1 . Once upon a time, a boy was walking through the countryside when he saw, among some ________, an angel singing a beautiful song. The angel soon ________.

The boy thought that it must be the doorway to heaven, and that it would be fun to see what was up there. So he ________ building a big tower of wood, reaching up to the clouds. ________, when the tower was very ________, it collapsed (倒塌). Later, he ________ building it with bricks, and then with steel, but his tower always collapsed.

Just when he was about to ________, the angel returned, this time ________by other angels. The angel ________ again, and the boy listened closely. The ________ of the song was that you could only reach that heavenly (神圣的) place if you really wanted to, with all your heart.

No longer was the boy just ________; now he desired with all his might (力量) to go up and visit heaven with the angels. But he just couldn’t ________ it, and, overcome by his sense of powerlessness (无能为力) and sadness, he ________ and began to cry. However, he smiled when he suddenly saw the sun appear from behind the clouds and ________ a beautiful rainbow. The rainbow led ________ up to the door of heaven.

The boy traveled up the rainbow, filled with joy, knowing that only with sincere and heartfelt (衷心的) desire could one ever open the door to heaven.

3 . I passed my test when I was 19, and I’ve been behind the wheel for most journeys since. After becoming a ________ eight years ago, I became more dependent on my car, thinking that it meant security for me and my child. I couldn’t ________ a world where I didn’t get around on four wheels, but that all ________ when I tried going car-free.

Earlier this year, I ________ to a challenge posed by the climate charity to see what it would be like without my car for three weeks. I ________ an electric family bike. Straight away, I enjoyed having a break from driving, especially on the ________ run. What was once an unpredictable trip to my daughter’s school often stuck in traffic was now a ________ ride along the canal. And my daughter loved every moment of it, which gave me the ________ to know that we were doing the right thing.

Giving up my car didn’t come without its ________. I work in a grocery, and although there are ________ car parking space, there isn’t enough bike parking space to ________ my bike securely. On balance, the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. I felt myself getting ________ because I was getting exercise during my commute (通勤). I saved a bit of money every week just like other participants in this ________.

I was surprised by how ________ it was to give up the car and get around on my bike. I ________ to think it was my duty as a parent to be a driver. Now it’s my duty to get on my bike whenever I can.

6 . In the early hours of March 23, about 12 hours before our treasured 12-year-old son died of a rare form of brain cancer, I climbed into his hospital bed, _________ him in my arms and recited Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky.

My child was no longer _________, but I hoped and believed that he could sense my presence and that my voice would _________ his wildly beating heart.

My son had been _________ with the words of the poem by _________ me reciting it to him almost every night before going to bed. He loved the _________ of the “beamish (神采焕发的) boy” as, with a short sword in hand, the boy takes on a strong man several times his size.

My son was also a passionate _________. But with many surgeries, rounds of radiation and medications _________ most of his time, he could _________ read on his own. Therefore, I ________ to read to him. And it was during the reading that I found that poems could relieve my __________. They offered an anchor to me during unpredictable and painful times. They also helped me prepare for the arrival of the final time.

Then it came — at 12:52 am on March 23, my son’s heart stopped beating forever. Despite my __________, I was still overwhelmed by grief. Then I received a message from my friend. It was Raymond Carver’s Late Fragment: “And what did you want?/ To call myself beloved, / to feel myself beloved on the earth.”

It __________ me a bit, because I was __________ that even in my son’s darkest hours, he was always __________ — and still is. And thanks to poems, I was able to get through the pain and get on with my life.

8 . My dad loved everything about Northern Soul music. He _________ in England in the 1960s when the music was popular. He had a _________ childhood there. I believe this music _________ him through hard times in his life.

At the age of 57, he was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer. When he was _________ from the cancer, he also turned to his music. The music made him _________ and he wanted to dance. One of the songs I knew he _________ was “Because Of You” by Jackie Wilson. He _________ told me why he liked it, but after listening to the _________ of the song, I believed it was for my mother, who _________ him. But my mom insisted they saved each other.

The song ________   me of the time when my dad and I were sitting in his living room after he was diagnosed with cancer and he told me this was his favorite song. I __________ it down in my note section of my phone because I knew it was __________ to remember it. We ended up __________ it at his memorial service. It also reminds me of how my mom and dad __________. My dad was only 23 and was trying to find his way in __________. My mom was 22 and was also trying to find her way. They helped each other over 40 years.

9 . On a hot afternoon Rhiannon was driving her old van down the highway. As she ________ her window to let in some fresh air, her car registration paper blew off the sun visor (防晒板) and onto the floor inside. When leaning down to ________ it, she accidentally drifted into oncoming traffic. In panic, she over-corrected and pulled the ________ sharply in the other direction. ________, the van rolled over three times, and Rhiannon was thrown onto the road, lying in the middle of the road and bleeding, nearly ________.

A medical student witnessed the accident and came to her ________. He covered Rhiannon with his coat and gave her emergency first aid, including ________ the wound on her left arm before the ambulance arrived.

________, Rhiannon was rushed to a hospital where an emergency room doctor spent hours ________ all the pieces of windshield (挡风玻璃) from her arm, and gave her three dozen stitches (缝针).

Luckily, Rhiannon was saved. Not for the bandage, she would not have ________long enough for the emergency personnel to arrive. Though Rhiannon didn’t know him, she was grateful to the medical student who saved her life. So she ________ the words online, “It’s a pity that I don’t know your name. If you happen to see or hear this story and recognize yourself, thank you for your kind ________.”

Rhiannon also had a message for the other ________ heroes, “Please consider this a pay-it-forward letter of ________— a letter from the ________ you helped who, for whatever reason, couldn’t thank you themselves.”

10 . A father and his son went to a kite（风筝） festival. When they ________ , there were many parents and their children playing in the park   ________. The son was happy when he saw the sky filled with colorful kites. He wanted to fly a kite, too. So they went to a kite shop and   ________a beautiful one.

The father was good   ________ flying kites. Soon the kite was high up in the sky. After a while, the son said, “Dad, it   ________ that the string ( 线 ) is stopping the kite from flying higher. ________we cut it, the kite will be free and fly even higher. Can we cut it?” The father said   ________but just cut the string off. The kite really went higher. This made the little boy   ________ .

But then, a few minutes later, the kite started to ________ slowly.   It soon fell onto the ground. The son was ________ to see this. He asked his father, “I thought that after cutting the string, the kite would fly higher. Why did it fall down?”

The father smiled and said. “The role of the string was not stopping the kite from going higher, but was ________it stay in the sky, because the kite   ________can’t fly up. You helped the kite go up in the right   ________by using the string. But when you cut the string, it could no longer support (支撑) the kite.”

In our life, we may sometimes feel like there are certain things that are holding us back and stopping us from growing. ________ in fact, these might be the things that support us the most. We can really   ________ and become better by knowing the importance of these things.