1 . I came to the sport of triathlons late in life. I spent years accompanying my super-fit brother to triathlons and waiting for him on the hot sidelines while he swam, biked and ran for hours. Then a light bulb turned on in my brain. I could _________, too, instead of suffering intense _______.

Starting with what I knew best, I began swimming. I swam up and down, _________ my54-year-old body that my skills haven’t _________. Thankfully, muscle memory was _________, leaving me confident for the first session. For the bike part, cycling wasn’t as enjoyable as I remembered, but I didn’t _________. Tough as it was, all I cared about was finishing the ride. To exercise for the run, I joined a running group. In the beginning, I could merely run 3 miles, but I kept moving forward. I could _________ achieve the goal in a couple of months. Still, I remained rather _________. How would I swim 1.2miles, bike 56 miles and then run 13.1 miles in one day?

When I carefully _________ my crazy idea to my brother, he jumped on board immediately. The final __________ was painful and the big day eventually arrived this summer. At first, I finished swimming a few minutes ahead of my brother. However, I __________ during the bike ride. After about 22 miles, I stopped, got off my bike and __________, “I think I’m going to quit.”

“You know you won’t let yourself do that”, he replied. __________, I got back and slowly pedaled (蹬车) to the end. The run was more like a walk. My brother chose to stay with me. The sun burning, we talked, laughed and waved to the __________. We crossed the finish line together, and a great cheer went up from the crowd. It was a (n) __________ experience for me.

4 . My name is Carmen Cruz and I am seventy-seven years old. Two years ago, I was diagnosed (诊断) with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. A few years prior, I ________ that I was ________ parts of my daily routine, and was tested. To my ________, the results were negative. A year later, I ________ noticed bouts (发病期) of forgetfulness, only this time they were more ________. Again I requested the appropriate ________, and this time, it was ________ that I had early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

Despite Alzheimer’s intention to rob (剥夺) me of my experiences, I have triumphed (成功) since my diagnosis.

The first thing I did was to ________ my reality. I absorbed all the information I could find, ________ the doctor’s recommendations, and committed to ________ them out. I am determined to fight, the ________ of what the disease wants me to do. And with my family’s ________, I continue each day living life to the fullest of my abilities.

Upon being diagnosed, I made it my goal to write the story of my life and I managed to complete this task in one year’s time. It was an incredible ________; I put my mind to work at full speed.

I’m ________ that in my situation, the disease is progressing extremely slowly. The final stage may be unavoidable, and as human beings, we can only do so much. However, in pursuing ________ tasks that put your mind to work, you make the most of the life you have.

7 . For the past 18 years, my daughter has been around me all the time. Now that she is in college, the _______ of our relationship has totally changed and our relationship is completely _______. I’m not going to be there every morning to have breakfast with her. I won’t know when she’s mad or when she’s happy. Here’s a little story of our new _______.

A week ago, my daughter wanted to _______ so she called me during the day as I was in meetings. I _______her later on, but she was in class. At midnight, she reached out _______ to ask if we could talk. Well, guess what? I was _______ . I thought we would talk the next day, but she was not   _______ .

Research shows that parents are _______ when their children are grown up, but for me that is when I start to get concerned. I am always left to________ , how can I, as a parent, remain ________to my daughter to guide, support and love through life's changes?   

We may have to ________ the way we communicate. My daughter encouraged me to go digital. That’s how I ventured into the world of social media, following her updates and occasionally sharing my own experiences. Through this   ________ presence, the physical gap is ________and I feel I still have an active role in her life. This experience serves as a reminder that ________, however scary, holds the promise of growth in our shared journey.

8 . DeJuan Strickland now is a middle school student. He remembers what it was like to be _______ as a fourth grader at McCurdy Elementary. Though happening only once, that made Strickland determined to _______ no one at his former school would feel that way.

Strickland helped _______ his former elementary school’s unpaid student lunch debts through his GoFundMe fundraiser with the aim of raising $200. The result _______ that, with $400 raised for McCurdy Elementary. “Some school workers told me several kids once able to have lunch very _______ are stuffed every day now. It motivates me to go further because I’m able to see the _______.” says Strickland.

From there, Strickland _______ the initiative to remove lunch debts in all schools of the Hazelwood School District. The campaign has _______ over $4,000, $2,500 of which Strickland plans to give to the Hazelwood School District. He also searches for another district for the _______ of the funds. Strickland recalled being ________ when he learned the debts of a nearby district were over $50,000. “I’d ________ the problem was not common. This really opened my eyes to the fact that there was no ________ of food. ”

Strickland owed his ________ spirit to his mother. Her practice of creating “blessing bags” for those in need ________ his sympathetic outlook. Strickland also works on his books on Tech Boy. The teen says his future plans include becoming a computer programmer, and combining his love for ________ with giving back to the community.

9 . Gene Work and his brother-in-law, Mark Rouco, were putting sod (草皮) on Gene’s yard. In the burning heat of the sun, they were soon covered in sweat and feeling a strong sense of_________. Gene fell onto the ground with a(n) _________ expression on his face. His wife Melissa Work was worried sick and _________ to call 911.

Even though he was close to death, Gene still _________ he sod. If it wasn’t put down that day, it would die. “While he was_________pain, he kept _________ me to have it put down because he didn’t want it to be_________.” Melissa wrote in a Facebook post.

Rouco was left behind to deal with the yard. An hour passed and _________ he noticed those EMTs (急救人员) showed up again. Gene had told them how badly he’d wanted to get the sod down, so they_________. With their help, the work was finally __________in under two hours.

At the same time, Gene got the __________ in time thanks to those EMTs’ quick actions.

The Works are still __________that those EMTs went above and beyond their __________. “These men,” Melissa said, “saved Gene’s__________, and then came back to save his grass. That’s just so__________.”

10 . It all began innocently—I rushed to the local market for a few items, deciding not to use a cart (推车). As I approached the checkout area with my hands full, it was clear that the _________ service management had momentarily checked out. Three cashiers faced long lines, and chaos _________ with shoppers and carts full of groceries.

Like most, I surveyed the checkout lines, _________ choosing what seemed the fastest. However, my choice turned out to be the slowest, and _________ spread through the line. A middle-aged man murmured, setting off a chain reaction of complaints about the slow pace. The negativity _________, with one person declaring they would never shop there again.

_________ by the negativity, I turned my attention to the stressed cashier. The crowd’s displeasure didn’t _________ her work; instead, her stress increased, leading to mistakes and the need for a supervisor (主管). As my turn approached, I _________ the cashier’s discomfort, trembling and sweating despite the cold store.

In a(an) _________ tone, I said, “Some days are quite the adventure, aren’t they?” The cashier, relieved to see a_ __________ face, met my eyes and smiled. I encouraged her, saying impatience affects everyone, and I was in no rush.

Then came a(an) __________ lesson, a gift I never imagined. By sharing it, I hope to ________ others. The cashier thanked me for my patience, revealing she was a new employee still in training. We shared a laugh, and in that moment, strangers became friends.

Leaving the store, I felt __________ for the experience, unlike the dissatisfied shoppers. This incident taught that in the journey of love and understanding, mistakes happen, and patience is a __________ learning process. We are all, and always will be, in training when it comes to __________.