1 . I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited about Christmas presents. At age eleven, my mom’s “grown up” girl, I had to keep my_________.But every chance I got. I_________each present under the Christmas tree.

The company of my family went broke, so it had been a_________year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at these presents, she would_________and looked disappointed. In years past, the presents would_________under the tree. I had heard the phrase “giving is better than receiving,” but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their_________.Getting presents was the whole point!

On Christmas morning, we rushed into the living room and opened our presents _________. “Here’s another one for you, honey,” said Mom. I looked at the package, confused. It had not been mine. It was my mom’s. A new label had been put on it, with my name_________in my mother’s handwriting. “Mom, I can’t…”I was stopped by my mother’s joyful look — a look I could not really_________.It was a hair dryer.Though this may seem a simple gift to me it was a huge act.Tears__________my eyes and I thought in__________ about how much my mom must love me to give__________her Christmas so I could have a few more presents.

Now, as an adult with children in my life, I can understand my mom’s actions. I see now she was not “giving up her Christmas” as I had__________, but was finding an even__________joy because giving truly is better than receiving. My mom’s simple act meant the__________to me.

2 . Steph Clemence always intended to go to college. ________ when her father died in a car accident, leaving her mother to support three daughters on a ________ income, paying for college became out of the question.

________ going to college, Steph found a job, and tried to________ what to do with a life so different from her plan. The ________came from two pages from her English teacher, Dorothy Clark. One afternoon she walked into the classroom carrying a stack of papers titled “Mrs. Clark’s Book List.” It wasn’t homework, the teacher announced, but it could be a road ________ .“Some of you might not go on to higher education,“ Mrs. Clark said, “but you can ________ to learn.”

“I was determined to ________ myself,” Steph says. She studied the ________ and so it began. Each of those books sparked her ________ to learn more. “Reading books is like a treasure hunt,” says Steph. “What am I going to ________ ? How will my heart change?” That made her look for other books that weren’t on the list, hoping to ________ her knowledge.

When the original list ________, she typed up a new copy. And then another. Over the years, the family moved around a lot. Through it all, the reading list was a ________ in Steph’s life, traveling with her even on vacations. Now Steph is 70, and she never did get to college. But she has only four books ________ to read from the list. She expects to complete them sometime in 2023.

3 . I was so excited when Mrs. Burks announced we were going to the skating rink (溜冰场). I’d never been roller-skating and really wanted to learn how to skate.

When we got there, everyone _________inside. Some of us rented our skates and soon began lacing (系好鞋带) them up. Then, everyone but me _________away from the wall and started skating._________ onto the handrail (扶手), I pulled myself along the side as I tried moving my legs back and forth. After a few failed_________, Mrs. Burks skated over to me.

“When you start to_________, relax. If you struggle to keep from falling, you’ll be more _________to hurt yourself,” said Mrs. Burks. Mrs. Burks _________for one of my hands. I took a deep breath and _________her warm hand. As we moved away from the wall, she called out, “Get your_________. Move your foot forward at an angle and then do the __________thing with the other foot.”I tried to follow her __________in every way. “That’s good! You’re moving your feet like you should. But remember to relax when you start to go down. Let’s try again,” Mrs.Burks said.

So I did. When I began losing my balance, I __________crumpled(倒下) to the floor. Mrs. Burks was right! It didn’t __________as much. I was able to get up faster and try again.

Later I began to see how Mrs. Burks’ instructions worked for other__________. As long as I kept trying to do my best, I could learn something even when I__________. I could get back up, try again, and trust God would be there to help me.

4 . Dreams are like stars. You may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to success.

My daughter had talent for acting. When Alex was accepted into New York University’s musical theater program, I_________the dress I’d wear to her Broadway debut(首秀). But now she decided to be an exercise instructor. It was_________for me.

“I thought_________at gyms was just to pay the bills until you got your big break?” I asked when Alex_________her full–time job at a gym called Equinox in New York City.

“Acting was my childhood dream.” she explained. “I loved_________,but my adult self wants to help people be _________.

Even after Alex earned her personal training certification, I still couldn’t accept her_________.

When the COVID-19 crisis shut New York’s gyms, and Alex returned jobless to Richmond, my_________of working on her acting website was rejected. Instead, she launched online kettlebell classes and rounded up clients using social media. Her_________took off, and our house became her virtual studio until she returned to Manhattan in August 2020.

One day I signed up for her private sessions. In between dead lift(拼全力一举) sets, I asked, “What are you doing to find a real job?”

Alex pointed to her waist,__________my form. “Mom, this is my__________. I’m growing a business.” And she was. Soon she was making more than what she ever did in gyms and had total__________of her schedule. I was one of many who__________from her patient encouragement. Over time, my lower-back pain disappeared and I could lift a heavy box__________. Through my training, I learned she knew the right__________for her.

5 . 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.”

6 . Veteran (老兵) Willenbring has always been a fighter. She grew up with her parents on the West Coast during an adolescence she describes as sometimes _______. But the military struck Willenbring as a way to _______ the aggression she says built up during an unstable upbringing. In 1998, she joined the army and was _______ to a foreign country.

“We were actually part of the initial _______to go into the country,” she says. “And I can’t even describe the _______.” In the scenes of destruction, Willenbring recalled some ordinary sights that briefly woke her from the stress of the war every night. As her mission came to an end, her luck ran out. She ended up severely _______ and had to be taken away in an air ambulance.

She _______ returned to her home country, and spent three years living in her hometown, a city called Salem. She _______ to adjust to civilian life. Fireworks would _______ particularly difficult episodes. “I had PTSD (创伤后应激障碍) so badly that I could not ________ living in a city anymore,” she says.

Instead, in 2010 Willenbring ________ on a plot with sheep in rural Oregon. The sheep, she says, have helped her manage her trauma symptoms. She’s surrounded by animals that ________ her emotions and can tell her own mood.

The ________ rural life is an apparent contrast to the chaos of battle. Willenbring hasn’t had a major ________related to her PTSD for eight years. Farming has its dramas, she says, “but it is also something that is about creation, about ________ over death rather than death over life.”

7 . “Never give up! Never give up!” chanted (反复唱) my two young kids, Max and Charley, as they _________     barefoot behind their grandmother Mimi. Mimi was leading them on yet another _________, straight off the beach where they had played before. This time, they were _________ the ice-cream truck.

Over the years, Mom taught me just how much one could achieve with a _________ attitude. She has taken the same _________ in her relationship with her grandchildren. Max and Charley were disappointed at missing the ice-cream man that day. That was until Mimi’s eyes _________ and she said, “Never give up!”. She explained that the truck might be gone, but they could hurry to find it at its next _________.

They walked block after block. Not knowing which direction the truck had taken, they had to make a(an)_________ guess about where to search. My kids’ tiny legs were tired, but they moved on, continuing to chant, “Never give up!”.

After about twenty minutes of walking, Max began to _________ his faith in the mission. He wondered out loud, “Maybe we should give up. We have been walking pretty far and haven’t seen the truck yet.” Charley yelled, “No __________ ! Never give up!” and continued her chant with Mimi. Somewhat doubtful Max __________ without protest.

Just two blocks later, they found it. Mimi threw a triumphant(展示胜利的) fist in the air, and Max and Chariey screamed with __________, “Never give up!” At that moment, my mom had done for my children what she had done for me countless times. __________ though it was, that phrase has become our battle cry for the challenges we face. Whatever setbacks they __________, I know I can always look at Max and Charley and say, ^“Never give up!” Upon hearing those words, they are instantly __________ to a positive state of mind—where the next ice-cream truck is just around the corner.

8 . Colorado traffic police department has come up with a unique effort to ensure the driving safety of motorbike riders in Denver. Through a(n) _________ partnership with “Advance Auto Parts”, Denver police is _________ the motorists, who might not be _________ to spend money in repairing their damaged vehicle parts.

Advanced Auto Parts store has _________ the Denver Police Department with 100 cards each worth $25 for handing out to the pulled-over motor drivers. Driving with a broken or damaged vehicle part is _________ a traffic rule violation and motorists are often pulled over by cops due to this very _________. Then they are either given a warning or a _________ to pay a fine. But from now on, the Denver police will have the option to give a $25 gift card _________, if they pull over any motorist for a defective headlight, bad taillight, or any other broken _________. This money will help them in fixing the damaged part and back on the road with further __________.

According to Paul Pazen, the Denver Police Chief, this Advanced Auto Parts’ __________ has helped the police department in getting __________ submission with the motorists and also __________ social relationships with the community. The officers have already __________ a few cards and have enjoyed the sigh of __________ and smiles on the pulled-over drivers’ faces.

9 . 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.

10 . January 23, 2007 became a nightmare for Jessica Bachus. Her second daughter Kenzi _________ at just 24 weeks. “When Kenzi passed away, all my hopes went away, too,” Jessica says. The Colorado-based mother was overcome with emotion, _________ she eventually decided to channel her grief into the _________ of Kenzi.

Jessica knew that even if she couldn’t give dolls to both of her daughters that year, she could still make the holidays _________ for another girl. With the help of her husband, Kyle, and their daughter, Bailey, she _________ 150 dolls to gift underprivileged girls in the community.

“When I saw a family _________ a doll we donated, I cried tears of joy for the first time in almost a year,” Jessica says. So, she _________ to collect dolls and founded the Dolls for Daughters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to _________ financially-strapped families in Colorado with toys, food, school supplies, and more.

Now going into its ninth annual _________, the Dolls for Daughters operates five toy shops in Colorado on the first Saturday in December. Parents are able to choose at least one new gift for each of their children free of charge.

“Most families in our __________ make less than $15,000 a year,” Jessica says. “Many children are used to getting hand-me-downs — this is one time we guarantee that what they get is __________.” Since the establishment of the Dolls for Daughters, more than 48,000 children have been __________ and more than 323,400 items have been gifted to the families.

Jessica and her husband now have four children — Bailey, Kam, Karson, and Kenzi. “We talk about Kenzi all the time. Last year our goal was to serve 10,000 kids since she would have been ten. It was a big __________ and we surpassed it,” Jessica says. “For our living children, volunteering is a great way for them to __________ back, honor their sister, and learn that even from the greatest tragedy can come something __________.”