1 . Afraid to have a start, I was walking slowly into my first school in America. I had ______ a long way from India in order to join my parents. My father decided that I would go to school here, so I ______ a local high school in my new town.

With ______ and fear, I arrived at the classroom. Everyone’s eyes were on me as I entered the classroom. I went straight to the ______ and asked him if it was the right class. With a ______ voice, he answered, “Yes.” His voice comforted me a little. Then he asked me to ______ where I would sit. I chose the ______ closest to the door. I spent the rest of the class taking notes from the ______ produced by the overhead projector (投影仪).

______ it was my first day, I was confused about which hallway to use, but I ______ to get to my classroom without asking anyone. I wasn’t quite sure when I would have ______. It was noon when I went to my next class and the bell rang as I entered. I went through the ______ process of asking the teacher if I was in the right class. Feeling surprised, she said, “That is the lunch bell.” I felt a little ______. Without another word, I headed for the cafeteria.

I realized that all the confusion on my first day was like the difficulty I had to ______to reach my goal. When I got on my bus and sat down inside ______, I said to myself, “Today isn’t so bad.”

2 . Shawn Cheshire rode across the country on her bicycle, depending on Jesse Crandall, a chemistry professor, to guide her every step of the way. Cheshire lost her ______ after an accident nine years ago and turned to ______ because she believed sports and physical challenges gave her “another opportunity at ______”. Through a friendship with Crandall, she has _______ bicycling to her activities, traveling across the country, meeting and inspiring people all along the way.

To Crandall, teaching and guiding are about helping others through ______. “For many students, chemistry is something they have no experience with,” Crandall said. “So, when I’m teaching, it helps to think about my experiences ______ my blind friend Cheshire. Then I try talking about the lesson in a language that, ______, everybody can understand.”

Crandall and Cheshire have been skiing, climbing and bicycling together for the past decade. In 2018, the ______ faced the steep terrain(地形)of the Grand Canyon, completing a ______ hiking in just over twenty-four hours. As they walked forty-two miles through the night, Cheshire ______ warnings of dangers from Crandall, as well as the noise of the bell he wore, which ______as they advanced. In 2021, Cheshire ______ another world record by being the first disabled to ride her own bicycle from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.

While their next adventure remains uncertain, Crandall knows that there are no ______ with Cheshire. They have discussed skiing across Antarctica as a potential future endeavor. Their ______ and shared determination will continue to motivate others to overcome setbacks and ______ boundaries.

4 . My father was an ill-humored man. I knew he loved me and his love was _______. He just didn’t know how to express it.

One evening we went out for a night on the town. We were sitting in a famous restaurant that had a small but lively _______. When there came a familiar waltz tune (曲调) I decided to invite him for a dance. “Dad, you know I’ve never danced with you. I begged you but you _______ wanted to. How about right now?”

I waited for the usual _______. But instead he considered thoughtfully and then a surprising twinkle appeared in his eyes. “Let’s hit the floor and I’ll show you just what kind of moves an _______ guy like me can still make.”

My father took me in his arms and I felt overcome by _______. As we danced I _______ my father but he avoided my gaze (注视). “Dad,” I finally whispered, tears in my eyes, “why is it so hard for you to look at me?” At last his _______ dropped to my face and he studied me. “Because I love you so much,” he said. I was struck dumb (愣住) by his response. It wasn’t what I had _______. But it was of course exactly what I needed to hear. His own eyes were teary and he was blinking.

I had always known that he loved me. I just hadn’t understood that his deep emotion had ________ him and made him mute (沉默的). “I love you too, Dad!” I said softly. He stumbled over the next few words, “I’m sorry that I’m not good at showing feelings. It’s ________ for me, but just remember how much I love you.”

When the dance ended I excused myself to the ladies’ room and during my ________ everything changed. Dad fell down ________ in his chair. Everything was really all too ________. He was gone.

Now I still remember our waltz on the dance floor and his sudden confession (坦白) to me. It was indeed the first, last and only dance that I ever had with my father. What a blessing that we had the chance to say ________ it was too late.

5 . Todd and Donna woke up early one day to take pictures of the sunrise. While walking along the shoreline and enjoying the sights, Todd suddenly ________ down. Donna thought her husband was ________ . However, she quickly realized this was no laughing matter. Todd’s heart stopped beating and he turned ________ . Immediately she screamed for help.

Tyler Volpe, a ________ , was in the water when Todd came down. Volpe is also a physician assistant. He heard Donna’s cries for help. “I knew it wasn’t a ________ scream,” he said. “I came flying out of the water.”

Volpe started chest compression (按压) while Roy, another surfer, breathed into Todd’s mouth. Then, they switched ________ with each other. “I really thought he was ________ ,” Donna said. As Roy and Volpe continued CPR, Todd breathed ________ a few times.

The tide was starting to come in. Other surfers used their boards to form a ________ between the rescue effort and the water. “They kept him ________ until the ambulance got there,” Donna said. “It could have been two minutes or 10 days. I was watching my life ________ with his.”

Doctors used a defibrillator (除颤器) to shock his heart and ________ his heartbeat. On the second shock, he regained his feel.

Todd and Donna planned to drive back home to New Jersey that morning, but decided to first take a walk on the beach. “It is lucky we didn’t ________ because it would have happened while we were driving home,” Donna said.

Donna ________ a message asking if anyone knew the surfers who helped her husband — they wanted to ________ them.

6 . Every year I’d read over 2,000 college applications from students all over the world. It is quite _______ to choose whom to admit. _______, in the chaos of SAT scores and recommendations, one _______ is always irresistible in a candidate: kindness.

The most surprising _______ of kindness I’ve ever _______ came from a student who had excellent scores and a supportive recommendation from his college counselor (顾问). Even with these qualifications, he might not have _______. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school security _______. Letters of recommendation are typically written by people like former presidents, celebrities, and Olympic athletes.

The security guard wrote that he supported this student’s admission because of his _______. This young man was the only person in the school who knew the names of every member of the guard staff. He turned off lights in empty rooms, consistently _______ the hallway monitor each morning and tidied up the classroom after his peers left school ________ nobody was watching. This student, the security guard wrote, had a(n) ________ respect for every person at the school, regardless of position, popularity or power.

It gave us a ________ onto a student’s life in the moments when nothing “counted”. That student was admitted by unanimous (一致的) vote of the admissions committee.

Next year there might be a flood of security guard recommendations ________ this essay. But if it means students will start paying as much ________ to the people who clean their classrooms as they do to their principals and teachers, I’m happy to help start that ________.

7 . “Whenever I am in a group of people, I feel like everyone knows what to say except me. When I try to join in, I get anxious and have a struggle _______ words. This happens at parties or meetings and I feel _______ — as if I were being interviewed for a job. People think I am a loner. Maybe I am?”

Individuals experiencing this type of social _______ often avoid eye contact, because it makes them feel _______ and judged. The feelings of awkwardness and not fitting in with others are often frustrating. It prevents these individuals from defending and _______ for themselves in social environments, though they may be _______ at holding on to their opinions in environments that are focused on a task rather than _______.

Fitting into groups of people requires _______. You need to be interested in the topics that others in the group are interested in and talk about them the way they do. Becoming a part of these groups requires that you _______ some of your individuality in order to accept others’ __________ and values.

Some individuals are like chameleon (变色龙) in that they __________ pick up the patterns of different groups and __________ themselves accordingly. For them, this is automatic and they don’t even come to the __________ that they are changing themselves to fit into groups. If you are one of those people who feels __________ in most social group settings, it may be because you __________ changing the way you think in order to feel part of a group and this shouldn’t be a weakness or a failure.

8 . After their business trip, John and Mary returned, eager to see their lovely children. As they drove into their hometown feeling glad to be back, they noticed ________, and they went off their usual route to see what it was. They found a ________ in flames. Mary said, “Oh, well, it isn’t our fire, let’s go home.”

But John ________ closer and screamed, “That home belongs to Fred Jones who works at the plant. He wouldn’t be ________ work yet, maybe there is something we could do.” “It has nothing to do with us,” Mary ________.

But John drove up and stopped and they were both horror-stricken to see the whole house in ________. A woman on the lawn was screaming, “The children! Get the children!” John ________ her by the shoulder saying, “Get a hold of yourself and tell us where the children are!” “In the ________,” cried the woman. “Down the hall and to the left.”

In spite of Mary’s disagreement, John ________ for the basement which was full of smoke and ________ hot. He found the door and two children. ________ he left he could hear some more sobbing. He ________ the two badly frightened children into ________ arms and started back asking how many more children were down there. They told him ________ more and Mary grasped his arm and screamed, “John! Don’t go back! It’s ________! That house will fall down any second.”

________ he ran into the smoke-filled hallway and at last he found both children. As he climbed up the ________ stairs, the thought went through his mind that there was something strangely ________ about the little bodies next to him, and at last when they came out into the ________ and fresh air, he found that he had just ________ his own children.

The baby-sitter had left them at this home while she did some shopping.

10 . Bruno went into the kitchen and got the biggest surprise of his life. He could barely believe his eyes. “Shmuel!” he said. “What are you doing here in my kitchen?”

Shmuel looked up and his terrified face _________ a broad smile on seeing his friend. “Bruno!” he said. “They asked me to polish the glasses. They said they needed someone with tiny _________.”

He held his hand out and Bruno noticed that it was like the hand of the pretend skeleton. In reply, Bruno held his own hand out, which appeared _________ and full of life. The veins (血管) weren’t visible through the skin, the fingers weren’t little more than dying twigs (细枝). Shmuel’s hand, however, told a very _________ story.

“Shmuel! Here!” said Bruno, stepping forward and putting some slices of chicken in his friend’s hand. “Just eat them.” The boy stared at the food in his hand for a moment and then looked up at Bruno with wide and _________ but terrified eyes. He threw a _________ in the direction of the door and then thrust all the slices into his mouth in one go.

“Thank you, Bruno.” said Shmuel, giving a faint smile.

Bruno smiled back and was about to offer him more food, but just at that moment Lieutenant Kotler reappeared. Bruno stared at him, feeling the _________ grow heavy, sensing Shmuel’s shoulders sinking down.

_________ Bruno, Lieutenant Kotler marched over to Shmuel and glared at him. Shmuel looked up at Lieutenant Kotler, who frowned, leaning forward slightly as he examined the boy’s face. “You have been eating,” said Lieutenant Kotler. “Did you _________ something from that fridge?” Shmuel looked toward Bruno, his eyes pleading for __________.

“Answer me!” shouted Lieutenant Kotler.

“No, sir. He gave it to me,” said Shmuel, tears welling up in his eyes. “He’s my friend,” he added.

“Do you know this boy, Bruno?” he asked in a loud voice.

Bruno’s mouth __________ and he tried to say the word “yes”, but then he realized that he couldn’t because he was feeling just as __________ himself.

“Tell me, Bruno!” shouted Kotler, his face growing red. “I won’t ask you a third time.”

“I’ve __________ seen him before in my life,” said Bruno immediately, “I don’t know him.”

Hearing that, Shmuel wasn’t crying any more, merely staring at the floor and looking as if he was trying to __________ his soul not to live inside his tiny body any more, but to __________ away and sail to the door and rise up into the sky, gliding through the clouds until it was far away.