2 . In Washington DC, there is an entrepreneurial (创业的) teen, who owns and _________ his own bakery business. Young Michael Platt is the owner of Michael’s Desserts.

Born with a(n) _________ love for sweets, he became _________ in baking when he was nine. Since he was diagnosed with severe epilepsy (癫痫) at 10, Michael has been home schooled by his mother. With his activities _________ by his medical condition, Michael threw himself into _________. However, this is not just a(n) _________ bakery business. It operates on a one-for-one donation model—for every cupcake sold he_________one to the homeless.

“I knew that I wanted to start a(n) _________, but I knew I didn’t just want to make _________—I also wanted to __________ people in need at the same time,” he says. His business_____________creates new baked goods, which include __________ cookies and cupcakes, and cupcakes are his biggest seller.

Stephanie Gerstenblith, one of his __________, comes to buy cupcakes every day. She says that Michael’s cupcakes are not only delicious, but also have __________ her to “provide everyone with sweetness’”

__________ running his bakery, Michael hosts bake sales for the non-profit No Kid Hungry. Jessica Bomberg, a leader of fund-raising for the campaign, says, “Young heroes like Michael prove that everyone can __________ in society.”

It is Michael’s faith that everyone should take the __________ to take care of others. “When I see people lack foods, I want to give them __________,” he says. “It’s my way of telling them that they haven’t been __________.”

Michael believes his cupcakes inspire smiles, tears, amazement, joy, satisfaction, __________and other human emotions in those homeless people.

3 . Many people still remember the magic of Father Christmas from when they were children. As parents, they try to keep that _______ alive for their children for as long as they can.

That is why Letters from Father Christmas could be the _______ book for those who _______ Christmas as a special time of year. The man who wrote these letters is one of the most famous names in English literature—J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. The letters were Tolkien’s _______ of keeping Father Christm’s alive for children, over a period of more than twenty years.

Every Christmas, a(n) _______ with a North Pole stamp arrived. It was _______ to Tolkien’s children. Who could it be from? The children must have been very _______ as they opened it. Inside, they would find a handwritten letter from Father Christmas. The letters were also _______ illustrated—each must have taken its true author, Tolkien, a long time to _______ .

The letters told wonderful stories about Father Christmas’s life and adventures at the North Pole. A regular ________ in the letters was Polar Bear, who once climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house. In another letter, Father Christmas ________ about how he could not stop his helpers playing games with the toys ________ wrapping them up. Interestingly, the letters did not ________ the usual warnings to children that they might not receive their presents if they were not good.

Letters from Father Christmas tells us that as well as enjoying the ________ of Father Christmas, Polar Bear and other characters at the North Pole, we can all share the true spirit of ________ at Christmas time. By expressing love for his children in such a special way, Tolkien may indeed have been the real father Christmas.

7 . A few months ago, one of my fellow graduate students was offered an incredible career-building opportunity. His efforts on a student-led campaign to increase federal funding for basic research had _______ an invitation to speak on a conference panel (专家组). It would look great on his CV (简历). I was _______ for him, of course. I had been a(n) _______ partner in the campaign. I felt that I deserved the same opportunity. Yet I hadn’t been _______, and I wasn’t sure why.

Growing up, I had been taught that the way to _______ was to put my head down and work hard. If my work was good enough, it would speak for itself and I would be _______ . This, coupled with a natural _______, meant that I_______worked up the nerve to put myself forward. However, I decided that I need to _______ my life again — by becoming my own biggest __________.

So, with my __________ beating fast, I asked my colleague to ask the panel organizers to __________ me. My mind flooded with a list of well-practiced __________ . Maybe I didn't deserve it. Maybe I was being too__________ . But my colleague immediately contacted the organizers, who quickly agreed to __________me to the panel. I’ve come to understand that I can't be recognized for my work if I’m invisible. This isn’t a revolutionary __________, I know, but as an introvert (内向的人) this is my __________ Mount Qomolangma.

I think advocating for myself will always make me a little __________. But I do plenty of other uncomfortable things to __________ I’m living my best life, like getting flu shots. I suppose I can do the same for my __________

8 . My Chinese speaking experience

It’s one thing to study and learn a language, but it’s quite another when you finally get to use it.

On the _______ from Venice to Paris, a group of girls my age sat around me. I had caught enough of the conversation to know that they were speaking Chinese, but at first I didn’t feel _______starting a conversation with the stranger next to me. If it didn’t _______ well, I’d be stuck next to them for the rest of the flight.

As the food cart began to make its way down the aisle (过道) _______ us, I finally found my chance. I _______ to the girl to my left and asked, “Will you be having lunch?” in Chinese. She nodded her head, then realizing the language I had _______, and asked me in English, “You speak Chinese?”

I was a bit surprised. I _______ again in Chinese. “A little bit but not very well.” She nodded again and then returned to her magazine, _______ my effort to communicate with her. Perhaps I should have lied and said that I spoke better...

Another time, at a dinner I sat next to a man who I knew spoke Chinese. I told him that I was learning Chinese, but _______ only speak a little and not very well. When ________ me use the language, he suddenly began to speak ________ in Chinese, but all I caught was that he told me that for Chinese people, the ability to speak a little bit is actually a lot. His behaviour was the complete opposite of my earlier ________. I felt somewhat overwhelmed (不知所措). I never quite     ________ the chance to continue or make any further efforts because the conversation returned to ________ as other people joined the table.

All in all, my experience has ________me that I still have a lot of work to do.

9 . I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people _______ I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a _______person:

I think my _______started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my _______, and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever _______to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really _______. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So I tried a(n) _______. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I _______to help. That was really a big _______for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of ________are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new ________, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer s disease became my ________. Every time I came into her room, she was so ________because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never ________her, so I took her place. She let me ________. That making others feel good make me feel good, too. When she died, I was ________, but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much ________, person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not ________these experiences. They have ________e to care about other people more than about myself. ________who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.