1 . I had been growing up in fear of terrible storms. A series of severe thunderstorms struck our area recently. Heavy rains, strong winds, and lots of lightening had _________ flash flooding and even swept down trees. I had spent the afternoon _________ branches out of my yard. Then just before I was getting ready to take my dogs for their last walk of the day the _________ came on my television and over my phone that another storm was _________.

I quickly took my dogs inside. Huge and _________ clouds were rolling in while thunder _________ over the hills. This time, however, I took a different perspective. I knew that the stars were shining and the moon was smiling up _________ but I just couldn’t see them. The blink of light, up high, at the far end of the meadow (草坪) might hide behind my house. I smiled. It amazed me how far their light _________ in the darkness of the night and how they didn’t seem _________ at all by the approaching storm. I felt that the __________ no longer seemed so scary and that my fear had been replaced with relief and joy.

Life does have its share of storms, some caused by __________ and some caused by us. __________, we can’t go through life being scared of them. We are here to shine our light. We are here to share our love. We are bound to ride through the __________,clean up after them, and make this world a better place. Light may seem tiny but you will be __________ at how far it can be seen and how easily it can __________ the dark away.

2 . Exercise and I had never had a good relationship due to my fear of sports. From a young age, my dad _______ me into a dozen sports. I didn’t like any of them, _______.

When I entered the University of Regina, my dad _______ telling me “You have to find a way to stay _______.” or “You don’t want to get the Freshman 15, do you?” So I _______ to give swimming a shot, but I _______ managed to go to the pool twice during the fall semester (学期). Worse still, I was _______ to convince myself that’s OK.

The spring semester came. A friend of mine _______ me if I wanted to try Zumba (尊巴) with her. All I knew about Zumba was that it was basically a kind of exercise: dancing to Latin pop songs. It didn’t sound too bad, but I couldn’t be _______.

I went, and that was it. Zumba became my ________ of tea. The instructor would always say, “Don’t worry about the steps. Have fun. Do your own thing.” That removed my ________ of sports. I didn’t have to be ________. I didn’t even have to be good. I just needed to ________ the music and move. Zumba did ________ me from the Freshman 15, and it also did so much more. It let me make ________ with my unpleasant past about physical exercise, and enjoy staying healthy.

3 . My name is Miranda Gibson. I have been at the top of a tree for five months now. Some people might wonder________on earth I would choose to do that.

I have walked through this forest many times. On December 12, 2011, ________rolled into the forest and the destruction (摧毁) began. I couldn’t________the thought that these forests would be________ forever. So, on December 14, 2011, I packed up my life, ________of my job plans, and climbed 60 meters to the top of this tree. I have been here ever since.

Life in the tree top can be________at times. I have times when I feel frustrated (沮丧的) and wish I could________, to anywhere, just have a ________of scenery for a minute! There are times too, when I feel terribly________.I miss my friends and family.________these times, I find myself loving the________.

Living on the tree has been inspiring. I am willing to________ here for as long as it takes,________I honestly hope it won’t be too________before I can put my feet on the ground below and stand in a forest that will never be________.

4 . It was six years ago that something unforgettable happened. My wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding _______ that year. We drove from Ontario into Alberta, then southward into Glacier National Park in Montana, and _______ to Yellowstone National Park.

It was a _______ spring day, and the Beartooth Highway had opened for the season just days before. Alongside the road, there was still a great amount of snow there. The scenery was so impressive that we made lots of _______ to record memories with my camera. At the highest point of the highway, I stopped at a lookout to catch the _______ views, with my wife in the center of my camera lens.

There were not many cars on the road. Sometimes, cars with energetic young tourists _______. And then we heard a motorcycle in the distance. The driver of the motorcycle, who wore dirty clothes, _______ behind our cars. As he _______ us, his only words were, “Give me your camera and get over there with your wife.” I must _______ I felt nervous that we might be robbed where we just created some beautiful memories. ________, he just took a picture of us, handed back my camera and rode off ________we could express our ________. The photo he took is one of the most valuable and ________ of our trip.

I learned my lesson somewhere I ________ expected it. We should never judge a man by his ________. If the motorcycle driver reads this story and remembers the situation, we would like to say “Thank you” to him.

5 . Since the beginning of the summer in 2022, China has been sweltering under the worst heatwave in decades. A number of people in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Sichuan provinces were diagnosed with thermoplegia (热射病), the most severe form of heatstroke, and some even died of this disease.

In a warming world, the hazards of heatwaves are increasing. “Over the past four decades, the main drivers of the large increase in heatwave-related deaths in China are the rapid increase in the frequency of heatwaves, followed by population growth, population aging, and rising baseline mortality (基线死亡率),” said Prof. Huang Cunrui, a researcher from Tsinghua University. According to a study, the number of deaths caused by heatwaves in China has increased rapidly since 1979, from 3679 persons per year in the 1980s to 15,500 persons per year in the 2010s.

High temperatures would accelerate the loss in soil moisture (水分). What’ s more, each additional degree of warming will increase crop losses to insects by 10 - 25 percent, threatening food security for billions of people. China has witnessed a range of extreme weather events, including heavy rainfall, flooding, tornadoes, and record heatwaves this year. Meteorological officials said the country had an average temperature of 21.3 degrees Celsius in June, 0.9 degrees Celsius higher than the same period on average, and the highest record for the same period since 1961.

Experts say that while extreme summer heat is not entirely new, these sorts of occurrences could be something that becomes a standard part of life, requiring people to start learning how to cope with heatwaves that may continue for the rest of summer and well into the future.

Remember that even healthy, young athletes can be harmed by extreme heat, so every activity should be evaluated when extreme heat hits. There are some ways to stay safe during extreme heat events, such as drinking plenty of water, looking for shade or remaining in shade when outside, and avoiding cooking large meals.

6 . If a president, a legendary philosopher, and one of the best-selling authors of all time credited the same secret for their success, would you try to follow it too? What if the secret was something you already knew how to do? In fact, you probably do it every day. Here’s what Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” Thomas Jefferson: “Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.” And Charles Dickens made his point: “If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish (死亡).”

Researchers have traced numerous connections between walking and generating ideas. A Stanford University study found that participants were 81 percent more creative when walking as opposed to sitting. According to the study, walking outside — versus on a treadmill (跑步机) — produces the most novel and highest-quality ideas in participants who walked and then sat down to do creative work.

The movement aspect of walking is obviously key. You’ve probably heard the phrase Exercise your creativity, which refers to the brain as muscle. Our creative mindset is triggered by physical movement, which is exactly why walking — with your dog, a friend, or alone — feeds creative thinking. Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities.

Research has shown that immersion in nature, and the corresponding disconnection from multimedia and technology, increased performance on a creative problem-solving task by a full 50 percent in a group of hikers.

So why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking? Turn off your phone and give yourself the chance to be present in the world, to hear conversations and natural sounds, to notice the way people move, the way the sun reflects in a puddle. Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder.

9 . No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own_________.

I learned this lesson from a(n)_________many years ago. I took the head coaching job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.   

It was a tradition for the school’s old team to play against the_________team at the end of spring practice. The old team had no coach, and they didn’t even practice to_________the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldn’t_________ I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to   _________that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were _________me. I had to change my_________about their ability and potential.   

I started doing anything I could to help them build a little_________. Most important, I began to treat them like winners. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their__________, we met every day and__________passing and kicking the football.

Six months after suffering our defeat on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to__________. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a victory for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn’t what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest thrills of my life!   

From the experience I learned a lot about how the attitude of the leader can__________the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and__________them. I helped them to see themselves__________, and they built themselves into winners.

Winners are made, not born.

10 . At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example, when I was 12, I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my ______ for the summer. My mom was extremely ______ about it. She kept telling me how things were different there, to always put on sunscreen, not to ______ away from my grandmother, and other ______ . But despite her worries, she let me go.

As I moved into my teens, she continued to give me ______ to grow and learn. When I reached my senior year, I found that I ______ from my peers. While many of them wanted to be ______ home, I couldn’t wait to be ______ in the world on my own. I had been looking forward to this chance for longer than I could remember. And ______ , while my mom was not happy, she was supportive. Sure, sometimes she would nag (唠叨) me about certain choices I made, but for the most part she did not stand in my way.

I realized that she actually trusts me, which ______ a lot. Most of my life, I tried to ______ my mother. I knew she expected ______ but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to ______ her standards: getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A’s.

I know that her high standards have helped me focus on what’s important, like education. I am thankful for her support and ______ in my life. She is the strongest woman I know and that’s why I have ______ out so strong and independent.