1 . It was July 2019 and Mum had taken me on a 120-km mother-and-son walking holiday as a treat for my birthday. Although I was still on my first special ________, I’d love to see some ancient civilisation.

“Why don’t we go to Egypt?” I said. “It sounds ________, but I’m not paying for it,” Mum smiled and replied.

“I’ll save up my pocket money, and get a ________,” I said. I started saving my $10-a-week pocket money and washed my parents’ car for ________ cash.

In 2020, we moved to Perth. One day, I ________ a brochure in the letter box which was advertising a job delivering catalogues (目录). I applied for the job, and ________ I got it a week later.

On a Monday, a mountain of catalogues were ________ at our house. It took me nine hours to sort through them, and then I ________ them to 430 houses. At first, I used my bike and ________ the catalogues in my backpack, but this wasn’t very ________ so I bought a trolley (手推车) which improved my speed. As time went by, people started ________ me and saying hello on my rounds.

After three and half years, I’d ________ a massive $6,500, and in January this year I flew to Egypt. I had a good time visiting the powerful pyramids at Giza, ________ local food and sailing down a river. I fully ________ that nothing can stop a person from following his ________.

2 . It all began on a cold, rainy day．

Sarah, a poor single mother, was ________ to make ends meet. While waiting for the bus with her two children, Sarah ________ an old man sitting on a nearby bench. He was shivering (颤抖), his ________ jacket providing little protection against the freezing weather.

Sarah ________ the man and offered him her coat. She knew it would make her cold, but the thought of this stranger ________ while she had something to give was too much to bear. ________ by her selflessness, the man thankfully accepted the coat and gave back a smile. Little did Sarah know that her simple act of ________ would make a huge difference.

A man, who saw the heartwarming ________, took a photo and shared it on social media. The post quickly became a ________, with thousands of people sharing and commenting on Sarah’s ________. Encouraged by her, people began organizing events to ________ those less lucky. Schools added lessons on the ________ of helping others, and businesses started a “pay it forward” project, where people could buy more and leave the ________ meal for those in need.

Reflecting on this unbelievable journey, we can ________ our individual power, which may create an effect that would ________ reach every corner of the globe.

3 . I cleared the dishes from the kitchen table, with Mama following close behind to carry our tableware to the kitchen. There was no stopping her. Despite everything, she still wants to _______ , I thought.

My mama had _______ in moving around and had lost much of her speech to Parkinson’s disease. After a recent fall that left her with a broken arm, the _______ suggested she use a wheelchair. It was _______ to see her like this. From the time I was a kid, Mama had always been an active person with a positive _______ . I could still see her in my mind, cooking and cleaning in the house I grew up in, sometimes humming (哼唱) while _______ .

Now I did my best to _______ her like she’d done for me. I made the long drive as often as possible to _______ her and help around the house. Independent as ever, she never _______ working. “You’ve done ________ , Mama,” I said when she took the towel to clean the table. Where does she get the ________ ？

I turned on the tap to wash our dishes and noticed a ________ coming from Mama’s direction. I turned off the running water. Mama was humming! I ________ as she moved around the table, her happy song filling the room. “What’s it that you’re humming, Mama?” “Count Your Blessings (常怀感恩),” she ________ with a smile on her face.

________ , it was where Mama’s strength came from. There was no stopping her from being thankful, always.

4 . Of all the men who ever liked fresh air, no one liked it more than Wilson. He often climbed mountains to ________ the fresh air at the top. He drove an open car without a roof. He’d always keep one window ________ in his room.

One ________, Wilson went to Finland on business. The hotel he stayed in was ________. It was warm and quiet. But Wilson got ________ when he found all the windows were closed to keep warm. He tried his best to open one, but ________. The manager had wisely ________ that. No fresh air in the room!

Night came, but Wilson couldn’t fall asleep. Having ________ in bed, Wilson became hot with anger. His hands waved madly in the dark air. Suddenly, he ________ something on the floor. It was his heavy boot! Without thinking, he threw it with all the force. A terrible sound ________ the bedroom. Wilsom calmed down immediately. “Now I should go to ________.” he thought in great ________ and soon fell peacefully asleep.

The next morning, Wilson woke up. He ________ the terrible sound, and opened his eyes to look. The ________ were all in one piece, just as good as the night before. No fresh air was ________ entering the room, since what he broke was his own cup on the table. He felt guilty (内疚的) about his behavior.

7 . I’m obsessed (迷恋) with music. As a teenager, I couldn’t leave the house without my ____. My summers were filled with festivals, and my shelves with ____.

But one day last year something changed. I became aware of a faint tapping sound in my left ear. It wasn’t loud enough to be ____, but the next day it turned into a whooshing sound. By the weekend it had started to become hard to ____ in my left ear.

I was then sent to see specialists. They said it was the mitochondrial disease that caused the ____, but they couldn’t say for sure. So ____, I am still undiagnosed (没有确诊). 

I was given hearing aids, but they didn’t work. I’ve signed up for a lip-reading course and am ____ British Sign Language. My friends have been ____, some have offered to learn BSL, but I feel it’s really me who has to ____ this new life.

Other deaf people have warned of feeling isolated (孤立) and I’m determined not to make that my ____. I do get ____ when I have to go out of my comfort zone. Going to a bar and asking for a drink is fine ____ they start making small talk—at that point I’ll declare I’m deaf.

I’ve always preferred to ____ ahead, but since this happened I take life day by day. The doctors have speculated (推测) that my ____ might come back. The future is ____, but I’m at peace with that.

8 . My dad is easy-going and has a gift for chatting. He ________ a fast food restaurant called Queenie’s Weenies, which is specialized in hot dogs. I work with my dad at the ________ on weekends.

One Saturday, we went ________. As we got into the checkout line, I ________ something: our cashier (收银员) was very ________! She ________ no smiles, no greetings and no small talk. Her “anger aura (光环)” was obvious and kind of ________ to me. When we ________ to check out, I was thinking that we should just pay for our things and leave quickly. My dad had a different ________. When it was our turn, he started ________ her.

Dad said, “Hi, how are you today? This is my son. I have a restaurant, and we ________ together. It’s called Queenie’s Weenies. Drop by my restaurant sometime and I will ________ you to my hot dogs. I’m good at cooking them.” By the time we ________ checking out, the cashier was smiling. She said, “Thanks, umm… I hope you and your son have a very nice day.”

Back in the car, Dad said to me, “The cashier was obviously ________ today. It happens to everyone. Smile ________ or give a few kind words, which is all it takes to make one a little more delighted.”

10 . When the weather starts to warm up, we love heading to the beach for a few days. During one such trip, after a few days of being _________ on the beach and spending too much time walking the boardwalk, we decided to go for a _________.

We _________ a car for the day and drove to Key West. Our _________ was to enjoy a scenic drive on Highway 1 and maybe try some pie and head back, but the day _________ to be more memorable than that.

It was a breathtaking drive and we kept our eyes glued to the window. The scenery was _________ and felt like we were driving over water. When we were closer to Key West, _________ my husband-stopped the car, grabbed his camera, and ran out looking up at the sky—_________ me looking at him confused (困惑的).

After a few minutes of looking and pointing at a shiny object in the sky, he was pretty _________ to announce he’d spotted a UFO. I should __________ here that he loves sci-fi movies and UFO shows and strongly __________ we are not alone.

We eventually got back in the __________, stopped at a nearby store, and asked someone in the parking lot, “Do you see that shiny thing in the sky?” The man looked up and __________, “Do you mean that weather blimp (气象飞艇)?” The shiny object in the sky was not an unidentified flying object or alien craft but a weather blimp.

It is one of the short funny travel __________ that always come up when we talk about our __________. It starts with one of the kids saying “Remember the time when Dad thought he saw a UFO...?” and always makes us laugh.