1 . Changing the world may be impossible, but changing a world is realistic—that’s how Lorenzo Amani looks on the life. Amani’s journey from the football team to the ________ world is a story of perseverance and personal growth.

Growing up in a military family, Amani experienced frequent moves and ________ requirements, which influenced his character and ________ his capacity to handle stress, particularly in sports. ________, a career-ending foot injury in his junior year ________ his dream of football. With the encouragement and assistance of coaches and the staff, Amani ________ his attention on other off-field interests—studying at Virginia Tech. “Student athletes at the time didn’t really study abroad,” he said. “We were generally too busy ________ our sport. This was a (n) ________ experience that taught me that we’re all a lot more alike than we are ________, even in various corners of the world.”

Following his graduation, Amani served as an academic coach to ________ others facing the same career ________ from sports to others post-college. It’s a (n) ________ many athletes struggle with—fewer than 2 percent of student athletes go on to be professional athletes.

Today, Amani has founded an athleisure clothing company, with a (n) ________ to contributing a portion of its profits to organizations that offer education training to minorities. Additionally, he remains devoted to ________ individuals, helping develop their leadership skills and financial literacy.

Amani’s experience proves that as long as we ________ setbacks (挫折) bravely, we can change not just our own world, but the world of others as well.

2 . If you want to stand out, 10,000 hours of training will take you much further than your natural abilities. Mozart is considered by many as the greatest composer who ever lived. Traditionally, many people ________ outstanding achievements like Mozart’s are due to talent, or even inborn inspiration or ________.

This assumption holds especially true for child prodigies (神童) like Mozart whose music talent ________ the world at the age of six. But looking more ________ at this phenomenon, we find that these individuals actually had to practice countless hours before showing their ________ remarkable talent. In fact, scientists indicate that a prodigy’s training typically ________ at a very early age, with massive time invested in practice.

For example, when the six-year-old Mozart toured Europe to ________ his brilliant piano skills, he had already ________ 3,500 hours of musical training. If you compare this to other pianists who have practiced for as long, Mozart’s ________ wasn’t all that exceptional. It seems that outstanding abilities come from intensive strict practice ________ natural talents. A study shows the only factor directly ________ the students’ level of achievement was the amount of serious practice time: the most ________ performers had practiced for an average of 10,000 hours, while the least skilled had only 4,000 hours of practice. What’s even more revealing is that there were no ________: All of the top performers had ________ great efforts to their practice. It seems that no extraordinary talent can ________ without tough practice.

5 . Life is a series of unexpected and unforeseen events. Some of them bring about welcome and pleasant consequences, while sometimes they do not _________ any joy. In fact, they can be destructive and unfortunate.

But during these trials and hardships, the love and kindness of others can make a world of _________. It can even save a life, as was the case for a paralyzed (瘫痪的) man in a wheelchair from Dallas, Texas.

Dennis Brown, who is _________ to a wheelchair, was in a rental car when the vehicle burst into _________ suddenly. When he looked up, he _________ the fire extending several feet from the front of the car, _________ him immediately and sending smoke high into the sky above.

_________, a complete stranger put her life at risk to rescue Dennis, who didn’t _________ to take action. The woman _________ Dennis out of the burning car, shifting him to __________. But before Dennis was able to show his __________, she had left quietly. Dennis said that he was eager to have the opportunity to say thanks to his rescuer.

But Dennis is not the only person grateful to the __________ woman. Dennis’ mother, Julia Brown, will forever ________ appreciation to the woman for her __________ deed. “I cannot thank her enough,” Julia said. “Because if she hadn’t __________ the assistance in time, I would have lost him. She was a hero!”

6 . One day, hundreds of people were stuck in traffic on the highway in below-freezing temperatures due to a snowstorm. With the conditions making it _________ for rescue workers to help, many were trapped overnight with no access to _________.

But one stuck driver found a _________ spot in the despair. As she was sitting in her car fearing the _________, Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, _________ a bread truck just ahead of them in the jam. Willing to try just about anything, they called the customer service number listed on the back of the truck and left a _________ begging for the driver to open the back and _________ bread to the hungry passengers around them. It was a last-ditch effort, and the couple wasn’t very _________ about getting a response. But to their _________ they soon received a phone call from the company’s owner, Chuck Paterakis, with the news that he was __________ the truck’s driver to open up and pass out loaves of bread from his cargo. Overjoyed by the news, Holihan and Noe __________ the truck’s driver to bring much-needed things to the cars around them.

The simple loaves of bread were surely a ray of __________ in an impossibly disturbing situation. Holihan herself calls it “one of the __________ moments” she’s ever witnessed. This company could have made a(n) __________ from the bread but instead chose to help the people around them. That is just so incredible that someone chose __________ over profit, especially in a situation where people were so desperate.

8 . I was 3 years into my Ph.D. Yet I still felt in the ______ because I did not know how or when I would graduate. To be ______, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Worse still, Erika was ______, the only other woman in the lab. This added to my ______. As she cleared out her lab space, she offered a ______: her old but big computer monitor (显示器). This kind, seemingly minute ______ turned out to be exactly the lifeline (救命稻草) I ______.

To me, this monitor was a ______ that my community supports me even when they aren’t ______ with me. After years of using only a small laptop, I was ______ by how much my work benefited from having an additional screen. With this ______ perspective, I started to like writing. I handed in my graduation paper, and the light at the end of the tunnel shined brightly.

Then I graduated. My ______ with the monitor came to an end, and I wanted to ______ the chain of care and sisterhood. So, I offered it to another woman engineer, who told me the monitor allowed her to have focused writing time. It also helped solidify her ______ that she is in community with people who support her — just as it did for me.

And just like that, a ripple (涟漪) effect from an ______ monitor.

9 . Last Monday, when I walked into a supermarket, my daughter, Charlotte, said she would buy me some flowers. I came home with a beautiful bouquet (花束), a(n)_______gift I enjoyed. That reminded me of the old days.

When my kids were younger, sometimes I noticed them_______something on a shop shelf, and I asked what they wanted to take home. Or I saw something while shopping by myself and thought which child would love that. I’d buy it and gave it to the_______child. We may be apprehensive about buying_______for our children. Should we be careful about what we give them because they might_______something every time we go shopping? What if we have several_______? If we buy something for one of them, will we have to buy something for everyone to be_______?

Despite the_______, I still bought gifts just to spread joy. After careful teaching, nothing terrible happened. My kids didn’t_______more when we went shopping. They always appreciated whatever I gave them. The child__________a gift would smile with delight, and the other children were pleased too. They shared the joy__________.

Now they do the same for me__________. Yesterday, I was too unwell to__________my son, James, to the mall. He said he would bring home something nice to cheer me up. He returned with some beautiful sunflowers. Sometimes, I stop my writing and glance up at my flowers, and__________fills my heart.I truly feel __________.