1 . Last summer I talked with my daughter studying in her last year in high school about her graduation album. I asked which _________ she selected to take her pictures for it. She told me she _________ no one, adding she’d rather have a friend or family member snap a few candid (抓拍的) shots and _________ from them. It would be a good idea to me since she _________ available photos of herself, and it would be a _________ to spend hundreds of dollars and have her like none of the photos. Of course, I asked her several times to be _________ afterwards.

After two _________ she still didn’t like any of the photos I took for her very much and told me she wasn’t submitting one for the graduation album. As the _________ was fast approaching, I warned her that the school might use her _________ from her school ID and asked again if she was certain she wanted to go this route. Her answer was __________ so I decided to let it go.

Yes. I could have picked a photo my daughter didn’t like and submitted it behind her back, but I knew it wouldn’t have __________ well. So I didn’t do that.

My daughter is __________ enough to make such a decision on her own. It’s her senior year. The fact that she doesn’t want to __________ a senior portrait for the graduation album doesn’t __________ there’s anything wrong with her. I need to let her do her thing.

I had my senior year and did it the way I wanted. Now it’s my daughter’s __________.

2 . I had a highly successful career, eventually rising to the position of department head. However, one afternoon last May, I was called into the office and _______ that my services were no longer required. I sat there in _______, overwhelmed by a sense of failure. Despite being _______ in my field, I suddenly felt worthless.

For the subsequent six weeks, I felt lost. I wandered around my house aimlessly, lacking the _______ to do anything. The once-promising future now seemed _______ with doubt and insecurity.

Then, towards the end of June, my youngest son’s soccer team _______ it to the city cup final. Two years ago, I _______ to fulfill my commitment to participate in the competition due to work-related reasons. This time, however, his face _______ with joy when I assured him I would be there. Not only did they win the championship, but witnessing the happiness on my son’s face as I _______ him on brought unspoken joy to my own heart.

From then on, I spent the summer attending game after game, supported my older son at his band performances, and ________ traveled to another city to watch him play. These moments held profound ________ for me. Having dedicated the entirety of my life to my ________, I am profoundly ________ that my sons warmly welcomed me into their world.

Surprisingly, being ________ granted me a newfound sense of purpose—I am someone’s mother! I regained a feeling of being ________. It was a feeling that I had not experienced in along time. Now I feel more positive about my professional experience in my new job and I’m getting on better with my family than I ever have.

3 . You witness a man uses abusive (辱骂的) language towards his mother in a grocery store. Or you hear someone saying something mean to your friend at a party. Both are_________in which bystander intervention (干预) could make a difference._________, however, when_________with such situation, we may not be sure what to do. You are not alone. “When people are standing in a crowd and something bad happens, they tend to be_________,” said Alan Berken, an expert on the Bystander Effect.

However, the latest research shows that most people feel willing to help when they can. When they do not help, it is because they_________do not feel they have the_________to do so or are unsure about safety. “Actually, you can prepare yourself to be an active bystander by_________the Four D’s: distract, delegate (委托), delay or document,” says Alan. “An active bystander helps to challenge_________behavior.”

Distraction is a good start. Take the case of the man abusing his mother in the grocery store, don’t give the man a face-to-face blame, instead an active bystander can_________intervene by asking the man how to choose a ripe watermelon. This can help to ease the__________, which may turn the table.

As another__________, you can delegate. While witnessing violence, you can tell someone else to__________the authorities. Thirdly, asking the victim whether there is anything that you can do to help can also__________the upgrading of the situation.

Lastly, you can videotape the behavior with your cellphone. This documenting can be a__________to a would-be perpetrator (作恶者). But you have to be__________not to intervene in a way that could cause harm to you or the victim.

4 . My phone was an extension of myself. I couldn’t go anywhere _________ it. I scrolled through my friends’ _________ into late night and turned my phone on before my eyes were fully open. I enjoyed having it until that day when I realized that what had started as a useful tool had turned into a(n) _________. So, I made a _________ decision to turn off that smartphone and _________ my old dumb phone out of hiding.

When I was watching TV shows or movies and there was a boring part, I _________ picking up the phone and checking out “what everyone else was doing.” Now I had to pay attention or find a way to _________ myself with my thoughts instead. When I visited New York City, I had to write out _________ and ask people where an intersection (十字路口) was _________ pulling out my phone.

I have welcomed silence into my life with open arms and am enjoying the increased __________ from not constantly having to fight with the __________ to check my phone while I’m trying to get something done. I am allowing my thoughts to speak to me instead of my phone. I am connecting with others in a __________ way that isn’t all about me. Instead of always posting about what’s going on in my __________ perfect life, I am connecting with my friends one-on-one, talking about the reality of our lives and being there for them from a place of __________.

As much as having a smartphone was __________, not having one is freeing on a much bigger level.

5 . It was July 15, 2021, and my friends had helped me celebrate my 31st birthday.

Earlier in the day I had prepared for the _________ event of a flood. We are about a third of a mile from the banks of the Ahr River. It had been raining heavily that week, and the government had issued a flood _________, though not for where I was. _________, I’d placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door just in case _________ got through. Before my friends left, they _________ me for doing that, but I thought, why take a chance?

As I drifted off to sleep, I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water, as if I were lying beside a waterfall instead of in my bedroom. When I moved my legs off the bed, I was _________ by the touch of cold water lapping against my knees and rising fast. Trembling and in darkness, I _________ my cellphone and turned on the flashlight. I saw water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door.

I admit it, I began to _________. The Ahr, usually such a __________, slow-moving river, had violently burst its banks. And now I had to get out—fast!

Any effects of the celebratory drinks I’d had earlier were now gone. I heard the garden door starting to crack under the __________ of the flood. In bare feet, I started to move to my only __________: the door that leads to the hallway. All around me things were breaking, and the cupboards were being __________.

I tried to pull the door open, but the force of the water wouldn’t __________ me. Finally, I __________ to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to squeeze through and make it into the __________.

If I had __________ just a few minutes later, I would have drowned. Many of the houses around us were destroyed, including, __________, a home for the disabled. Not everyone got out.

I came close to drowning that day. But rather than keep thinking about that, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterward: “Christian, don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________.”

6 . Even when you have confidence in yourself, your goals will sometimes seem out of reach. When that happens, get hold of the people who _________ you and your goals and don’t let go!

When I was younger, I _________ because life felt so hard. I had _________to become a teacher or a business administrator. I knew I needed a college degree, but I had _________ believing in myself. Then a teacher in my high school _________ me. He told me three things: First, if you don’t believe in yourself, it will be _________ to get anyone else to believe in you. Second, never let other people’s _________ to see your brilliance prevent you from being brilliant. And third, despite life’s _________, stick to creating the future you want.

Early in my _________, I was teaching a workshop when a person in the audience yelled out to me. He told me I had __________ made a job choice and had a bright future. This __________ feedback (反馈)came at just the right time, because while the audience didn’t know it, I was __________ self-doubt.

Even now, I __________ myself that I have a bright future. That’s what I tell myself when I __________ success and failure. You have a bright future ahead. Think about this every single day. Remember your talents, skills, and interests. Explore the jobs that interest you, and have courage—and most __________, believe in yourself.

7 . Rejection doesn’t always hurt. Sometimes rejection may _________ a more certain path to our final goals.

This year football fans have been watching to see how Joe would _________ in the playoffs(季后赛) this season. Joe dreamed to play in the National Football League (NFL), but his journey wasn’t a(n) _________ one. He applied to several colleges, but none _________ him. Later, he got into Ohio State, but he sat on the _________ for three years. Ohio State had a great football program and coaches, who didn’t think Joe had _________. But Joe thought differently. He _________ Nebraska and got rejected once again, but he didn’t quit. Then he applied to Louisiana State University, which accepted him. The rest is history.

Joe became the Heisman Trophy _________ during his senior year, then he was admitted to the NFL, and later, his team participated in the World Championship.

Joe’s story reminds us that there are _________ paths to our final goals and that it __________ strong endurance and determination to reach them. No single __________ is going to prevent you from __________ your long-term goals. Be sure to__________ the pain that comes from disappointment and face it bravely. Try to focus on goals rather than the __________ outcome of being rejected and remember that the hurt of rejection comes from how we __________ it.

8 . A young woman was sitting next to her mother on the train; she was about 20 years old. Both of them looked tired but _________. The young woman was looking_________from the train’s window. Suddenly, she shouted, “Mom, look! The trees are behind us!” Her voice was so_________ that everybody on the train heard.

Mom smiled. But a young couple_________ nearby looked at the young woman’s behavior (行为) with pity. “Poor young woman. There must be something wrong with her_________ ,” they thought. About a quarter later, the young woman_________again, “Mom, look! The clouds are running with us!” Mom_________again. And she seemed very happy with the young woman’s words. _________ , the couple couldn’t help asking the old woman,   “Sorry if We offend (冒犯) you. But why don’t you _________your daughter to a good doctor?” The old woman smiled and said, “We have just come from a ____________.” “Then you should go to a(n)____________one. Because it seems that your daughter’s situation hasn’t____________,” said one of them. They felt so sorry for the old woman.“No, ____________ , I’m very happy with the treatment (治疗),” said the mother, “My daughter was blind from birth. Today, she is seeing the world for the____________ time.”

Every person has a story. Don’t judge people before you really know them, ____________you’ll be surprised at the truth.

9 . Clinton was a great example of the student every teacher loves to have in class. An immigrant from the Philippines at the age of twelve with _______ English skills, he had traveled far to be the only student at school who _______ scholarships from three different school-based groups. All his teachers felt proud when he announced to be a teacher in the future because we knew he would _______ students’ lives

_______ , Clinton never made it to college. Just two days after he graduated from high school, Clinton was diagnosed with stage four colon(结肠) cancer. The doctors held _______ hope that cancer treatments would do more than postpone the eventual_______ . We were heartbroken. Clinton would never _______ college.He would never teach. He would never marry. He would never have children.

We_______ a hand of help and comfort to Clinton and his family. Many an hour was spent by Clinton's side in the hospital; a T-shirt was sold to help raise_______ for Clinton's medical care, and on the front of that T shirt was the following: “Love is a verb ”. For all of us who knew and loved Clinton, we came to ________ that statement and we believed it would make all the ________ in the world.

Clinton passed away on October 16th. We were all deeply ________ by his death. But we also ________ to the fact that the true duty of our school is beyond the factual knowledge and skills we teach to students. It is helping ________ to grow and mature into ________ people.

10 . When my son was eight years old, he loved to play practical jokes on me. Every time I walked into a room, a shower of stuffed animal toys(毛绒玩具) _______ on my head. He put fake flies in the ice-cube trays(制冰盒), and ants in my purse. You never knew when or where he would strike. I admired his _______, but I have to admit there were days when his jokes got _______.

One weekend, when we got home after a long day at the beach, I put the blanket in the wash. I’d throw it in the dryer the next morning. When I pulled the _______ out of the washer the next morning, a(an) _______, brown tarantula(蜘蛛) fell at my _______. I figured my son had _______ again. I picked it up and was _______ at how lifelike it looked. It was as big as the palm of my hand. Whoever made this toy spider really went all-out for detail.

It even had hair on it like a real tarantula. I took it inside and found my son watching television. I _______ it in his face and said, “Very funny, Adam.”

His face turned pale ________. He backed up and said, "Mom, I didn’t do that. It’s real. "At first, I didn’t ________ him, but then I saw the ________ on his face. I screamed, he screamed, and the tarantula went flying across the room. We both ran out of the house. When we got the ________ to go back inside, it was still lying where it had landed, dead. We both started ________ so hard that we were in tears. That day cured him of his practical jokes; he knew he could never ________ that one.