1 . Ethan was passionate about playing the guitar. Every day after school, he would rush home, _______ his guitar, and lose himself in the melodies. One day, an opportunity _______ Ethan’s door. The village was hosting a talent show, and Ethan decided to participate. _______, doubts started to creep into his mind. The fear of failure began to _______ him.

But Ethan’s grandfather shared his story. He had a dream of becoming a _______ but filled with self- doubt, so he decided to seek guidance from a wise old artist. The artist listened to his worries and offered him a _______ to paint a picture on a large canvas in front of a crowd. _______ by the challenge, he hesitated. The wise artist smiled, “Paint from your heart and _______ your soul into every stroke. The beauty lies not in _______, but in the authenticity (真实) of your creation.”

Encouraged by these words, he painted with passion, letting his emotions guide his brush. The crowd watched in awe as a beautiful masterpiece ________ on the canvas. Finishing the story, Ethan’s grandfather said, “That day, I realized that success is not ________ by how perfect we are or how we ________ others.”

Inspired by his grandfather’s story, Ethan practiced ________ and poured his heart into every ________. When the day arrived, the audience was captivated by his performance. At that moment, he realized that his self-doubts had held him back, but now he was ________.

2 . Christmas didn’t feel like a holiday right now. A month earlier my two-year-old son had been diagnosed with autism (自闭症), and it came with many food sensitivities (过敏). That meant we had to ______ parties and Christmas cookies. Then what could I give my children? It really ______ me.

It started snowing outside. First snow of the season. My five-year-old daughter was _______,“Mama, snow! Everywhere!” Her excitement ______ until my husband took her and her brother out to play in the snow. I watched them joyfully ______ enough snow to make a snowman. Even my little boy ran back and forth, touching the snow every few paces.

And that was when a sudden ______ came to me. I had recently made mashed potatoes with almond milk and remembered they tasted normal. Maybe that would ________ for hot chocolate. I poured almond milk in a pan and melted chocolate chips into it. “Ha!” I yelled.

My family returned as snow was getting ______. While they were excitedly chatting about how it should snow forever, I ______,“Hot chocolate! Who wants it?”

My husband looked into my eyes, ______.“Hot chocolate? Can he have any?”

“Yes, it’s ______.”I smiled.

Just then my daughter was shouting about getting the Christmas tree out. After we ______ it up together, we enjoyed the hot chocolate, toasting (干杯) the first ______. Here, I was witnessing our first Christmas ______, everyone participating in his or her own way. And it was ______.

3 . 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.”

4 . As a child, I loved exploring the attic (阁楼) — a _________ wonderland filled with relics of the past. One day, I stumbled upon a wooden chest, _________ behind an old bookshelf. With _________ hands, I opened it and found my great-grandfather’s journal.

I read about his _________: fighting in wars, discovering new lands, and meeting extraordinary people. His words jumped off the pages, lighting my _________. I felt like I was _________ through time, living his stories.

Years passed, and I grew up, but the _________ remained a cherished memory. It wasn’t until I faced my own challenges that I understood its _________ value. My great-grandfather’s perseverance and courage inspired me to _________ fears and pursue my dreams.

Today, when I hold the worn journal, I realize it’s not just a forgotten treasure, but a __________ legacy (遗产) — a source of strength and __________ passed down through generations. And I vow to __________ it for future generations, so they too can find __________ in its pages.

In this __________ age, where memories are stored on the internet and words are fleeting, the journal serves as a physical sign of our history. __________ I prepare to pass it on to the next generation, I do so with the hope that they will find the same unwavering spirit that has guided me.

5 . Tucker’s adventure began in early November, when McCall, a retired electrician, spent the night in a hotel in the town of Cleveland, Tennessee. McCall’s budget was tight, and her head was full of questions. In the _______ two years, McCall had lost her husband to cancer, and their grandchildren to _______. And an accident had left McCall partially disabled and _______ to work.

“Honestly, after all the _______, I was ready to give up,” says McCall. “If it hadn’t been for Tucker, the cat, I don’t think I would’ve made it.”

McCall planned to spend the night in Cleveland and _______ on. But when she returned from breakfast the next morning, ready to _______ and hit the road again, the cat was gone. Panicked (惊慌的), she _______ along the busy road for hours, but he was _______ to be found.

As _______ fell, McCall realized she had to go. She couldn’t ________ to stay another night. ________, she got in her car and got back on the way.

The next day, Lillard, 27, was jogging just down the road from the hotel where McCall had stayed when she spotted Tucker. She took him home, certain he was someone’s missing friend, and ________ his story on Facebook. McCall, too, had been posting about Tucker. Within hours, someone made the ________, and soon McCall was on the phone with Lillard, hearing Tucker’s meows and sobbing with ________. One month and a half later, Tucker was ________ to McCall, just in time for Christmans.

6 . My mother has always been one of those rare people that sees the good in everyone and does good things. She’s had her ups and downs but has always_______a positive, sunny outlook on life and been very_______to people.

One day, my little sister fell and hurt her ankle, desperately needing a_______to the hospital emergency room. My mother immediately_______into crisis mode, packed my sister into the car, and drove to our local hospital. In such a_______, my mother didn’t call to tell my father. When she got to the hospital, she realized she needed to_______with my father immediately.

While waiting for my sister to be examined, my mother_______her way to the pay phone to place her call. She put her coin in, called my father and told him everything. After she hung up, the phone_______several additional coins that Mom wasn’t owed.

Realizing that the phone was_______, my mother decided to leave the________coins by the phone. She told us that in a crisis, people might not remember to bring________with them to make that emergency call.

I’ve often thought about her________from an adult’s perspective. I realize that someone seeing the money by he phone may have________taken it because not everyone was as________as my mother. But I like to believe that my mother’s faith was ________and that someone who needed them found the coins waiting there.

7 . What I will be hosting, to be exact, is a series of meditation retreats (冥想静修) to be held this spring. During each retreat, about a hundred _________ will come here from all over the world for a period of a week to ten days to deepen their meditation practices. Some of them are _________, but many have never been to India. My role is to take care of these people during their _________ here. For most of the retreat, the participants will be in _________. For some of them, it will be the first time they’ve _________ silence as a devotional practice, and it can be intense. However, I will be the one person they are _________ to talk to if something is going wrong.

I can help them. I am so _________ to help. All the listening skills I learned as a (n) _________ bartender, all the antennas (直觉) I’ve ever developed throughout my lifetime that have taught me how to _________ what people are feeling — they were all accumulated __________ I could help ease these good people into the difficult task they’ve __________. I am so consumed by __________ at their bravery. These people have __________ their families and lives for a few weeks to go into silent retreat with a crowd of perfect __________ in India. Not everybody does this in their __________.

8 . Automation (自动化) certainly has its advantages. I am ______ for 24-hour ATMs, the convenience of the Internet, and a cellphone with various services.   ______ I also miss the face-to-face interactions with people that automation has replaced.

Thus, I recently decided to spend a day to achieve all of my goals in a (n) ______ manner. I began by going to the bank. On my arrival, I found I was the only customer. One of the three tellers ______ me from a long-ago visit and warmly greeted me. After I got my money, we talked for a few minutes, sharing ______ about our children. Then I moved on to the post office, where the letter I was sending to Iceland stirred up a (n) ______ comment by an employee, who longed to visit that country. I spent five minutes encouraging him. There followed a visit to the ______ , where I walked past the self-checkout and was welcomed by a cashier, who ______ that for only one penny more I could get an ______ carrot.

That evening I had dinner with a friend and reported my ______ to her. She listened attentively and ______ that I could have banked, ordered stamps, and shopped with my cellphone, and it would have taken ______ an hour. True, but I would have ______ all those kind words and friendly smiles. It was after ______ with the bank teller, the postal employee and the cashier that I felt better as someone took the time to ______ our meeting.

9 . We’ve all had them: “It’s been one of those days” days. It starts out ________, moves to worse and then gets horrible.   That’s what I was having. As the day wore on, I started ________ dinner. Midway through the recipe, I ________ I was out of salt. I jumped into my car, and ________ to a neighborhood grocery store. Along with the salt, I ________ a few extra things and headed for the checkout stand. At the register, I wrote the ________ for the required $12 51, and the clerk ________ my items.

Then I noticed the salt ________ in the shopping cart. I handed it to the cashier. She ________, “Why not just pay for it with cash? It’s only 35 cents.” I _______ I’d run out of the house with only a single check and my driver’s license. Then the cashier ________ a dollar bill from her pocket and rang up the salt. Then she ________ I take the change! She explained she always kept a few singles in her pocket for such emergencies. That ________ gesture turned my entire day from ______ to smiles. It’s little things like what she did for me that day that truly make this a brighter world, and I’ll always remember her ________.

10 . Mary thought she had seen it all when it came to horse behavior, but Stardust made her ______. The horse was always sniffing (嗅) her behind. No matter what she did, Stardust just wouldn’t ______. Her husband Jason finally ______ her confusion when he figured out the reason behind Stardust’s sniffing her ______. He knew there must be something wrong. But what could it be? ______, Jason drove Mary to the doctor for a checkup.

After a brief ______ with Jason, the doctor decided to do some tests ______ Mary to see what was really going on inside her body.

As Jason sat there, ______ waiting for the result, Mary couldn’t help but wonder what was causing him to be so on edge. She had asked him several times ______ everything was alright, but Jason had been ______. He wished he could tell her what was going on, but the ______ was that he didn’t want to scare her-the news would come soon enough.

A doctor rushed back into the room out of breath. Jason shot Mary a ______ look. As it tuned out, his guess was ______ justified-the doctor had found something! Mary was diagnosed with skin cancer! The couple couldn’t ______ it-Stardust had done something ______. They knew that Stardust’s efforts would never be forgotten.