1 . When the economic crisis hit, Bruno and Marilena lost their jobs in Florence. It was then that they decided to return to their hometown in Tuscany. There, they _________ their lives by making the best use of their available _________ to establish an eco-friendly homestay (民宿) called Bed and Break-fast. This turned their _________ life into a fairy tale. They grew their own organic foods, adopted rainwater collection systems, and practiced natural farming to embrace _________.

Guests at their Bed and Breakfast are treated like extended family, sharing home-cooked meals together and _________ stories of their travels. _________ about Bruno and Marilena’s enthusiasm for guests quickly spread. The homestay was _________ with a boost in popularity as more people started to seek a(n) _________ from busy city life. In a fast-paced world where surface-level interactions are common, Bruno and Marilena have created a space where _________ connections thrive.

__________ the welcoming environment they’ve created, living in the Italian countryside has allowed them to embrace a relaxing pace of life. They rise with the sun to __________ their fields, retire under a blanket of stars at night, and __________ seasonal harvests for the long winter. Though the work could be tiring at times, they discovered __________ in their sustainable interaction with nature.

Through commitment to community and sustainability values, Bruno and Marilena have not only found their inner __________ but also built a successful business that ensures their __________ stability and continued country life for years to come.

2 . Asli Samanci, a food scientist, was driven by her childhood dream of becoming a scientist, leading her to pursue a career in food science. “It ______ everything: biology, microbiology and chemistry all together,” Samancil said.

With this passion, she established a company that ______ health products made from propolis (蜂胶), a natural substance produced by bees. Samanci’s dedication to ______ is evident in every step. of her product development process. “All products are ______ by science,” Samanci said.

The ______ behind Samanci’s venture also lies in her son, who experienced frequent health issues during his early years. Upon a doctor’s recommendation, she ______ propolis as a means to help strengthen her son’s immune system. However, not ______ with the products on the market, Samanci worked ______ with a beekeeper to craft the ideal solution for her son’s needs. Gradually, Samanci has made her specialized products ______ to a broader range of consumers.

Meanwhile, Samanci and her beekeeping partners have witnessed a significant ______ in the bee population, Recognizing that 80% of all plants rely on bees for pollination (授粉), this development has proved to contribute to ______ nature. Samanci firmly believes in the concept of a win-win business model, where ______ can make a positive impact on the environment. And she urges all entrepreneurs and scientists to find that ______ . Samanci says, “To get something from nature in a(n) ______ way, we urge more food scientists and agricultural scientists to join us. ______ , nature will not give us anymore.”

3 . My school holiday routine usually involves sleeping in, but one morning, I woke up early for no particular reason. With nothing to do, I decided to _______ glance out of my window at the parking lot below, but unexpectedly witnessed something that greatly _______ my life.

As I _______ people coming and going, getting into their cars and driving away, my attention was drawn to a(n)_______ man busy washing and cleaning the cars near a bicycle with a bucket attached to its _______. The damp ground _______ that he must have started his work quite early.

He was just simply dressed. However, there was a _______ sense of pride in the way he went about his tasks — cleaning one window at a time,_______ to admire his work, and repeating the process. He seemed devoted to his small business, happily _______ at passers-by and occasionally stopping to chat with other old folks heading to the nearby market.

________ his simple life, he appeared content. This incident made me reconsider my ________. If we are willing to work hard,________ should not be a barrier to earning a living. I felt ashamed and ________ when compared with him. It ________ me that at any age, we should make the most of time and ________ the value of hard work.

4 . Joan Donovan was 84 years old when she finished her college degree, but the great-grandmother said she didn’t want to stop learning just yet.

“I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning to go to school. I met the most ________ people and fessors. Everyone surrounded me with ________ and support. And I learned that I had a ________ for writing,” Donovan said. “That’s when I found Southern New Hampshire University, which is a wonderful school. I just loved every minute of it.”

Four years later, on December 13, 2022, Donovan graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with a master’s ________ in creative writing.

Donovan said the university heard she was graduating when her son called the school to ________ a frame for her diploma as a Christmas present. ________, the school decided to send more than just a framed diploma, including a cap and gown, cupcakes, balloons and university spirit wear (印有大学精神的服装).

When she was young, Donovan’s mother called her “Brilliant”. She started first grade at the age of 4 and graduated high school by 16. The family couldn’t ________ college, but she was able to take some post-graduate classes for free at her high school.

Donavan always wanted a ________ education, but marriage, babies and a busy life ________ things a bit. But she never gave up on her dream.

“I’m a goal-seeker,” she said. “And it was a goal, and I________ it. It’s a dream come true, really.” Now, Donovan said she is using her new degree to write a novel as well as an autobiography.

“Well, I waited 60 years to ________ my dream. So I hope others don’t have to wait that long,” said Donovan, adding that her autobiography will be about ________ the “roadblocks” of life.

Donovan, who has 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, said the most important thing she’s learned in life is to be a “________ learner”.

“Don’t ever give up. I mean,________ something doesn’t work the first time, just try it again,” she said. “And ________, you’ll find your dream come true.”

5 . Sharaine Caraballo and her husband Wilson met 82-year-old Paul Callahan in March last year when Wilson began working on their recently purchased home. Paul offered Wilson a ladder to work with. From then on, it didn’t take very long for the family of eight and their new neighbor to become _______ .

A retired Texas Instruments manager, Paul’s wife sadly passed away six months before the family moved into the neighborhood. Sharaine thinks her family _______ an important refuge (慰藉) for Paul.

“One of my biggest _______ was meeting our new neighbors. I was _______ who they were going to be and what they were going to be like,” said Sharaine, who is _______ from Pawtucket, New England. “When Paul welcomed us into the neighborhood, I knew I had made the right _______.”

Paul’s warm welcome really helped put the couple at _______ , offering the new homeowners advice and help with all kinds of _______ they were facing with their new home.

“He was coming over with tools. He’d bring screwdrivers (螺丝刀) and teach Wilson how to fix up the garage and Wilson _______ all his advice,” explained Sharaine. “He’s always coming over with little trinkets (小玩意儿) for the kids. They play with him a lot.”

Paul has ________ the role of de-facto (实际的) grandpa.

Sharaine’s kids love Paul as much as she does and the elderly man makes great ________ to make them feel at home too. As much as Paul has helped the family, Sharaine thinks her family played an important role in the months that followed the passing of Paul’s wife.

“I asked what ________ him to us and he said he was a very ________ person and that he grew up around lots of kids,” Sharaine said. “That’s ________ I grew up. My house was always where everybody ________ out.” He’s also the last of his siblings (兄弟姐妹), who have all passed away.

The Caraballos and Paul now see each other every other day. They spend every holiday together, and this Father’s Day Paul received a present from the family.

6 . At 13, I resolved to be an amazing teacher, overwhelmingly driven by a _________ desire for superpowers, which some of my gorgeous teachers had.

In fifth grade, Ms. Charlotte, an English teacher could magically _________ us to different worlds every day. She encouraged us to find something beautiful on our way home or to school. Perhaps, it could be a _________ of freshly baked bread drifting from someone’s house, or the sound of breezes slightly rustling leaves. She _________ curiosity into us. She guided us to bravely _________ joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, modesty, loyalty, duty, kindness, friendship, sympathy, generosity, creativity, truth and faith.

She told us stories from books we would otherwise never _________. Currently, I still remember highlights of the classic she shared, The Old Man and the Sea. After Santiago, an old fisherman came in empty-handed for eighty-four days, we couldn’t imagine what difficulty he had _________ a huge marlin. At the sight of the beautiful huge _________, he was unable to _________ his excitement, with a bright smile __________ to his face. Yet, a __________ battle lay ahead. He felt faint but held on the great fish with all his strength. “I moved him,” he thought, “Pull, hands. Hold up, legs. Last for me, head. You never went.” For two days and nights __________, the huge fish dragged the boat drifting. The elderly was in danger. Once, twice more, once more he tried and he felt himself extremely __________ when he turned the fish. Finally, the fish was stabbed (刺，戳) and tied to the boat.

What a man! So Ms. Charlotte inspired us to fight for our own pride and defend it, __________ the fact that life will set obstacles on the way to future with challenge, hardship, perhaps loneliness too, which will take all of our courage. It is true that a man can be destroyed physically but cannot be defeated spiritually.

Now, dear teachers, we love you and thank you from the bottom of our heart! I will keep the __________ song you’ve taught us in mind.

When your dreams come alive you’re unstoppable

Take a shot, chase the sun, find the beautiful

We will glow in the dark turning dust to gold

7 . My wife and I parked by a rough path the same time as a young man covered in tattoos (纹身). I ______ he was unfriendly，so we tried to ______ ourselves from him. But he struggled hard to ______ and wanted to talk some. We slowed down. He said he was recovering from a bad time in his life. We ______ left him in the dust，heading up the river.

Hours later we turned back ______ a flash flood had taken out the bridge. There he was again, following to ______ us. He shared a little more of his ______. He lost his mother and sister in a car accident and he was permanently ______ too. We slowed down to the pace he could ______ for the whole way back.

He continued, “During much surgery and ______ I came to hate life...” Then he pulled up his shirt to show us a ______ life size tattoo from neck to waist. It was two ladies in a ______ light waving to him. “This is my mom and this is my sister,” he pointed, “They told me to stop hating everything. They loved me just as they always had and ______ me to live in love too!” He explained the brightly colored tattoo was the exact dream he had that day.

My ______ went away. It had painted a wrong picture of this wonderful person with a beautiful ______ . I learned more than he hoped to tell.

8 . Whenever photographer Casey Ryan heads into the wilderness, he brings along his drone (无人机) to capture photographs from a bird’s eye view. Having the _________ device with him on a recent trip to the Cascades Mountain Range in Oregon saved his and another person’s _________.

Casey was _________ through the Willamette National Forest when he _________ a stranger whose vehicle was stuck. Casey _________ to help get it out without hesitation. _________, he got his own vehicle stuck in a ditch while trying to help, leaving both people in _________ with no cell phone service for miles around.

Casey immediately assessed the _________ and recalled a movie he’d seen recently in which a character used a drone to lift his phone high enough to capture a _________ in a similar situation, so he __________ his device and got to work.

First, he attached his cell phone __________ to his drone. Then, he typed a series of messages to his wife. He told her where he was located in the park, and then launched the drone into the air. Somewhere up there over the tall trees, it __________ a signal and whoosh! All of Casey’s texts were __________.

Rescuers arrived and saved both Casey and the other driver. Who knows, maybe future drones will have built-in __________ features added to it __________ this photographer’s practice. We’d buy a phone drone!

9 . Orion Jean, a young boy from Texas, initiated an extraordinary mission of kindness and inspired others. His journey_________when he participated in the National Kindness Speech Contest. Giving a speech about the_________ of kindness to transform a nation, Orion won a $500 cash prize. Instead of spending it on himself, he chose to use it to give those in need a_________.

So the little boy, who said his parents always taught him that “kindness is a virtue that should be_________above all others,” came up with the idea of the Race to Kindness campaign. It_________doing good deeds in his community.

Orion set out to help children requiring_________treatment. He thought there was no better way to_________a kid than a toy. So he used the winnings to buy as many toys as possible and_________a toy fair to get over 600 fun toys donated to the Children’s Health Hospital in Dallas.

After the toy fair, he launched a/an_________“Race to 100,000 meals” to help food-insecure people in his community.__________with a local nonprofit organization, he helped feed people who might not have had a meal for Thanksgiving.

In May 2022, to provide books to children who lacked__________to them, Orion launched the “Race to 500, 000 Books”. It centered on poverty-stricken areas, __________those known as “book deserts”. The result? Many people__________the chance to show their love to strangers. So the goal of “500, 000” was exceeded (超越).

Orion’s story is an example of how a wave of positive__________is generated by one individual’s kindness. “The Race to Kindness” is grateful to everyone who comes together to be a__________system in time of need.

10 . My trip to Antarctic (南极洲) fulfilled a personal goal and dream of mine-reaching all seven continents. I’ve had the _______ to travel to some amazing places for work and pleasure throughout my life, but I had yet to _______ Antarctica.

Several months ago, I was ready to book the trip. To get _______, though, I needed a plan. For me, one of the _______ things I wanted to see was the Antarctic _______, which survives in the worst environment on Earth. So I _______ my trip to Antarctica based on the best time to see baby penguins (企鹅).

I am a self-described bookworm (书虫), and this was the perfect trip to relax and _______ new knowledge. I was able to _______ a variety of seals, birds, whales and penguins. A highlight during my _______ was when I got within a couple of feet of a ________ penguin, something that I will never forget. While I didn’t ________ it, this inquisitive creature decided to come to check me out. ________ took over me. It was ________ amazing to see Antarctic wildlife up close and personal. I was also surprised at how the wildlife ________ with me. These were priceless ________ that I was able to make on my Antarctic trip.