1 . I take cold showers. Several years back, the water heater in my house broke, and for weeks, bathing in freezing water was my ________. Although it took some getting used to, I discovered that there was something ________ and energizing. Moreover, the cold shower has changed the way I ________ life.

The worst part about showering in cold water is the moment right before ________ into the water. As soon as you hop in, though, your body quickly ________ to the temperature, and it’s not so bad the rest of the way. For me, stepping into the cold water means ________; it’s getting over the hesitation that comes from knowing I’m about to do something ________.

One of my first “cold shower'” moments came one day in my high school, when I ________ an internship after a career day presentation. One of the speakers was a manager at a large Silicon Valley venture capital firm. The more she talked about her job, the more I became ________. Since I had an interest in economics as well as technology, working at a venture capital firm seemed like the ________ place for me. So, I decided that I was going to ask the speaker if her company hired interns.

As I approached her, however, I was a bit upset. After all, why would a successful business woman offer a job to an ________ high schooler? Still, gathering up my ________, I walked up to her, and introduced myself. We ended up having a wonderful conversation, and even better, she ________ to interview me for an internship. That summer, I ended up having the ________ to work for her firm. My “cold shower” experiences these years have ________ me that good things happen to those who are willing to step out of the comfort zone and challenge themselves for more possibilities.

2 . The year ending, it’s time to do my charity donations. I pick up my pen, but instead of writing the checks, I just hold it, _______.

Last week, two websites I wrote for said they decided to“_______cautiously for the gloomy market” . Yesterday I was e-mailed from the magazine I frequently _______, saying no more articles. Although my part-time teaching helps pay the _______, I haven’t got as many calls lately. To save money, the board is _______schools, meaning fewer teachers are needed.

So, can I really _______to give to charity? Doesn’t charity begin at home? My home. I could be tempted to _______ my check book by those thoughts, but I don’t.

My house is worth less now than it was for the _______market, but I still own it. Since I’m not looking to sell, I can wait until the economic _______ends. My fridge isn’t bursting with food, which I regularly donate, but some friends aren’t as ________. One lost six teenth because she couldn’t afford ________ care while I just had one repaired. Yes, the bill ________almost as much as the operation did, but the pain ________ soon.

Suddenly, I feel so lucky and rich that I hold my pen determinedly and write ________. Future is unpredictable, but now I can share my good ________ with others. Charity beginning at home shouldn’t stay there.

3 . Charles has faced a lot of obstacles in his 87 years of life but he is not giving up or slowing down any time. He has always had a______ passion for riding motorcycles, and it is what he passed down to his son, Jack. But a hit-and-run in 2016 ______ to take their shared interest away.

Charles was left disabled, and he spent eleven______ in the hospital. But even an accident this______ could not keep Charles down for long. Upon getting out of the hospital, he started looking online to find something he could ride.

With loads of time, research, and hard work, Jack finally found ways to get Charles back on the______   again. He didn’t just______ there-he went on to help others like his dad with his own______ , which he named Charles Mototrikes,selling adaptive riding equipment.

Charles has confronted even more barriers, his latest one involving cancer.______ ,this incredibly close family has found a way to once again do what they always do:______   the good. One way they’ve done this is by having a fun gathering with friends and family before Charles begins his cancer ______   in the hospital. What______   way to spend their time together than by going on a 100-mile ride______ the Green Mountains in Vermont?

This gathering is also a way to______ what Charles has accomplished and ______   in his life. “Never give up,”

Jack said, “Look at him, 87 years old and still______ . You can’t beat that.”

4 . When I first heard from my doctor that I was allergic to hay (干草), it weighed pretty heavily on my mind.

I grew up _________ around big open fields and playing with the animals on my friend’s farm. There were no limits set on me as a child.

After I _________ about my allergy, I felt that a kind of _________ had been placed on me. I could never get a rabbit or a pig, since hay is the main component of their diets. I remember that _________ feeling in my stomach when I realized I was so seriously allergic to something that I’d always need to keep the pill within _________.

Disappointment at this _________ was the first feeling that sunk in. With time, _________, I began to see my allergies as a gift.

I was the kid that tried never to _________. I was okay with enduring a six-hour drive in a(n) _________ car with my knees to my chest. I was okay with eating burnt or under cooked food. But this allergy finally let me feel __________ saying “no”. I finally felt free to refuse to go places or do things where my allergies would act up. I didn’t have to apologize for or explain my __________ at the smell of grass clippings. I didn’t have to __________ myself for not wanting to sit on the grass with my friends on summer days while I got bitten.

Yes, my hay allergy __________ some activities, but it’s also given me a broader appreciation for experiences I actually like and want more of. I’m __________ to be getting a dog instead of a bunny. Let’s be honest, a bunny brings you more trouble.

I ought to thank this allergy for giving me the space to be __________.

5 . Driving on the mountain road where I live can be both a delight and an adventure. Yet, you should also watch for deer and squirrels _______ the road as well as fallen trees and rocks that may break loose from and _______down the side of the hill.

I _______ upon one big rock just the other day. I saw a car just ahead of me narrowly turn around it. But the stone was _______ there, which might cause traffic accidents. I turned round and then _______ over to a wide spot. I knew a rock of this _______ would break parts of a low riding car like mine if the driver didn’t see it _______. So I walked over and moved the huge stone. It must have weighed 50 pounds, but with all my strength, I removed it. I felt relieved and walked back to my car.

The happening reminded me too of an old _______ I had read once: In a faraway land, a king had placed a huge rock on the way to his palace. Many nobles walked by and surrounded it, complaining that the king didn’t keep the road up better. Finally, a _______ farmer pulling a cart (马车) of vegetables arrived. He ________ and pushed the rock off the road. Then he saw under it was a bag of gold coins that the king had left for the one who ________the path for those who came after. Later, he was not as badly off as before.

Now while there wasn’t any ________ under the rock I moved, my heart did feel more ________as I was driving back home. Maybe the real ________ is the joy we spread, and the ________ we share.

6 . 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.

7 . In my first year as a junior doctor, I worked in a stroke department. There were rooms of the department which were _________ for special patients. Their strokes had been so _________ that there was no _________ of recovery. Outside of the rooms, I sometimes heard the doctors cruelly called these patients “the cabbage patch”, because they were considered little more than vegetables.

One such patient was Mr. Roberts. He was in his fifties and had been _________ to the hospital after a terrible stroke which had left him entirely paralyzed. He could not communicate at all. And the doctors thought he was _________ dead. They discussed the very poor disease with his wife over his motionless body, _________ he wasn’t there.

Later that day I returned to take some blood from his _________ arm. His head was on one side. As I knelt down, I met his gaze. There seemed to be some sort of _________. It was as if he was _________ me to do something. I instinctively held his hand and smiled as __________ as I could, though he made no response. I couldn’t forget what happened there even after I left the room. The idea that he was __________ there, a living hell on earth, troubled me until he died two weeks later.

This event __________ great changes in my life. When I take care of those __________ patients, I always introduce myself and explain what I am doing to them, just in case there is part of them that is still aware.

And years later, when my grandmother was lying dying, I still spoke to her and __________ her. In matters __________ this, you just never know.

8 . I had never been more anxious in my life. I had just spent the last three hours reaching the airport. Now, as the bus driver set my _______ on the airport sidewalk, I realized that my _______ journey had only just begun.

This was my first visit to the international terminal of the airport. I couldn’t _______ any sign and nothing was familiar, so I began to _______. I tried to ask a passing businessman for directions, but my words all came out _______. He just _______ and walked away.

Another bus arrived, and the passengers came out. Here was my _______! I followed them, finally reaching the elevators. No! There was not enough _______ for me. I watched in despair as the elevator doors closed. I was _______ again! When the elevator returned, I got on it and ________ pressed button 3．The noise announced the opening of the door, and tears of disappointment formed in my eyes when I found it was a ________ lobby (大厅)!

What was a surprise was that just then an elderly airport employee came around the corner. He saw that I was ________ and asked if he could help. He gave me his handkerchief to dry my eyes as I ________ my situation, then led me down a long hallway. At last, there was customs! He left before I said something, but I will always remember his ________ kindness. I can only hope that I will support others who are ________ in a terrible journey.

9 . I grew up in a multicultural family; my father was Italian, and my mother was Greek. A gift of fate (命运). ________ me to learn to speak both languages ________ as a child. Besides speaking their own languages, my parents often communicated in French at our dinner table. ________ I spoke Italian to my father and Greek to my mother, I ________ French at university.

Being a multicultural individual helps me to understand and connect more deeply with people from ________ parts of the world. Best of all, it’s helped me to develop cultural ________ and patience. Here’s a(n) ________:

One day, a Middle Eastern man ________ me when I visited a shop. He was able to respond to my questions and ________ my problem. But when I walked away from the shop, I felt uncomfortable and slightly ________ because he avoided eye contact for 20 minutes. He looked sideways at the desk behind me. Never ________ did he look at me while talking to me. Later, I told the incident to my friend, who ________ me of an vital cultural truth of some Middle Eastern counties that I had ________. I spent most of my early years in the Middle East, where males and females are taught to ________ their eyes or avoid eye contact with each other. This practice is a sign of propriety (得体的举止), which can be ________ for being rude by anyone unfamiliar with the culture.

10 . There's an old saying to the effect that if something can go _______, it probably will. Recently my wife and I took a trip, by ship, to Hawaii. It was a nice trip and we enjoyed it but the cabin we were in had problems.

One day, I awoke in the small hours of the morning and_______my way across the dark cabin to the washroom. On the way I stepped _______ a puddle （污水坑）on the carpet. Then I found that there was a slow but _______ drip of water coming from the ceiling. So I called the ship's office. Someone came, addressed the problem, pronounced it _______ and went away. That night the ceiling was dripping again. I called and someone came. This time they _______the ceiling apart and spent some time with tools searching inside. They pronounced the problem solved and went away. The ceiling dripped. We put a towel on the floor to catch the _______.

Though the drip had_______ the next day, some black and sticky things came out from the main drain （排水管）in the ceiling. Someone came and _______ the ceiling.

The following day there was a note on our desk expressing _______ for the problems we had been having. The note was _______ down by a bottle of nice wine. We were very _______ to accept the peace offering and just owed the experience to bad _______.

In general, cruising on large ships is a wonderful experience and, in the main, it was a great trip. I suspect, _____,that if all this had happened to someone on their first cruise, they would have sworn never to go to sea again. Although I hope I don't end up like this on our next trip, don't let the_________things beat you down.