3 . Aesha Ash is a Ballet (芭蕾舞) dancer who began the Swan Dreams Project in 2011. It is a program designed to bring ballet to girls of color in her community. Aesha Ash is one of the few women of color to ever grace the stages of New York City Ballet School of American Ballet. She wants to expose her community to more positive images of women of color through the use of ballet. She wants to show the world that beauty and grace are not defined by status or race.

Aesha grew up in the inner city of Rochester, New York, where crime, gun violence and poverty were among the biggest threats to the community. For her, that’s normal. That’s just life in the neighborhood, but what she remembers most is the dance studio.

She started dancing all together at the age of five. A teacher mentioned to her mother that she had some promise in ballet, and that it would be difficult for her, as a woman of color, to enter the ballet world. But the adversity (逆境) she faced was the very thing that pushed her to pursue a career in ballet.

And there’s so much negative stereotyping (刻板印象) and misunderstanding of who they are in the media. Through the use of imagery and her career as a ballet dancer, she challenges stereotypes that exist for women of color, particularly those from inner-city communities.

“It’s important that our girls see that side of themselves because for many kids it’s hard to be what you can’t see. I didn’t see a black ballet dancer before I decided that’s what I wanted to be. It was really important for me to be in my environment displaying that because this is where I’m from. It was always beyond ballet.” Aesha Ash stated.

4 . I only have two fingers on my left hand when I was born. I have hid my hand for over 17 years. Honestly, it consumed my life. It was to the point where if I had my backpack on, I would put my hand in my pocket and I would have to go to the bathroom, just so I could take my backpack off, I was that embarrassed and ashamed of the way I looked.

I felt broken, but pretended I was fine with this false confidence. I thought that if I built muscle I would be happy with the way I looked, but it wasn't until I realized that muscles didn't replace confidence that I started to accept myself for who I was.

I decided to share my story and show my hand in a YouTube video in 2017. I'll never for-get the moment when a young girl grabbed my thumb over my glove, looked at me and smiled, saying “You don't have to hide.”That moment killed me because it was like the first time someone actually saw me. But a short while after that, I told myself I could take the gloves off, and finally I made it. Now I am comfortable to live my life without a mask or glove.

I hit a 640-pound deadlift (举重) in front of 15,000 people as the only disabled athlete in that event at the Arnold Sports Festival. However, that achievement was not important in comparison to being able to go to the grocery store without hiding my disability anymore.

What I have experienced these years has taught me that even though you might not look like everyone around you, you can still adapt, and build a life on your terms. One should always bring up his ability to adapt in any environment.

5 . One of my close friends named David, an expert rock climber, told me he wanted to do something special for my birthday. He _________ to take me up a famous rock climbing wall in Cathedral Peak in Yosemite Valley.

I had some rock climbing experiences in college and I was ready for a(n) _________. We drove to Tuolomne Meadows and hiked for two and a half hours. _________ we stood in front of a cliff. David pointed upward and said _________, "This is it. Get ready." I _________ and saw a steep white wall that was nearly vertical(垂直的), 2,000 feet from the base, where we were standing, to its _________. "Are you serious?" I asked, hoping he would tell me that he was just _________. When he began unpacking ropes, I knew his _________. Suddenly I had a sick feeling in the stomach.

I had to put on my climbing shoes and adjust my packs and my _________. David moved fast, like Spiderman. After fixing the rope, he secured himself and yelled down, "Okay! Climb!" Step by step, I made my way straight up. About 300 feet off the ground, I looked down. Then my legs began to __________. I looked up and __________I had 1,700 feet to go. I felt __________in the mid-air. I called out, "David! I can't do this!" He yelled to me, "That belief isn't going to get you up here!" He was right! That __________ belief would never get me up to the top. I had to __________ my belief. What belief would __________ me in getting up this ridiculous wall? I __________ a new belief: This is within my capability. Then I __________ felt much better. I began to climb easily. I made it! I finally __________ David.

Looking at a good view of Yosemite Valley with David atop a narrow platform of 2,000 feet above the ground, I was absolutely __________ that I had made it. I really realized how __________ right beliefs are!

6 . Skiing has always been a big part of Mikaela Shiffrin’s life. Her dad ski raced all through college and her mom raced and coached skiing. The Shiffrins taught Mikaela and her brother, Taylor, to ski at a very young age. At two and a half years old, Mikaela made her first ski run down her driveway on plastic skis.

Mikaela loved skiing. From ages 8 to 11, she did hundreds of training runs on small hills to learn the skills of slalom skiing (障碍滑雪). When Mikaela was 11, she began to learn at the Burke Mountain Academy, a Vermont boarding school for skiers. She took classes, studied, and practiced her skiing. According to Burke Mountain Academy headmaster Kirk Dwyer, “What separated Mikaela from others was the degree of her commitment (投入) to be the best. Mikaela practiced more than anyone and believed in herself then and now.” At age 14, Mikaela began her international career when she raced in the world championships for 13- and 14-year-olds. And she won!

By the time she was 17, she had already won her first World Cup race. “Living away from home four and five months at a time can be difficult,” Mikaela says. “But it can also be exciting. I’m getting to see the world.” When Mikaela began ski racing in Europe, her mother, Eileen, stayed with her. She worked as her high-school teacher while they were on the road. “She has always been a super-hard worker,” says Eileen.

For Mikaela, working hard is a full-time job. Even her off-season is work time. “If you want something, just try your best,” she says. At the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, 18-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest slalom skier ever to win an Olympic gold medal.

9 . Rebecca, who I met at a business conference in Las Vegas, is one of the _________ people I have ever known. So sharp in mind was she that she made a deep impression on me. Even if you were around her for an entire day, you probably wouldn't notice her _________.

She was born with severe dyslexia—a slight disorder of the brain that causes difficulty in reading and spelling. _________ her learning disability, she had to be in _________ education classes for most of her elementary and middle school years. Despite the _________, she refused to let dyslexia _________ her life. Every day, she worked on _________ her disability with the help of her parents. Her dad would spend an hour every morning _________ her with math. In the evenings her mom would have her read books out aloud and then her mother would _________ her on the content.

__________, in her effort, Rebacca's hard work __________. By high school, she had __________ from special education classes all the way to honor classes. “When I was young, no one thought I could ever attend __________.” she said. Not only did Rebecca __________ going to college, but she graduated as the top of her class.

“I always had a vision,” says Rebecca, “of one day being a __________. But it seemed like such a crazy __________ that I never told anyone.” Today, Rebecca's vision is a __________. She graduated from law school and is __________ working her up in one of the largest law firms on the East Coast. Rebecca says: “I wouldn't change a thing. My learning disability __________ brings challenges to me now, but it also gave me the __________ to make my childhood dream come true.

10 . Fred Smith was an undergraduate at Yale University in 1965. As part of the coursework, he wrote an economics paper_________ the process of transportation of goods in the United States. He_________that the shippers relied on transporting goods in_________packages across the United States by means of truck or passenger airplanes. Smith thought of a more efficient_________idea. He wrote a last minute_________ on how a company carrying small, important items_________could be a much better business. He, however, did not go into details about how to actually _________such a company. As a consequence, his paper was_________.But Smith did not give up on the idea and_________the company in 1971.

Within three years of the founding of the company, Federal Express (FedEx) was on the edge of__________. It was losing over $1 million a month,__________ the rising fuel costs. At its worst time, the company had just $5000 to its name. Smith made a final try to General Dynamics for more funding but the request wasn't__________.

Most ordinary people would have quit at this point and__________the company. Not Fred Smith. The founder of the company had to do a __________ move at last that he flew to Lasvegas,__________ to obtain some company funds to help him pull through.__________, on Monday, the company had a great relief because FedEx had $32, 000 in its bank__________, which was just enough to__________ the fuel for their planes and to continue operating a few days more.

Soon after, the company was able to raise__________amounts in funding. Today FedEx is a global __________industry with operations in more than 220 counties and territories and an annual income of US $45 billion.