1 . As my dad got a new job in southern Florida, we moved here from our old home, school, friends and everything. There were so many ________ for me. In a new school full of strangers, could I make friends? Would I ________? My mind was filled with ________.

Being shy and quiet, I read a lot. Loving books and reading helped me get excellent results. Teachers ________ me for that. But other kids disliked me getting top ________ and answering questions in class. I felt like a (n) _________.

Then one day, a tall strong boy in English class walked right over to me. He________himself. He said he was on the school basketball team. I ________ that he was the star player!

“Hey,” he said. “Do you think you could. ________ me? You do really well in English class.” I could, and ________ I would. From that moment on, life at school ________. Basketball players walked me to classes and. ________ me in hallways. As the team tutor (导师), I fit in. Nobody. ________ me anymore. I was thankful to be ________ enough to help the team.

I taught the guys about grammar. They taught me how to dribble (运球) a basketball. More importantly, they gave me the ________ to be myself and to be a short girl who really knew how to dribble a basketball!

3 . When she was 16, Joanne learned that she was adopted and that her birth mother was a woman named Lillian and that she had died days after giving birth to her. Feeling betrayed (被背叛的) and confused, Joanne spent many nights crying, _________ what her birth mother had been like. And yet, some part of her believed her mother was still _________.

The doubts _________ Joanne for years. In 2017, when Joanne was already 79 years old, her daughter-in-law, Shelley, suggested her taking a DNA _________. Shelley thought learning something about her _________ family might give Joanne some _________.

So Joanne took the test, and about a year later, Shelley received a message on ancestry.com from a man named Sam, whose genetic report had _________ him with Joanne.

Shelley immediately wrote back to Sam, asking _________ he knew a Lillian. Yes, Sam said, that was his mother’s name. Almost _________, an even bigger shock came that Lillian was alive, at age 100.

The families quickly planned a(n) __________ where Lillian lived. A month later, Joanne found herself sitting across from the mother she had __________ in her whole life, looking at Lillian, who suffered from dementia (痴呆症) and used a wheelchair.

“I don’t know if she recognizes me,” Joanne said.

She told Lillian that she had been __________ in 1940 and that she’d been told her birth mother had __________. No response. Joanne started to cry. At that point, her mother __________, as if she had started to understand. Joanne excitedly continued telling Lillian all about her children and grandchildren. Lillian smiled. Then she said the words Joanne had waited more than 60 years to hear: “This is my __________.”

6 . Until a few years ago, I had what most people would call a good life. I had a _____ job that paid the bills; I had a good family that I was close to, and I had a place to live and money in the bank for trips and _____, and there was nothing much wrong in my life. However, I was bored.

I wanted more. I wanted to live _____ and loudly and make sharp memories instead of the grey ones of everyday life. But I was _____. I have never had any confidence in myself. As a child, even buying something in a shop caused me a great deal of _____, and even though I did get better as I got older, I never quite _____ that childhood shyness.

And I tried everything, like reading books about confidence. I also took tiny steps leading to my goals. But none of them really _____.

So I _____ that the small steps weren’t enough. I signed up for an internship (实习期的工作) of teaching English in Vietnam, an _____ huge step, one that terrified me as much as it excited me. And then the day came and I left my home and my loved ones. I was alone in a country where the food was ______ and the streets were unfamiliar. I had no idea whether I would be able to ______ everything that this very strange environment would ______ at me.

I spent five months in Vietnam, teaching, exploring and laughing, I’d learnt to ______ myself, my skills, my abilities and my decisions. I returned home unrecognizable, even to myself, let alone to others. The ______ that had controlled my life and the self­doubt were ______.

That one big chance changed everything for me, and in me.

7 . Yesterday, I posted a photo of a pile of cross stitch kits (十字绣) on my blog. To my _______, many readers say I do well in them. I couldn’t use them all, _______ finally I decided to give away the rest to ladies in my neighbourhood who like to _______a project with their own hands.

I_______them all up into a box and decided to start with the lady who _______a pub. She’s perfectly kind and she served me with a cup of coffee. I took her out to my car and showed her the _______. I was holding it in my arms beside my car when another car _______up next to us with two other ladies in it. Within moments I was pushed against the _______behind the weight of three elderly ladies and I had to fight my way to pick up the empty box. The three ladies had taken every single item in that box with _______expressions on their faces and lots of thanks. One of the ladies has a son who is a firefighter. She decided to give some cross stitch kits to the ________station. Her decision did make me pleased. I had in my mind a wonderful picture of all these ________and strong firemen sitting around all working on their cute cross stitch Christmas stockings while they ________for fire alarms to be called in.

Finally, ________and laughter all went around, and then I e­mailed another ________, who often visits me and also likes cross stitch kits. She promised to send me her extra cross stitch kits, too. I just know kindness will finally ________on to others.

8 . I’m Mike. I graduated from Sunshine Junior middle school last June, and I’m now ________ in a senior high school of Yucai in Beijing. This autumn, I will ________ my second year.

In the summer one year ago, I remember being extremely excited yet nervous, as I was about to begin my high school ________. I was also quite ________ at the idea of being away from home for so long for the first time in my life. As I said goodbye to my parents at the high-speed railway station, I felt a mix of ________ and upset. I was travelling to a different city by myself, with a suitcase beside me, and the ________ to have an unforgettable high school experience.

At school, there might be ________ times. What if I don’t make any friends? What if my classes get stressful? How will I do my laundry? Yes, I’ve been there too, and ________ these questions. Don’t worry, you’ll make friends. Just learn to ________ the right people.

Classes will, most ________, become intense, especially towards midterms and exams. But it’s all right, we all can ________. You will have a lot of people around you who can help.

It’s ________ to worry about things like these. You’ll slowly ________ that you’ll take on these ________ as you go, and that they won’t be as terrible as you had ________.

10 . There are always some persons in your life who touch your soft heart with kindness.

As a little girl, my favorite thing was _________. And when I thought about _________ I wanted to be when I grew up, I figured I’d be a librarian, just because the two librarians changed my life.

At that time, the town library limited the number of books a person borrowed _________ two once a week. I _________ the books in just three days. So to read more, I was _________ about what books to choose. The librarian, Mrs. Tonne, was a warm person. Every time I went into the library, she greeted me, _________. When learning about my trouble, she often _________ some better books. Thanks to her help, I _________ a lot from these books.

Gradually, I developed an interest in writing, _________ poems. When I was in fourth grade, our school librarian, Mrs. Ketelsen, encouraged me to write more. When my poem was not accepted, she __________ me with comfortable words. Once she helped __________ some poems I’d written about dinosaurs to Highlights magazine. It was my first published writing!

Later, at the University of Iowa, __________ I majored in journalism, my dream was different. I realized that I was shy about interviewing people, which made me __________. When I recalled Mrs. Tonne and Mrs. Ketelsen, I made a decision without __________ to be devoted to writing. And now I am an editor at Reader’s Digest.

Whenever I think of the help from them, how __________ I am. It is their kindness that makes me what I am.