________ and Mike’s mom was there to pick him up. On their way back home, Mike told his mom about not having a television or a computer at Toby’s home. He also told her that he has _________ to play some great games.

“Sweetie, there are plenty of _________ to have fun without video games. _________ I was growing up, we played hopscotch,” Mike’s mom said.

“What’s hopscotch?” asked Mike.

“I’ll show you when we get home. You will like it.” When they got home, Mike’s mom showed him how she played hopscotch.

“That looks like fun!” said Mike. “Now I have another game to add to my _________. ” Mike never told anyone at school that Toby was poor, but thought to _________ that Toby was rich in kindness and honesty.

old-fashioned games

8 . Hundreds of years ago, life was much _________ than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. There was no modern medicine, either.

But life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is _________. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It _________ our fish and pollutes our drinking water._________ pollution makes us talk louder and become _________ more easily. Air pollution is _________ most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world.

Cars, planes and factories all pollute our air every day. Sometimes the polluted air is so thick that it is like a quilt (被子) _________ a city. This kind of quilt is called smog.

Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water _________ it is thrown away, they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air.

We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not _________ it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are _________ people driving, there will be less pollution.

Rules are not enough. Every person must help to fight pollution.

9 . One of my earliest memories is playing “shops” with my granddad when I was 5 years old. After ________ school at 15, I worked in a fruit shop, but I had no ________ of how to run my own shop back then.

Several years later, I got married. My husband Eric and I heard about a shop for sale in the nearby village. We had a look and decided to have a shop of our own. That was January 1973. Shopkeeping was ________ to us, so we often didn’t know what the ________ were asking for. But we soon learned.

We can tell by the weather how ________ the shop is going to be. On wet days there are very few people around, and when it’s ________ people want bread and milk, as they’re worried about being snowed in. When it’s hot, everyone buys cold drinks and ice cream.

More people shop online nowadays, but they still come here for things ________ from their order. I’ve kept up with technology and have a card reader, but the shop itself hasn’t changed much.

Now, as I’m getting older, it’s open from 7 a. m. to 6 p. m. on weekdays ________ closing at 8: 30 p. m. However, I keep it open until 2 p. m. at weekends.

Eric passed away 16 years ago, but I am ________ getting rid of (处理掉) the shop. I love it all—talking to the customers and getting ________ they want. There are customers who come in two or three times a day, and we see several generations of families. Customers often tell me their ________ and I offer advice if I can.

It was the 50th anniversary (周年纪念) of the shop on January 13 this year. I wanted to do something ________, so I held a party and had drinks and nibbles with customers. I also ________ a book about my memories in the shop. It’s called Just Ask Jenny, as I’m always the first port of call when anyone wants to know ________.

This shop has been my life. I never ________ I’d still be here after 50 years, but I love it and the people. It’s what keeps me going, and I’ve got no plan of retiring (退休).

Molly is an 18-year-old girl in Africa. She lives in a peaceful village with her family. Almost every Saturday morning, Molly pulls a table into her front yard. On the table she lays out some _______ in season, such as carrots and tomatoes. They are all from her garden and free for her neighbors to _______. “It’s just lovely, like you walk by and get a beautiful gift around the corner.” said a neighbor.

Why did Molly get used to helping others in this _______ way? That’s because of an unforgettable experience she had before. Actually, Molly started doing this in the summer of 2020. Earlier that year, a fire broke out in her house. Molly’s _______ had a hard time.

“When we felt helpless and even hopeless, people in the neighborhood came to _______. They brought us food and often called to make sure we were doing fine. At that time, I realized that life was full of hope because there were so many warm-hearted people in our neighborhood. I was deeply _______.” Molly said.

Then the pandemic (疫情) came. Molly and her family had much time to _______ in their garden. They decided to _______ what they grew in their garden. No one knew about it at first. But gradually, people got into the habit of coming around. They would stop by and leave with some vegetables. Molly’s yard became a _______ place. The yard is filled with happiness and joy every day.

One thing Molly has learned from this experience is that people have to work together when days are _______. She is glad that love has spread in this community.