1 . I have been reading books for as long as I can remember. I have always loved to read and never thought_________about this hobby—until I heard that some people consider reading to be “nerdy”. When did having a_________for reading become associated with being a so-called nerd（书呆子）? People who_________others for their love of novels just don't understand what bookworms experience when reading stories. They don't_________the feeling of wonder and amazement that comes from these paper pages, the_________roller coaster the stories set us on.

Books are like loyal friends—always_________for the day you decide enough is enough in the real world. You take their hand and_________into a whole other universe with them. Throughout my life, I have managed to get through tough times by disappearing into a book, into the story of another_________. I envelop myself in the conflicts, crazy plot twists and small successes that_________these novels, and I forget about the__________moments in life temporarily. When I finish reading, I often say to myself, "If that character can__________in a situation like that, I can__________make it through this day."

Novels have inspired me and helped lead the way through__________toward the light. I'm just going to keep__________the pages of my life and maybe one day, I'll reach a happy ending that allows me to__________the book and, with a smile on my face, pass it on to the next bookworm to start a brand new story.

2 . 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.

3 . As a child, Ronald lived in a library. His father was a custodian （守护人）,who kept the library clean and tidy. "The job of the library custodian is just like being the ________ of the temple of knowledge,   Ronald tells a reporter at StoryCorps.

At first, Ronald says he was ________ of his unusual home, which was different from others' nice ones. "I never dared to ________ any of my friends to visit my home. ________, I was proud that nobody else had as many ________ as 1 had.” he said.

Once the library closed for the day, it was a ________ to be the only kid in the building, could run, jump and scream. And at midnight, if I had any question, 1 would ________ and start reading a book until 3 o'clock in the morning,"   he says, "1 began to realize how ________ it is to have the library because the library gave me the love of reading that has never ________ me."

He says his time living in the library ________ him into the man he is today. He was the first in his family to ________ from high school, and then from college. A few years later, he got a position as a ________ at Cape Cod Community College.

“I took my dad and ________ him the classroom and my name on the door — Professor Ronald. He just ________.That's my Dad, quid. But... I saw the way he looked at it,“ Ronald says. "He wanted me (o aim higher. I am ________ for the days my family spent in the library."

4 . I was fifteen and a high school freshman when I started rapidly losing weight. I was about 130 pounds, and I was ________ ten pounds every couple of weeks. I couldn’t understand why I was always hungry, thirsty, and never ________.Every night I ________ five or six times, feeling like I had to go to the bathroom, but I never really had to. Finally, I decided to go to the hospital to ________ nothing bad was going on.

I remembered being ________ in the hospital, confused, hungry, and with an extremely ________ blood sugar level. The doctors and nurses thought I might pass out, so they injected me and told me the worst news I could have imagined— tests showed that I had Type 1 juvenile diabetes. I was so ________ that the only question I could think to ask was, “Am I going to die?” A nurse told me to go out, enjoy a meal with my family, and ________, because tomorrow my new, difficult life would begin.

I don’t remember what time I had to be at the hospital, ________ I know it was early. Three nurses, one dietician, and a doctor all trained me, over the course of two days, to ________ me. Every needle hurt, but in some way I began to feel ________ every time I was able to think about the needles without crying.

Now, nearly three years later, I still remember the ________ when the doctors told me I was a Type 1 diabetic. I’m ________ when I look back that I was able to be strong, and that my family and friends supported me. I’m now two months shy of eighteen. To this day, I have had 3,38 needle injections, but each of them helps me to remember I must be strong. ________, I am grateful for my disease—it has made me the person I am today, and I would never ________who I am.

5 . 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.

6 . On Sept. 1, Paul Miller, a teacher in America, _________ a video on YouTube where he does his take on “I’ll Be There For You,” a song from Friends.

“No one told me school was gonna be this way," Miller sings in a classroom, in _________ to the pandemic and the nationwide _________ of in-person teaching. “I got my lessons ready but students are absent. Though they are _________, we can still have a great year. 'Cause I'll be here for you when you're learning at home."

“_________ our social distance, school will still be great.” Miller continues. Having _________ the reasons why online learning has its _________ Miller jumps into the chorus, telling his students what they can _________. “When back,” he sings. “You really start to shine. No matter what, I'm here for you.”

Miller's video has received over 25,000 views and lots of _________ comments. One wrote: "Teachers are __________ on earth in human form.”

In an __________ with WMTV Miller said he __________ starts off every school year with a song. This year, however, he had to be more creative. The teacher said he's been __________ by the positive responses he's gotten. “Really the __________ we are getting this year is completely beyond __________,” he said. “I have gotten messages from Arizona to India. Apparently, Friends is a very popular show. ”

7 . My two kids and I were at Dunkin' Donuts, meeting my grandfather for a cup of coffee. My boys were 2 and 4 then. When the naughty little kid ________ his ice cream in the middle of the store, I turned to my grandfather for ________. I was surprised to find him laughing. When I tried to talk to him about how ________ life with two young boys is, his reply was short, “Little kids，________ problems.”

At the time, I felt a little angry. The ________ of raising my two boys didn't feel little. I sometimes felt overwhelmed (不知所措的) by their problems and needs. Still, I knew how to ________ them. I could calm my elder son down with his favorite CD and smiled at him in the rear­view mirror (后视镜). Back then, “fixing their problems” seemed like my ________. I did it every day. And, in general, I could fix most things that annoy them.

Those boys are 24 and 22 now. And, ________ my grandfather said, their problems are bigger than they were 20 years ago. And one thing I'm ________ at this stage of parenting is how to be a mom who doesn't help them. Worried about my elder son recently, I repeated my ________ to him, but he told me to stop—told me that I wasn't being ________ and that I needed to let him be.

Honestly, I miss the days when I felt so helpful. But I also feel ________ that I've raised an adult healthy enough to ________ his own life. And so, in a ________ reversal(互换), it is my son who now calms me down，________ me and then smiles at me from his rear­view mirror.

8 . A woman is volunteering in ashelter. It all started because she missed her own _________ .

Sandy was at a loss when her beloved Angus died last year — terribly lonely, yet not quite______for a new dog in her life. ________, she decided to volunteer at the local animal shelter and spend some quality time with furry friends who, like her, were ________ their old buddies (伙伴).

Remembering that her dog had loved being read to, she brought along a ________   there.

It's now been 18 months sinceSandy first began ________ her chair beside the dog house. Shelter workers say it really calms down the dogs, but Sandy says it does more ________ to her than it does to the dogs.

Sandy was ________ that photos of her reading to dogs were spreading on the Internet until the media started calling. Kathleen, a fellow shelter volunteer was so touched by the sight of her     ____ to an old dog that she took a photo and posted it on the Internet. She was so ______ with the dogs — I watched her read to several — and they just loved being ________ by her, "Kathleen said.

Inspired by Sandy's style of _________, the shelter has announced that a reading marathon is being ________ for next September. The plan is to get kids in the neighborhood ______ in reading to the animals, with the added benefit of reading practice for the two-leggers, along with plenty of friendly _______ for the four-leggers.

9 . When Amanda Moore noticed that the new student from Mexico always sat alone at lunch, she decided to befriend Rafael Anaya. She also noticed that he________ to understand English. Then she used the Google Translate app to hand-write a letter in Spanish asking him to________her for lunch. Her action________her the “Student of the Month” award for October at school.

Actually, Rafael always________ because he felt so lonely. “He always ate lunch alone and I felt ________ about that，” Amanda said. She knew he spoke Spanish and he seemed lonely. She spent the whole afternoon ________ writing the letter, using the app to help her.

The next day Amanda handed the letter to Rafael and waited for his________.It wasn’t until their math class that he said “yes”. The two had been________together for lunch ever since. The letter helped Rafael feel more comfortable and encouraged him to________his English harder. “I think for Rafael it made a huge________，”said their teacher. “He really wants to learn English to talk to Amanda. The two used hand gestures and Google Translate for ________now but they hoped it would become ________ when Rafael's English improved. And, Amanda was learning some________.

Amanda’s mother felt________moved by her daughter’s action. “It is just so sweet，”she said. I think this ________ is special.”