1 . I came across an image of a distance runner with a caption (说明文字) that told readers to keep going at all costs. It _________ me of the sunk cost fallacy (谬论), a concept I researched in grad school after realizing I’d been so likely to suffer from it.

In high school, I had _________ five universities. Soon I heard from four, and Southern Utah University was going to give me the best _________. I paid them my $100 commitment fee. Two weeks later, the last school _________ an even better scholarship with full fees. And what did 17-year-old me do? I was still _________ to Southern Utah University due to the _________ $100 investment. It seems obvious to me now that _________ schools, even if it meant admitting I’d “wasted” $100, was a better _________ decision.

I’m not the only _________. People will wear clothes they don’t like because they have paid money for them and stay in unhealthy ____________ because they’ve been together for so long.

That you’ve sunk time, effort, or money into something doesn’t mean you should ____________ more. Our society loves to emphasize ____________ to keep trying. But only you know the right path for you. Sometimes ____________ is the hardest choice of all after all the hard work. You might ____________ a path you’re on is no longer the right one or never was. That’s a ____________ realization.

2 . Blissdom, a blogging conference, was held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. I went to the hotel three years in a row. On my first visit, I remember entering my hotel room and being _________ by a lovely piece of music playing. The sounds were so _________ that I nearly fell asleep while relaxing on my bed.

Before I _________ , I asked the hotel if I could buy such a clock radio. They told me they didn’t sell them and that they might be _________ in any store. To my _________ , I couldn’t find one anywhere.

The next year, the clock radio in my _________ was a newer model, but it still played the gentle music. I again asked where I could find one, but got no answer. I tried to search for one in stores, in _________ once again.

So this year, I was _________ to find the machine in my room at Gaylord Opryland. I asked the _________ on Twitter, “Where can I buy this Shaper Image clock radio?”

They replied, “Sorry. It isn’t available to customers.”

“I’ve been __________ one for three years,” I said.

I received no __________ after that, and I attended the Blissdom closing night party. When I came back, I found a second clock radio on the dresser (梳妆台), and a __________ beside it with my name on it, which __________: “Christina, the clock radio is for you. We hope you enjoy these nice sounds at home. Sincerely, Opryland.”

That would be the point where my excited screaming __________. Thank you, Gaylord Opryland, for giving me such a(n) __________ gift!

3 . When I was in my 20s, I fell in love with traveling. It started with a backpacking trip through Europe with friends, where we caught trains from one country to the next. I _________ home to volunteer in Thailand, teaching at English camps, hiking into _________ villages away from hustle and bustle (喧嚣). Traveling was my love and I could not wait to see more of the world.

But sometimes things don’t _________ as we plan, and life has a way of making unexpected detours (弯路).

Five years ago, I lost my mother—one of my closest friends and my hero. I wasn’t prepared for the _________. At the time, I _________ between caring for my 2-year-old baby and busy job, and it had a bad impact on my body and my mind. _________ anxiety started to rule my life. I had to see a doctor. The doctor advised me to _________. My mind flashed to an image of myself as a 22-year-old, traveling through Europe, feeling daring and _________.

“Traveling,” I said. “I miss traveling.” I wanted to _________ the adventurous spirit that I knew was within me. Thinking about my kid gave me __________, I wanted him to experience new cultures, and enjoy great landscapes, but not to grow up shy or sheltered __________ me.

I __________ a travel blog called Imagine and Go. The name became my motto, and I focused on creating a future that embraced travel, where I could regain my sense of adventure that had been __________.

In the beginning, I started small. I took my __________ to local attractions and blogged about it. When I traveled for work, I __________ trips to local parks and museums that I could write about later. Day by day, I noticed that I had longer stretches feeling good in each moment.

4 . At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Romanian gymnast Nadia Comǎneci made history. She performed a routine ______ on the uneven bars (高低杠), scoring a perfect 10. She pursued perfection in her practice, which led to remarkable ______ in the game.

Perfectionism is generally appreciated as a good quality. Therefore, it’s not ______ that perfectionism in society has been on the rise for years. And it is more common in certain ______ like top athletes and medical specialists. Perfectionism can be seen as a behavioral ______. Perfectionists usually set extremely high standards for themselves and others. According to researchers, such behavior is rooted in insecurity. Many perfectionists ______ that if they don’t pay enough attention to ______, it will hurt their performance. So they ______ their perfectionism even when it’s self-defeating.

Aiming for a high degree of success isn’t necessarily ______ as long as you behave reasonably. People with adaptive perfectionism work hard to meet ambitious goals, but are also able to ______ mistakes, changes, and problems that they didn’t anticipate. When encountering barriers, they stay flexible.

Maladaptive perfectionism, which involves an intense ______ for others’ approval, and a high level of concern over mistakes, is unhealthy. It tends to ______ individual confidence and affects relationships and overall well-being. To overcome it, it’s crucial to ______ your mindset. Start by being ______ and gaining a broader perspective. Give yourself permission to loosen up a bit on certain matters, enabling you to ______ what truly matters. Transformation can be challenging, but it is indeed attainable.

5 . Biar Kon, a 17-year-old student, whose parents were working in neighboring Sudan, moved to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to attend school. Once he _______, he needed to get some documents from the Sudanese embassy(大使馆). But when he went to look for the embassy, he couldn’t find it. He asked a few people for _______, and no one knew where it was. Then an older woman tapped him on the back.

The woman told Kon that she had seen him asking questions of multiple people as they _______, and she wondered if he needed money for food, or a place to stay. Then Kon realized that the woman thought he was _______.

They cleared up the _______, and the woman was able to offer her help. The woman’s _______ left a deep impression on Kon. And it inspired him to _______ five years later, when he moved to Boston, Massachusetts. One day, outside a coffee shop, he _______ a man who was begging for change. Kon _______ that moment five years earlier, when the woman in Nairobi had ________ him for a homeless person. So he went up to the man to see what he could do. “He told me why he was on the street—because he made a（n） ________ mistake when he was in high school, and he couldn’t get a ________ now,” Kon recalled. Kon bought the man some breakfast, and gave him a little bit of money.

Today, it’s an encounter he ________. For him, it is a ________ that you never know what people are going through unless you talk to them ________ — the way the woman in Nairobi made an effort to talk to him.

6 . Born into a family of motorcyclists, Bridget McCutchen was able to witness firsthand the ______ and excitement that riding a motorbike could bring from a very early age. But the idea of riding around the world hadn't ever ______ her until her older brother pointed out that she was still young enough to beat the world record for the youngest person to circle the ______ on a motorcycle.

McCutchen, whose longest road trip had been from Wisconsin to Washington, says she ______ the idea at first. But it kept coming back into her ______.

After ______ as much money as she could, McCutchen ______ in August. She has been recording her ______ online, stressing that there's a huge difference in ______ the world between traveling by car and on a ______ .

However, traveling by motorcycle on ______ roads comes with its dangers. McCutchen has ______ from the motorcycle on a few occasions and nearly crashed into trucks around blind corners.

Of course, if she is successful in breaking this particular record, the likelihood is that someone even ______ will come along and set a new record one day. However, McCutchen isn't ______ about this at all. In fact, she says she'll ______ help anyone who's keen to do so, even if it means that they beat her to it.

7 . My dad loved everything about Northern Soul music. He _________ in England in the 1960s when the music was popular. He had a _________ childhood there. I believe this music _________ him through hard times in his life.

At the age of 57, he was diagnosed (诊断) with cancer. When he was _________ from the cancer, he also turned to his music. The music made him _________ and he wanted to dance. One of the songs I knew he _________ was “Because Of You” by Jackie Wilson. He _________ told me why he liked it, but after listening to the _________ of the song, I believed it was for my mother, who _________ him. But my mom insisted they saved each other.

The song ________   me of the time when my dad and I were sitting in his living room after he was diagnosed with cancer and he told me this was his favorite song. I __________ it down in my note section of my phone because I knew it was __________ to remember it. We ended up __________ it at his memorial service. It also reminds me of how my mom and dad __________. My dad was only 23 and was trying to find his way in __________. My mom was 22 and was also trying to find her way. They helped each other over 40 years.

8 . After my mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease(阿尔茨海默病), the plants in our house began to die. In years past, I remember the deep, earthy smell that would ________ in our house after my mother had made her weekly watering rounds. Back then, I never connected it with the care that was at the ________ of everything she did.

But now, leaves were ________ , some dry and edged with brown, and many of the stems(茎) bare. It was a mark of how my mother can no longer attend to all the things that she lovingly cared for. I was so focused on the increasing ________ of her own care that her beloved plants had escaped my ________ .

I began her old rounds, pouring water into the thirsty soil, and soon the plants ________ . That’s the thing about houseplants: They demand nothing. They wait quietly, no matter how ________ they are. But even after my best ________, some of the plants couldn’t survive. My mother’s kind caregivers have since brought new ones to add to her ________ , and my father buys fresh flowers every week.

Though Alzheimer’s disease ________ so much of her memory, her desire to care is still there. I would guide her down the steps to water the plants herself. I watched as her shaking hands picked the brown leaves. Each time, she smiled up at me with ________ satisfaction because being able to ________ something is still, what brings her the greatest joy.

I look at plants ________ these days. I see them as my mother does:________ reminders of the need for kindness toward all living things. It is clear to me that the things we spend a lifetime ________ are never truly lost and the love she has planted in me still blooms(开花).

9 . Gelje, a Sherpa, defied (顶住) death on Mount Qomolangma when he rescued a Malaysian climber who was stranded (滞留) alone on the world’s highest mountain.

Undoubtedly, Sherpas are the _______ heroes of Mount Qomolangma. Back in 1953 Edmund Hillary could not have reached the top without the _______ of a Sherpa. Today, Sherpas _______ to defy nature on this famous mountain.

Recently, Gelje _______ a heroic rescue when a Malaysian climber came close to death. According to the Himalayan Database, Mount Qomolangma has _______ more than 310 lives since 1924. The Malaysian climber looked likely to join this _______.

Gelje was faced with a _______: going on guiding his client to the mountain’s summit (山顶), or abandoning the _______ to save the stranded climber. For Gelje, it was a no-brainer. The climber had to be _______. Gelje convinced his companion to abandon the summit ________, strapped the climber to his back and carried him down 600 metres over the course of six hours. ________, he was joined by another guide, who helped to carry the climber to base camp.

“It is almost ________ to rescue climbers at that altitude,” Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala told Reuters. “It is a very rare ________.” But Gelje battled against the ________, and his heroic efforts paid off. The rescued climber, whose name was not released to the media, flew home after his condition ________.

10 . Yesterday I went to my bank to just sign one document. An employee Mrs. U is like my younger sister and we are _________. I stood in front of her desk for 10 minutes watching her carefully writing in someone’s document. When she finally raised her head and _________ me, we exchanged smile. I told her not to feel embarrassed for ignoring (忽视) me. I _________ my admiration for her good job and especially her _________.

I was also _________ of a helpful officer. One school year, I applied for admission of my favorite course. But I found one _________ was missing. There was no time left for the admission. I _________ traveled to my home village government office to get the _________ document. The clerk said that it would take two or three days to complete the process and I had to _________ the fact that the document was unlikely to come within a day. Then an officer came in and __________ the clerk. After learning the urgent situation, he instructed the clerk how to make the document right away and suggested making up for the required __________ later on. Finally, the clerk made it, the officer signed it and I got my document. The officer was loved by villagers for his helpful and __________ service even after he passed away.

The incidents made me __________ that anyone who offers sincere service should __________ respect and admiration even though sometimes he ignores a close person or a(n) __________.