3 . Watching TV shows was my usual way to spend most weekends. Sometimes, I find it a bit ________. Thus, one day, after finishing another TV series, I thought all this time could partly be used to do something ________, such as volunteering. While ________ online for opportunities, I chanced upon a post for a computer tutor with West Neighbourhood House, which volunteers to help the elders. Going to West Neighbourhood House this time as a ________ was beneficial to me. After all, it was with the organization’s help that I ________ to get a new job. The volunteer experience assisted myself in ________ the new standards of my job.

As a computer tutor, I volunteer Friday nights and Saturday afternoons to help the ________ improve their computer literacy. Since 2019, I’ve ________ three elders who’ve become my regular ________ in using tablet apps and the Internet. Volunteering has also been a great ________ experience for me. I became interested in learning about other ________ because most of the elders came from ________ countries and liked to share their stories about their culture. I’ve also learned the ________ of patience. I’ve realized through ________ that people have different learning styles. I never knew these sessions could ever teach me lessons such as ________ and diversity.

The past few months have been- such a ________ ride so far that I can only be thankful for the amount of ________ that comes from my students. Each tutoring session ends with a thank you, a smile to show they ________ my time. This is what my volunteering has become so far. I’m ________ to have spent my time in this way and I ________ to have more students in the future.

4 . Look out, Einstein, a robot wants your job! This robot, named Adam, may be the first non-human to ever independently think up and test hypotheses in order to discover new scientific knowledge. Adam’s discoveries so far have something to do with yeast genetics — not nearly as mind-blowing as Einstein’s theories on relativity, but still impressive when you realize that nobody told Adam which yeast gene to study. “Adam makes up its mind about what to do,” Rose King of Aberyth University in the United Kingdom, the robot’s creator, told CBC News in Canada. “It decides what experiments to do and what to test.”

Of course, Adam’s choices are limited by the information King feeds it and the lab equipment it has access to. The physical robotic system includes robotic arms, a freezer, fans and equipment useful for biological research. Adam also has loads of data on yeast and other organisms.

To decide what to do, Adam finds a place where the yeast genetic data is incomplete, and then searches for complete information about similar genes in other organisms. By comparing all of this data, Adam is able to form a hypothesis and start experimenting. Adam can bring up to 1,000 new experiments each day.

Why Yeast? Biologists use this simple organism as a model for more complex ones, like human cells. So far, Adam has figured out the functions of 12 different yeast genes. When King and his team tested Adam’s results, everything was correct. Eventually, Adam will be able to move beyond yeast as long as King uploads the data necessary for new experiments. King’s team has also built a new robotic scientist named Eve. This robot will screen new drugs for diseases like malaria.

Robotics has been useful in scientific laboratories for a long time, but usually the machines just do the work and deal with data that humans have to sort through. This is the first time a robot has not only designed its own experiment, but determined its own results! Still, modern Einsteins should not worry about being replaced. Robot scientists like Adam are much more likely to be lab assistants rather than brilliant theorists.

5 . In February 2015, then 7-year-old Bryce Schottel had been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. He’d already been through three rounds of chemotherapy (化疗) and having a fourth one _________ him a lot. During that _________ time, his mother hoped that someone would act as Superman to _________ her son’s spirits, since we associate superheroes with _________ and kindness. So his mom posted his _________ online. Little did she know that a couple of days later, a Superman would really _________ her.

After _________ Bryce’s picture and story online, a policeman, Damon Cole, in Dallas _________ to help somehow. He decided to call Bryce’s family and ask whether he could visit Bryce or not. His family _________ agreed and couldn’t wait to see their son’s __________ . So, Cole drove 11 hours from Dallas to Bryce’s hometown of Smithton, Illinois, where he __________ the young boy at his home around 8 o'clock in the evening. He wore his __________ Superman costume as in the movies. Bryce and his mom couldn’t __________ someone had driven from so far away just to __________ an unknown boy.

Cole couldn’t leave without spending a bit of __________ time with Bryce. After all, he’d driven 11 hours from Dallas. The two __________ cards and enjoyed some video games together. Before Cole left, he gave the young boy a parting __________ , a Superman cape. Cole could hardly tell Bryce was __________ because he had such a(n) __________ attitude.

It’s not every day you get to meet Superman. But when you do, it’s guaranteed to bring __________ and hope.

6 . The best feeling in life is that you look at the plane landing and say to yourself: “I’m in another country!”

I worked as a volunteer for a month at the Cape Town Children’s Hospital. The hospital ______ child treatment. I had ______ for the daily work as well as breaks, which were the same for children to eat or to do school lessons. We wore colourful aprons (围裙) to get ______ and we went from hallway to hallway asking who wanted to play. It was amazing to see a child ______ me to play.

Most of the children did not speak English, only African dialects, which at first made it difficult to ______ but everything went smoothly—dances and even basketball—although we didn’t know each other’s ______. It was very interesting to teach English to these children and many of them ______ learning. Slowly, I ______ families who often came from far away to try medical care and ended up joking and talking to us.

I’ve also benefited greatly from this ______ . I heard a lot of stories. And I also made many friends. Most were ______ like me, and lived in the same house. Cape Town is a ______ blend (融合) of mountains, beaches and city and I visited many places with them. It was amazing to have ______ there!

Before I went to Africa, many people said, “Choose another ______ . There are a lot of diseases there.”   ______ I followed my heart and decided to ______ children there. I think it was the best ______ of my life! Of course I was afraid! It was my first international trip and my first day at the hospital was ______ I never imagined working in such a distant and ______ place. But it’s always been my dream to stop seeing ______ children in a bed and start seeing them live a(n) ______ life!

9 . Back in 1999, John Smyth, a high-school teacher, decided it was time to _________ and start a journey around Australia with his wife Helen. They _________ 33,000 km in six months. When they returned, Smyth found he missed the _________ , so he came out of retirement to spend another eight years doing casual teaching.

Today, the 75-year-old physics teacher work as a volunteer teacher to _________ students who live in isolated locations, under a ( n ) _________ known as Volunteers for Isolated Students’ Education ( VISE ). VISE _________ energetic people with children whose schooling is largely done _________ , because they live too far away from towns and cities to _________ regular school. With their classes conducted via Skype (即时通讯软件) or whatever other methods _________ , the children have virtual (虚拟的) contact with a paid teacher for several hours a day. VISE volunteers go and stay with these families for six weeks at a time to provide ____________ to the students.

John grew up in the country and was immediately attracted when he heard about VISE. Helen was just as ____________ . “ We love the bush, ” he says. While the teacher’s ____________ isn’t required to contribute, they often help around the home, or in the garden. Since volunteers ____________ stay for the full six weeks, it’s important for couples to agree on the locations they apply for.

After encountering some ____________ families and students, John is still keen to do more. “ Occasionally I have had to say, ‘ If you want my instruction, here I am. ____________ , I’ll go home - I’m too busy to be ____________ here if we’re not going to work. ’ But it’s always ____________ really well. ” He remains in ____________ with a number of his former students.

John says it was an absolutely fantastic ____________ , which just shows it is never too late to use ____________ life knowledge and continue giving back to society.