2 . Several years ago, a neighbor kid kicked a football and broke a basement window of my house. Due to financial problems, I________it up, thinking I’d get to it someday.

Over the year, I had planned to upgrade to energy-efficient windows. But with the frame (窗框) rusted (锈) and firmly ________in the foundation, whoever did it would need to chisel (凿) it out by hand. It would be a ________ process and there were six of those windows in the house. The cost was estimated at $15,000. It was simply________.

Honestly, the thought of that window________me for years. I knew I needed to fix it, but I had built up the ________so much in my mind that I put it off again and again.

Then I had a job change and needed to sell the house before moving away. But it was almost________to find a buyer if there was a broken window. So I pulled off the boards to face this thing head-on. I grabbed some rust remover, spread it around the frame of the window, ________ gave it a pull. To my astonishment, it easily________. I took the window downtown. It only cost me $12. I could have________the problem for only $12 when it occurred, but I let it bother me for five years!

________, this isn’t just about my window. Many of us live with broken windows of one type or another. They are things that seriously affect our_______of life. If you recognize your broken window, don’t________to mend it. It may turn out to be______than expected. Usually we suffer more in a(n)________than in reality.

4 . Several months ago, a powerful tornado hit our city without any signs before. We hadn’t_______ for it in advance, so we were just forced to go into our emergency action. I _______ not to be in the classroom when it struck. Hearing the sound of alarm, I rushed_______as fast as I could back to the classroom.

Never did I imagine that we would put our regular_______ to use. Never did I imagine that my students had _______against the wall and crouched down on their knees. Their eyes were obviously filled with _______ as they asked if their parents, pets, and friends would be okay. I, along with other teachers, tried our best to comfort them, though we actually didn’t know what the _______would be.

I couldn’t _______ the tornado more. However, I’m very proud of my students who behaved so well. In such a scary and_______ situation, they behaved beyond their ages. Never in my life had I seen them ________ instructions so quickly, without any hesitation. Though some tears were dropping and some hearts were beating fast, the kids were unbelievably ________. I’m extremely proud that they made an effort to calm down because of their ________in me.

Because of the tornado, I ________ that my job as a teacher meant a lot. Behind every well-behaved student is a long line of teachers who have made it their life’s ________ to educate them with safety, courage, calmness and trust. Though the tornado has presented ________, I’m sure we can deal with them one by one.

5 . I first realized that plastic was a serious matter for our planet during my travel in Western Australia. One day about 12 years ago, I stopped at a supermarket along the Coral Bay coast ta buy some groceries. But the lady at the counter told me that the supermarket didn’t sell any shopping bags to prevent plastic in the ocean and help preserve the endangered turtles(海龟) living in that area. After a first reaction of surprise, I gathered all purchases in my arms and left, reflecting on what I had been told.

The experience in that trip made me more conscious about my impact and pushed me to adopt various habits to travel and live more sustainably. For example, I always carried a cotton bag when I went shopping.

My travel to Indonesia was another life-changing experience that strengthened my determination to turn to a zero-waste lifestyle. In Indonesia, finding safe drinkable water was always a challenge, so I traveled with my water bottle, managing to avoid almost entirely the use of plastic during my trip.

However, I was seriously struck by my stay on the Libaran Island, where a sustainable and turtle conservation project was launched 10 years ago. Despite the big efforts by the project staff and the community in cleaning up the beaches and creatively reusing plastic, the shore was washed daily with tons of plastic coming from the tides. Walking on a carpet of plastic that almost prevented me from seeing the beach underneath was quite shocking.

Facing this global issue in person, I felt a sense of sadness and anger that soon turned into determination: to do as much as possible to reduce plastic in my life. Sometimes we might feel helpless in front of big problems, but we should be aware that small changes could actually make a difference step by step!

6 . My phone rang after I boarded a plane. It was my PhD adviser calling to tell me there were identified flaws in the paper I had just published in Nature. My stomach dropped as he told me the authors of the critique(评论)were demanding a retraction(撤回). That day I spent the 16-hour flight processing a mix of emotions—disbelief, embarrassment, frustration.

After the plane landed, I immediately read the critique myself, which was harsh and thorough, pointing out several fundamental flaws in our methods and in the basic data. The fallout was swift and intense. I received a flood of emails and messages. Some were from supportive colleagues, but many were harshly critical of my work.I was depressed, wondering what this would mean for my career.

I wrote a response, correcting the apparent errors in the data set. When it became clear that the retraction was unavoidable, I formally offered my resignation to my department head. He didn’t accept it, saying a resignation wasn’t needed considering the errors in the paper were honest mistakes.

The experience helped me grow as a scientist. I know it is better to be open and accountable, even if it means admitting mistakes. I can’t expect myself to know everything as a scientist and my work will be stronger if I seek out diverse expertise and opinions.

The reality is that retractions are a necessary part of the scientific process—and one that shouldn’t be viewed only through a negative lens. Retractions can also be an opportunity to learn and improve. Honest mistakes happen, and researchers should be encouraged, not punished, for doing the right thing and retracting flawed work.

7 . After graduation, I decided to take the gym seriously. Accompanied by a friend, I________a routine of walking on the treadmill (跑步机). I was ________with our routine in the gym. My friend, however, became bored.

One day, he suggested that we ________an outdoor sport. I was an uncoordinated (动作不协调的) person, so I_______his idea.

But several weeks later, he managed to ________me to step on to an outdoor racquetball (美式壁球) court. When I hit the ball, I sent it flying in every direction except the direction that I had __________Still, somehow, I tried hard to learn it and became ________after constantly practicing.

“We’re not getting enough________on the treadmill. Why not play tennis to build up our body?” suggested my friend.

“Tennis? I can’t play tennis! That ________real skills!” I firmly resisted (抵制) his new ________.

However, weeks later, I started playing tennis. After several months of________practice, one day, as the ball came flying towards me, my racket and the ball met in what tennis players viewed as the “sweet spot”. I had ________learned how to play tennis properly!

I learned a valuable ________from these experiences：I can do whatever I set my mind on. I just need to put in efforts, and the results will ________. And I become quite________about trying new things and I’m always filled with a sense of excitement.

8 . As a kid growing up in a suburb of London, I loved to go looking for the perfect park bench. Some Sunday mornings, my dad could be persuaded to drive to new parks. We’d have a kick-around with a soccer ball, share a bag of Dotritos and check out all the benches in the area, reading the words on them.

The good park bench leaves me in a state, somewhere between nostalgia (怀旧) and eager antic ration (一份滑稽). Where once I was excited by the words carved on wood, I now find, as a 10-year-old, that I’m more appreciative of each bench’s quiet stoicism (坦然谈定), the way they are willing to wait out their turn in every weather, remaining available to all-comers. Like a good book or piece of music, a park bench allows for a sense of solitude and community at the same time, which is crucial to life in a great city.

Part of my recession with park benches is as spaces where history settles. By planting seeds of curiosity, and making space for reflection, park benches become doors to the past. Maybe that’s the greatest power of the park bench: its rapacity (贪婪) encourages the art of observation. A good bench catches us in our quietest, most vulnerable (脆弱的) moments, when we may be open to imagining new nanauves and revisiting old ones. Our masks are taken off, hung from the bench’s wrought iron (锻铁). On other nearby benches,babies are being burped (打嗝). Glances exchanged. Sandwiches eaten. Newspapers read it.

Lately, I’ve found me sitting on a lot of cramped metal benches of the kind that don’t invite you to stay long, or uneasy ones that leave you cold. That’s because public seating is becoming an endangered species. Our cities are becoming more like Disneyland, which has been quietly removing public seating and replacing it with more restaurant seating. If you want a moment’s rest in 2Ist-century America, you have to open your wallet.

One recent Sunday, I wandered through Central Park. To be in Central Park in what is hopefully the pandemic’s twilight is to be reminded of the beauty of living in a city that still makes space for park benches in the modern cityscape.

10 . When I was tidying out my drawers, I happened on a few diaries that I’d kept long before. The writing showed a youthful or rather _________ hand. I took up one to have a look.

“Today the teacher _________ the report card telling the results of the term examinations. To my surprise,I was ranked No.5, the first time I’ve failed to achieve No. 1. I was so sad that I _________ bitterly. I must punish myself, for it is the greatest failure I’ve suffered in my life.”

At this I couldn’t help smiling. I could _________ remember what the actual situation was like. For years since then, I’ve suffered lots of failures, any one of which is much _________ than it.

Then I _________ to a new page.“I was very annoyed today. Why Mum should have done so? Isn’t she my mum? In a few days I’ll have college entrance examinations. I’ll _________ admission(录取) to universities far from home. When I go, I’ll never come home again.” This _________ shocked me. I tried my best to recall (回忆) what my mother had done. But _________ hard I tried, I still failed to call it to mind.

I glanced over several pages and the titles showed what was written as “very painful” or “most unforgettable” things are __________ important, or even laughable now.

Then I picked up a new one. “To the one I love most: Your love will __________ me all my life. My love for you will never change.” I recalled someone—a vague(模糊的) image appearing before my eyes—my deskmate. I used to__________ him as the whole of my life. But now, all I know is that his love doesn’t keep me company and my love has changed.

Now I’ve realized that nothing in the world is __________ And you’ll find the easiest to change is none __________ you yourself, and what stays unchanged is only the childish __________ for nice things.