1 . I think I lived rather sustainably last year. I composted (堆肥) fruit and vegetable scraps, ________ my own clothes and even grew food on my balcony. I grasped every chance to make ________ in my lifestyle.

I became accustomed to getting up early, which I think came with various ________. I devoted the morning hours to breathing in the flesh air. I kept my evenings ________ to meet friends, read, or connect with family, and slowly get myself ________ to rest as dusk approaches.

The biggest ________ for me was to take a walk wholeheartedly. Having spent much time staying indoors, I wanted to take a ________ kind of exercise where I could enjoy the natural scenery, rather than an intense one. Walking not only ________ me to the beautiful creatures that lived among us, but helped me to ________ my own life.

I found out how much organic waste even a small household could ________. It is reported that U. S. households waste approximately one-third of food they buy, ________ $ 240 billion per year. Although I got my composting into place, I needed to find a ________ for the plastic waste from deliveries and takeaways. ________, I was offered a door-to-door recycling service that visited every two weeks and ________ the waste.

While I’ve always been getting clothes made by the family ________, this stopped during the pandemic. Last year, as the traveling exhibitions which ________ artisans and help them sell their products came back to the city, I bought some ________ which was made into fashionable sets and dresses. I also ________ an old block-printed dress into a jumpsuit.

Thanks to my ________, I found my life was eased back into a healthy one. I’ll stick to my ________ lifestyle from now on.

2 . I sat at the corner of the living room, staring at the Christmas tree. It was the best tree we had had. My husband ________ it immediately we found it among the rows of pre-cut trees. We ________ that it was a real beauty. We thought it was the ________ tree even though it was not. Like most Christmas trees, it has a good ________, which was facing out toward the living room. Seen from every angle, the tree is the most ________ one. But if you stood where I was ________, you would see that this tree has its ________. One side wasn’t shaped quite as ________ as the other. So we put this side around to the corner because none wanted to see that ________ side.

Upon hearing about the tree, my eight-year-old daughter, Kaylyn, ________, “Christmas is ruined!” Christmas wasn’t mined, Kaylyn. Like most things, Christmas is all about what you ________. And many of us are wishing that Christmas should be perfection which we can only achieve in our ________, like everything is right in the world.

So there’s ________ for us that perfection could be found in the least perfect world. ________, you don’t have to face the world with your “good side” and push your “bad side” of you into the corner, in hopes that no one will ________ it.

3 . I am a Russian girl, and it has always been my small dream to climb to the top of a mountain to enjoy the sunrise since my childhood. However, there are no big ________ in my hometown, which makes me very ________.

After coming to China, I heard that there was Mount Huashan. I ________ to climb it to meet the beautiful dawn (黎明) at the top of the peak. On arriving at the foot of the mountain, I began climbing immediately with great ________ and determination.

During the process, a sudden ________ made the stone floor wet and slippery. I had the idea of ________, but the crowd encouraged me to continue the ________. As the steps became ________, everyone lined up, caught the chains and ________ moved forward. When I got close to the top of the mountain, I had nearly run out of ________, so I found a place to rest for a while. Then I heard a voice saying, “Relax, and don’t be afraid. As long as you climb up, you are the best!” Hearing that, I realized if I was frightened by the ________ just now, I could not be the best. So I gathered all the ________ and finally made it!

At the moment of ________, the rolling sea of clouds and the amazing scenery on the mountain changed obviously. I truly ________ that life is like climbing up a mountain. Only with all the way of sweat and the confidence can you reach the top to enjoy a ________ life.

4 . Usually, someone would come up and ask, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” This kind of question is often raised when we have _________ with families as children.

Well, it started out being a cowboy or super hero. Later it was fireman, policeman, lawyer... As I grew older, my dreams of the future _________. Before I was in college, I was asked, “What will you _________ in?”

By then, I had my heart set on _________ a teacher as my father. So, I studied and prepared for that life. I _________ nearly full time on my career. Although my physical disability after an accident prevented me from working full-time, I still insisted (坚持) on _________. I am content that I could realize my dream and perhaps have a(n) _________ influence on someone’s life. My kids are now on the way to _________ their goals, which makes me delighted.

However, for many, there is a “thief”, which goes around _________ our dreams. Sometimes, the __________ will come as a parent, a relative, a friend or a co-worker, but the greatest thief is, so many times, just __________.

We find ourselves just about reaching our __________, and a “small voice” inside says, “You’ll never make it,” “You can’t __________ do this.” “Very few have ever done this successfully.” And on and on the “small voice” predicts (预测) some kind of __________. Failure, though, is exactly how dreams are realized. It is one of the most important tools we have, because it teaches us __________ lessons. And, when we learn these lessons well, we are ready for success.

5 . A few years ago, Ben Gomes received a worrying call at work. The caller told him that his 92-year-old mother, Thomasinha, was being _______ to the hospital after she had been dragged (拖拽) by a car in the street. He raced to the _______ to see her.

“I was _______ at the time, I couldn’t picture what it would be like,” Gomes recalls. Gomes soon learned the _______ of what, had happened. Thomasinha sometimes received _______ from volunteer drivers to her local senior center. On that day, when she got out of the car, one of the long drawstring cords (拉带) on her jacket got _______ in the door as she closed it. The driver didn’t see her, and began to _______ , dragging Thomasinha along.

She _______ alongside the car, _______ the window of the car to get the driver’s ________ . That’s when a passer-by saw her from across the street and got in front of the car to ________ the driver. At that point, Thomasinha ________ , and she had a serious injury.

“I’m so grateful that I was not greeted by the sight that I feared when I went to the hospital,” Gomes says. Today, when Gomes reflects back on the kindness of this ________ , he says it’s hard to express his ________ . “I don’t know if I’d have ________ words to say than ‘Thank you’ for what you did for my mother and for what you did for me,” he adds.

6 . At the age of 41, I still stutter (口吃). I am fine with it now but that wasn’t always the _________. It was difficult for the first couple of years of school. In fact, I don’t recall being _________ at all, though there was a great deal of curiosity about my _________ speech.

A few years later, I began to _________ being different. I felt that I stood out for all the wrong reasons. Just _________ the pain of not even being able to say your own name, I would often give _________ names when meeting new people, because it was easier. It was _________ for me to be Jason or Mike, Chris or Kevin or just whatever sounds I was confident I could make at that particular moment.

Sometime in eighth grade, my _________ changed. I turned what I’d always thought of as a negative into a positive. I finally _________ that difference and ran with it.____________ waiting in fear for the teacher to ____________ my name, I raised my hand when I knew the answer to a question. I always volunteered to read and even used oral presentations as an opportunity to show my comedic talents. I went from a stuttering kid who seldom spoke a word to a stuttering man who now speaks for a (n)____________. Self-acceptance continues to be essential in the success I’ve experienced as a speaker, comedian, writer and soldier. My only ____________ is that it didn’t happen sooner.

It’s never easy to be a kid. It’s especially ____________ when you’re different, but it doesn’t have to be. The time to accept your ____________ is now.

7 . One of my major life-turning points happened during my exchange study in Finland. At the University of Economics in Prague where I studied it was extremely _________ to get on an Erasmus exchange trip abroad since the demand was _________. Everyone wanted to go!

Regardless, I decided to sign up early for my last semester, just to see what the process was like to be better prepared for _________ again in a year. I did make it through all the three rounds and _________ got a spot at a University in Turku, Finland! I was _________. The success brought its own _________, but once you set your eyes on the goal, nothing can stop you.

And I had the time of my life in Finland. I met the most amazing people, traveled a ton, partied a lot, and _________ with friends from all over the world. _________ I was one of the few people there who really needed to pass all the courses and additionally write the papers, I _________ to run on an impossible sleep schedule of four hours per night. But I __________ it! My study in Finland opened up my __________, too.

After the exchange study, I __________ my life in Finland. This adventure led me to choose a life of __________ made up of remote work and plenty of travelling. I couldn’t have asked for a better __________. And it gave me one of my favorite __________ that I can now share with others.

8 . Jameson Lobb and his friend Raphael Jafri were squeezing in a lunchtime workout on Pier (码头) 15, overlooking the East River, when Lobb _________. “Somebody’s in the water,” he said. Before Jafri could respond, Lobb _________ the rail and dived into the cold, polluted water. What Lobb had heard was a (n) _________ fisherman shouting from Pier 16, nearly 50 yards away, “Help! He’s in the water!”

_________ the unconscious (昏迷的) victim, Lobb saw that it was a middle-aged man. He was big, around 200 pounds, respectably dressed and sinking fast. He was 3 feet below the surface by the time Lobb reached him. The _________ dived, felt around, grasped the man and kicked upward until they both _________. Jafri was there now. The two friends floated the man on his back. Their muscles_________   as they pushed and pulled the immobile _________ through the water.

On the pier, a crowd had gathered. From somewhere, the onlookers produced a rope and a life preserver, which they _________ to Jafri and Lobb. The friends worked the victim’s arm and head _________the life preserver and tied the rope around his body. With the pair pushing from below and the _________ pulling from above, the man slowly rose until _________ hands pulled him onto the pier.

Both men, thoroughly _________ , watched as rescue workers _________ the nearly drowned (溺亡的) man into an ambulance and drove away. Lots of people were on the piers that day, yet only the two of   them jumped in the water — because, they say, they were the fittest people there and, so, had a moral _________

9 . There were eight children in my family, and we never had enough money. Meeting basic needs was a constant ________ for us. I got my first pair of ________ when I attended Senior High because I was awarded a scholarship since I performed well ________ in first grade. That enabled my parents to buy me shoes since we were ________ from the schooling fees (学费).

The first day when I walked in my new shoes, each step felt ________ beneath me. The shoes, simple and strong, protected me from the roughness of the path. To me, they were not just shoes but a symbol of ________ — through hard work and determination, I could ________ my situation.

The day I turned 18, I stood before my parents, my heart heavy with a(n) ________ that would shape my future. I told them I determined to leave home to ________ my dreams, which were bigger than what we had known here and that I wanted to change our ________. In my father’s eyes, I could see a ________ of sadness and understanding. After what seemed to be as long as a century, he nodded yes. My mother too blessed my journey. I stepped into the ________, carrying the dreams of generations with me. No matter how difficult things turned out to be, I never gave up. Years later, I started my own business and succeeded ________.

Although the first shoes are now ________, I keep them in my office as a witness of the long and hard journey from those barefoot days to now. They ________ me that hard work does pay off.

10 . I’m an online columnist. A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about my life, ending up receiving some _________ reviews on a regular basis. I have become _________ used to being criticized like that. In the following days, I was also surprised when more lovely words _________ in. They told me that my running adventures had _________ them to go out to work out. Yet more _________ me for giving tips on the mental health issues they had also experienced. I have been so touched by all these people.

As an online columnist for ages, I have constantly encountered _________ readers. A lady was _________ about my daughter when she was hospitalized and a gentleman offered to _________ me for my training when I was badly off. There was also a couple who sent me a jar of home-made marmalade when they read about my _________, in the hope of cheering me up. As I thought about __________ of these kind people, I wondered why our brains are programmed to focus on the bad things __________ all the lovely ones.

At that moment, I’ve realized we don’t have the luxury of negativity. Our life is too short to be __________ by it. To stop engaging in it, the key is our __________ to be dragged down by it. In that spirit, I’ve __________ that from now on, I’m only going to focus on the positive. I’ll keep a file on my cellphone containing all __________ for me, and look at them when times get tough.