1 . Apartment owners cash in on upcoming holiday trips

The National Day holiday is around the corner, and those making last-minute plans to travel at that time are busy booking _______ hotel rooms in popular tourist destinations.

In a bid to cash in on this rush for rooms, social media users are _______ platforms with offers of apartments for _______ just for the holiday week, at prices that are a part of what is being _______ by hotels, many of which are sold out.

Unlike hotels, those renting out their homes are not charging anything _______ for cleaning the apartment while it is _______, no contract or deal needs to be signed and the ID information of the renters is not _______ required.

Meanwhile, some netizens have expressed _______ over this trend of renting out personal apartments.

“It is so unsafe. What if the people install a camera in your home or make it a complete mess,” one asked while _______ on a post seeking tenants(房客). Another said, “Won’t you be afraid of people opening your computer and checking what’s inside?”

Experts said this novel way of sharing one’s home not only means extra earnings for the homeowners, but also improves the ________ of the cities. However, they also warned that there are risks involved.

Fu Jian, a lawyer at Henan Zejin Law Firm, said that as there is no written ________ being signed between homeowners and renters, and the ID information is not ________, it would be very difficult for the owner to safeguard his or her rights should an argument ________.

Moreover, if there is a theft or an accident involving the guests during their stay in the apartment, the owner will more or less be held ________, he said.

He advised owners to be aware of the rules and regulations before renting out their apartments, and added that renters should also choose ________ to avoid unnecessary risks.

2 . Adam Wolfers believes that his son’s autism (自闭症) has a positive impact on his hobby of photography. 10-­year­-old Morgan has always possessed a _________ eye for capturing the world around him through his camera. Diagnosed (被诊断) with autism at the age of 3, Morgan has had a hard time _________ with others.

_________ these difficulties, he has shown an exceptional talent for noticing details that _________ others. Morgan has found clarity and focus in nature, particularly in the vivid colors and shapes of plants, leading him to _________ the art of nature photography.

Not _________ with merely capturing pictures, Morgan has even established his own photography business, becoming one of the top sellers in a local shop. _________, he donates ten percent of his _________ to support autistic artists through the Blue Ribbon Arts Initiative.

However, his motivation for photography _________ financial gain, as he simply wants to share the beauty he __________ with others. His work has gained __________, with one of his photos picked by National Geographic for __________ in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

His parents teared up as they told what his photography means. Morgan’s photography has become his saving grace (体面) because it gets people to look __________ his issues. “He’s going to make his __________,” his mother said.

Morgan advises all of us to try new things and explore our __________ and what we want to do. In other words, don’t be afraid to see things differently.

3 . One sunny afternoon, Jack and I rode hard towards his house. The sun shone ________ on Jack’s black bicycle. You would never see his bike with ________ on it. As I bent over, I took a glimpse of Jack’s shining school ________. Jack was always neat and tidy, but his clothes were old and________. I often ________ if he owned anything else.

We turned into a street lined with small, old railway houses. Jack opened a gate and we went through it. I got off my bike and ________ it against the garage wall. It was a small, whitewashed house. The tiny area of lawn was neatly ________.

We went in by the back door. The kitchen had a cupboard, a small dining table with three chairs and an ancient cooker. Everything was ________ clean.

In Jack’s room, it had a bed, a one-door closet, and a table. Several books were ________ against the wall on one corner of the table, and on the other corner ________ a model steam engine. Jack demonstrated to me how the engine ________. I looked at Jack’s face and a broad smile spread over it.

Feeling ashamed, I reflected that I grew up in a________wealthy home. My closet was________with new and fashionable clothes. I had a state-of-the-art ten-speed racing bike. ________, I often did not appreciate what I had. I took it all for granted. By contrast, Jack had almost nothing, but he was happy and ________. Thank you, Jack, for unknowingly teaching me the value of being satisfied with what I’ve got.

4 . When I was fifteen, I wrote an essay about how excited all my friends were to be getting driver’s licenses. I was full of _______. I knew I’d always be walking everywhere I went or else relying on others to _______ me.

I have a condition called dry-eye syndrome (综合症). _______ I do have some sight, I never know when I _______ in the morning exactly how much vision I will have that day. The _______ for this is that my eyes do not produce enough tears.

There are many things I cannot do. I can’t drive or read a book. But there are far more things I can _______ do. In high school, I played basketball. My teammates gave me oral (口头的) _______ and I learned to judge where the ball was by their voices. I learned to focus extremely well and _______ the sportsmanship award.

Do I wish I could _______ like other people? Of course. But being blind hasn’t ________ me in any of the important ways. If I’ve had to depend on my friends, ________ I’ve learned who my friends really are. I don’t know why God chose to give me only a little ________. Maybe he did it so that I would ________ what I do have. Maybe he did it so that I would have to ________ my other talents to compensate (弥补). It ________.

There are many different ways to look at life. This is how I see it.

5 . I’ve never really understood why more Oscar winners don’t thank their teachers.

Yes, family and your “team” are a given. But what about the ________ who helped you get to where you are now?

I was ________ enough to have a lot of great teachers, but one in particular ________ the person I am today: Lin Robbins. She was always smiling and had endless ________. She was no taskmaster, and there was no ________ love, just excitement about what she could teach us.

Miss Robbins once gave me a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. I don’t know ________ she did this — it wasn’t an assignment (作业). She just gave me a copy of the book and said, “I think you’ll really ________ this.”

This book inspired me to start ________, and I haven’t stopped since. After I moved on to high school, I would still ________ and share my work with Miss Robbins. She read it all, and told me two ________ words: Keep Writing.

I haven’t sold a screenplay. But, I know that I have to ________ writing. And I also ________ who I should thank on any winner’s podium (讲台) I get my hands on. Miss Robbins, I’m ________ that she saw whatever it is she saw in me, and that she gave me the ________ I needed to become a writer. So, don’t miss out on ________ your teacher-hero. They’re the ones who make us who we are.

6 . A winner of the highest honor in the field of translation, Xu Yuanchong was best known for his translations of ancient Chinese poems into English and French. Xu _________ himself to translation for more than 60 years. For him, translated literature is “a beautiful _________ for the whole world.”

His academic _________ began during his college years in Kunming. In the late 1940s, he spent a few years in France studying French literature. Then he _________ China after graduation and devoted himself to translation ever since. Xu was the first Chinese to _________ Chinese poetry into English and French in rhyme. He was _________ the “Lifetime achievements in translation” in 2010. He was also the first Asian translator to _________ the Aurora Borealis Prize (北极光奖) — one of the highest _________ among international translators — and gained _________ recognition.

Throughout his academic research, Xu __________ the beauty of language and was __________ in creating literary ties between Chinese, English and French speakers. His works have served __________ a cultural bridge linking the East to the West, which __________ English and French-speaking people to better understand the beauty of Chinese literature and the Chinese __________ within. Chinese readers, __________, can appreciate foreign works in the same way they would read novels and poems written in their mother tongue.

7 . In 1967, my husband and I graduated from college with financial challenges. We struggled to make both _________ meet because of our low-paying jobs as well as college loans. The birth of our son that summer _________ our financial pressure.

Later we got involved socially with a community of couples. They _________ our values and had insights to offer on parenting. This group of people went to many places and engaged in various activities. They _________ made us feel welcome although our finances often _________ our participation.

One summer, the group _________ a picnic and requested we bring potato chips. I was _________ that I didn’t have to spend much on the event. So I bought two large bags of the least expensive brand of potato chips I could find. _________, we got to the state park, only to find a real feast laid out — chicken, watermelon, home-made salads, and desserts. _________, I thought about leaving but a friend reassured (使……安心) me that our time to make a __________ for the feast would come.

Decades have passed. Now, as my husband and I approach retirement with our grown son, that picnic remains __________ in my memory. Our friends’ kindness has __________ how we perceive and assist others. We may never repay those who once provided for us, but we continue the tradition of __________, supporting our struggling younger friends.

That day, the feast symbolized a(n) __________ of gratitude, not to be repaid, but to be paid forward. It serves as a __________ of the lasting power of community and kindness.

8 . I strongly believe that it is rather important to be a good listener. And although I have become a better listener than I was ten years ago, I have to admit I’m still only an ________ listener.

Effective listening is more than simply ________ the bad habit of interrupting others while they are speaking or finishing their sentences. It’s being ________ to listen to the entire thought of someone ________ waiting impatiently for your chance to respond. In some ways, the way we fail to listen is symbolic of the way we live. We often treat communication as if it were a ________. It’s almost like our goal is to have no time ________ between the conclusion of the sentence of the person we are speaking with and the beginning of our own. My wife and I were recently at a cafeteria having lunch, overhearing the conversation around us. It seemed that no one was really listening to one another. ________, they were taking turns not listening to one another. I asked my wife if I still did the same thing. With a smile on her face she said, “only sometimes.”

Slowing down your responses and becoming a better listener ________ you in becoming a more peaceful person. It takes ________ from you. If you think about it, you’ll notice that it takes an enormous amount of energy and is very stressful to be sitting at the edge of your seat trying to ________ what the person in front of you (or on the telephone) is going to say so that you can ________ your responses. But as you wait for the person you are communicating with to finish, as you simply listen more ________, to what is being said, you’ll notice that the pressure you feel is off. You will immediately feel more ________and so will the people you are talking to. They will feel safe in slowing down their own responses because they won’t feel in ________ with you for “air time”! Not only will becoming a better listener make you a more patient person, it will also ________ the quality of your relationships. Everyone loves to talk to someone who truly listens to what they are saying.

9 . It was 6 p. m. on 24 January 2001, the first day of Chinese New Year. I was working as a tour guide and was on my way to ________ a group for a night tour around Kuala Lumpur. As I drove along the road, a small hatchback flew across the centre divider from the ________ direction and crashed into my car head-on. I passed out and was ________ by the ringing of my mobile phone. It was a travel agent, asking me if I had arrived at the Mandarin Oriental for my assignment. Then I went into shock.

In the hospital, I saw my crushed feet hanging from my body, blue and lifeless, and I pleaded with the doctors to save them at all costs. They calmly promised to do their best.

Days after that, I was informed that I lost the job. My heart ________. How was I going to support my 65-year-old mother? And plus, I have so many other commitments.

I felt utter helplessness, but a lot of unexpected ________ came my way. I had many visitors during my 14 days in hospital and when I was ________ at home. Friends and relatives helped me with my financial stuff or simply came to cheer me up.

But I was only 30, and wanted to see the world. When the casts were removed, I did not let the sight of my weak legs ________ me. I worked hard at my physiotherapy with only one ________: I must walk again. After the five-month ________, I was back on my feet. After eight months, I was walking without the aid of crutches. By February the following year, I had started globetrotting again.

Today, after eight years, I have travelled to many countries as a tour leader and am determined not to let the pain interfere with my work.

The ________ made me realize how lives can change in a split second; five out of the six people in the overcrowded car that hit me lost their lives. In my ________ state of mind, I recalled how motorcyclists wrapped their jackets around their arms and ________ away my shattered side window to save me. I also recall the Chinese family who ________ taboo (禁忌) and drove me to the hospital ________ my bloodied condition on Chinese New Year. The kindness I’ve experienced taught me never to give up hope on anyone or in any situation. I ________ life more, not only my own but also everyone I know, and will always try to help when I know of someone in trouble.

10 . By the time he was 24 years old, Imran Nuri quit his job in a bold move, and emptied his savings account to carry out an ambitious ________ he’d been bearing in mind. Nuri would drive his car to every state on a 100-day trip to find 1,000 ________ and ask them to share one thing they wish they’d ________ when they were younger. Nuri was hoping for answers that might help him ________ the rest of his life.

He ________. But to his shock, he chose a ________ person for the first time. He met a man, who had a dark look at Nuri. Nuri thought the man was going to ________ him. Then, doing the most ________ thing he’d done, he introduced himself, “I’m ________ around the country to talk to 1,000 unfamiliar people. I’m asking them for pieces of life advice about things they wish they knew ________.” The man remained silent for a minute or so and ________ said, “We should spend more time with our family.”

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a man in his 50s who had stage 4 terminal cancer told Nuri, “Life is about the human ________. There would be no life without social interactions.”

In Tillamook, Oregon, a waitress-a college student told him, “whether it’s changing your major or changing your whole life path, you don’t have to ________ yourself for taking a step back and reevaluating your past choices. Just do what you think to be right.”

Nuri found beauty in every place as well as ________ from the people he met. Those people taught a lot. Now he always puts himself in other people’s shoes even when a person sees the world ________.