1 . One spring evening, I was incredibly worn after a long day of school. I wished for _________ but I had to drag my heavy feet to the violin studio.

I was playing Moldau to Kate, my teacher. I simply couldn’t play with _________, though. While I followed all the _________ on the sheet music, I still _________ to make music describing spring with full-blown flowers sound like flowers dying bitter deaths. Kate _________ attentively and then frowned (皱眉), asking me what the piece’s mood was. I stared at her, _________.

Pulling out paper and a pencil, she asked, “Can you _________an image of what you think a typical day in the forest during spring would look like?” Hesitantly, I started to let my _________ fly. Soon a scenic forest full of life was _________ in my mind.

Minutes later, I completed my drawing. “Now, play the piece again with this. __________ imagery in your mind,” Kate said. I closed my eyes and began to play, just as its theme was introduced, with __________ expression I had never done before.

As I __________ the piece, there followed a short silence before Kate said, “That’s the best playing I’ve ever heard from you.” Her eyes were shining. “Who knew painting out the scenery would help you better __________ the music? Sometimes all we need is to use our creativity and try different methods when facing difficulties.”

The __________ violin lesson taught me more than just music. I also learned a valuable __________ skill, which I applied to my daily life.

2 . Ben was bothered every time he went through the kitchen. It was that little metal contain on the shelf above his wife Martha’s cook stove, which he had been repeatedly _________ never to touch. The reason, she said, was that it contained a “secret _________” from her late mother, and since she had no way of ever _________ the container, she was _________ that if Ben picked it up and looked inside, he might accidentally drop it and spill its _________ contents.

Ben never saw Martha cook a dish without taking the container of the shelf and sprinkling (洒) _________ a little of the contents over the ingredients. Whatever was in that container, it surely _________ Anyone who ever ate at their house felt Martha was the best _________ in the world. Looking into that container became increasingly _________ for Ben, but he never allowed himself to do so.

Then one day Martha became ill and was kept overnight in the hospital. Feeling lonely and bored in the house after returning home, Ben __________ the kitchen, and then the container on the shelf immediately came into view. It __________ his eyes like a magnet, and he quickly looked away, yet his curiosity brought him back again. He carefully took the container off the shelf, and opened it. Ben became __________ when what was inside came to I his sight. The container was empty, except for a little folded slip of paper at the bottom. He carefully picked it up and slowly __________ it under the kitchen light. Ben immediately __________ the handwriting as that of Martha’s mother. Very __________ it said: “Martha to everything you make, add a dash of love.”

3 . In the history of language, words rise and fall. We make and remake them; they make and remake us. The story of a word is as complex as a hurricane. It is ___________ to know for sure how it catches on, meets new needs, and acquires new meanings. It is impossible to ___________ the decline of one word on the rise of another.

But in the destinies of two pairs of words is a suggestion of a turning in American ___________. It is a turning away from an idea of the natural worth of things: from “pleasure”, with its sense of a (n) ___________ condition of mind, to “fun” , so closely affiliated with outward activities; from “excellence”, an inner trait whose attainment is its own reward, to “achievement”, which comes through hard work and ___________.

“Pleasure” speaks of a state of mind that comes organically, that need not be artificially induced. “Fun”, though almost the same as “pleasure” for contemporary speakers, often ___________artificial inducement(诱导). You don’t feel fun; you do a fun thing. And “fun” has no hint of elitism, while “pleasure” does.

If “pleasure” comes from being, “fun” comes from doing and, often, switching off the brain. The transition of American usage from “pleasure” to “fun” perhaps partly accounts for the American___________ on activities for all occasions, rather than trusting pleasure to develop on its own. In “Eat, Pray, Love”, the best-selling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert, she concludes that “Americans have an ___________ to relax into pure pleasure. Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not ___________ a pleasure-seeking one.” Italians, ____________, have mastered “bel far niente (the joy of doing nothing)”.

Then there is the ____________ from “excellence” to “achievement”. “Excellence” has a hint of virtue. Anyone can achieve, in garbage collection or neurosurgery, but how many can truly be ____________?

“Achievement”, like “fun”, is outward in nature. It comes in doing specific things. It is more about checking boxes than ____________ inner potentials. The achievement culture influences every aspect of life today. From elementary-school testing to the continual pressure to over-schedule as a university student, educational culture emphasizes the accumulation of achievements over intellectual sparkle. Wall Street stumbled(绊跌) in part because so many chased achiever bonuses while neglecting the ____________ of excellence in their vocation. An American culture of immediate celebrity teaches young people that fame is a(n) ____________ in itself rather than an incidental symptom of excellence in craft.

4 . Scientific discovery is popularly believed to result from the sheer genius of such intellectual stars as naturalist Charles Darwin and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. Our view of such unique contributions to science often _________ the person’s prior experience and the efforts of their lesser-known predecessors (前任者).

_________ such greats as Darwin and Einstein—whose remarkable contributions are duly celebrated — we suggest that innovation is more a process of trial and error, where two steps forward may sometimes come with one step back, as well as one or more steps to the right or left. This evolutionary view of human innovation weakens the idea of _________ genius and recognizes the accumulative nature of scientific progress.

Consider one _________ scientist: John Nicholson, a mathematical physicist working in the 1910s who assumed the existence of ‘proto-elements’ in outer space. By combining different numbers of weights of these proto-elements’ atoms, Nicholson could recover the weights of all the elements in the then-known periodic table. These successes are all the more noteworthy given the fact that Nicholson was _________ about the presence of proto-elements: they do not actually exist. Yet, amid his often fanciful theories and wild guesses, Nicholson also _________ a new theory about the structure of atoms. Niels Bohr, the Nobel prize-winning father of modern atomic theory, _________ this interesting idea to come up with his now-famous model of the atom.

What are we to make of this story? We propose that science is constantly _________, much as species of animals do. In biological systems, organisms may display new characteristics that _________ random genetic mutations (变异). In the same way, random or accidental mutations of ideas may help pave the way for __________ in science. __________ mutations prove beneficial, the animal or the scientific theory will continue to thrive and perhaps reproduce.

__________ for this evolutionary view of behavioral innovation comes from many domains. Consider one example of an influential innovation in US horseracing. The so-called ‘acey-deucy’ stirrup (马镫) placement, in which the rider’s foot in his left stirrup is placed as much as 25 centimeters lower than the right, is believed to give important speed advantages when turning on egg-shaped tracks. It was developed by a relatively unknown jockey named Jackie Westrope. Had he __________ the speed advantage that would be provided by riding acey-deucy? No. He suffered a leg injury, which left him unable to fully bend his left knee. His __________ just happened to coincide with enhanced left-hand turning performance.

Plenty of other stories show that fresh advances can arise from error, misadventure, and also pure serendipity — a happy __________. The time seems right for abandoning the naive notions of intelligent design and genius, and for scientifically exploring the true origins of creative behavior.

5 . With over 125,000 followers, 34-year-old Oliver James is a star in the Book Tok community. And it all started with a simple_________: Learn to read.

For most of the kids, school is a place where they can develop a relationship with learning in a_________ environment. For James, the opposite. _________ with learning and behavior. Disabilities made him in_________ education. “The special education system at the time was a lot more_________ on behavioral than educating,” he said.

Reading_________ carried over into James’ adulthood and it significantly _________ his employment opportunities and affected his self-esteem (自信). However, when he and his wife decided_________ to their family of three, James became determined to change things.

Starting his journey with a book of inspirational quotes gifted by his wife, James began reading bits out loud and _________ to TikTok. Being a motivational speaker, he would often combine his interests with his heartfelt honesty and personality. __________ will often send James more books to read in hopes for his book reviews.

But perhaps the biggest __________ has been the way reading has __________ James’ relationship with his son. In an interview, he shared that they’ve not only__________ over books but reading has proven to be a great __________ for mental health, which has helped James become a better parent. James’ new goal is to read 100 new titles by 2024 —__________ for any bookworm in this day and age.

6 . “We can spend the rest of our lives together making plans,” says the woman who now goes by Jeanne Watts (formerly Danas).

Jeanne and Stephen Watts first _________ and soon fell in love in 1971, when they were at Chicago ‘s Loyola University. But Jeanne ‘s mom strongly _________ the relationship because she didn’t want her White daughter seeing a Black man. Still, the pair _________ dated for seven years. But after Jeanne graduated from a nursing school and _________ a job that required a long commute (通勤) and late shifts, she faced difficulties seeing Stephen, who didn’t own a _________. Jeanne was completely overwhelmed by everything. The couple talked about _________, but Jeanne was afraid of taking that next step because the family issue was always _________ on her. Standing at the nurse’s station during her _________ one evening, Jeanne told him over the phone, “I love you, but I just can’t do this.”

Crushed by the news, Stephen was _________. They would spend the next four __________ leading separate lives and not speaking to each other.

Cut to 2021, when Jeanne was a divorced retiree whose mother was no longer __________. She began looking for Stephen from her home in Oregon, but she couldn’t __________ him on social media. Everything seemed to come to a(n) __________ end.

In April 2021, from his niece, Jeanne got to know that Stephen was in a nursing home. When she walked into the room, Stephen __________ her instantly, said her name and started to cry.

“You are my heart and soul,” Stephen told her. “I want to be with you always.”

A few months later, he asked her to marry him. “I gladly took his last __________,” says Jeanne Watts. The pair said “I do” on Oct. 15, 2022 in front of about 65Guests at the couple’s new home.

7 . Julia Jarman’s family was upset when she was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer. But soon, her grandson Vigil made a plan to fill Jarman’s last days with an unforgettable_________.

When Vigil’s high school prom(舞会)was_________， his sister said: “Why don’t you just take Grandma to the prom?” Hearing his sister’s _________，the17-year-old immediately remembered that Jarman had_________ been to a prom. But his school had a(n)_________that students could only have partners under 20，so Vigil first_________the principal(校长)of his school to ask him if he could bring his grandmother. Luckily，the principal gave him_________. Excited, the teenager asked his granny if she would like to_________ the first prom of her life，and she_________   the invitation.

While other teenagers walked into the venue with girls of their __________，Vigil entered with his grandmother on his arm. At first, Vigil wasn’t sure how his schoolmates would __________ to watching him dance with Jarman. Later, he was __________to see everyone welcomed her.

The DJ played Jarman’s favorite song. Vigil recalled the __________moment: “She almost had me crying as she was singing it along with me while we were dancing.”

Vigil’s mother felt proud of him for putting in the__________ to please his grandmother. The teenager said: “My grandmother is my best friend; I just wanted to do something__________ for her.’’

“That night was wonderful,” Jarman revealed.

8 . Sometimes one plus one does equal three. When Mandekic complained to her colleague Dave how _________ it was to get students excited about math, he made a surprising suggestion: “Why not _________in something they enjoy, like sports?”

The idea of mixing basketball and mathematics got its first _________in 2011, when they were invited to a school program for kids who’d _________Grade 9 math.

At first, the students weren’t exactly _________. So, Dave tried giving the kids techniques to improve their shooting while also helping them calculate their field-goal percentage-which, _________, taught them about fractions (分数).

At the end of the game, the winning team was _________based on which group had the highest total percentage and had done the most _________math. When the bell rang, they were so_________on collecting data and figuring out which team won that they didn’t leave.

“I was __________ at math,” says Duane, a Grade 9 student. “But once I realized the sport I loved was __________to math, it made me a lot better at it.”

Almost any math problem, Mandekic and Dave realized, can be taught on the __________.They have since established a private high school. __________, it serves only boys, but Dave hopes to change that.

Last year, one of the school’s first graduates __________a university scholarship for his performance in the classroom, not on the court. “If we didn’t do our work, we weren’t playing at the game,” he says, explaining that coaches would __________kids who didn’t keep up in class. “At Uchenna, we were student athletes, after all, not athlete students.”

9 . Camping is a rite of passage (成人仪式) if you grow up in Canada. It’s a child’s first_________of what living in the wild really means. But growing up as an immigrant from India, I thought it was ___________ .

Then I __________26 and started trying new things. I had been __________mental health issues for quite some time and I discovered being out in nature helped me calm down._________, I decided to try camping.

Then I overheard a(n)__________ between my father and mother. “Why does she have to do this? Doesn’t she know she can just stay at home?” my father asked. “This is what Canadian kids do, it’s okay, she’ll be fine!” my mom__________ . My parents had no___________in me surviving one night in the wild.

My friends and I___________our campsite in the woods. As the day went on, we ate, played by the water and met our camping neighbors. Time felt like it __________; life felt gentler and easier. As the day turned into night, the stars came out and I was amazed by all the__________lights above me. Morning came. I didn’t even realize I was __________ to leave until we started packing everything up.

I wasn’t just leaving, having accomplished something I ___________thought I would do. I was leaving with a real sense of community, a real sense of __________for what the great outdoors had to offer, and a completely different __________ to an activity that I had thought strange for so many years.

10 . Growing up in Mauritius, I love nature. Behind my house, there is a mountain named Le Pouce, where I spent much time _________the forest as a kid. However, my instinct (天性) for exploration _________at the water’s edge. Even though Mauritius is an island country _________ by the Indian Ocean, the thought of entering the ocean made me scared.

When I was about 10, this started to _________. I began learning about the _________ climate change presented to island countries, and I started_________ an interest in protecting the environment. I watched nature documentaries,_________ the steps I could take to change the world,_________ I still didn’t know how to effectively achieve it. Later, I took the National Geographic Society’s Exploring Conservation courses, which set me on a path to helping start and_________, The Oceanic Project, an organization dedicated to helping people understand the ocean and enhancing people’s__________ of protecting the ocean.

Gradually, I realized how much humans __________ the ocean for its natural resources and that it was not as __________ as I had imagined. My fear was rooted in a(n) __________ of falling into a river in my childhood. Determined to__________ it, I became a certified diver last year.

Diving plays a big part in my life now, and I work to__________ the protection of the underwater environment. I helped run a summer camp for young divers. During that time, I led a beach cleanup to help the participants understand how human litter could end up in the ocean. I got encouraged by the__________ of the activity when a parent told me her son insisted on __________ plastic items in their home with bamboo alternatives after returning home.

Protecting the ocean is very__________ and I’ll keep dedicating myself to it. And I__________ hope more people will join me. Only with everyone’s effort can we make the world a(n)__________ place for human beings.