1 . When Zou Hongyan welcomed her son—Ding Ding to the world in 1988, terrible birth complications(病发症)left him disabled for life. Doctor advised her to give him up, a view that even her own husband shared, as they believed the boy would lead a painful, _________ life. Zou, however, _________ doctor’s advice, divorced her husband, and _________ saving her baby boy.

Zou took on at least three jobs at the same time to _____her family. In her spare time, she _________ took her son to a recovery hospital. Meanwhile, she learned how to massage(按摩) his muscles and would play intelligence _________and puzzles with him.

The mother also insisted from the start that her son would learn to _________ his disabilities as far as possible. For example, Ding had problems coordinating (协调) his _________ movements, and found it difficult to use chopsticks. _________ many relatives said it was perfectly understandable, Zou kept on______him to do so.

“I didn’t want him to feel __________ of his physical problems.” She said, “I was quite strict __________ him, so he could catch up with others where he had difficulties. ” Because of mother’s persistence and endless love, Ding Ding succeeded in his __________ studies. In 2011, he graduated with a degree in environmental science from Peking University. In 2016, after working for two years, Ding was __________ into Harvard Law school.

“I never dared to dream of applying to Harvard.” Ding said, “ __________was my mother who never stopped encouraging me to give it a try. Whenever I had doubts, she would guide me forward.”

2 . In eighth grade, I was fascinated by a legend from Japan. ________ you fold one thousand paper cranes, the gods will help realize one wish for you. I took it as a challenge and started folding paper cranes.

I folded cranes at home, between classes, and in the car. My fingers were ________sticky from the glue.

________with a pack of colorful pencils, I decorated each piece of paper individually. Slowly, my collection grew.

With more confidence, I started ________. How small was it possible for a crane to be? Smaller than a golf ball? Smaller than a coin? Soon I could finish a crane in fifty seconds with my ________ closed.

By six hundred cranes, the increasing demands of high school academics caused my ________ to slow. I despaired. I wouldn’t let this be another ________ project that I couldn’t finish. My cranes mattered to me. As an outlet for expression, they ________ as a way to overcome frustration and sadness.

So, I pushed myself to keep working and to keep folding one crane at a time. My determination ________ off. One month before the end of junior year, I folded my thousandth paper crane. As I ________ the open drawer filled with cranes in a huge number of sizes and colors, I felt a rush of ________. I proved to myself that I can finish what I start.

Looking at them, I realized the fact that there is a lot of beauty in tiny things. I have ________ away cranes to my friends as a pick-me-up on ________ days, and I have made cranes to ________ people, such as the dark green crane I made the day my grandmother died. They are a symbol of hope to remind me what I have accomplished. It turns out, I didn’t need the ________. I learned I have the power to make things happen for myself.

3 . I’ve always been fascinated by languages, but I’ve never been any good at learning them. I remember sitting in my French lessons, I never _________ what I was being taught. My teacher wasn’t _________.

But one of my A levels was English Language, and that was where my interest in _________ started. Over the last few years, I’ve started learning more languages than I can _________. They include Latin, Russian, Spanish, and probably several others. None of them stuck.

And then came lockdown. While I was _________ enough to still be able to work from home, on evenings and weekends, I found myself getting _________ and looking through video websites for something to watch. That’s how I _________ a Chinese fantasy drama filled with complex relationships.

But by the time I got about halfway through the show, I _________ that in some cases, the words being spoken in Chinese didn’t match the words being said in the English translations. _________, a character was being called shijie instead of by her name. I went online, did some __________ and met a difficulty.

Shijie, which I learned can be translated as “martial sister”, introduced me to the complexities of Chinese __________. So many different words for “aunt”, “uncle” and “grandfather”! Characters with more than one name!

I was __________ by the way the language is so connected with the culture, and how poetic and __________ it is. I wanted to be able to __________ the source material, even if it was going to take me a long while __________ I got to that point.

4 . Last semester, I worked in a restaurant in my spare time. In the beginning, it was very _________ for me to learn the rules and remember the recipes. I had to stand there and _________. At the end of the day, I was so tired that I almost could do nothing.

After a few days of working, the head waiter told me that I could take charge as a chief. I knew if I worked hard, I would take charge of a room. It meant I could get more _________. I was glad to do that.

As new, it was not an easy thing to _________ all customers well. Sometimes, I dished up wrongly. Or I forgot the customer’s requirements. What was _________, I overturned the plates twice. However, I could not be _________ because of these difficulties.

One day, I was about to be off duty when three foreigners came here. It was my first time to talk with a _________. Suddenly, my mind was blank even though I had memorized 3500 words. I began to speak slowly, but think _________.

“Excuse me, what can I do for you?” I said it word by word. At the same time, I showed them the _________. “No, we order ... with some rice.” They said so quickly that I could hardly understand what they wanted.

“Pardon?” I asked with embarrassment.

“Hum, there is no rice left. How about noodles? Like this and this.” I felt   __________ embarrassed. I could not __________ the dish name to them and just showed the picture in the menu to them.

On the way to school, I saw them again and we went the same way. They were students too. They talked to me. I stumbled to respond to questions. I __________ about why I couldn’t remember any words. However, I __________ to this atmosphere gradually and began to talk to them more fluently. I restarted to pick up my confidence again. They praised me for my self-confidence.

It is memorable, for it was the first time to make a dent in my heart. __________ self-confidence means half success. I believe in myself and won’t __________       confidence any more.

5 . “Bookshops are places to let your imagination fly high, with so many possible ________ to discover,” says Laura Iverson. She is one of the ________ at Darling Reads bookshop in West Yorkshire, England.

For Iverson, the best thing about working in a bookshop is ________ new books to readers. “ ________ beats that smile when they find the perfect book,” she says. ________ , when it comes to choosing the right one, she has some useful tips.

Don't feel you have to ________ a book because your friend likes it," Iverson says. "Stick to your own interests and choose what ________ you. "

She also ________ asking booksellers for suggestions because it could open your ________ to a new book or writer you would never have considered. "Bookshop staff are so ________ and absolutely love talking about books all day. "

Iverson says that one of her ________ books is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She remembers ________ reading it when she was around 12 years old, and not being able to put it ________ . This is one of the things Iverson loves about reading. "No matter where you are, or what you're doing, you can be ________ into another world, once you a pick up a book that fascinates you, in a matter of ________ . "

6 . Life became dull when social distancing began in March due to the coronavirus. The_________all faded (消逝) together into what felt like one unexplainable long day. Not only did I have no opportunity to_________with my friends, but as more time passed in solitude (独处), I lost any_________to be around people.

That is, until July, when one of my_________from another state asked me to go camping with her family. I agreed, although somewhat_________. Once you have forgotten the pure_________of being among friends, the idea of driving six hours to live in a tent in the middle of a bug-infested (虫子滋生的) forest doesn't hold much_________anymore.

I don't remember the drive there, and even the scenery slowly_________from my mind. What I do remember is the_________feeling of happiness that washed over me. Within seconds, I remembered what it was like to live each second to its__________. I slept under the stars,__________from cliffs (山崖) into the crystal-clear water and walked through a night so__________that I couldn't see 2 inches (5cm) in front of me. I made new friends that are among my closest friends to this day. I instantly fell__________in love with the liveness of life.

The coronavirus brought on the hardest couple of months of my life. But I wholeheartedly__________that it was worth it.__________the advantages of the past gives you a greater appreciation of them when they finally return. Those five days in New York will forever be among my happiest.

7 . 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.

8 . 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.