2 . As the saying goes, life is sweet. But while we may wish for consistently sweet moments, life often serves us other _________.

Recently, we celebrated my mom’s birthday. In her nineties now, as she _________ the closing stages of a long and remarkable life, she struggles with dementia (痴呆), leading to her mind and body not _________ the way she would want.

The day before the celebration, we _________ to bake cookies with her great grand kids. Not just any cookies, but 60 _________ sugar cookies cut in different shapes, covered with lots of sprinkles (糖屑). Though the kids worked as carefully as they could, they made the kitchen a total mess, _________almost as many sprinkles on the floor as on the cookies. They went on for hours, rolling dough, baking, cutting shapes, and _________ with four kinds of sprinkles.

The next day, the birthday _________ was a success. We took many pictures, and the beautiful cookies were shared. In an _________ way, those sweet sprinkles have not only stuck in my mind but remained almost everywhere in our home for the past few days. In every __________, I continue to find them, in all the colors of the rainbow, four shapes and sizes, sweet, and after I __________ step on them, not so sweet.

Truly, these are bittersweet moments, filled with __________ emotions. From such moments, we unwillingly learn that much in life is __________ our control: the separations and losses, the __________ of life, the passage of time. Life serves up many flavors. __________, we can choose our attitudes on the journey.

3 . Rejection doesn’t always hurt. Sometimes rejection may _________ a more certain path to our final goals.

This year football fans have been watching to see how Joe would _________ in the playoffs(季后赛) this season. Joe dreamed to play in the National Football League (NFL), but his journey wasn’t a(n) _________ one. He applied to several colleges, but none _________ him. Later, he got into Ohio State, but he sat on the _________ for three years. Ohio State had a great football program and coaches, who didn’t think Joe had _________. But Joe thought differently. He _________ Nebraska and got rejected once again, but he didn’t quit. Then he applied to Louisiana State University, which accepted him. The rest is history.

Joe became the Heisman Trophy _________ during his senior year, then he was admitted to the NFL, and later, his team participated in the World Championship.

Joe’s story reminds us that there are _________ paths to our final goals and that it __________ strong endurance and determination to reach them. No single __________ is going to prevent you from __________ your long-term goals. Be sure to__________ the pain that comes from disappointment and face it bravely. Try to focus on goals rather than the __________ outcome of being rejected and remember that the hurt of rejection comes from how we __________ it.

5 . In high school, I got my first job at the local hardware (五金制品) store, all thanks to Mr. Anderson, our neighbor. He offered me a chance to _________ there. My parents gave the thumbs (拇指) up, so I _________ the world of part-time jobs.

My daily tasks weren’t too _________. I tidied up shelves and helped _________ find what they needed. But working in a(n) _________ hardware store during the summer turned out to be more _________ than I thought. I had to manage between helping customers with screws and refilling shelves with goods.

At dinner, I’d _________ tales of my day, admitting that the _________ was proving more difficult than I first thought. My dad, who had his share of hands-on experience fixing cars, would laugh and share _________ from his early mechanic (机械师) days.

He’d say, “Jobs like this teach you more than just about money; they __________ your character.” Back then, I didn’t realize that my summer __________ at the hardware store was turning out to be more than just a way to __________ some extra money.

As the summer went on, I found myself gaining a __________ understanding of responsibility and the essence of hard work. The simple __________ in the store became life lessons, teaching me to appreciate and __________ the people who work hard every day to make everything go smoothly.

8 . When I moved to Washington, D.C., I left everything behind._________new acquaintances with home-cooked meals was my best attempt at making new friends and curing my _________. I don’t want to_________, but my food is pretty good. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the _________, which is how Bun Bo Bae, my cooking blog, came to be.

I _________ most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. As a kid , I’d sit and watch her cook. My _________ and love for cooking started with _________ her the ingredients during the cooking process. Soon, I was on my way toward kitchen mastery. _________, I left for college before 1 could learn her best dishes.

I went to study in France, I was living alone and _________ homesick. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my __________ dishes. It __________ that my mom didn’t have any recipes. She grew up in the __________ with her mom too, and my grandma passed on her knowledge __________. Now it was my turn. My mom taught me how to cook and “measure with my heart.”

My blog was originally a space to __________ what I learned into writing. Later, I didn’t want the secret knowledge behind dishes to __________ one day if the oral tradition ended. I wanted to write down what I was given, to make sure people could keep these dishes as __________ as my mom did.

As my food blog and follower count grew, I became more __________ in the kitchen. My blog has given me a space to write about what I love and __________ me to countless new friends. I have learned to __________ what I’ve been taught with my own experiences, and cook up something entirely __________.

9 . I was nervous as I had never worked in a hospital before. However, my advisers were amazing and instantly put me _________ . From my first day, I realised that my highlighter pens were my most important _________ in understanding the information given in handover. Never did I know these pens would help make a real _________ to the care of one patient.

I was helping to look after Lily, who had _________ a total left hip (髋部) replacement. My adviser and I were _________ Lily for discharge (出院), but problems with her short-term memory meant she found it _________ to understand her prescribed medications (医嘱). Although we explained it, she was still _________ and became upset. To make it simpler, I decided to create an easy-to-understand medication _________ using my highlighter pens. I _________ all her medications, the amounts and the time of day. By spending just ten minutes creating something __________ to Lily, I made it.

When Lily received a follow-up call later, the nurse __________ a message from her, thanking me for my colour chart, which had helped her __________ . I was pleased by this: it was only a small act, but it made me realise how much the little things __________ and that you can never __________ patients fully understand what is being said. I am always happy to spend that extra few minutes to make sure a person understands what is fully __________ about their care.