1 . As an elementary teacher, what I had experienced recently touched me a lot. Last week, my elementary school ___________ College Colors Day, when alumni (校友) and fans show their passion and spirit for a certain university. Bailey told me he wanted to wear a University of Tennessee shirt, but he couldn’t ___________ one. We discussed he could wear an orange shirt to show his ___________.

When the day finally arrived, Bailey was so ___________ to show me his shirt. I was impressed that he took it one step _________ to make his own UT’s label. However, after lunch, Bailey came to my office, ___________. He told me some girls had made fun of the label   ___________ to his shirt. Knowing that he used the resources ___________ to him to take part in the spit day, I decided to make it extra special for him.

I shared the story on my social media and contacted UT to buy a shirt, and what happened subsequently was beyond my expectation. Alumni, fans and volunteers ___________ in response to this story. Packages ____________ with shirts, gifts and souvenirs (纪念品) flooded in. ____________, in recognition of the fourth-grader’s spirit, the university decided to __________ a four-year scholarship covering his tuition (学费) fees should he decide to attend UT and meet admission ____________.

Bailey and I were __________ by the love from the extended community. I am sure this unforgettable experience will serve as __________ for Bailey throughout his life.

2 . When I was five, my parents began to place me in a variety of different sports. The first ________ was gymnastics, which was a complete ________. The second was track and field. Track was fun at first, I actually liked to run and I was pretty fast. When I joined the team, the ________ was going to begin soon, only giving me three weeks to ________ for my first track meet.

I ________ for a while and then the day of the track meet arrived. Arriving at the stadium I was ________ to see how huge it looked. Before my race I did my warm ups while watching the other kids run their races with a few hundred audience. The ________ of the stadium was something I never felt before.

While ________ the starting line to run the 400m dash, I started to feel ________! At the starting line, we sat there silently waiting for the gun to ________. In that silence I continued to ________ myself and I felt like I was going to win. The gun finally shot and racers began a(n)________ dash to the finish line. The first 100 meters I was doing great. Then came the 200m mark, and my legs were dying. I was slowing down still trying to run. Alone ________ I was on the track, I still walked to finish line. When seeing my mother, I burst into tears. That race was probably the most ________ one in my life. Even though I gave up running track and field, I am grateful for what I experienced when I was 5 because it ________ me who I am today.

3 . Dreaming of photographing the world’s beauty, I wrote a travel wish list and hung it on my wall, not expecting to actually go anywhere. However, a local photo contest gave me a _________. I chose the Grand Canyon, one of my bucket list places to visit, since I got my first camera.

The journey was _________, with unique touches like aspen trees towering and lizards (蜥蜴)rushing about. After a day’s _________, I decided to have a good rest and start fresh the next day for the mission to _________ the Canyon’s grandeur.

The next morning, I woke up early to capture (拍摄) the _________. Reaching the overlook, I found an elderly man alone on a bench. After exchanging _________, he noticed my camera and _________if I’d captured any favorites. I _________ shared a couple of photos, not anticipating any further conversation that followed. He _________, revealing that he and his late wife, Betty, visited the Grand Canyon annually for their anniversary. Her __________the previous year marked his first return without her and he spent each sunrise reflecting on their treasured __________. His heartfelt tales __________ me deeply, as I, too, had experienced a recent loss, making the moment __________.

Returning home with numerous photos, I __________the best from my adventures for the contest. This journey taught me the value of chasing dreams, embracing challenges, and __________with others through shared moments, making it a truly enriching experience.

4 . One of my major life-turning points happened during my exchange study in Finland. At the University of Economics in Prague where I studied it was extremely _________ to get on an Erasmus exchange trip abroad since the demand was _________. Everyone wanted to go!

Regardless, I decided to sign up early for my last semester, just to see what the process was like to be better prepared for _________ again in a year. I did make it through all the three rounds and _________ got a spot at a University in Turku, Finland! I was _________. The success brought its own _________, but once you set your eyes on the goal, nothing can stop you.

And I had the time of my life in Finland. I met the most amazing people, traveled a ton, partied a lot, and _________ with friends from all over the world. _________ I was one of the few people there who really needed to pass all the courses and additionally write the papers, I _________ to run on an impossible sleep schedule of four hours per night. But I __________ it! My study in Finland opened up my __________, too.

After the exchange study, I __________ my life in Finland. This adventure led me to choose a life of __________ made up of remote work and plenty of travelling. I couldn’t have asked for a better __________. And it gave me one of my favorite __________ that I can now share with others.

6 . Sargassum is the smelly seaweed piling up on beaches across the Caribbean. It isn’t something most people ________ kindly. But for Omar de Vazquez, a gardener, it was something like a(an) ________.

Years ago, as part of his gardening business, Omar launched a beach cleanup service to ________ the leafy seaweed. But, as its ________ intensified, he started considering how to turn it into something useful, and in 2018 he ________ a way to use it in building blocks. He started his company—SargaBlock to market the bricks which are being ________ by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) as a sustainable solution to a current environmental problem.

“When I look at SargaBlock, it’s like looking in a ________,” he says, comparing his company to overcoming his personal ________, including drug and alcohol addiction. “That was a time when I felt unwanted and ________, like the sargassum people complained about.”

Luckily, Omar grew up in nature and poverty, which ________ his character and turned him into someone who takes action. He wanted to make something good out of something everyone saw as bad. Omar then put his idea into ________, mixing 40% sargassum with other organic materials, like clay, which he then puts into a block-forming machine. The process was ________.

The UNDP selected Omar’s work for their Accelerator Lab, which ________ and recognizes innovative solutions to environmental challenges globally. The idea is that some of the most timely and creative ________ come from locals suffering from environmental dilemmas ________.

7 . In my work as a teacher in a vocational school over here in Germany, some of my classes are filled with students of different nationalities. More often than not, I will have a few students in the class whose ________ of German is often rather poor regardless of whether they are fresh off the boat or have ________ here for a few years. Some of these students who manage to ________ their three-year apprenticeships (学徒期) may actually continue to go to school to ________ qualifications so they can attend university.

In the past, I gave them ________ to improve their German via books, newspapers, apps or online grammar quizzes. During the last few weeks, I ________ three young men aside and gave them tips such as joining sports clubs, finding ways to build their vocabulary out with class and ________ language immersion (沉浸) courses. After class, I ________ took a couple of them to a noticeboard which displayed ________ information on a poster. They were grateful for this little ________.

I do not get extra money for offering such advice. I have ________ my break over the years. I feel it is important to help the ________ in such a valuable way because once they pass their exams, they are ________ to set up a home and spend their working life here.

Good integration is so important as it builds bridges and expands horizons. It makes me happy to ________ my knowledge as a language teacher and ________ the kindness in everyday life.

9 . I signed up to volunteer at a local hospital last year. I knew the ________ would look good on my college applications.

On my first day, having been given a tour of the ________ and a tablet with maps and basic information, I was ________ to answer questions that came my way. I sent a few visitors in the wrong direction, but I did my best. It wasn’t a big ________ , and my second day there was much the same.

But on the third day, everything ________. I was in the middle of my ________ when I noticed a wheelchair speeding in my direction. The young boy sitting in it asked, “Who are you? You’re in my hospital and I don’t even ________ you!”

I introduced myself and ________ that I was new. David’s parents told me that he was there for his weekly check-up. David began to tell me about his medical ________, his favourite football player and other ________ of his life.

After David had gone to his ________ , one of the administrators ________ me and said, “That was ________. You were a different person when you were talking to him!” “We needed volunteers to work in the children’s department. And I think you’d be ________ at it,” she added.

This ________ my becoming a regular in the children’s department, and also to my decision to study medicine at university and become a paediatrician (儿科医生).