1 . Society has certain standards for beauty. But Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc, who spent nearly four years ________ photos of women from around the world, is challenging these standards.

She believes that beauty can ________ many forms. “Beauty just means being yourself,” Noroc told NPR,“I don’t think we have to ________ ourselves to be in a certain way; I think we just have to keep ourselves as we are and don’t ________ need to change.”

________ by a trip to Africa in 2013, Noroc hastraveled to more than 50 countries and regions since then. In 2017, she published a book called The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits to show how many different kinds of beauty there are in the world.

From a struggling Russian dancer to a talkative cafe owner in New York, Noroc’s subjects (拍摄对象)________ her in deep conversation. Noroc found out what ________ them, what their daily struggles and joys are, and what brings beauty into their own lives. “No matter where I go, it’s the ________ that carry all the culture and traditions of a place. I really try to focus on women’s stories, how they face challenges and ________ them,” Noroc told CNN.

Ala, a student at a self-defense school in Jordan called “She Fighter”, left a(n)________ impression on her. Ala raises her clenched (紧握) fists as she looks into the ________ while her faceis covered by a white hijab (面纱). Noroc describes “She Fighter” as “the first self-defense school for women in the Arab world”, and writes, “I discovered an amazing enthusiasm and a(n)________ sisterhood.”

In Iran. Noroc met Farnoush, a woman who lives in two worlds. “In one, she is an economist, by ________. In the other, she is an artist, because this is her ________.” For Noroc, the women’s beauty ________ how natural and comfortable they appear while just being themselves.

2 . In the first class of college, our teacher gave us a special task — get to know someone we didn’t know before. When I looked around, I found a wrinkled, little old lady _________ me. She said, “Hi, my name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.” “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked _________. “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...” she replied. “No seriously,” I asked. I was _________ what may have motivated her to be taking on this _________ at her age. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she said.

From that day on, we became _________ friends. We left class together and talked nonstop. I was always _________ to listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and _________ with me.

At the end of the term, Rose was invited to _________ a speech. I’ll never forget what she taught us. “The secret of staying young _________ being positive and pursuing dreams persistently. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die,” she went on. “Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any __________ or ability. The elderly usually don’t have __________ for what they did, but rather for things they didn’t do. The only people who __________ death are those with regrets.”

Finally, Rose finished the college degree successfully. A month after graduation Rose died __________ in her sleep. Thousands of college students attended her funeral (葬礼)__________ the woman from whom we can learn a __________ that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

5 . Les Brown is one of the world’s greatest _______. He is also a thought leader on self-improvement and goal-setting.

However, Les found it _______ to learn knowledge when he was a student. During his school days, he was thought as “_______ to learn well” by the teachers and placed _______ from 6th grade to 5th grade. To make things worse, he had a twin brother who was rather _______ and talented, so Les was _______ by his classmates.

One day a teacher asked him to _______ a problem on the blackboard, but Les _______ and said that he couldn’t. “Of course you can,” the teacher replied _______. “Young man, come here and solve this problem for me.” “But I can’t,” insisted Les. “I’m a ________ boy.” The rest of the class burst (爆发) into ________ . At that point, the teacher stepped out from behind his desk and looked Les straight in the eye. “Don’t ever say that again,” he told him firmly. “Someone else’s ________ of you does not have to become your reality.”

Les never forgot those ________, and spent the rest of his life facing challenges, ________ and following his goals. Time and time again, thanks to the teacher’s powerful words, Les has been a famous speaker all over the world. Do remember: you have ________ within you.

7 . Jodi and Chase’s family liked to kayak (划皮艇) out to a small cabin down the river. Each summer the parents always ________ them of the dangerous brown bears nearby.

Today, Jodi and Chase were allowed to paddle ahead alone. They put on life jackets and started their ________. After a while, Jodi took a break and laid her paddle (船桨) ________ her kayak, taking out their smoked salmon sandwiches with onions. Chase raised his eyebrows. “We’ll have to ________ the fish smell on our hands when we’re done,” he said “We don’t want to smell like a bear’s favorite snack.”

Jodi stared at him as she ate. “Not funny.”

“I never ________ about bears.” Chase responded.

Shortly, they arrived at the usual stop: a cove (小河湾). Stepping out of their kayaks excitedly, they ________ it above the waterline, secured the rope around a tree, and washed their hands in the water.

“You go ahead,” Jodi said. “I need to grab some berries.” Then she got off the road. Walking alone, suddenly, Jodi sensed ________. She stopped and listened carefully. There was rustling (瑟瑟声) on the far side of the stream. She wanted to ________ down the road immediately. Would that be a ________? Just as what Dad had told her?

Then, a giant creature came out from the shadows. At that moment, Jodi was ________, going through a checklist in her mind: round ears, dark fur and a straight body… It’s a black bear! She ________ breathed out, for this kind was not so dangerous as the brown ones. But still, she could smell its stinky breath from across the ________. Yet, as quickly as it had appeared, the bear escaped. Jodi breathed a sigh of ________. When she arrived at cabin. Mom, Dad, and Chase were already there.

“How did it go?” Dad looked ________ Jodi smiled broadly. She did have a ________ for them!

8 . A Race against Death

It was a cold January in 1925 in North Alaska. The town was cut off from the rest of the world because of the heavy snow.

On the 20th of that month, Dr. Welch _________ a sick boy, Billy, and knew he had diphtheria, a deadly infectious (传染的) disease mainly affecting children. The children of Nome would be _________ if it struck the town. Dr. Welch needed medicine as soon as possible to stop other kids from getting sick. _________, the closest supply was over 1,000 miles away, in Anchorage.

How could the medicine get to Nome? The town’s harbor was already full of ice, so it couldn’t come by ship. Cars and horses couldn’t travel on the _________ roads. Jet airplanes and big trucks didn’t exist yet.

_________ January 26, Billy and three other children had died. Twenty more were sick. Nome’s town officials came up with a(n) _________. They would have the medicine sent by rail from Anchorage to Nenana. From there, dogsled (狗拉雪橇) drivers — known as “mushers” — would _________ it to Nome in a relay.

The race began on January 27. The first musher, Shannon, picked up the medicine from the train at Nenana and rode all night. _________ he handed the medicine to the next musher, Shannon’s face was black from the extreme cold.

On January 31, a musher named Seppala had to cross a frozen body of water called Norton Sound. It was the most _________ part of the journey. Norton Sound was covered with ice, which could sometimes break up without warning. If that happened, Seppala might fall into the icy water below. He would __________, and so would the sick children of Nome. But Seppala made it across.

A huge snowstorm hit on February 1. A musher named Kaasen had to brave this storm. At one point, huge piles of snow blocked his way. He had to leave the trail (雪橇痕迹) to get around them. Conditions were so bad that it was impossible for him to __________ the trail again. The only hope was Balto, Kaasen’s lead dog. Balto put his nose to the ground, ________ to find the smell of other dogs that had traveled on the trail. If Balto failed, it would mean disaster for Nome. The minutes passed by. Suddenly, Balto began to __________. He had found the trail.

At 5:30 am on February 2, Kaasen and his dog __________ in Nome. Within minutes, Dr. Welch had the medicine. He quickly gave it to the sick children. All of them recovered.

Nome had been ________.

10 . Tom is one of many regular customers at his local coffee shop. However, Tom isn’t like the other customers—he’s ________.

Mary, an employee, wanted to do something to make Tom feel more________. So she spoke with other employees about Tom, learning that they always did what they could to give him excellent ________.

But Mary wanted to take it a step further. She went home and started learning American Sign Language (ASL) so she could better ________with Tom. The next day, she wrote him a small________, saying: “I’ve been learning ASL just so you can have the same     ________as everyone else.”

Tom, who was moved by emotion over this small act of kindness, has kept the note at home ever since.

Tom was so________by Mary’s behavior that he posted it on Facebook. His post was then reposted by many people—a result that he did not________. But he was happy that Mary was getting the________she deserved.

The next morning, Mary heard about the post when her manager________her and mentioned that there were many requests from reporters to________her. A spokeswoman said the company was “very________” of Mary’s actions.

“My job is to________people have the experience they expect and that’s what I gave him,” said Mary.

Mary now knows enough ASL to take Tom’s ________. In the past, Tom would have to order through text messages. Tom still loves to visit the coffee shop, saying, “It’s something that gave me real________—even now, I’m still smiling.”