3 . The friends of Juliana Palm, a fashion designer, in Rio de Janeiro were opposed to her becoming a Games volunteer. By the time the Games ended, her friends had become supporters.

Juliana came to the Games to ______ creative inspiration for her design work. ______ her experiences after the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony, Juliana teared up as she recalled her interactions with volunteers and visitors. Working with other volunteers ______ her life. She met a girl from Mexico and ______ some inspiration from her culture.

Juliana was also inspired by Olympic ______, and enjoyed learning about fencing, rugby sevens and other sports less widely practised in Brazil. She was particularly ______ by Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva who won the gold medal. “It was ______ — first, because she is a woman, and we don’t have as many sports for women as for men. She showed the world that it is ______ to do anything if you believe in something,” Juliana said.

Juliana was always ______ that Brazil would deliver successful Games, despite the country’s ______. “We have difficulties with education and public transportation. But it is not a problem for us because we can ______ them,” Juliana said.

Juliana also expressed confidence that Rio de Janeiro would continue to ______ from the Games in the years ahead, mentioning ______ the new bus rapid transit links and the new Metro Line 4. Without the Olympic Games, Line 4 would never have happened. It would ______ many people to travel to or from work. Besides, Porto Maravilha was transformed from just a dangerous place into a ______ and beautiful community.

4 . Imagine suddenly waking up at midnight, ______ for air, heart pounding, feeling tense and experiencing this night after night. The ______ of the lack of sleep was the ______ need to lie down and fall asleep for 2-3 hours. This was my experience throughout the summer of 2021.

I guess it may have been in part the ______ the pandemic had on my mental health as well as other worries. During the daylight hours, I ______ myself in various ways but at night during sleep my fear and ______ would come to the surface. I ______ I needed to find ways to deal with my worries.

After much ______, I began to seek the assistance of medicine, which was a tough decision to make. But it ______ well. I made sure to walk in nature as much as possible and continued my yoga practice. Slowly, I found my way back to myself.

However, life ______ another curve ball into my life. In December 2023, those nighttime feelings that ______ me flowed into my days again. I turned to friends and family, who encouraged me to seek professional help. I ______ to a therapist specialized in this field, and together, we analyzed the problems and applied the related ______ to coping with them. While the process didn’t go ______, my symptoms gradually disappeared with my efforts at last.

In conclusion, this is what I would like to say —when in trouble, reach out for help, talk to family and friends, your doctor or a counsellor. Take time to take care of yourself, you are worth the ______.

5 . I’ve always loved horses, but for years my riding took a back seat to my four kids’ soccer games, dance recitals and so on. As my children became more _______,I decided it was time to put myself _______the calendar, not always being at the beck and call of my family.

I have a work-to-ride rent at a nearby stable (马厩). As soon as I arrive at the stable, I always _______ to take a deep breath or two, inhaling the sweetness of freshly mown hay (干草). Then I go for a joyride. Sometimes, I’m_______by a friend and other times I ride solo, but it’s always a reset and _______ of my batteries for another week in the real world.

One day, as I wiped off my bridle (马笼头), my friend Mary asked with sad eyes, “Did you hear about Heather? She _______ her son last week.”

“No, how awful! Heather’s son is around my age.” I murmured.

“Yes, it’s tragic,” she said. “I _______to her yesterday. She seemed okay despite everything.”

“Yesterday? She was out here?”

“She and her grandsons went for a trail _______. This is the best place to be when you need to _______real life,” Mary commented knowingly.

I nodded ________. Mary’s husband had just ________a horrible disease, and whenever she wasn’t taking care of him, she was here to take care of herself. We all ________ various levels of heart-hurt on a daily basis. Our stable is pure________— from worry, frustration, hurt, even unimaginable loss.

Relief from real life. We all need it, somewhere, somehow, because life is ________. I’m so glad I’ve found that horse time can make the hardest landings a little ________.

6 . This morning, I went to the shop to buy some things for breakfast. On the way back home, I decided to _________ some money from my bank account. As soon as I arrived home, within 30 seconds, the doorbell rang. I _________ the door to find two strangers standing there. They asked if I had _________ any money. At that moment, I wasn’t _________, but upon checking, I realized I was _________ missing some money. I expressed my _________ to them and tried to offer them some money as a _________, but they refused to accept anything.

I decided to _________ the footage (片段) from my video doorbell to see where I might have dropped the money. In the video, I saw two young boys walking behind me on the road, and they _________ me to inform me about the lost money. I was touched. They could have easily __________ with the money, and I would never have known.

I posted about this incident on my social media, which gained a lot of __________. A woman named Helen Pye messaged me, expressing her __________ because the boys were only 17 years old. Helen Pye revealed that the boys were her son Jarrod and his friend, whom she considers to be __________ young men.

This __________ filled me with hope and gratitude. Their good deed reassured me that __________ things happen when we choose to look for them with an open heart. I hope they get a good deed payed back to them one day.

8 . If you walk around the Rahway Trail in the South Mountain Reservation of Millburn, New Jersey, you might spot more than vegetation and creatures. Small fantastic _______ are hidden in the tree trunks and branches — an amazingly lovely sight in this _______ normal-looking forest nowadays. The idea to _______ small wooden houses to the landscape came from Therese Ojibway, who 10 years ago wanted her son, who has autism (自闭症), to have a safe space to _______ in the wilderness.

“So she found Rahway Trail and started constructing the houses and leaving _______ decorations here and there for her son,” said Julie Gould, one of the keepers of the trail.

The South Mountain Conservancy later noticed the sudden _______ of little houses around the forest. Learning Ojibway’s story, they _______ her to continue building her magical kingdom to what is now known as the Fairy Trail.

“She thought this was a(n) _______ way of getting little children like her son into nature, _______ them to use their imaginations and creativity,” said Beth Kelly, another trail keeper.

Ojibway and her son moved out of the area a few years ago, but the Fairy Trail ________. Gould and Kelly were ________ asked to become the “Makers and Keepers” of the trail. The women, along with ________, continue to help build little wooden homes for kids with special needs.

“To give these kids ________ houses to live in, most of the homes are made out of natural elements that can then ________ back into the forest. We get ________ when we see the children come here and the kingdom make their day.”

9 . Many people agree that pets are family. It’s because they _______ pets like human family members. Unfortunately, so many animals have much _______ lives than us. And it seems like we can never get _______ days together.

Julia Earheart knows _______ how strong the love for a pet and the pet _______ to its owners can be because she has her own pets. Based in Michigan, Julia works as an independent photographer with plenty of _______ customers. But it’s her non-paying customers that get the most out of the sessions.

When elderly and sick pets _______ their final months with their humans, Julia offers to take pet photos for _______. She photographs these owners and their pets so even when the pet dies, its owner can enjoy every last moment together.

And these pictures couldn’t be more beautiful but heartbreaking at the same time. “The shoots can be emotional and difficult, absolutely,” Julia said. “But when you look at the pictures, you can see that _______ is possible even when there isn’t much ________ left.”

Julia wants the owners to be able to spend the money on vet bills and toys ________a photography session. Thanks to her, some lucky owners can ________ the final days with their companions so the owners couldn’t be more ________.

“I won’t be able to get to all of them and that’s the hardest thing for me,” Julia said. Even though she can’t help all of the owners, she is an angel for giving this ________ gift to so many heartbroken pet parents. Above all, she uses her talent to________love and comfort.

10 . While driving in a small Colorado town, I stopped as a group of people crossed the road. As I watched, I ______ a thin, poorly dressed old lady taking a(n) ______ suitcase.

She managed to carry it for a few yards before setting it down on the ground. After trying several times, she was still ______ with it when the traffic started to move again.

Having experienced similar ______ in the past when traveling, I ______ alongside her and leaned over to call out through the window, “Excuse me. Would you like a ______?”

She stopped, gave me a ______ look and then started to walk hesitantly toward me, pulling her suitcase hard. “If you want to tell me where you’re going, I’ll ______ you off. That suitcase looks ______ heavy,” I said.

“Well, all right,” she answered in a ______ voice. And after we had both lifted her luggage into the back of my pickup, she ______ herself without a word on the front seat. My attempts at conversation were a ______, except for directions to her destination. When we arrived there and got her suitcase down, she ______ her hand into a pocket, saying, “What do I ______ you? I don’t have much.”

Surprised, I said, “Nothing. I was glad to be able to help.”

Her expression changed immediately, and she stared at me unbelievably. “Well, thank you, lady. No one has ever done me a(n) ______ like that before. God bless you.” Then she disappeared down the street, while something warm occurred in my heart.