1 . Running marathons is quite a challenge. Yet for Simon Wheatcroft, who ______ his sight at 18, there’s an extra difficulty. However, Simon, now 29, has not only been ______ in marathons for the past two years with the help of ______ runners but has also learned to run alone outdoors.

Simon’s unique ______ involved slowly memorizing a five-kilometre route by repeatedly walking it alone. He used a smartphone app that ______ audio feedback on his pace and distance. It helped him build a mental map of the route and its ______. “I did make a few ______ early on — like running into posts. But I’m going to ______ where that is next time,” he laughs.

At first running was a challenge that required great ______ for Simon. However, it has now become more natural for him. Compared with most runners, he ______ his running style to be more cautious, using shorter and more careful steps to sense the surroundings.

Despite risks of ______ obstacles, Simon values the freedom and ______ running gives him. He believes what he gets from running alone far outweigh any dangers, which has ______ his confidence and provided inspiration to others.

But for Simon the real motivation for his training come from simply ______ competition, giving him an ______ to run with everyone. “I can’t hide the fact I’m blind,” he says, “but meanwhile I would rather compete with everybody else and not be put into a special group.”

2 . Everything went wrong for American climber Beck Weathers on his trip to Mount Qomolangma in May of 1996. His eyes response to the extremely thin oxygen levels near the highest summit on Earth was “snow blindness”. Weathers could not see more than 3 feet in front of him. His guide, Rob Hall, made him agree not to climb to the summit and he would wait for Hall till he got back.

Another group of climbers returning down from a powerful snow storm came upon Weathers. They decided to help him down, but a storm with 70 mph winds forced them to merely gather together for warmth. During a quiet period of the storm, one man went back to the camp for assistance. Hours later help returned, but they decided Weathers was too unresponsive and appeared to be beyond saving. He was left waiting for death.

“I woke up in the snow, opened my eyes, and directly in front of me was my ungloved righthand, which was clearly dead,” Weathers remembered. "It looked like a marble sculpture of a hand. I hit it on the ice and realized that so much of my tissue was dead, so I wasn't feeling any pain. That had the wonderful effect of focusing my attention. If I didn't stand up, I realized I was going to die on that spot. I figured I had three or four hours left to live, so I started walking. All I knew was, as long as my legs would run, and I could stand up, I was going to move toward that. camp. If I fell down, I was going to get up and keep moving until I hit that camp.” As everybody thought Weathers could not survive, he struggled to stand up and move forward for survival in the face of adversity. Finally, he made it. It's believed that his success relied on his strong belief and courage.

10 . One day a small gap appeared in the cocoon (茧), through which the butterfly would come out. A boy, who _______ passed by, stopped and watched how the butterfly was trying to _________ of the cocoon. It _________ several hours. The butterfly was trying very hard, but the _________ was as little as before. It seemed that the power would _______ the butterfly soon.

The boy decided to _________ the butterfly. He took a penknife and cut the cocoon. The butterfly immediately came out, but it was very small and _________, and the wings were _________ moving.

The boy continued to _________ the butterfly, thinking that now its wings would __________ and it would fly. ________, that did not happen.

The rest of its life the butterfly had to drag its weak body and wings that wouldn’t unfold. It was unable to fly because the boy did not realize that a(an) __________ to force itself through the narrow gap of the cocoon was __________ for the butterfly, so that the life-giving fluid would move from the body to the butterfly’s wings and that the butterfly could fly. Life forced the butterfly to leave its shell so hard that it would gain the ________ to grow and develop.

Just like the butterfly, if we were allowed to live without meeting difficulties, we would not survive. Life gives us __________ to make us braver and stronger.