1 . “You’d be an intermediate (中级学生),” the clever salesgirl at the Apple Store said brightly. She was talking about the free classes one could sign up for. An intermediate, I thought with pride. “I’ve used Macs since they had green text and discs,” I said, eager to strengthen my position. “And I had a Mac Classic for years.” She smiled, or maybe she was thinking, “If it’s been that long, why are you still an intermediate?”

Why does one remain an intermediate? Sometimes it’s a matter of opportunity: Leaving New England was a blow to my cross-country skiing. No longer living on the banks of a river held up kayaking. Horseback riding, too, requires an opportunity. I know, however, a friend I rode with as a child bought herself a retired police horse in her 40s. A devoted kayaker would not have been prevented by the highways lying between her and rivers.

Sometimes, it’s ability. I have taken up piano later in life. I love music, but I can see that I have no particular gift for it. Gardening was another late job. I wasn’t a natural at that, either.

I admit I’m a little ashamed of being an intermediate. It seems to imply a lack of focus, an unwillingness to push myself to go deeper or further. Do I lack the persistence to become an expert? Am I too easily distracted to put in the 10,000 hours reportedly required to achieve mastery?

Maybe I have to accept that, for now at least, intermediate is my sweet spot. I’ve moved past the frustrations of beginnerhood without meeting the demands of expertise. A beginner is a beginner and an expert is just that. But an intermediate can be low, medium, or high. And wherever you are as an intermediate, you can always go forward, try harder, and learn more.

Who of us can claim to be an expert parent, wife, husband, child, or friend? At best, we’re the high intermediate with much to learn.

3 . Thirty thousand is a big number. It represents the amount of people who have Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis(ALS, 肌萎缩侧索硬化). It’s also the number of times that Alex Sahinidis juggled(抛接) a soccer ball over an 11-hour period to raise money for the Live Like Lou Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to finding a cure for the discase.

Alex, a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying economics and finance, works to raise money for ALS each year through the Students’ Union. Alex began his fundraising journey, which aimed to raise $ 1,000 for the Live Like Lou Foundation, in November of 2019. His progress was lagging behind though.

“We raise money for ALS each year, and I won’t lie, sometimes it felt routine and more often, like a chore,” Alex said. “My entire perspective changed when I met Susan. It gave me a sense of purpose.”

Susan is a resident receiving treatment for ALS at a medical center. Alex met Susan in October, when the Students’ Union provided members the opportunity to volunteer for an individual impacted by the disease. For Alex, meeting her was a life-changing experience.

Although Susan could not speak and required a machine to track her eye movements to express herself verbally, Alex recalls that she was optimistic and fun. “After completing some chores for her, she thanked me gently. But then suddenly, she broke down crying and I was immediately touched by her sensitivity and gratitude.”

His short time with Susan inspired Alex to speed up his fundraising. For the last month, he spent time individually raising money for the Iron Phi Challenge, an athletic event which raises money for patients like Susan.

Alex encourages others to find ways to give back, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “No matter the circumstances we find ourselves in, there is always an opportunity to put a smile on another’s face and leave a positive impact on the world around you,” he said.

4 . One of life’s challenging aspects is being in need of assistance and having no one to turn to. For many of us, asking for help is_________. We may feel as if we are_________ a personal limitation that the world would not have known about. This is why I started the Helping Movement, a free online tool.

Just recently a local resident, Helen, was asked to_________ all of her collected life belongings from her basement by the end of March, or her landlord would have been_________ to deal with all the things due to fire code(消防规范)issues. These_________ mean the world to Helen and to_________ any of them would have been depressing.

After_________ for a place to store her belongings, she was able to_________ an affordable storage unit in Newfield; but her next challenge was moving all the items filling her basement across town without_________ to a truck or manpower.

Helen__________ the Helping Movement and explained her__________. The Helping Movement recruited six volunteers, including myself, and one truck to move her belongings. Helen was__________ at the amount of support total strangers were__________ to give her without asking for anything in return.

Helping others gives you an opportunity to__________ people’s life, including your own.   When other people__________ you, it will change the way you look at yourself and at the same time, helping others will create a more peaceful world.

5 . When I was an adolescent girl, my whole family-mother, father, brother and I lived in a(n) ________ two-bedroom rowhouse. My parents often worked ________ for our well-beings, particularly at night when my brother and I fell ________. I thought it was the same thing as everybody's parents did, I found it interesting the moment I first realized that other families lived ________.

Based on American ________, what we had at the time was small. However, that never ________ me, not then, and not now.

One of my most ________ memories happened at nighttime. We piled into the car to look at the lights in the neighbourhood and then came home. At the top of our steps, there was a little table. The table was in the ________ of a triangle, which had lights ________ the sides. At night I would go and sit before it. I would ________ it on and the one little light bulb ________ it up. It looked magnificent to me.

Somehow I could feel a kind of warmth there. I could feel what it was like to be doing the best you can with what you've got. I could feel the ________ of my parents trying to do the best they could for each other and for their little ones. I could feel how ________ what they shared was-no matter how small our ________ or lack of material things, none of that mattered. What mattered is that we were all there. That created a priceless contentment of which I think even the Angels would ________ .

6 . A few years back a group of young teachers from another school was spending a day in my class. They were energetic, bright and _______. However, I noticed a key _______in their approach to teaching. Their desire to help kids was so strong that they never allowed the students to get the wrong answer or take a _______.

We were building _______that week. My students were working in groups of four. Each group was _______a small Viking model rocket, instructions, and the materials with which to put it _______. The challenge for each team was to precisely measure, _______, and assemble their project. One group was trying hard but making mistakes in the placement of missile sections. Several of the teachers _______going over to the kids to show them how to build the rocket _______. On a number of occasions I had to politely but firmly ask them to leave the kids alone.

It’s important to remember that we ________individually define the word failure. In my class, a rocket that doesn’t fly is not a failure. Failure ________only when students stop trying to solve a problem. It may he solved in five minutes, or it may take two months, as was the case where my students built an enormous roller coaster and could not create a loop with enough centripetal force to allow the cars to move along the track safely. ________those two months of failed trials were some of the most fascinating and exciting times the kids had in science that year. And when the roller coaster finally ________, the kids could say they did it themselves. They ________the physics of the roller coaster. I did the best teaching during those two months when I decided to ________and leave the kids alone.

10 . “Your playful days are over,” my brother said to me when he knew I was going to be a Senior One student. Then he continued telling me that senior school life was boring because I had to do a large amount of homework every day. The subjects were much more difficult than those of junior school.

I stepped into the school gate with a nervous heart. However, I was surprised to find what I experienced there was completely different from what my brother had told me.

The teachers gave excellent lessons in their own special way. They talked with me in a natural and fair way, as if I was an adult. All of them are so knowledgeable (学识渊博) and they not only explained the contents of textbooks but also provided extra information from other sources. Every word they said in classes made me so excited and interested that I had a strong desire to take in as much as I could.

In fact, my playful days were not over at all in senior school. There were many kinds of activities I could take part in. For example, sports meetings, the art festival, English corner, outing and so on. Best of all, generally, students organized the activities rather than teachers. Through this process, I improved my leadership abilities and communication skills. I've become mature (成熟的). I am not a kid any more.

Now if anyone asks me: “Through your process of growing up, which part is most impressive up till now?” Well, the answer will absolutely be my “senior high school life”.