1 . Like any other child growing up, Nicole LaMont was an outgoing and adventurous child with the dream of becoming a scientist. “My childhood was full of imagination and ________,” Nicole said. She experienced a ________ childhood, but when she was 12 years old, a serious illness ________ her of her hearing.

“My world was ________ turned upside down,” said Nicole. “I went from being ________ to being quiet and depressed.” However, she came to realize she had to fight ________ hearing loss. With her family’s help, Nicole began to learn American Sign Language (ASL).

________, a year later, she received an operation where she was implanted (植入) a hearing device, which brought back some ________ to her life. Afterward, she attended Gallaudet, a school for the deaf, where she fully ________ herself in ASL and the deaf community. “________ ASL and having total communication allowed me to feel a sense of ________ again,” said Nicole. It was then that she made her first ________ subtitles (字幕) for movie theatres in Alabama.

After much struggle, Nicole’s efforts ________. Today nearly all movie theatres in Montgomery and Birmingham offer subtitles for the deaf. After graduating from Gallaudet University, Nicole ________ to use her newfound “visual voice” through participating in several activities. “By doing this, I want to show that deaf people can achieve much. It’s very important to ________ and support hearing families that strive to make the best decisions for their deaf children’s education.” said Nicole.

4 . Ariel decided to _________ herself in nature the day before she turned 30, so she rode her bike to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York on November 5 to take a hike. A mile into her walk, she _________ a gorgeous female mute (哑的) swan near the water’s edge. Ariel, 30, who _________ volunteered at the Wild Bird Fund rehab (康复) center in Manhattan for five years, knew that mute swans can be _________. But as she approached this one, it didn’t move.

She was certain that the bird needed medical attention. Ariel put her jacket over the bird’s head to keep it calm, carefully picked it up, and held it in her arms. And then a thought _________ her: What can I do now?

Her best bet was the rehab center, but that was across the East River and clear on the other side of town. How was she going to _________ a 17-pound swan on her bike all that way? _________, some puzzled strangers driving by offered her, her bike, and the swan a _________ to a nearby subway station.

On the subway, no one seemed particularly annoyed by the _________ passenger. Ariel says: “One guy was sitting right in front of me on his phone. I don’t know if he __________ there was a swan in front of him”.

Ariel called the rehab center on the way, and Tristan Higgin, a (n) __________ manager, picked her up at the subway station and drove the bird, bike, and __________ to the facility. There, staff members determined that the swan might have lead poisoning, caused by swallowing __________ used on fishing lines.

While recovering, she made a boyfriend at the center—another injured swan. Sadly, even with all that tender loving care, the swan was __________ with a bacterial infection. Two months after Ariel came to her rescue, she __________. It’s a disappointing ending, but the real story is just how far some people are willing to go to save a swan in the big city. In all, Ariel traveled two hours by foot, car, and subway (while dragging her bike). “That’s the perfect summary of who she is.” says Higginbotham.

6 . The first day of school, our professor challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t know. I was looking for someone when a _________ hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a friendly, little old lady with beaming eyes.

“Hi, handsome. My name’s Rose. I’m 87 years old. Can I _________ you?” I laughed and _________ responded, “Of course!”, and we hugged. “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She also joked, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get _________, and have kids…” “No, seriously,” I was curious what may have _________ her to study at university at such age. “I always _________ having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she replied.

Over the course of the year, Rose became very _________ on the campus and at the end of the semester, we invited her to give us a _________. I’ll never forget what she taught us.

She was _________ and stepped up to the podium (领奖台). With all eyes on her, she cleared her throat, “There is a huge __________ between growing older and growing up. If you are 19 years old and lie in bed for one year without doing anything __________, you will turn 20. If I stay in bed for a year, I will turn 88. Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any __________. The idea is to grow up by finding the opportunity in change and have no __________.”

She __________ her speech by passionately singing “The Rose.” She __________ us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

7 . In one of my classes today we discussed the question of how our lives would be without a mobile phone. I actually felt quite sad to hear how some kids cannot _______ without their phones these days. _______, I think nowadays we are _______ by our technology to keep up. So let’s see some of the points that _______ in the discussion and see if our generation really is addicted to electronic connections rather than true communication. 

It is true that everything works at a fast pace these days. For example, you can contact someone who lives on the other side of the world within _______. This is great if you think about how connected we can stay to the _______ who are far away from us. However, on the contrary, can we be too connected to the people who are _______ to us? An argument arose about the _______ that it is easier to message someone from your sofa than to meet them _______ and talk. Social skills are important to have and if you are not going to put effort into real-life __________, then you are not going to progress in this ability. 

Another point was that phones are very handy for __________ something that you are wondering about. For example, if you don’t know a word in another language, you can quickly and simply use an on-line translator to help you out. This can be very __________ in many situations, but it can also make a person dependent on the __________ to help with anything. 

All in all, this question is very interesting to __________ for oneself as we become day by day more dependent on technology. We should realize how much we really need to be connected by our phones while considering the __________ and damages it can cause us.

8 . Last Tuesday I took my two daughters to town by car. It began to rain __________ so I decided I would leave the children in the car before I __________ a shop. I told them not to __________ anything and told them I would be __________ within a few minutes. Then I locked all the doors and left __________ happily looking out of the window.

I returned to the car in less than five minutes but the girls had __________! I could hardly believe my__________. The car doors were __________ locked, the windows tightly shut and on the back seat were only two coats. Being ____________, I ran to the corner of the street ____________ there was no sign of them. I rushed up to an old lady nearby and asked whether she had seen two small girls but she said “No”.

Feeling quite sick with ____________, I sat on the driver’s seat, and __________ to stop trembling (发抖). Suddenly, I ___________ a merry laugh behind me. I got out of the car, ran round to open the boot (车尾行李箱) and inside were two very red-face and excited children. They had obviously ___________ the back seat, climbed behind it and then been unable to push the seat forward again. With tears in my eyes, I ___________ and pulled their ears.

10 . Two weeks ago my grandfather passed away. It really put me into deep ________ because my grandfather held a ________ position in my life. For me, my grandpa was not only a ________ family member but a tutor (导师) who encouraged me to work hard and ________ well.

I’ll never forget the first time I read a long piece of his writing. It was when I ________ for Princeton and he offered to write to the university on my behalf. He wrote in beautiful ________ and used poetic language, unafraid of sounding too “flowery”. I read the ________ out loud so I could hear the rhyming sounds.

My grandfather ________ hard work. Every time he came to visit us in New York, he would ________ my brothers and me for our good performance, which made me feel ________. I knew he had worked hard to ________ the big family during the Great Depression. He was awarded many military ________ for winning many battles in the Navy in World War II.

At the funeral, a friend of my grandfather walked to me and said that my grandfather had told him about a small book I had written. After it came out, I sent it to my grandfather ________ received no reply. This man told me that my book hit my grandfather’s heart and brought tears to his eyes. My grandfather said he was so ________ of me.

Now I feel even more deserved to write well because I know my grandfather ________ it. I know he lives in my heart forever.