1 . Robert Mendez Jr. is a football coach. Despite being born without limbs (四肢), he has spent his life on what he can ________. And this spirit was what drove him for more than a decade toward realizing his dream—becoming a coach.

This year, Robert ________ the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, presented to “a ________ member of the sporting world who has overcome great difficulties through determination.” Nobody could have been a better ________.

As Robert accepted the ________, he thanked a number of people for helping him. Then, true to his character, this passionate coach ________ a piece of his wisdom.

He said, “If there’s any ________ that I want to give you, it’s to look at me and see how much passion I put into coaching and how ________ it’s gotten me. When you open your mind to different possibilities and ________ what you can do, you really can achieve something.”

When talking of ________, he said, “The best part of it is seeing someone’s ________ and making them realize what’s possible. So for anyone out there not ________ about their abilities, I’m here to tell you that you can do it. It can ________.”

Robert may have been born without arms or legs, but he was ________ born with the amazing ability to ________ others. As he’s already well aware, there’s nothing this man can’t do!

2 . Wilber stole Staci Greene’s heart years ago. The donkey (驴) was an unusual gift that left quite an impression.

Years later, after _________ back to her parents’ farm in Ramona, California, Staci started making plans for a donkey rescue (救援) project. She began _________ unwanted donkeys and mules (骡子), naming her project Hee Haw Place Donkey Rescue.

Hee Haw Place has had as many as thirteen _________ at one time, but because of Staci’s success in finding people who are fit to adopt (收养) the donkeys, she now _________ just six — two donkeys, two mules and two horses.

She makes sure the new _________ are suitable for the animals and that new owners are _________ about wanting to add a donkey to their families. If an adoption doesn’t _________, Staci always welcomes the animal back to her farm.

Donkeys require little _________, she says. Their hooves (the hard lower parts of their feet) should be trimmed (修剪) once or twice a year, and they need a large farm where they can walk and _________ grass.

But they need more than __________. Staci says, “These are working animals, and they need __________.”

Donkeys are relatively easy to train for riding and for pulling things. Staci __________ them and helps them find work and __________ in their new forever homes.

Staci’s animals always walk in the parade held during Mule Days every May in Bishop, California. They also __________ their training. Last year, Poppy the mule won a championship title, while the donkeys brought home several __________. Love and patience for the win!

3 . Biar Kon, a 17-year-old student, whose parents were working in neighboring Sudan, moved to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to attend school. Once he _______, he needed to get some documents from the Sudanese embassy(大使馆). But when he went to look for the embassy, he couldn’t find it. He asked a few people for _______, and no one knew where it was. Then an older woman tapped him on the back.

The woman told Kon that she had seen him asking questions of multiple people as they _______, and she wondered if he needed money for food, or a place to stay. Then Kon realized that the woman thought he was _______.

They cleared up the _______, and the woman was able to offer her help. The woman’s _______ left a deep impression on Kon. And it inspired him to _______ five years later, when he moved to Boston, Massachusetts. One day, outside a coffee shop, he _______ a man who was begging for change. Kon _______ that moment five years earlier, when the woman in Nairobi had ________ him for a homeless person. So he went up to the man to see what he could do. “He told me why he was on the street—because he made a（n） ________ mistake when he was in high school, and he couldn’t get a ________ now,” Kon recalled. Kon bought the man some breakfast, and gave him a little bit of money.

Today, it’s an encounter he ________. For him, it is a ________ that you never know what people are going through unless you talk to them ________ — the way the woman in Nairobi made an effort to talk to him.

4 . One bus driver for the North Elementary School can now add lifesaver to her experiences after a student started choking (窒息) on her bus last month.

On Sept.29, bus driver Raquel Baker began her work just like any other drivers and was about to drop off students at the school gate when something went wrong. Video from the school bus showed 7-year-old Preston putting something in his ________ and then dropping down between the seats, clearly in ________ .

It was hard for the boy to ________ a word but he managed to mention something about a coin. Baker ________ stood up, took hold of him and ran out of the ________ .“On my way to the sidewalk, I was actually performing the Heimlich maneuver (海姆利克氏操作法),” she said.

Preston hardly ________ and Baker didn’t waste any time to jump into action. The whole time she was saying, “Baby, breathe, baby, breathe.”

Preston was blue in the face. Baker saw a parent and asked her to call 911. “All I could think of was I had to ________ this boy,” Baker said. She had never performed the Heimlich before, but her ________ on the first aid given by the school one month ago worked. “I was ________ at the time, but I just couldn’t be scared,” she said. She didn’t even realize when the ________ flew out of Preston’s mouth until Preston said, “Miss Baker, I’m OK. I can breathe.”

Preston’s mum was ________ for Baker’s help. The school’s headmaster was also touched and ________ her for her life-saving work. “As of today, I’m still in shock. I really can’t believe that this actually happened. I didn’t really realize what a big ________ I had,” Baker said.

Until today Bake r still doesn’t know how she got the ________ to do what she did that day, ________ she knows this, “If I wasn’t there, other drivers may have done it as well,” Bake r said.

5 . Courtney Rich is a mother of two, whose journey through the Big Cottonwood Marathon was a familiar marathoner’s battle. Her _____ was tested with each pace towards the uphill finish. The 1.7-mile race was a hard dance of patience and will, a dance Courtney knew well. Her legs, heavy with effort, threatened to betray (背叛) her ______.

Then, from the sidelines ______ the 10-year-old “dynamo” (发电机), Avery. Her sudden appearance put a burst of energy and emotion into the scene. Full of determination, her thin figure ran ______ towards her mother, who was visibly ______ from the marathon. The crowd watched in awe as this young dynamo took charge.

As Avery ______ Courtney, their hands held tightly and the marathon’s final act was suddenly rewritten. Avery, a burst of energy personified, became her mother’s anchor (精神支柱), and her small act of support was ______ in its impact. With a determined look, Avery grasped her mother’s hand. She didn’t say a word, but her actions ______ a lot. They started running together towards the finish line, their hands firmly held together.

The onlookers ______ them, inspired by the ______ of love and support between mother and daughter. It was a heartwarming moment, making everyone ______ that sometimes, unexpected ______ from the ones we love can ______ the strength to overcome even the most discouraging challenges.

As they approached the finish line, the crowd’s applause grew louder, and Avery’s mother’s tiredness began to ______, replaced by a renewed sense of determination. Together, they crossed the finish line hand in hand, sharing a ______ moment that they would remember forever.