1 . Several years ago I was teaching in Melbourne, Australia. Like most Brits down under, I wanted to _________ my time in this country, so I would take every chance to travel around the far _________ of Australia.

On one trip, I and three friends went as far into the Outback (内陆地区) as it was possible to go, camping and _________ Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. In these riverine areas, there were plenty of crocodiles and smaller, deadly _________ to make us nervous.

After picking up some _________ from an isolated shop near an even more isolated settlement, we reached a _________ which had to be forded (涉过). It was a likely _________ for dangerous salt water crocodiles to be loitering (游荡), so all of us were warned to _________ any “salties” as our vehicle entered the water.

At first the water only reached the top of the _________, but within seconds it was lapping at the windows. My heart was beating fast as I peered out, searching for any __________ logs floating towards us.

__________ there was a scream from the back seat. “Ah! Get it off, it hurts!” I turned round, feeling quite __________ that I was about to see a horrifyingly grizzly animal. As it __________, one of my friends had bought a hot pie in the isolated little store. The contents, hotter than the Arnhem Land sunshine, had __________ onto his bare legs as we bumped through the stream.

We made it to the other side with no “salties” __________. Just one passenger with a very sore leg.

2 . My dad screamed, “Walk the dog. son!” So I also_______, “Emily! Come on girl, time to _______!”As she bounded (跳跃) towards me, I smiled slightly at the way she _______since her legs were too small to keep balance, I _______ down to greet her, giving her head a gentle kiss before we went out. I walked down the block, Emily bounding quickly ahead of me, _______to reach the park. We arrived at the end of the street, stopping just across from the _______and waiting for the light to change, Emily bounding in _______. I took a deep breath, but it seemed those several seconds were too long for the happy puppy at my feet. Emily suddenly got free from my_______and dashed towards the pavement.

I moved to run after her, but a car was shooting fast in front of me. By the time it had left my _______, so had Emily. I crossed the street after her, calling, “Emily! Emily! Come here, girl!” but she________. I could feel the ________enveloping me as I found her gone.

But when I came back home, I was________out. I walked to the front door to ring the doorbell but no one answered. I sat down on the front steps, tears in my eyes and I________in the cold, pulling my coat tighter.________, I was unsure of what to do next when suddenly I realized the meaning of ________since I felt lonely without the company of my dog.

3 . The moment the boys entered the gym and saw the climbing walls towering over them, they got excited. But Stevie was a(an) _________, who was standing aside looking at his thin arms silently. Stevie didn’t like climbing. It wasn’t his _________. Getting along with people wasn’t his thing, ether. He just felt nobody liked or _________ him at school.

Then came Mr. Taylor, the _________, who taught the boys some basic skills and _________ that everyone have a climbing partner and showed them how to protect their partner. The moment he finished, the boys couldn’t wait to _________ themselves with a partner except Stevie. Noticing his _________, Mr. Taylor raised his voice and said, “I need someone I can really trust to team up with!” Then his eyes _________ Stevie. “Me?” Stevie widened his eyes. “I guess.” Hearing Mr. Taylor’s words, Stevie managed a _________ smile. He worked up the __________ and climbed up slowly. “Done it!” Stevie called from the top with excitement and later __________ safe on the floor. Now it’s Stevie’s turn to control the rope. He carefully watched as Mr. Taylor climbed up to the __________, and then started to let him down, his heart racing wildly and his palms sweating uncontrollably. Finally, Mr. Taylor dropped __________ down to the bottom and the boys burst into wild applause. From that day on, Stevie opened his heart to the people around him.

__________ for what Mr. Taylor had done, Stevie knew deep down in his heart that it was his teacher’s trust that allowed him to __________ his new self and others.

4 . In the heart of Sprinkletown, young Sammy had eyes bigger than his stomach, when it came to sweets. His mom had set a _______ rule: “Desserts only after finishing your veggies(蔬菜).” To Sammy, this rule was a towering _______ between him and his favorite chocolate cake.

One evening, determined to conquer(攻克) this mountain, Sammy plotted a _______ . He would hide his broccoli under the potatoes, thinking his mom wouldn’t find.

As dessert time _______ , Sammy presented his plate with pride. His mom, _______ , wasn’t fooled. With a knowing smile, she suggested they _______ the potatoes among them. Of course, the hidden broccoli was discovered, and his plan failed.

Instead of scolding, Sammy’s mom turned the _______ into a game, challenging him to a veggie-eating race! Laughter filled the room as they both ate their _______ , making the eventual dessert even sweeter.

Sammy learned that day not just the _______ of eating his veggies, but that rules, when ________ with a bit of fun, weren’t so bad after all. And so, in Sprinkletown, veggies became the unlikely hero of dessert time, teaching Sammy a lesson wrapped in love and laughter.

5 . Dave had always loved the ocean. You wouldn’t believe how excited he was at Christmas when seeing a gift-wrapped _______   .

But when he began to surf, something _______ happened. Dave thought he knew the water well, but a big wave _______ him away. Dave felt powerless against the _______ in the deep water and lost confidence. Just then another surfer paddled (蹚水) up beside him. “Can I help you?” he asked. Dave _______ him. It was Mike. “I can help you back to shore.” he continued, “First, you need to _______ that fear and relax a little.” Dave began to relax his grip (紧抓).“Good,” said Mike. “Let the wave pick you up, then _______ your weight forward. As you start to build up speed, move your _______ back until you feel balanced. Just enjoy the ride.”

When Dave reached the _______ near the shore, he was bursting with excitement, fascinated that the current which had terrified him was seen as a helpful way by Mike. He had ________ this. He was right to be ________ of the big waves, but no longer did he feel out of his ________ .“Looks like you don't need me any longer,” said Mike. “You are a ________ . Have fun.”

Dave took a last wave, ________ it confidently to the shore. Watching the signs of the tide and the size of the waves, he realized they hadn't changed. It was he who was really different —stronger and more confident. The previous ________ had given way to joy and exhilaration.

6 . I had spent an hour in the bank with my dad for transferring money(转账). I asked, “Why don’t you use online banking?” He already opened one. “Why would I do that?” he________. “Well, then you won’t have to _____an hour here to transfer your money. Everything will be so________!” I was so excited to tell him all kinds of advantages of online banking. He asked, “If I do that, I won’t have to________of the house?”

“Yes, yes!” I said. I told him how Amazon delivers（递送）everything.

His answer made me________. He said, “Since I entered this bank today, I have met four of my friends; I have chatted a while with them. You know I’m lonely…this is what I need________. I like coming to the bank. I have enough time and it is the ‘physical touch’ that I________. Two years ago when I got sick, the store owner from whom I often buy fruits came to see me and chatted with me. When your mum fell down while on her morning walk, the flower shopkeeper saw it and soon got his car to drive her home________he knows our address. Would I have that ‘human’________if everything became online? I like to know the person that I’m dealing with and not just the ‘seller’. It creates relationships; does Amazon deliver this kind of service as well? Technology isn’t________. Spend time with people. Not with devices.”

7 . A simple honk (汽车喇叭声) from the bus is one part of a secret code between the driver and students living in a remote village in Wanzhou district, Chongqing city.

Noticing a schoolbag hanging on the door of an old house along his _________, the bus driver pulls over and honks to answer the “code”. After a moment, he leans (倾斜) out of the bus and _______ a loud reminder. A boy then rushes outside and _________ the bus.

The boy's parents work far from home, leaving him in the _________ of his grandmother. Despite this separation (分离), the boy is determined to pursue (追逐) his education, making the _________ journey to the city to go to school. He and the driver, Mr Cheng Lin, have _________ a special routine. Whenever the boy's schoolbag is hanging outside the house, it signals to Cheng that the young student needs to catch the bus. This simple interaction between the driver and the student became their _________ “secret code”, a non-verbal (非语言) way of saying,“Today, it's time to go back to school.”

Mr Cheng, who has been _________ the Luotian to Wuqiao Nan Station route for many years, shared his ideas on the matter. He mentioned that this rural route had a significant number of left-behind children due to their parents' work _________. Recognizing the importance of his role in their lives, he paid extra __________ on Fridays and Sundays, the days when these children typically traveled back and forth to school.

8 . My five sisters, two brothers and I grew up in West Islip in the 1950s and 1960s. I was third oldest. Big families were pretty common back then.

Our sweet and gentle mother, Joan Young, had a motto. She told us that all she required of us was that we love and ______ each other always. It was a(n) ______ goal to achieve day to day, as sibling rivalry (兄弟姐妹间的争斗) can be messy. ______, Mom never wavered (妥协).

One Thanksgiving, my sister Kate, the second oldest, came home during her junior year in college in Indiana. She had carpooled (拼车) with other kids. At every ______, Kate saw each student greeted with hugs and kisses.   

Kate arrived at our ______ house with siblings and parents all asleep. Kate was ______ and the next morning announced that she was done with our family forever. Small fighting followed. Mom, of course, ______ went into fix-it mode. She demanded that the older siblings, Cyndi, Kate, Stephanie and I, go into her bedroom. Our father, James Burrough, was in charge of the younger ones. Mom ______ us, closed the door behind her and locked it. She told us that we would not ______ until we forgave each other.

As you can imagine, we were not ______. At first we just stared at each other, then brought up any and every complaint we could think of. Mom ______ our requests to leave the room until love ______. In time — a long time — someone started to giggle (咯咯笑), then someone laughed. ______we were all laughing so hard we could barely breathe, and we gave in, hugging happily. Mom smiled, opened the door and we were ______.

As my brothers and sisters and I approach our senior years, with grown children and grandchildren, we still live by the ______ that Mom taught us: love, forgiveness and unity.

9 . My mother took an annual vacation all by herself. It was just two ________ visiting an out-of-town family and perhaps a little sightseeing on the way. It ________ when I was thirteen and old enough to look after my younger brother.

Why couldn’t we ________? I couldn’t get across the idea. My mother’s answer was always frank and to the point: “I need a ________ from you guys for a couple of days.” I couldn’t ________ that reasoning until twenty-five years later.

I am ________, responsible for most of the household tasks. I also hold a job and ________ my family and old parents. My husband asks about the vacation this year. I look up at the bathroom sink, ________ again. “Anywhere,” I answer, “as long as it’s ________.” He doesn’t understand, looking ________.

But now I do. I understand the need for every solo (个人的) vacation my mother ever took. My first ________ was to Bermuda. For five days, there were no blocked sinks, grocery lists, work deadlines, or ________ family members. Instead, there was only peace and the opportunity to do ________ what I wanted to do. It was amazing. I ________ three pounds and came home with perfect dark skin and renewed ________. I decide in the future whenever I feel overwhelmed (不堪重负) or like I need a break, I take one.

10 . In 1985, Vanessa Foster and her husband hopped on a flight to Alaska without any plan. When they _________, they used the last of their money to buy an old _________ and started wandering across the state. A little while into their drive, they saw a hitchhiker (搭便车的人) on the side of the road, and her husband decided to give him a _________. A few hours later, they _________ at a rest stop.

“I hopped out and _________ to the ladies’ room. When I came out a few minutes later, my husband was exiting the men’s room,” Foster remembered. “We _________ around the parking lot, and the hitchhiker and our car were gone. So we _________ the hitchhikers,” Foster said.

As they walked down the _________, none of the cars slowed down to _________ them up. __________, an El Camino stopped. Sitting in the driver’s seat was a middle-aged man with bright __________ eyes. He told them to hop in.

“When he heard we were __________ and lost everything, he offered us summer jobs and a place to stay on his farm near Homer, Alaska,” Foster said.

The __________ impacted them to such a degree that Vanesa Foster wrote about it in a book titled More Than Everything. Looking back on that time in her life, all these years later, she says she’ll never __________ that man with the bright blue eyes.

“I really appreciate his kindness toward a couple of __________ on that Alaskan highway,” she says.