1 . My mom taught me songs. However, she never taught me how to sing. Of course I never really learned the English ________ then, but I realize as I grow up that one does not really ________ to understand the language of a song in order to ________ it completely. I also realize that music has become an important aspect of my ________. I use music to ________ my emotions, my joys, and my sorrows. Also, music is an ________ aspect of our culture. For example, some people use music to celebrate weddings.

When I came to the UK I realized that music has ________ me to deal with times when I miss home. It has become my ________ and when I miss home, especially my mum,   I find myself ________ the songs that we used to sing together. ________ I hear a song that makes me think of my brother and I find myself smiling or crying.

People use ________ instruments to create music, yet none of the lyrics and ________ have similar effect on all of us. When I listened to people singing as they ________ the world cup, I realized that music can actually bring ________ to this world and through songs the people of this world can be ________ as one!

2 . When Zou Hongyan welcomed her son—Ding Ding to the world in 1988, terrible birth complications(病发症)left him disabled for life. Doctor advised her to give him up, a view that even her own husband shared, as they believed the boy would lead a painful, _________ life. Zou, however, _________ doctor’s advice, divorced her husband, and _________ saving her baby boy.

Zou took on at least three jobs at the same time to _____her family. In her spare time, she _________ took her son to a recovery hospital. Meanwhile, she learned how to massage(按摩) his muscles and would play intelligence _________and puzzles with him.

The mother also insisted from the start that her son would learn to _________ his disabilities as far as possible. For example, Ding had problems coordinating (协调) his _________ movements, and found it difficult to use chopsticks. _________ many relatives said it was perfectly understandable, Zou kept on______him to do so.

“I didn’t want him to feel __________ of his physical problems.” She said, “I was quite strict __________ him, so he could catch up with others where he had difficulties. ” Because of mother’s persistence and endless love, Ding Ding succeeded in his __________ studies. In 2011, he graduated with a degree in environmental science from Peking University. In 2016, after working for two years, Ding was __________ into Harvard Law school.

“I never dared to dream of applying to Harvard.” Ding said, “ __________was my mother who never stopped encouraging me to give it a try. Whenever I had doubts, she would guide me forward.”

3 . A woman, Li Li, aged 25 in China, recently decided to have an operation to reduce the size of her stomach. She had begun to take weight-loss pills seven years before but had put on 100 pounds instead of losing weight.

Li Li bought some weight-loss pills after seeing a (n) _________ on TV. She weighed around 100 pounds at that time. However, she felt like she needed to lose a bit of weight. If some _________ could help her do that, then why not? The young woman said that the experiences were _________ at first, but as soon as she stopped taking the pills, she not only put on all the weight she had _________, but added a few extra as well. Little did she know that this was the _________ of a vicious (恶性的) cycle that would see her spend around 200,000 yum on weight-loss pills, only to have her weight double.

Li Li’s _________ was recently published by Chengdu Business Daily. She arrived at the Chengdu Peopled Hospital and told the doctors there that she had _________ for seven years. But to her disappointment, there was nothing positive to show for it, so the operation was her only _________.

The woman said that after her first experience with weight-loss pills, she _________ going online and searching for other pills and weight-loss plans. But the results were always the same. She couldn’t even __________ all the different drugs she had taken in the past seven years, but what she did know was that none of them worked as advertised. Yes, some pills __________ helped her lose 29 pounds a month, but as soon as she stopped taking them, she soon came back to her previous weight and even __________ more weight.

Li Li said she wanted to remind people not to __________ advertising which was different from reality when it came to weight loss products, because she was a clear __________ of that. Losing weight is a long-term process, no matter how __________ the advertising for weight-loss pills is.

4 . As a teenager growing up in a small town in Oregon in the 1950s, I had no wish to finish high school. My biggest _______ in life was to be a cartoonist. My hero, Walt Disney, had never _______ high school, and I felt that if he could drop out and _______, so could I. But my mother would never hear of it, so I _______ to go on with my school life.

In my second year of high school I began to sell cartoons to a small magazine in California. In my letter to the editor, I mentioned my _______ to drop out of high school and go into _______ full-time. He wrote back urging (力劝) me to _______ school. To make him believe me, I told him about how Walt Disney had _______.

A few weeks later, I got a mail from the magazine. I was quite _______ to see one letter addressed to me from Walt Disney studios. They ________ me that the editor had contacted them and explained to them my ________ about finishing high school. They ________ me very strongly to stay in high school, pointing out that they ________ considered applicants without a high school education.

It discouraged me, ________ it taught me two things: I was no Walt Disney, and times had ________. I finished high school, and went on for two years of college. Years later I worked for Walt Disney studios.

5 . In eighth grade, I was fascinated by a legend from Japan. ________ you fold one thousand paper cranes, the gods will help realize one wish for you. I took it as a challenge and started folding paper cranes.

I folded cranes at home, between classes, and in the car. My fingers were ________sticky from the glue.

________with a pack of colorful pencils, I decorated each piece of paper individually. Slowly, my collection grew.

With more confidence, I started ________. How small was it possible for a crane to be? Smaller than a golf ball? Smaller than a coin? Soon I could finish a crane in fifty seconds with my ________ closed.

By six hundred cranes, the increasing demands of high school academics caused my ________ to slow. I despaired. I wouldn’t let this be another ________ project that I couldn’t finish. My cranes mattered to me. As an outlet for expression, they ________ as a way to overcome frustration and sadness.

So, I pushed myself to keep working and to keep folding one crane at a time. My determination ________ off. One month before the end of junior year, I folded my thousandth paper crane. As I ________ the open drawer filled with cranes in a huge number of sizes and colors, I felt a rush of ________. I proved to myself that I can finish what I start.

Looking at them, I realized the fact that there is a lot of beauty in tiny things. I have ________ away cranes to my friends as a pick-me-up on ________ days, and I have made cranes to ________ people, such as the dark green crane I made the day my grandmother died. They are a symbol of hope to remind me what I have accomplished. It turns out, I didn’t need the ________. I learned I have the power to make things happen for myself.

6 . What happens when the novel A Dream of Red Mansions meets architectural psychology? How does a coffee shop ________ your imagination? Seeming odd at first sight, these are the questions ________ in Critical Thinking & Innovation, a course taught by Professor Xiong Hao.

For Xiong, critical thinking is a(n) ________ part of life which he loves most. After ________ his Ph. D., he joined Fudan University and participated in TV debates and talk shows. He is well known for his quick ________ and composure (沉着) on ________. “People are often restrained (限制) by conventions. Innovation is about thinking differently,” Xiong highlighted the ________ of critical thinking.

Students are attracted to the course for the student-friendly learning ________ in class. Previously, the course was run on an e-platform with ________ seminars as a supplement (补充). Students who enrolled in the course all ________ it. “The expressions used by the professor are very ________.” “The speed of teaching is just right.” These are some of the comments.

As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, Xiong has to ________ several adjustments this semester. The course is divided into 60 sections and each lasts only 6 minutes to cope with ________ attention spans as students watch the videos online.

“As a teacher, I don’t know how well students are processing the information. For students, they may get bored or tired easily for the lack of ________.”   To make up for it, Xiong inserts questions and the students will have to choose the right answer before they ________. Offline seminars have been moved online as well.

7 . On the first day of our science class, Mr. Whitson gave us a lecture about an animal called “Cattywampus”, an ill-adapted nocturnal (夜行的) animal that was ________ out during the Ice Age, and he passed around a skull（头骨）as he talked. We all took notes and later had a quiz.

When he returned our papers, we were shocked — a big red “x” ________ each of our answers. We had written down exactly what he had said. There must be some mistakes!

“Very simple,” Mr. Whitson explained, “I had ________ up the story about the Cattywampus. There had never been such an animal. The information in your notes was, ________, incorrect. Did you expect ________ for incorrect answers?”

Needless to say, we were annoyed.

“You should have ________ it out.” Mr. Whitson said. After all, at the very moment he was ________ around the skull (in truth, a cat's), hadn't he been telling us that no trace of the animal ________? He had described its amazing night vision and the ________ of its fur he couldn't have known. He had given the animal a ridiculous name, and we still hadn't been ________.

Every class was a/an ________ with Mr. Whitson. One day he told us that his car was a living organism（有机体). It took us two full days to ________ for our clarification(阐明). He didn't let us off the ________ until we had proved not only the reasonable statement of an organism but also that we had the courage to stand up for the truth.

We put our ________ skepticism(怀疑) into all our classes. Teachers and textbooks are not always right. In fact, no one is. Don't let your minds go to ________, instead, speak up if you ever thought the teacher or the textbook was wrong.

8 . Life became dull when social distancing began in March due to the coronavirus. The_________all faded (消逝) together into what felt like one unexplainable long day. Not only did I have no opportunity to_________with my friends, but as more time passed in solitude (独处), I lost any_________to be around people.

That is, until July, when one of my_________from another state asked me to go camping with her family. I agreed, although somewhat_________. Once you have forgotten the pure_________of being among friends, the idea of driving six hours to live in a tent in the middle of a bug-infested (虫子滋生的) forest doesn't hold much_________anymore.

I don't remember the drive there, and even the scenery slowly_________from my mind. What I do remember is the_________feeling of happiness that washed over me. Within seconds, I remembered what it was like to live each second to its__________. I slept under the stars,__________from cliffs (山崖) into the crystal-clear water and walked through a night so__________that I couldn't see 2 inches (5cm) in front of me. I made new friends that are among my closest friends to this day. I instantly fell__________in love with the liveness of life.

The coronavirus brought on the hardest couple of months of my life. But I wholeheartedly__________that it was worth it.__________the advantages of the past gives you a greater appreciation of them when they finally return. Those five days in New York will forever be among my happiest.

9 . There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge rock _________in the middle of a road. Then he _________nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road.

The first group of people to pass by were some of the _________merchants and the king's officials. Rather than moving it, they simply walked _________ it. Though they had made a tidy fortune, these _________merchants and officials never thought of making any contribution. A few even loudly_________the king for the inconvenience caused by not _________the roads. Not one of them tried to move the rock.

Finally, a peasant _________. His arms were full of vegetables and farm tools. When he got near the rock, rather than simply going around it, the peasant put down his _________and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he __________succeeded.

The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he saw a purse lying on the __________where the rock had been. The peasant __________the purse. The purse was stuffed full of gold coins and a note from the king. The king's note __________the gold was a __________for him, because he moved the rock from the road. Then, the king walked out from where he had hidden to meet the peasant.

The king__________the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle gives an opportunity to improve our condition.

10 . My life as a tax-paying employed person began in middle school, when, for three whole days, I worked in a baking factory.

My best friend Betsy’s father was a manager at Hough Bakeries, which, at Easter time, _________ little bunny (兔子) cakes for all its _________throughout Cleveland. It happened that the plant downtown needed eight kids for _________ help during our spring break, for which I had no_________ beyond listening to my favorite records. I’d _________ minimum wage. I’d see how a factory_________. My parents thought all of this was a grand idea and called Betsy’s dad with their _________.

Our_________in the factory were simple: Place cakes on a moving belt. Attach icing (糖霜) ears. Apply icing eyes and nose._________ bunny from the belt. This was ____________ than it sounds.____________ a bit and the cakes pile up. As I told my parents at dinner that first night, it was all a little more high-pressure than I’d   ____________ .

Dad __________. The son of a grocer, he’d spent the summers of his childhood____________ food in Benardsville, New Jersey. This was the sort of work that made you____________ the dollars you earned and respect those who did the work, he told me.