1 . Steph Clemence always intended to go to college. But life has a(an) _________ throughout her early childhood years to _________ barriers. Growing up, she led a nomadic (漫游的) life because her mother, who remarried several times, was always on the _________. By the time of high school, Steph had lived in 25 places.

When her stepfather died in a car accident, leaving her mother to support three daughters on a(an) _________ income, paying for college became a serious question. But she still tried to figure out what to do with a life so _________ her plan for schooling.

The _________ came one afternoon when she was cleaning her bedroom. She _________ a thick document where she found a handout titled “Mrs. Clark’s Book List” by her high school English teacher Dorothy Clark.

It wasn’t homework, but it could be a(an) _________ for those not able to receive higher education due to _________ problems like her. The teacher had spent months creating a list of 153 books whose contents would be as __________ as a two-year study at an arts college.

Steph studied the list. Each of those books __________ her to learn more. The reading list was also a(an) __________ in her everyday life, even __________ with her on vacations to find out the next book. She never did get to college, but has now only four books left before __________ the list. She wishes she could thank Mrs. Clark for how reading the __________ on the list has changed her life.

3 . Parks around the world

Hyde Park, London, England

There are many parks in London. Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, which covers over 350 acres. There are paths for people on bicycles and there are often open - air concerts held in the park.

Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain

In this park, designed by Antony Gaudi, there are different houses in different colours. There are also things like a colourful dragon. At the top of the park is a terraced area where you can get a wonderful view of the city of Barcelona and the sea.

Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is a city near the sea and mountains. There is beautiful Stanley Park in the city centre, covering an area of one thousand acres. It is the largest park in North America. There are First Nations totem poles (图腾柱) in the park.

Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan

Ueno Park is an old park in the city of Tokyo and there are hundreds of beautiful cherry trees. In April and May every year, the trees are pink or white.

Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Mexico

This is the largest urban park in Latin America. It's a very important green space in this big city. Containing nine museums, a zoo, an amusement park, and a variety of green recreational spaces, Chapultepec Park is an invaluable place for the city residents and its visitors.

5 . One of the most beneficial skills you can learn in life is how to consistently put yourself in a good position. But not everyone knows how we can create that foundation. The position you find yourself in today is the accumulation of the small choices that you’ve been making for years.

The ordinary choices that guarantee a strong future go unnoticed. There is no pat on the back for doing the right thing just as there is no slap on the wrist for doing the wrong thing. Reading a chapter of a great book today won’t solve your problems just as not reading it won’t make them worse. Not doing the obvious thing that positions you for future success — rarely hurts you right away. But as the days turn to weeks, weeks into years, and years into decades do the small choices create massively different results.

Whenever this idea is brought up, people are quick to interject. “I do these things and I don’t get the results.” Most of us make the right choices most of the time. But most of the time isn’t the same as all of the time.

For your choices to compound, you need to be consistent. A lack of consistency keeps ordinary people from extraordinary results. It’s like we’re Sisyphus rolling a boulder halfway up the hill, only to throw our hands in the air and go home. When we show up the next day, we see the boulder at the bottom of the hill. Not only did this undermine our progress but it makes getting started even harder.

Excelling at the small choices that compound over time perpetually (不断地) leaves you in favorable circumstances. If you want results you need to pay the price. The price is knowing that time is working on your side even when the results don’t show it yet.

When you look below the surface, giant leaps aren’t really giant leaps at all. If you look for the magic moment, you’ll miss how ordinary becomes extraordinary.

6 . From the heartland to urban parks, school kids were released onto the baseball diamond. There was a time when baseball was the only summer game. But with competition from soccer and lacrosse, the clap of leather gloves is not as omnipresent as it used to be. Still, America’s game is a place for young boys to prove themselves.

Some boys were born athletic but Tim seemed to be growing in the opposite way: thin shoulders and no meat on his bones. But he loved baseball. And game after game, strikeout after strikeout piled up in the stat sheet. The desire was there, but the body doesn’t respond to dreams and wishes. The strikes continued.

Tim practiced his swing every day. His teammates encouraged him. His coach worked with him. Even opposing teams wished for a hit, just one hit for a boy who seemed to deserve it more than any other kid in the world.

What teammates and even the coach never saw was a gray van that pulled up each game in the parking lot adjacent to left field. Inside was Tim’s father, too weak from cancer to get out of the van. It’s a tough to watch your kid strike out, even tougher when you don’t have the strength to pitch to him.

At the end of the season, Tim stood at the plate as determined as ever. On the first pitch, the bat fell from his shoulder in a downward swing and somehow made contact. The ball dribbled down the third-base line, and Tim galloped to first. He stood on the bag wearing a smile as big as the outfield. He didn’t have the chance to advance, and when the pitcher retired the final out, Tim ran straight into left field, climbed the fence and dove into the front seat of a gray van, into the arms of a frail father whose wish for his son had finally materialized.

Sometimes it is more than a game.

7 . Nothing says “I love you” like a homemade gift. But imagine if this specially-crafted gift actually ended up changing the world! Before they became popular items used by millions of people, these inventions were inspired by incredible acts of love.

John W. Hammes, an architect from Wisconsin, created the In-Sink-Erator in 1935. Hammes got the idea after watching his wife spend time wrapping food in newspaper and throwing it out. The In-Sink-Erator is a device, installed under a kitchen sink between the sink’s drain and the trap. The disposal unit shreds food waste into pieces small enough generally less than 2 mm in diameter to pass through plumbing.

Maura Horton’s husband, Don, was a football coach who had Parkinson’s disease. One day, after Don struggled to button his shirt before a game, Horton decided there needed to be a better clothing option for people suffering from disability. So, Horton designed a shirt with magnetic buttons in 2012. It will finally allow everyone to dress, and undress themselves efficiently.

William Stewart Halsted, M.D. (1852 – 1922) was a renowned U.S. surgeon who is often called the “Father of Modern Surgery.” Known for his strict adherence to sterile working conditions, Halsted invented a rubber glove that allowed surgeons to lessen the transfer of germs during their work. Yet the origin of why he created them is more romantic than you would think. Halsted’s wife, Caroline, was a nurse who suffered from dermatitis during her work. According to the Washinton Post, Halsted invented the gloves especially for her and gave them to her as a gift after their marriage.

8 . Hannahs daughter Isla has spent half her life home. Lockdown began when she was seven months old. Parks were a ______: the only places where Hannah could ______ her daughter there was more in the world than their flat. Lockdown ______ Hannah, an opera singer, and her husband, a director, months of work. They ______ every other day they would go out to a park, finding some ______ in the world. Hannah read maps for new places of green to ______. Every time they would find something new. Hannah says, “When we ______ this time, we’ll remember it as the year we three sat ______ on a million pretty places of grass.”

About five months later, lockdown ended. For months parks were almost ______. The only sounds were the footsteps of lone figures and the sound ______ from their headphones. Then came chats as people started ______ in twos. Summer arrived with speakers sending out loud music. ______, cheers, different kinds of instruments and shouts ______ the “noise” as impromptu (即兴的) concerts returned. Parks are really ______ to show people’s reactions to lockdown. Some people may feel depressed, but ______ people like Hannah and her family can be always seen everywhere.

9 . Skeleton is one of the three sliding sports at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, alongside the luge(单雪橇)and bobsleigh(大雪橇). With only six medals up for grabs, skeleton has the fewest events at the Winter Games—which means competition will be fierce.

The sport of skeleton has its roots in the most popular winter pastime: sleighing. In the mid-19^th century, British and American holidaymakers built the first toboggan(平底雪橇)run in Davos in 1882, and thus the sport of sleighing began.

Two years later, in 1884, the famed Cresta Run—a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track—was built in St. Moritz, Switzerland(the course has hosted the annual Grand National championships since 1885).

In 1892, a new sledge made entirely of steel was introduced, and some claim that its bony appearance gave the sledge and the sport the name ‘skeleton’.

Men’s skeleton was first introduced on the Olympic program in the 1928 Games in St. Moritz. But due to the sport only being available at the Cresta Run at the time, it fell into obscurity(默默无闻)while the luge and bobsleigh grew in popularity. However, in 2002, the skeleton was reintroduced as a men’s and women’s event at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, and has remained a part of the Olympic program ever since.

While Great Britain has the most medals(nine)in skeleton competition at the Olympics, the top spot belongs to the United States(eight medals)by virtue of having four silvers to Great Britain’s one(both nations have three golds, while Britain has five bronze medals, and the United States one).

Great Britain is the only nation to have won a medal every time skeleton has featured at the Olympic Games, and has won at least one medal in each of the five contests of women’s skeleton since its introduction.

10 . Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a _______ balloon with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _______. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _______. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _______ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help _______ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _______ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _______ tough day last December, she _______ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They enjoyed a _______ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw ________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s ________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa dropped your balloon ________,” Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes’ worth of ________with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much ________, Gonzalez and her girl intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just ________ that balloon in the trash, he went more than the extra mile.