1 . The greatest sports moments often have a wonderful flow state behind the victories or performances. Being in flow refers to the moments where distraction reduces, and concentration ________ .

It was a _______ summer camp ping pong tournament where I was not only down I set, but 7 points behind my opponent (对手), who had only 3 points left to ________ the set, and the tournament. For a comeback, I had to win at least 10 points, without making ________ !

Facing the desperate situation, I could ________ it a day and let my opponent win. Perhaps my opponent had already focused on the ________, but failure wasn’t an option! Thus, I ________ it out, hoping for the best. I told myself, “Let’s just try and win the next point, nothing else.” ________ deep, I stared at the ball with a clear mindset and keen ________. I took it, hit it back and scored!

5 points to go, 4 points to go... My opponent started getting visibly ________ and made mistakes. Point by point I was getting closer to being even.7-8. I was one point away from doing the ________. My mouth was shut and my eyes stayed ________ the entire set. He made another error. 8-8. The comeback was complete. The crowd went ________! Winning the next 3 points, I managed to win that set. In the last set, my opponent turned restless again. ________ the flow, I ended up winning the final set, and the tournament.

Despite a small game, it inspired me a lot. Not being able to control how our opponent plays, we can _______ how to react. Don’t be there, where you are not. Instead, be here and now! Stay in flow! Be concentrated!

2 . When it comes to high-proof fathering lessons, few adventures can compare with the motorcycle trip I shared with my 20-year-old daughter Ewa.

In 2023, we _________ a one-week motorcycle trip in the southern part of British Columbia. Each _________ a motorcycle, we headed north on the Sea-to-Sky highway. What made this trip so _________ was that Ewa took it on herself to be the planner. We didn’t even have a _________ about it. As a father, wasn’t I supposed to plan it?

My old Harley had no gas gauge (汽油表). So, when the main gas tank was empty, the motorcycle _________. After all, these years I hadn’t known whether I would _________ it. But on the first day of our annual trip, when we were on a lonely highway leading to the US border in Sagna, Ontario, it came to a _________ after some time.

Ewa headed into the distance_________ that she was riding alone. When she _________ noticed that I wasn’t in her rearview (后视镜) mirror, she stopped and waited as I pushed my Harley to meet with her. In my adult life, while __________ children, I always followed my parents’ __________: I stood by and provided support. When Ewa __________ her own way of life, I seldom said ‘no’. But when she said she wanted to __________ with the out-of-fuel motorcycle on the side of the country road while I was going for gasoline, I said “no way”. I wouldn’t let her stay there on her own. She insisted, but I was very __________. Ewa finally __________ and went looking for gasoline with me.

I learn from the trip that however old my child is, I will never stop being a father.

3 . This morning, before I left for the airport, I had hurt my back. And I could _________ lift my bag off the floor, let alone _________ it into the overhead locker. Luckily, one of the flight attendants put it along with two cases for me.

At that time, a man _________ in front of me must have noticed that I was asking for _________. When the plane _________, he instantly stood up and got my bag down. He also _________ to carry one of my cases down the _________. And then he waited at the bottom of the stairs for me to _________ to get my bag.

A lady walking beside me carried my other case full of things for me. It was obviously _________ for her, but she managed it. She seemed not to want her kindness to be __________, so I silently accepted it. Then I saw her again at the carousel (行李传送带), and she took my bag off the __________.

I would have managed to do all of these things on my own, but these well-meaning humans sensed that I needed help and just __________ in without me needing to ask. It was one of the most __________ experience I had ever had. I couldn’t feel __________ enough to those persons who had taken time out of their lives for a (n) __________. I was so appreciative of their kindness that I would remember it forever.

4 . Kevin Hyde, who has been sailing his whole life, recently invited Joe DiTommasso to Florida on his sailboat. The first part of their _______ went well, and they stopped for a _______ in the Outer Banks.

That’s where things went _______ . Suddenly they found themselves inside a heavy storm at sea. “I’ve never heard winds so bad my whole life!” Joe _______ . As the ocean churned (剧烈翻滚) around them, the 50-foot mast (桅杆) of the sailboat _______ , and their radios didn’t _______ either, leaving them at the mercy of the stormy sea.

When Kevin and Joe’s families _______ touch with them, they reported them missing to the Coast Guard. Soon, a full _______ began, but rescuers weren’t even sure which _______ to start looking for them.

Floating for days with no mast, gas, or electricity, Kevin and Joe prayed for ________ . By the 10th day at sea, they were feeling more ________ than ever.

Just when it seemed that all was lost, they got ________ from a huge international ship called the Silver Muna. ________ an attentive crew member ________ the tiny sailboat. Captain Neeraj Chaudhary immediately stopped his ship. Rescuing the men was exciting for all involved and even the ship’s captain cried when the men were ________ aboard his ship.

5 . In 2019, I went on a winter break trip with my family. One of our _________ was London. The first thing that I _________ when I landed in London was the weather. It was too _________ for my liking as it required me to wear a thick jacket.

After some _________ using a map of London, we decided to go to Buckingham Palace first.

Buckingham Palace was one of the _________ of a “hop-on, hop-off (随上随下)” bus that we took. The palace itself didn’t look very big or impressive from the entrance _________ it got much more impressive when you entered the gates.

While continuing on the “hop-on, hop-off” bus, we _________ the London Bridge, which I didn’t notice until the driver pointed it out to me. While it felt kind of special to be driving on such an iconic (符号的) bridge, the _________ was not as cool as one would imagine it to be.

Besides its history, this bridge was just another bridge that _________ two masses of land, something that pretty much all __________ do.

When we __________ Big Ben, we decided to hop off the bus and take some __________. Big Ben was a pretty __________ experience for me. In many pictures of London, Big Ben is a very visible (看得见的) building in the skyline, and it was very nice for me to see the clock tower __________. I am a big fan of skyscrapers (摩天大楼) and skyscraper-like buildings so this clock tower certainly caught my __________.

6 . I have been in love with Yoga for many years. The practice of Yoga can lead to a ________ between mind and body. In the training, there is a ________ motion that has been one of my favorite poses. Each time I participate in this practice, I feel a deep sense of ________ with all those in the group.

Instead of standing alone, the class stands in a ________ close enough for us to hold hands. Each of us gives and ________ trust and support from one to another. As a unit we shift our ________ to one foot, resting the other foot against our ankle or our leg muscle. Slowly we ________ the hand position so that we are palm to palm. We ________ our arms and create a crown (王冠) of hands above our heads.

A slight ________ may start and soon we realize we have the ________ of each person in the circle, trusting them to protect us from ________. We feel a sense of security, closing our eyes knowing we are ________. In time we return to standing on two feet before shifting to ________ on the other foot.

As we finish, there is a moment of silence for us to ________ absorb the love and support we have received. Balance with support makes standing together ________ in community. So much better than standing alone.

7 . In 1992, the first piano arrived on Mahani Teave’s distant island — Rapa Nui. Teave took her first lessons on that piano. They strengthened her love for the piano and _______ the young musician to leave her home for years of study.

Teave’s trip to the mainland came because of the _______ of Roberto Bravo, a well-known pianist who heard her play. Just nine years old, she enrolled in the Austral University of Chile in Valdivia. As a teenager, awards began to _______, including a first place at the Claudio Arrau Piano Competition. “Teave is extraordinarily gifted. The power of concentration that she _______ is first-class,” says Fabio Bidini, a famous pianist, _______ Teave would earn a worldwide reputation.

But after years of study in Berlin, Teave felt the island _______ her heart. She began to think of giving up the _______ career. “There was this umbilical cord (脐带) _______ me with the island and saying, ‘Mahani, you had all these _______. There are lots of children who are ________ to have them too, and only you can do this.’”

The memories of her youthful ________ for music haunted (萦绕) her. She ________ the pain felt when good teachers appeared on the island, and then suddenly ________ the island. “It was breaking children’s dreams over and over again,” she says.

Teave soon moved back to the island and opened a music school. “It is ________ to see the children learning. I am content,” she says. Teave may have given up a successful career, but she gains something more—the ________ of supporting the dreams of children, hungry to learn music.

8 . On the bank of the Witham River, in Lincolnshire, George, 15, and his father Kevin Tindale were magnet fishing. That was their_________: pulling metal objects out of water. After several_________at his spot, George fished out a door to a small safe. Little did he know that the real_________was still hiding below the water’s surface!

When George_________pulled the rest of the safe to the surface, they began to_________the mud-filled contents. On a few documents, they_________the former owner’s name. Then as they opened a muddy bag, they grew_________. Inside the bag were piles of Australian notes!

When the Tindales returned this safe to its owner, Rob Everett, he was_________. The safe had been_________from his office by a local teenager back in 2000. The thief had later been__________but the safe was thrown into the river and remained missing.

It took 22 years for a different__________to make the theft right! Rob called George and his dad “__________” and gave them some of the money as a reward. He would also have a spot for this__________teen in his company, should George ever want it.

What a find! We’ve got to__________to George and Kevin for returning the money. We’re sure this experience will __________them to keep up with their unusual hobby!

9 . Christy Carter knew exactly what she was being pulled over for when she saw the flashing lights behind her. The single mom pulled over expecting to get a ticket but instead was given sympathy and _________ from the officer.

Christy was _________ her son, Jake, to meet up with his friends for their homecoming dance. They were running _________, Jake hadn’t tied his tie and Christy didn’t know how to do it for him, and both of them were stressed. So, Christy was trying to _________ some lost time and get Jake to meet up with his friends, so she _________ a stop sign instead of coming to a complete stop.

Then, Officer Mike Carrill’s car _________ behind her. Christy realized that there was a _________ coming, and Jake was even more _________ and panicked at yet another setback (阻碍) in the schedule. When Officer Carill walked up to them, Christy said he could _________ see the stress on her son’s face.

After __________ the story and the situation Christy and Jake were in, Officer Carill __________ not to write a ticket, and instead offered to help Jake with his __________. Christy quickly grabbed her phone to record the moment, and was in awe (致敬) over the __________ the officer was showing her son.

She later __________ the video on line saying, “A big shout out to this Park City Police Officer who __________ the day in an unusual way for a stressful, sinking, single Mom moment”, and it didn’t take long for it to gain a lot of attention.

10 . Since I became a mother, I can’t remember the last time I had spare time to myself. All my spare time ________ taking care of the family, doing chores and working. I guess that is part of ________. Of course, I take responsibility for being a mother and try my best to maximize my time.

But as the years passed, I realized that the chores soon seemed ________. It seems I can never finish my to-do list. Even if I try to ________ all of it, new tasks always come up. I try to prioritize my tasks but still feel ________ at the end of the day. I try to share the ________ with my family, but I still have little time to myself.

I always hoped for “me time”. And when I say “me time”, I only ________ being able to have a shower without rushing or watching a movie without being ________ by my kids. But I didn’t give much ________ about that “me time” until recently.

After long years of ________, my visa application was approved and I had to travel to a new country all by myself to start a new job. ________ the company only paid tor my airfare, my family will have to ________ at a later date.

So now, I’m alone in an apartment and I can do whatever I want. But ________ it hasn’t made me happy. I feel ________ without my family. No more daily routine of nagging the kids to help me with the chores. I also feel like something in me is ________. I spend nights crying myself to sleep to ________ the loneliness.

I came to ________ that making time for me doesn’t mean being away from those I love. I can still have “me time”, even if I have my ________. around. I can prioritize and plan. I can ________ my attitude and approach toward chores. Life wouldn’t be the same without the people you love near you. I hope my family can ________ me soon.