2 . Everyone has a different path through education. While some attend university right after high school, others find their way back years later. This was the _________ for Minnie Payne.

The South Carolina native returned to the classroom after retiring at age 68, finally _________ her much-coveted undergraduate degree when she was 73. _________ stopping there, Payne _________ her higher education path and at age 90, has become the oldest person to obtain a master’s degree at the school.

Payne will be _________ across the stage by her grandson to receive her well-earned diploma. Although much older than the other students, she _________ learning something new and reaching her goal.

“It’s never too late to learn and Minnie Payne is making history, as no one has _________” writes UNT. “As the eldest UNT graduate to complete her coursework, her _________ for writing and her positive attitude made college a joy rather than a _________.”

Before reaching her __________ goal, Payne worked as a court reporter and a __________ teacher in a textile-mill community in South Carolina. After retiring, she __________ as a student in college at Texas Woman’s University.

Payne has already __________ a new job in Houston after graduation. She will be working at a magazine that is based in the area. “It’s not my __________ to stop work,” she said. “I always wanted to improve myself. When I retired, I wasn’t doing anything constructive. And it’s my life philosophy to __________ be doing something constructive.”

We wish Payne the best of luck in her new career.

4 . Imagine being told that you will never walk again! That was what doctors told Kieran Behan after they ______ a cancerous tumor (肿瘤) from his leg when he was 10 years old. Up to then, he had been ______ about gymnastics and was determined to become an Olympic champion. But how could he ______ the sport when he could not even walk?

Kieran was going to ______ them that he could and he started the long road to recovery. He had to stay in the wheelchair for 15 months but he ______ and was back in the gym at last. But a few months later, he slipped from the high bar and ______ a terrible head injury. He was so badly injured that faints (昏迷) happened ______ when he walked. He missed a whole year at school but the gym was beckoning again. This time, though, he had to ______ the challenges of that awful injury.

It then took him three years to reach where he had been before the ______ accident. Then another ______ came when his knee snapped (断裂) just after he had been ______ for the European Championships. Kieran said that was when he was about to give up, ______ he stuck to his dream and he ______ in becoming the World Challenge Cup champion.

In 2011, his greatest moment of glory was when he ______ for the London 2012 Olympics. He had eventually become an Olympic athlete after being through ______ pain, injuries and setbacks. It’s a glorious example of the Olympic spirit.

5 . Ever since I was a child, I’ve cherished cycling for the happiness, autonomy, and harmony with nature it provides. As an average senior school student, my regular bike rides have evolved into something far more significant than just a fun activity through my daily bike rides, I have come to understand how to _______ life with a positive attitude. It’s like a little _______ that has taught me important lessons about staying positive, facing challenges and being _______.

When I get on my bike and ride around familiar streets, it gives me the feeling of being on a small-scale exploration. It’s not just about reaching a(n) _______; exploring the known yet ever-changing landscape of my daily rides. It’s about enjoying the ride itself. Cycling has turned into a kind of teacher, helping me understand the _______ of practice and having a can-do spirit. One of the coolest things I’ve learned is about not giving up when things get hard. You know, when I’m endeavoring to cycle upwards a steep hill, it’s hard! But guess what? Even when my legs feel super tired, I keep going and do not give up, till I reach the _______. Life is kind of like that too. When I have a challenging task or any problems in my studies, I remember those steep hills. I know if I keep trying, I can _______ anything.

Another thing that cycling has taught me is to be ready for surprises. The road isn’t always _______. Sometimes there are bumps, and you have to ride around them. When something is wrong with my bike, I do not _______. I try to find a solution. Life’s a bit like that too. It’s not always easy, but being flexible and staying positive helps me rise to the challenge and handle ________ problems.

The most important part, though, is how cycling makes me feel happy and ________. The feeling of the breeze on my face and the steady pace of my cycling makes everything seem OK. It’s like a secret power — no matter what’s going on, it keeps me happy, lets me ________ my batteries, and lets me come back feeling ________.

In the end, my daily bike rides have become more than just a way to get around. They’ve become a(n) ________ for how I want to live my life. Cycling has shown me that being positive, facing challenges with ________, and keeping an optimistic attitude can turn the life journey into a fantastic adventure. So, here’s to more bike rides and more fun!

6 . In my work as a vocational school teacher over here in Germany, some of my classes are filled with students of different _______. Whether they are new to the country or have been here for a few years, their German skills are relatively _______. Some of these students who manage to complete their three-year apprenticeships（学徒期） may actually continue to go to school to _______ qualifications so they canattend university.

In the past few years, I have _______ them aside and given them tips on how to enhance their _______ skills. And I have given them tips on how to integrate themselves into the German culture better.

Last week, I took three young men aside and gave them tips on how to improve their German such as joining sports clubs, finding ways to build their _______ beyond class. After class, I actually even took a couple of them to a noticeboard which _______ valuable information on a poster and they were _______ for this little gesture that only took a minute of my time.

I do not get any extra _______ for offering this sort of advice and I have sacrificed one ________ or two over the years but I feel it is important to help the ________ in what I consider a valuable way because once they pass their ________ they will be likely to set up a home and spend their working life here.

Good integration is so important as it builds ________ and expands horizons. It makes me happy to ________ my knowledge as a language teacher and spread the ________ in everyday life.

8 . My parents never once spoke of the stress of having to pay for college, but I knew enough to appreciate that it was there. Therefore, when my French teacher announced that she’d be leading an optional class trip to Paris over one of our ________ for those who could come up with the money to do it, I didn’t even ________ to raise the issue at home.

Yet one evening my parents ________ me down, looking puzzled. My mom had learned about the France trip through my friend’s mom.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she said.

“Because it’s too much money.” I replied.

“That’s actually not for you to decide, Michelle,” my dad said gently, feeling almost ________. “And how are we supposed to decide, if we don’t even know about it?”

I looked at them both, ________ of what to say. My mother glanced at me, her eyes soft. My father had changed out of his work uniform and into a clean white shirt. They were in their early forties then, married nearly twenty years. Neither one of them had ever ________ in Europe. They never took beach trips or went out to dinner. They didn’t own a house. Everything went into us. It seemed that we were their only ________, me and my brother.

A few months later, I ________ a flight to Paris with my teacher and a dozen or so of my classmates from Whitney Young in Chicago. We would stay in a hostel, and ________ the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We’d buy snacks from ________ on the street and walk along the banks of the Seine. We’d speak French like a bunch of high school kids from Chicago, but we’d at least speak French.

As the plane ________ from its gate that day, I looked out my window and back at the airport, knowing that my mother stood somewhere behind its black-glass window, dressed in her winter coat and waving me on. I remember all the ________. I remember the jet engines firing, ________ loud. And then we were rattling (嘎啦嘎啦地响) down the runway and beginning to tilt (倾斜) upward as the ________ seized my chest and pressed me backward into my seat for that strange, in-between moment that came before I felt ________ finally.