1 . Are you happy with your appearance?     1    

“Almost all the girls with single-fold eyelids (单眼皮) in our class have had double eyelid operations,” Zeng, a Senior 2 student from Chengdu, told Xinhua. Zeng had the same surgery done this summer.     2    

From popular photo-editing apps to plastic surgery (整形手术), it seems that large eyes, pale skin and a skinny body are the only standard for beauty these days. But can following this standard really make us feel good about ourselves?

    3     . According to Huxiu News, over six in ten girls choose not to take part in certain daily activities, such as attending school, because they feel bad about their looks. As much as 31 percent of teenagers avoid speaking up in class because they worry that others will notice their looks.

“Many teenagers are upset about their appearance because they believe in unrealistic standards of beauty,” experts say.       4     Seeing all these things can make anyone believe that they’re too dark, too fat, too short, or too tall.

However, trying to live up to strict standards can make us feel anxious. What troubles us is not just our “imperfect” looks, but the fact that we criticize ourselves too much.

    5     Plus-size models are being featured in some fashion shows. All of us should be just as confident as they are.

2 . My wife and I moved into our home two years ago. We had a yard with a lot of ________. Very often when we have flowers, Denise or I would plant some between the rocks, just to add some ________ to the area.

Last summer, I found a tiny little plant in the yard that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise said she didn’t either.

We decided to let it ________ growing until we could find out what it was.

Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the ________ plant, it appeared to be a sunflower. I decided to ________ the weeds (杂草) around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something ________.The sunflower had not ________ where I saw it begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the ________.

That’s when I ________ that if a tiny little sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the ability of doing the same thing. If we ________ ourselves like that little sunflower, we can reach where we ________ to go and get what we need for growth.

We need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the ________ to achieve our goals. Like the sunflower, it knew it had the ability to get over the rocks because it had ________ in itself that it would succeed. Stand tall like the sunflower and be ________ of who and what we are, and then the environment will begin to ________ us. We will find a way to go under or around any “rocks” in order to reach our goals.

Long-distance running is a great sport for beginners. It has a lot of benefits. It will help you get fit and prevent diseases.     1    

If you are new to running, here is some advice for you. It is important to warm up and cool down properly before and after running, so you do not hurt yourself.     2    . After a long run, you should jog slowly for ten minutes, then walk for five minutes. Such kind of warm-down relaxes your body after exercise.

Just a few seconds later, fourth-placed Navarro caught up with him. Surely, he could simply overtake Esteban and come third. But Navarro slowed down and let Esteban run ahead of him. The two cyclists reached the finishing line with Esteban ahead on foot, Navarro just behind him. Navarro had let Esteban finish in third place, while he came fourth. The audience was amazed at his show of sportsmanship and cheered and clapped for the cyclists. After the race, Navarro said, “I didn’t want to win that way.” Later, Esteban, who won the bronze medal, tried to give his medal to Navarro. However, Navarro refused, and his response was: “Offering me the prize was worth more than what I did for him.”

8 . Sam and Joe were spacemen. There was once a very dangerous trip and the more experienced spacemen knew there was only a small chance of coming back alive Sam and Joe, however, thought it would be full of excitement though a little dangerous.

“We’re the best men for the job,” they said to the boss. “There may be problems, but we can find the answers.”

“They’re the last people I’d trust,” thought the boss. “But all the other spacemen have refused to go.”

Once they were in space, Joe had to go outside to make some repairs. When the repairs were done, he tried to get back inside the spaceship. But the door was locked. He knocked but there was no answer. He knocked again, louder this time, and again no answer came. Then he hit the door as hard as he could and finally a voice said. “Who’s there?” “It’s me! Who else could it be?” shouted Joe. Sam let him in but you can imagine that Joe never asked to go on a trip with Sam again!

9 . At the age of 60, my father was hit by a car when he walked to a nearby supermarket to buy vegetables. After ______ for two months in hospital, he finally woke up. His waking up ______ all our family. ______, he didn’t know any of us. Doctors said his brain was hurt so ______ that he had lost all his memory. And his mental age (心理年龄) was only five. We were sorry to hear about the bad news.

Since I was his only child, it was my ______ to look after him. He forgot almost everything, but he did remember he liked sweets. I used the sweets as a way of ______ bad behaviors. I would gave him one sweet if he didn’t sit on the ground, a second for stopping painting on the wall, and another for not trying to put clothes on the dog.

Dad became the ______ child in town. He climbed up the tree to catch a bird and couldn’t get down after it ______ away. He broke my window with a ball and ______ our telephone in water like washing clothes. When I told him he was doing ______ things, he would answer smilingly, “I like that!” My son, then aged five, and two eight-year-old daughters, welcomed their big playmate. He would happily make them real cigarettes, ______ his sweets with them, and carry them high in the apple tree to pick apples.

It is eight years since the accident. Dad has accepted the fact that he is the ______ of his three playmates but not a brother. He has also accepted that they grow taller but his ______ stays the same. Though it is still ______ to take care of him, he brings us a lot of fun. In some way I think it is a(n) ______ thing to look after dad like looking after a child. How many people can have the chance to care for a child-like parent?

One summer weekend, my wife, my son and I entered a running race on mountain trails. When the race started, our son took off ______, but my wife and I stayed back, enjoying the scenery. After some time, while running down a narrow, ______ trail, I walked on a big stone and had a ______. I realized I'd got my toe ______, but I didn't check my damage. Instead, we kept running.______, after going half the course, I realized my watch on my wrist was______. I encouraged my wife to go on ahead, and returned to see if I could find it. Later, I ______ my broken watch and quickly put it into my pocket. Then I ______ down the trail. In the end, I saw my son, who had finished 30 minutes earlier, had run back up the trail to ______ me. He ran with me to the end.

______ it turned out, both my wife and son had won first place in their age groups, but I had no chance of placing. After the race, I took off my shoe and found that my sock was in blood. Luckily, the race ______ had a special award for the most injured runner.

Although everyone wants to live a life of comfort, the ______ is that we often face pain and ______. However, the key to happiness is ______ pain into something positive. In other words, ______ can make us stronger if we face them bravely.