1 . Dad often says that hope is everywhere. In his fifties, he lost his job. But he managed to get the chance of a newspaper delivery. It became a family _________. Dad drove around delivering the papers most weekday mornings. We all helped.

Delivering papers is one of the most _________ jobs you can imagine. I was young, but I always worked. When I was   _______ enough to drive, Dad bought a car that I was _________ to drive to high school. My brothers and sister were all _________ and living away by this time. So I became the No.2 _________ on Sunday mornings. Not only would I _________ the papers, but I would jump into the car and drive a section of the _________. Mike was a hired worker, a year younger than me. We worked with _________ and my parents really trusted us.

The paper delivery, though very hard work, gave me many things. First, it __________ me with my father in a way that I __________ needed. He trusted my driving __________, and gave me directions on how to drive down icy steep streets in winter. I felt I was a __________ member of my family. Besides, I learned to love the early morning sounds of the city, the awesome quiet of __________ neighborhoods, and the relationship that only two teenagers working together could ever __________.

3 . A crow (乌鸦) became rabbits’ friend. It all began when Andrew Silverwood heard of a helpless ______ crow lying injured on a busy road. Without ______, Andrew decided to begin a crow rescue mission, knowing that the bird’s chance of survival was ______ in such a busy street.

Upon ______ the location, Andrew found the baby bird had fallen from his nest. In most situations, the best ______ for the baby bird would be to return the animal to his nest. However, as the nest sat high upon a tree, Andrew had no means of ______ the bird with his family. Besides, the crow had a broken leg, which would require ______ for the animal to survive. Then he took the crow home.

The Silverwoods ______ intended to provide care for the crow until he could be released back into the wild. However, fate had ______ plans in store for the crow, as Andrew soon found there was an unexpected ______ between the crow and his rabbits. The pet rabbits welcomed the crow into their cage, leading to a heartwarming and unconventional ______.

As days turned into weeks, the crow ______ the rabbit family. Surprisingly, the crow took on the characteristics of his rabbit companions.

Despite their differences, this little crow, his human parents, and his rabbit friends ______ happily. Their heartwarming tales serve as a gentle ______ that every living being deserves love and care, regardless of their ______.

4 . I was then in my early twenties. Even though I was armed with a degree in Education, finding a ______ teaching job was not easy. I had to try some temporary ones.

This year, when a golden opportunity ______ to teach 5th grade students in a local school. I ______ it and took things seriously. I ______ myself with lesson plans, taught with enthusiasm, and stayed ______ with the students. I had no hesitation in ______ the kids when they got the answer right, and encouraged them if they didn’t.

One day when the kids were _______, a girl approached and handed me a ______ before she went home. On it was a lovely drawing full of childlike wonder, ______ by the words, “You are the best teacher I have ever had!” It really amazed me that one of my kind comments had ______ that girl’s heart greatly. I took that note home and ______ put it in a folder, looking on it as a ______ because it was very important. Anytime I was feeling down I would look at it and it proved to be a ______ .

That experience showed me the ______ of just a single kind word. It encouraged me to continue to try my best each day to ______ love and kindness through my words and actions. Wish the same for others.

5 . Flooding was fairly usual for a Queensland summer. This time, however, there had been a lot of rain and flash flooding further north which _________ ran down to the river.

My younger brother was getting _________ and thought we should evacuate. We spent hours trying to _________ him down. The water had never gotten to less than 1 to 2 meters away from our street level. After a few more _________, the water levels were getting much higher than we’d seen before and we thought it best if we moved our cars to the higher _________ just in case it got to the street level. Later, we _________ a lot of furniture and electronics upstairs.

Finally, we decided to _________. The water was getting close to the street level, which only meant another foot from _________ our bottom floor. We left to spend the _________ with my cousin who lived in a neighborhood close by. We heard that the water had __________ further, but had no idea how far as it was dark and we couldn’t see anything from our cousin’s house.

The __________ moment was when we finally got to see our house. There is a high school behind our house, which __________ at the base of this large hill, with an elevated sports oval (高架椭圆形体育场) right behind our house. The water at its __________ was about 2 inches from being level with the oval. We __________ it to survey our house. Seeing water lapping (轻拍) at the windows of our bedroom on the second floor of our house was the most unbelievable __________ I had ever seen.

6 . Like many families, we had a dog — Little Joe. We all loved him dearly. He always trotted (小跑) around the streets. We tried to teach him about the ________ of the road, and finally locked him in the yard. However, one day, Little Joe dug a hole under the fence and ________.

Sometime later, the ________ news came that a truck had seriously injured Little Joe. We children ran to the ________ of the accident. Apparently unable to move, he lay with his eyes open, awaiting death by a policeman’s bullet, the ________ method in those days of dispatching (处决) injured animals. Tears filling our eyes, we ________around him, frustrated by our inability to respond to the ________ for help in his eyes. The policeman ________ us away from the dog and drew his gun. Wide-eyed, we began to back away with feet that seemed to be made of ________.

Suddenly the crowd began to ________ . My father elbowed (用肘推) his way through and spoke with ________ to the young policeman. “Put that thing away!” Then, ________, he removed his worn jacket and carefully ________ it around Little Joe. Little Joe’s broken body could not have been moved with more ________.

I’ll never forget that homeward journey. My father led a group of admiring children. We held our heads high with pride as we ________ behind the man who had saved our dog.

After struggling for several days, Little Joe finally survived. He went on to live a long life.

7 . William Tang is a content creator and travel blogger who has made a name for himself with his travel blog, Going Awesome Places. He _______ his journey as an adviser in the software industry, but after about two years’ work, he felt _______ . So, he made up his mind to _______ his job and travel around Asia in 2012. During this trip, he came up with the idea to start a travel blog and _______ his experience and photography with the world.

Over the past eleven _______ , Going Awesome Places has become one of the top travel blogs in the world. William has made an effort to _______ his writing skills, understanding business, and networking with other travel industry members. His hard work has _______ as he has received recognition and _______ for his photography and videography.

Going Awesome Places is William’s main brand as a content creator. He provides _______ guides, travel plans and packing lists to help prepare their trips to the places he has been to.

The ________ of Going Awesome Places has never been to build a media empire; ________ , it was sparked by the desire to build a business that would give him the ________ to travel while also giving back to his ________ . He expected that they could go on amazing adventures with his help.

As he looks to the future, William is ________ to see the progress of Going Awesome Places. He hopes to continue to enable others to explore the world and make ________ that will last a lifetime.

8 . Anna had been job-hunting for months. A few days ago, she finally_______an interview at her ideal company.

On the day of the interview, Anna arrived at the company early. She dressed_______ While waiting, she was surrounded by_______and the heart was racing. She tried to calm down by taking a deep breath and_______herself that all the hard work would pay off.

After a few minutes, the interviewer, Ms. Lee, came to greet Anna and asked her a series of questions about her_______and skills. Anna answered confidently, trying to_______her strengths and accomplishments (成绩).

However, Anna noticed that Mr. Lee’s body language was not very_______she was frowning with arms crossed. Anna felt slightly embarrassed but tried to_______her mood. As the interview continued, Anna started using positive body language to show her_______ and confidence. she bent forward in her chair,________eye contact with Ms. Lee and used hand gestures to________her points. She also smiled more and her facial expression relaxed.

Anna noticed that Ms Lee straightened up and even smiled a little__________she did this. It was Anna’s body language that had made Miss Lee relax, and realize that she was________ for the position.

A few days later, Anna received the job offer. She knew that________communication had played a big role in her__________. By practicing appropriate body language , the chances of success would be surely improved.

10 . We have to admit that we all get defensive(戒备的)sometimes. Defensiveness is a human________in certain situations. Not everything makes us defensive - it seems that specific situations________ defensiveness. I was usually a________ individual, but there were always some cases where my insecurities________ me and I got defensive and doubted my ability.

In my family’s eyes, I was________ my elder sister. I was an outgoing kid who liked undertaking outdoor work________ my sister was shy and preferred to do household chores. We were responsible for sharing different housework. My parents were satisfied with such “perfect”________ in our life. But problems started to________ after I got married. The members of my new family are all great cooks. I suddenly found myself a(n)________ . Any time the subject of cooking came up, I became________ and defensive. When I went deeper and________ the reason, I discovered it was due to its conflict with my value. I perceived their reaction to my poor cooking skills as a(n)________ .

It took me years to________ myself and my cooking abilities.________ , my new family did much to make me feel relieved. I know it is the insecurities that make me annoyed easily. Over time, I’ve learned to calmly     ________ those insecurities and I have learned to be happy with “good enough”. Now I’m aware of the trap and________ myself not to connect the feeling of inadequacy with my sense of self-worth.

When our defensiveness________ , it can feel like we are being blamed for something. Being defensive can________ effective and honest communication. Sometimes, it has the________ of preventing the issues from being resolved. So we should get rid of too much defensiveness to make ourselves________ constantly.