1 . I have grown up with pictures and shapes. Ever since I was a little girl, still ________ able to read, my mom would set me up on her lap and read children’s picture ________ for me. She would point to each picture, trace each line and tell me which ________ made the pictures up. Attracted by the tracing of her finger, I would stare and concentrate my eyes to catch every movement that her finger made and would listen for the name of the shape. If I ________ anything, I would beg her to repeat the page over and over again, until I had the name and figure of the shape in my ________.

As I entered the second grade, my memorization of the shapes ________ with me. I learned newer, complex shapes and my knowledge of shapes ________ to the point where my old picture books I had at home could no longer satisfy my need for shapes. Instead, I ________ the world as my new, ________ picture book and read each building, house and truck as rectangles (长方形), squares with triangles and rectangles with circles on the bottom. If I could, I would go up to each ________ and follow the tracing ________ that my mom did when I was younger. I’d take my finger and trace along the outlines of the object and ________ what kind of shapes made it up.

At school, during the ________ , other kids would say playing dodge ball, but I would say playing spheres (圆球). ________ other kids saw a red wagon (马车), I would break the wagon down in my mind into a rectangle and two ________. I was the only one that saw these “pictures” broken down into shapes, where as everyone else saw it as a whole. Now that I am a senior in high school, I still see things in the same way.

2 . On March 18, 2018, I was alone at home in San José, Costa Rica, drinking a cup of tea, ________ that my life was about to change. I received an e-mail ________ with the subject “scholarship selection result”.

My heartbeat quickened as I read through it, and I was mad with joy: I had been chosen to receive a(n) ________ scholarship for a master’s degree in conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Finally, I would be able to gain a deeper understanding of the ancient tales of dragons and the old legends of China, which had always ________ me.

Five months later, I arrived in Shanghai, ________ an entirely new world. At the airport, two of my Costa Rican friends were waiting for me and accompanied me to the ________ at Lingling Road.

I remember clearly when I approached dorm building No 3, I was ________ by the sweet melody of a dizi(Chinese flute), which was totally different from all that I used to hear in my ________.

In Costa Rica, I learned the conducting technique well. ________, it was my professor, Cao Tongyi at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, who ________ me in promoting my skills. His teachings ________ not only careful attention to detail but also the art of letting the music flow as gracefully as T’ai Chi.

In my opinion, that’s the ________ of life in China. You can see it on every ________ when you notice how the traffic flows or on the way people walk to the subway, and even on how the delivery system works throughout China. ________, music can surpass the boundary of notation (符号) and paper, ________ from the musician to the audience, enriching the world one note at a time.

5 . Leigh Ann Sondrup, a devoted nurse at Valley wise, earned the title of a hero after a remarkable off-duty rescue.

The extraordinary chain of events _________ as Sondrup was heading home from work one morning. Having just completed her fourth straight night shift, she was _________. Driving on State Route 143 near Sky Harbor, Sondrup _________ noticed a horrible situation in the distance. As she _________, she found a concrete truck had overturned, with a man _________ inside.

Emergency first responders had not yet _________ to the scene. _________ her tiredness, Sondrup didn’t hesitate to make a decision to help. She _________ her car. No other cars were moving on the road, allowing her to safely walk across the usually busy highway. She got closer to the truck and then quickly _________ the situation. She discovered the driver was still conscious, but __________ injured and losing blood at an alarming rate. Every second __________. She quickly crawled underneath the overturned truck. In a display of resourcefulness (足智多谋), she used the man’s belt to stop the __________.

Months later, the man who had suffered a life-threatening injury __________ to Sondrup to express his __________ for a second chance at life. The Phoenix Fire Department recognized Sondrup for her courageous actions. When interviewed, Sondrup said she __________ a strong belief that everyone serves a purpose in life and that she was glad to have done her part when duty called.

6 . Everyone has a different path through education. While some attend university right after high school, others find their way back years later. This was the _________ for Minnie Payne.

The South Carolina native returned to the classroom after retiring at age 68, finally _________ her much-coveted undergraduate degree when she was 73. _________ stopping there, Payne _________ her higher education path and at age 90, has become the oldest person to obtain a master’s degree at the school.

Payne will be _________ across the stage by her grandson to receive her well-earned diploma. Although much older than the other students, she _________ learning something new and reaching her goal.

“It’s never too late to learn and Minnie Payne is making history, as no one has _________” writes UNT. “As the eldest UNT graduate to complete her coursework, her _________ for writing and her positive attitude made college a joy rather than a _________.”

Before reaching her __________ goal, Payne worked as a court reporter and a __________ teacher in a textile-mill community in South Carolina. After retiring, she __________ as a student in college at Texas Woman’s University.

Payne has already __________ a new job in Houston after graduation. She will be working at a magazine that is based in the area. “It’s not my __________ to stop work,” she said. “I always wanted to improve myself. When I retired, I wasn’t doing anything constructive. And it’s my life philosophy to __________ be doing something constructive.”

We wish Payne the best of luck in her new career.

8 . Catherine Krestyn furnished her home mainly with hard rubbish, such as the chairs, doors and lamps, which were collected from the street where she lives. And it’s a way of life she’s sharing with her community in the hope of making a __________.

Catherine leads a 6, 000-strong online group called Boroondara Hard Rubbish Rehome, where members __________ pictures of their hard rubbish piles for eager locals to find. She started the group in 2022 with her childhood friend Jennie Irving, hoping to _________ a community of thrift (节俭) where they lived. The _________ have stopped more than 7, 000 kg of hard rubbish _________ in landfill since they founded the group. Some items are _________ as they are, like chairs and lamps, and others take a bit of _________ to clean up, like the old, wooden doors.

Local teacher Ruth Polgar discovered the group while surfing the Internet and has since _________ her classroom with second-hand items, including artwork she has rehomed from a neighbour. “We _________ take unneeded items from the group and use them for our school projects,” she says

_________ the group can be really challenging for Catherine. But she isn’t down on those who have to let go of their _________ because of stressful circumstances. “If you’re downsizing or If you’re clearing an _________ house, quite often you’re desperate for _________ to easy options,” she says. “Hard rubbish piles are often that option.”

All Catherine wants to do is give her community a way to _________ their waste, and to send a _________ to those in charge that things need to urgently change.

10 . The 13-year-old girl Anna Grace is a volleyball manager, a basketball manager, and a theater volunteer, but perhaps her greatest _________ is the fact that she has beaten cancer twice.

Anna was first diagnosed (诊断) with a rare type of _________ in December of 2019. A softball player at the time, she told her parents she was experiencing muscle _________ in her left arm, only lifting it about eye-level. She had to _________ surgery on her left arm.

For the following weekends after the surgery, doctors scanned her _________ to make sure she was cancer-free and then in August of 2023, doctors _________ a spot on her lungs. She had another _________ on September to remove it. Anna said later the first time with cancer, it felt like a learning stage. The second time around, it was a little _________ to accept the news.

And throughout all of this, Anna has had to _________ school work and hospital life. Her sufferings with cancer forced her to really __________ herself because she was out of school for quite a while. Now she has __________ and has straight As. Anna’s father, Eric Bartel, said her journey has inspired him to __________ every moment, enjoying time with his loving daughter.

Anna is doing well these days though. She’s __________ in theater and is a coach’s assistant. “When you’re on __________ you have to keep fighting,” Anna said. “Always live life to the fullest each day. You’re loved. Your life __________.”