1 . Afroz Shah, a lawyer in Mumbai, hasn’t had a weekend off in four years. But he hasn’t spent this time preparing for _________.

His mission? Saving the world’s oceans from _________ pollution.

It’s a calling he found in 2015 after moving to a community in Mumbai called Versova Beach. He had played there as a child and was_________to see how much it had _________. The sand was no longer _________ because it was covered by a layer of garbage more than five feet thick — most of it plastic waste.

“The whole beach was like a_________of plastic,” he said. “It hurt me. The _________ mess.” What Shah had seen is part of a global environmental crisis. More than 8 million tons of plastic _________in the world’s oceans each year. It’s predicted that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. “Plastic in the ocean is a _________. And the sea species have no choice at all, ” Shah said. “We are ______________ their habitats.”

In October 2015, Shah began ________________ up plastic waste from the beach every Sunday morning. At first, it was just him and a neighbor, and then he began calling on others to join in. Word ________________ and with the help from social media, more volunteers got ________________.

For Shah, the work has always been a ________________ journey, but it has earned global attention. After he was ________________ as a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations in 2016, Shah now devotes nearly all of his free time to this ________________.

He’s now spent 209 weekends on this mission, ________________ more than 200,000 volunteers, some of whom are young students, to join him in what’s been called the world’s biggest beach cleanup. By October 2018, Versova Beach was ________________ clean and Shah’s cleanups expanded to another beach as well as a stretch of the Mithi River and other regions of India.

“This world talks too much. I think we must talk ________________ and do action more, ” he said when interviewed by CNN in October 2019.“We are a smart species. Well adapt. We’ll learn. And with these youngsters rising up, I see ________________.”

2 . Yesterday, my daughter had to go to work earlier than usual. Since the gym where I work out is not far from her _________, I decided to take her to work and then go to the gym.

At quite an earlier hour, the gym was_________full of men and women of all ages, working out. I_________go to the gym at this early hour, and was_________to see so many people. It seems that many go to the gym before going to work. Some want to lose weight, others want to_________ their body, and a great number of people like to build their muscles (肌肉). I know how difficult it is for most people to start exercising. Most people know it is good for their body, _________they are too lazy to go to the gym, _________ in the morning. They_________to spend an extra hour in bed before starting their day. In the afternoon, they are too_________ after work, and want to stay at home or go out to meet friends.

If you’re one of them, you need to overcome (克服) your__________. If you__________going to the gym and exercising, you will start to like it. This usually __________when you see you’re losing weight, that your body is getting into a better shape, and that you feel stronger.

It is the same in every other area of life, when you study a foreign language, develop a new skill or a new habit and when you make up your mind to__________your dreams. It is__________at first. But when you start to see __________, everything becomes easier because you have great motivation.

3 . “Just sign here, sir,” the deliveryman (送货员) said as he handed Oscar Reyna a package.

The package consisted of (装有) a long, narrow box ______ wrapped in brown paper. ______ the box, Oscar saw an umbrella inside—a very old one with a beautifully carved handle. ______ he had not seen it for more than 20 years, he recognized it immediately.

Oscar was 16 when he first saw the ______ umbrella. He had gone to a concert with his grandparents. As they were leaving, he noticed an umbrella on an empty seat. Impressed by its ______, Oscar felt a strong desire to find its owner.

Oscar ______ the manager to look in the record of advance ticket sales. Just as he thought, a name matched the seat ______ Oscar had found the umbrella. The name was Mrs. Katie O’Brien.

Oscar talked his grandparents into going by Mrs. O’Brien’s house on their way home. He rang the bell, the door opened, and an elderly woman appeared. “May I ______ you?” she asked. “I’d like to return it if it’s yours,” Oscar said, ______ the umbrella as if presenting a gift that had long been wished for. “Why, yes! it’s mine, “ replied Mrs. O’Brien with a ______ smile and shining eyes. “It was given to me by my father years ago. Thank you so much for returning it. May I offer you a reward for your ______?” “No, ma’am.” he said, “my grandmother says that a good deed is its own reward.” “Well, that’s ______ what my father used to say. What is your name, Young man?”

Years later, Oscar was staring at the finely carved handle of the umbrella as he remembered Mrs. O’Brien. It was in perfect condition, considering how ______ it was. Why had it arrived here today? As if ______ , a note fell from the paper. It read: Mrs. O’Brien wanted you to accept this umbrella as a present for a kind, ______ gesture long ago.

4 . I have grown up in a football-loving family. My dad played until injury _________ him out. My elder sister Stevie _________ with Crewe Alexandra Girls for a year or two as a left back (后卫), just like our hero Jamie Carragher.

I remember the exact moment when I told my dad I was _________ in doing what my big sister did. I was watching the game with him in the living room and it just came out: “It makes me _________ that I can’t be a footballer.” He asked why not, and I answered, “Because I’m not a boy.”

He _________ responded by telling me that women’s football was “great” and that I could play if I wanted to. “Yeah, I suppose so,” I responded, “but no one _________ women’s football.” Looking back, I can see exactly why I felt like that.

At school, there was an unwritten _________ that sports like rugby and football were for the boys. I’d never seen a women’s football match on TV and the only _________ athletes I’d heard of were in the Olympics.

Today, the England Lionesses (母狮队) will _________ Scotland in the World Cup, and people across the world will watch it. __________ women’s football has turned out to be one of FIFA’s investments, the majority of female players in top tiers are earning under what anyone would consider a fair __________, and only £24 million prize money was awarded to the women’s World Cup victors in __________ with £315 million to the men’s. That’s a vast __________.

Maybe, the truth is: Investment is needed for female football to become more visible and become a(n) __________ respected game. It’ll mean talented, skillful female footballers being __________ by millions of homes and maybe, just maybe, a little girl believing that she can also be a Lioness one day.

8 . From the time I was seven, I had a dream of becoming a member of the students’ union. I always _______ my school leaders for taking responsibility for all of us. I dreamed of being a leader. The years flew by, and soon I was able to take part in the elections, _______ I would win. But the reality struck that I didn’t have a chance. Girls across the school _______ knew me. I just did not have what it _______ to win a school election. _______ I cried in my room that evening, I suddenly took a deep breath and decided I wouldn’t stop dreaming. 

What were the points that would work in my favour? I had good grades, and I was friendly and helpful. I would not allow my plain appearance to _______ me back from putting my best foot forward. That evening, I began my election _______ a whole year in advance. 

I loved making friends and I liked being helpful, so I decided that perhaps I could use these _______ to work up to my advantage. In order to learn how to _______ a great election speech, I also ________ a course on effective public speaking. 

The day after the election, when the head teacher ________ I won the second highest number of votes, the students ________. Suddenly, I realized that I had ________ much more than I had dreamed of. I had won acceptance and love of my schoolmates and they knew me as somebody who would ________ them. I was able to put a smile on their faces and ________ their day.

10 . I’m nine years old now, but I have been_________competitively since I was six. I love it, because it makes me feel good. I have a lot of_________and I can do it by just moving my legs.

One recent Sunday morning, my mum drove me to a 5km race in Minnesota. The starting line was _________because there was also a 10km race. That morning, I was running confidently and feeling_________. Then I came to a fork on the course. A woman who was directing us_________the route I thought I was meant to take and told me to go the other way. I was_________, but I had to follow her_________.

After a while I saw route directions for the 10km race. I was worried, thinking I was_________, but I had to keep going. My body started to get_________. I said to myself, “You’re almost there. Just keep__________.”

__________ I saw the finish line. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t even know I was running 10km and I __________it. I didn’t do this on purpose. It was a __________. I felt happy and proud. It was the first time that I had run such a(n) __________. It has made me want to compete in more 10km races. I hope my story can __________other people to run too.