1 . Nick was troubled and aimless. Then one night, everything changed.

At first, it was just faint light as Nick drove past a two-story house. Then he realized the house was on fire. He immediately pulled up to investigate. _________ was climbing up the front porch. Hurrying out of the _________, he yelled, “Help, fire!” A car drove past and Nick tried to _________ it to stop, but in vain.

He ran to the back door, sure it would be _________. To his amazement, it swung open. Without _________, Nick ran inside, peering into rooms to see if anyone was home. He had just started climbing when he _________ and saw four faces emerge at the top of the stairs. After Nick’s warning, they came pouring down and rushed out.

“Anybody else in there?” Nick asked. When told a 6-year-old was still in, he ran back. By now, thewhole house was in flames. The smell was _________. The smoke was thick. He lifted his T-shirt to cover his mouth and nose. As he hesitated, he heard the kid crying _________. Nick stumbled into the blackness, _________ on smoke. His __________ stayed alert as he moved toward the sound. Then suddenly the kid was in front of him and Nick quickly grabbed her into his arms. The flames were __________ even closer. Nick took a few steps __________ and threw himself out of the window. Outside, the firefighters had arrived. He handed over the girl — crying, but miraculously uninjured __________ a cut on her arm — before collapsing on the sidewalk.

Nick’s burns have mostly healed, but other changes have been far greater. As news about his __________ spread, a GoFundMe account for his hospital bills exploded, reaching $600, 000. “It somehow feels like both a near-death experience and a __________.” Nick said.

4 . In 2015, Aldo Amenta had just started classes at Florida International University when something incredible happened. One day, while he was out ________, he dove into a shallow pool and got his neck injured ________.

Doctors told Aldo he’d never ________ again, and his life changed completely in an instant. But Aldo was not ________. He insisted on studying. Meanwhile, with the help of his ________. Guy Roman, he worked for his recovery and struggled to ________ the tough times. In 2018, Guy successfully trained him to walk across the graduation stage to ________ his college diploma by using an exoskeleton (外骨骼). The crowd ________ as he went up the steps to the stage. People were greatly inspired by Aldo’s courage and ________.

Aldo never stopped trying to take the next ________ for a bigger goal. He ________ it again! In 2021, wearing his exoskeleton, he walked on his own two feet with Guy’s help to accept his master’s degree in biomedical engineering. He called it one of the unforgettable ________ in his life, and he hopes to use his new degree to expand and develop technologies to help people with special needs like him gain ________. Aldo also wants to ________ others not to stop working toward their goals, no matter how ________ they may seem.

5 . Although Lahongsang is only in her early 20s, she is a video blogger with eight years of experience, who is acquainted with video recording and social media sharing. Still in high school, she started her journey as a _________ on the Chinese platform Bilibili. “I felt bored during that summer vacation after finishing my homework, _________ I decided to try recording my life through videos and _________ a student’s ambition for the upcoming semester,” she recalled. She consistently updated her content with _________ topics such as study, anime, snacks, weight loss, and makeup. She _________ shared her life, creating a youth full atmosphere for her audience.

“Whenever I encounter something worth recording. I _________ it.” she said. “I’m not exactly sure what draws people to my videos, but many _________ say watching my videos makes them happy, so maybe that’s it.” Despite her _________ behavior in videos, she _________ that she is actually an introvert (adj.内向的). However, she has __________ spreading positive and __________ energy to her audience. Her unique, sincere, and easygoing video style, along with her attention to life’s details, has __________ increased her viewership (n.收视率) from 100,000 to 10 million views. By the end of high school, she had amassed (v.积聚) over 200,000 followers.

__________ her videos attract her audience greatly, she has to struggle with creative inspiration and face negative feedback at times. “Some scenes may appear to be everyday shots, but the storytelling and main idea are particularly __________ and planned,” she said. “What viewers see is only the final product. __________ witnessing the production process, they can’t judge or undermine others’ efforts.”

6 . Torsongan Bullik, a 28-year-old athlete, has gone from being an amateur (业余的) cyclist to a professional cross-country skier. In Wenquan county he spent his childhood, when his athletic _______ began to show. In 2009, as a freshman in junior high, he was good at long-distance running and by 2016, he had _______ third in the Xinjiang Wusu International Marathon. His passion for cycling _______ during the Tour of Sayram Lake, which raised his _______ in the sport.

In 2012, his father _______ him a mountain bike worth 5,000 yuan. Torsongan used it frequently and participated in his first competition two years later, despite not having a _______ race due to losing balance on a steep slope.

But he was determined and kept testing his _______, which eventually resulted in winning medals in cycling competitions across all levels in China. On October 18, 2018, he _______ a striking victory by being the first to finish a high-altitude bike race in the Xizang autonomous region.

_______, his endurance (耐力) caught the attention of the national cross-country skiing team, who were _______ new talents for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Joining the team was a(n) _______ moment for Torsongan, yet it came with its own_______. He had to go through strict training during the day and improve his upper-body strength in the gym at night to _______ the team.

Although he didn’t make the final list for the Winter Olympics, he _______ as a technician helping with the operations of the event. Now, Torsongan remains enthusiastic about future competitions. “I will _______ with my efforts. As long as I don’t give up, I still have a chance to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” he says.

7 . At eight o’clock on Christmas morning, Dad said he wanted to listen to the _________. My 11-year-old self was wondering why _________ grown-ups would be interested in the news when there were important things to be done, such as handing out _________. And then, while I was only half-listening to the radio broadcast, something _________ happened: the boring newsreader began talking about a Christmas message. Hadn’t we heard that report earlier?

It’s a tape recorder! My heart missed a beat when I finally _________ what was happening. My dad had _________ the news and were playing it back.

The thing is, I was born _________. In the late 1950s, tape recorders were definitely the _________ choice for blind kids like me, especially with the _________ of rock ‘n’ roll. __________, the new toy dominated (占据) the rest of the Christmas holidays. I recorded everything: my parents, the milkman, the dog... I even made my own radio programme, where I talked about my thoughts in the __________ of the voices I heard on the video.

Ten years later, I drew on the confidence gained from early __________ of the sound and walked into a radio station, in the hope of __________ myself as a broadcaster (电台主持人) in a weekly programme for blind people. Twenty-five years later, I presented my first report for BBC’s $ix O’clock News, a programme my dad had never __________. Although by then he’d been dead for more than a decade, I like to think he’d have realized that his Christmas present had __________ my life.

8 . I was struggling 11 months after I left China to pursue a Ph.D. in England. In the daytime, I kept myself _________ in my research. But at night I had to fight increasing _________. I turned to social media and even tried “talking” to Chat GPT, which _________ me for a few days. But when the novelty _________ I was back where I started.

When colleagues invited me for a coffee chat or lunch, I _________ to feel the urgency to get back to my long list of research _________, not taking time to build relationships. Eventually, my loneliness hit a breaking   _________. When I talked to my tutor about my feeling, she helped me see that _________ with the people around me would improve my state of mind. I began to chat with friends more and realized we were all dealing with _________, professionally and personally. Life isn’t about convincing colleagues that I can do everything   ____________, but about teaming up with friends on common goals and challenges.

These days, I’m working not only on my research, but also try to book ____________ with my friends for research discussion, and share ____________ into social issues through coffee chats. I feel much more ____________ when I come home with concrete memories and measurable milestones. And cooperating with my colleagues has helped me overcome some ____________ research challenges.

The nights are sill as ____________ as before, but I have seen the bright light in the day. I feel content to lie down and rest so I’m prepared for tomorrow’s new adventure.

9 . The path to pottery(制陶)was far from direct for Kaley Black. Her first _________ was as a producer in the film industry, a role she found unfulfilling. While living in Poland, Blank _________ a routine of regularly visiting a cafe, passing a ceramics(陶艺)studio on her way. _________ she had no exposure and training in running a business or ceramics, each trip past the studio awakened her curiosity closer to _________.

After returning to the US, Blank _________ a six-week pottery course. Then, she bought her own pottery tools. By the spring of 2022, Blank had _________ her skills and opened her own studio, Blank Ceramics, which is now her career.

Blank _________ how our ancestors viewed ceramics as both an art and a tool. This means that she always makes sure the _________ use of her pieces comes first in their design. For her, pottery is special because it involves using a skill from the past to _________ art from nature. She gets her clay __________ from the ground, just like her ideas for new art. “Handma de pottery is one of the first human skills,” explains Blank. “It feels so fulfilling to learn skills, as well as to __________ stories and art.”

In addition to being available for __________ online, Blank’s finished pottery can also be bought at shops offline. As she considers how her studio might __________, Blank has a wide perspective: “A ceramic piece that has been fired will last forever; it doesn’t fade over time. My work will far __________ me, which I find truly fascinating. It keeps me __________ and intentional about what pieces I create.”