1 . I was at the North Pole. I was wearing a warm overcoat, a cotton hat, thick gloves and heavy boots. However, I still felt that my hands and feet were _______. There was such a terrible snowstorm that I could _______ see.

I made my way back to the research camp. I had been out in the snow for three hours and I could not _______ my hands. I thought I needed a hot cup of coffee to warm me up and recover some _______. It took a long time to struggle through the thick _______, but I knew I was getting close to the camp, as I could _______ food. I shouted to find out whether there was anyone there, but there was no _______. As I slowly moved on, the snowstorm became worse. It became _______ to see where I was going. I almost believed that I would never find my way.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of _______ from behind. I turned around but there was nothing ________. Maybe it was the sound of the wind. I ________ walking anyway, but stopped when I heard the footsteps ________ again. My heart began to beat faster and faster. I was sweating with ________. All of a sudden, I heard a loud noise ring out through the cold air. It made my blood run cold. I wanted to run, but fear held me ________. A few seconds later, I felt my shoulder was being grasped by a hand. I turned around with my hair standing on end. Thank goodness! It was my friend Tim! What a false ________!

2 . A mere four months ago, a black cat named Bounty had no idea just how adventurous his life was about to become. Although the cat was _______ destined for a cat shelter, Doina adopted him just in time. To some, Doina being an avid (酷爱的) traveler seemed like a potential issue, but it _______ , these two were made for each other.

_______ for their journey to begin, Doina gathered all of the equipment, treats, and other _______ that the two of them would need. Though, when it came to carriers for Bounty, Doina had to get a bit _______ . “I made a special pouch (小袋) for him, because cat carriers are not adapted to certain _______ ,” she said.

One of their first adventures included a _______ tour of Italy, the first test that helped them discover how _______ he was to an adventurous lifestyle. “At the start, Bounty was a little anxious and nervous, but after the first few days, he started to _______ himself,” Doina said. “While I pedalled, he ________ in the pouch.”

Since that first cycling tour, Bounty and Doina have ________ several more adventures in their short time together, including mountaineering and camping. In fact, this adorable ________ has already managed to become a record breaker! He is considered to be the first house cat to summit La Grignetta, a 7,100-foot mountain in the Italian Alps. Best of all, he did so “without even a meow of ________ ”.

The two of them have cycled the entire length of the Italian peninsula! If you’d like to ________ this adorable duo, you can visit their website where Doina ________ their travels with lots of updates, photos, and videos for their 800 followers to enjoy.

3 . When I moved to Washington, D.C, I left all of my friends behind. ________ new acquaintances to home-cooked meals was my best ________ to make new friends. Given that my food was pretty good, everyone was soon asking me for the ________, which was how Bun Bo Bae, my cooking blog came into being.

In hindsight (事后看来), I’ve probably been   ________ to start a food blog. I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. I would watch her cook,   ________ a lot of knowledge of cooking. To my ________, I left for college before I could learn my mom's best dishes.

I went to France to study. I was ________ alone for the first time in my life. There were no roommates, dorms or dining halls. I was ________   homesick. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my favorite dishes. As it ________, my mom didn’t have any recipes. She just taught me how to cook intuitively (凭直觉地); thus, I learned to cook by ________ and feeling my food.

Bun Bo Bae was initially a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I wanted to write down every ________ I was given in detail. Later on, I ________ more. I created some recipes by myself. Soon my food blog and follower count grew.

Bun Bo Bae increased my ________ at work. I knew I was a great cook, but I had no idea how to make a website. So I taught myself web building. And the ________ helped me land my job at NPR, where one of my recipes was ________ in a famous cafeteria.

4 . When I was a little girl, every time when my dad was repairing something, he would ask me to hold the hammer. Then we could have a time for a _________ with each other.

I grew up and left home for the college, and since then, he had been _________ me every Sunday morning. Later, when I bought a house, my dad was _________ it by himself for three days in the 30℃ summer _________. All he asked for was to hold his paint brush and _________ to him.

Several years ago, he was _________ me. He spent hours _________ a swing set for my daughter. He asked me to bring him a cup of tea and have a talk with him, but I had to _________ for a trip, so I did not have time for any long conversations.

One Sunday morning, we had a telephone talk _________ , and I noticed that my dad kept forgetting some things we discussed __________. Few hours later came a call. He was in hospital with an aneurysm(动脉瘤). Immediately I bought a ticket for the __________ and by the time I got to the hospital, my dad had passed away. Now it was he who did not have __________ for a talk with me.

After his __________ , I learned more about him, and I realized how little I knew about his deepest __________ and dreams. All he ever asked me was my time, but now he has all my __________ every single day.

5 . On a cold winter, I relaxed myself on the sofa after dinner. Flicking through (浏览) the pages of the newspaper _______ my eyes, I noticed that Taronga Zoo was in need of volunteers.

I’d studied _______ and taught at the Interpreter School in Switzerland, then _______ as a secretary in international business before moving to Australia. But because of being a stay-at- home mum to my teenage son, my related skills had _______ .

I thought helping out at the zoo would be a great way to _______ and improve my German, Swiss and French. So I handed in my application and was _______ . Then I learned about animals’ diets, behavior and how the zoo operated by attending _______ . We were also taught how to give animal tour talks.

On my first day, when _______ for visitors to gather for a tour, an overseas tourist approached. Feeling nervous, I held my notebook _______ , took a deep breath and took him from the koalas to the kangaroos and then on to the bird zone. I loved __________ my new-found knowledge. Seeing visitors’ eyes and face light up when visitors watched a kangaroo playfully boxing the air or heard a lion __________ a strong roar (吼叫) was a treat and filled me with __________ . It became my favorite day. Now, many years have passed and I love it just as much as the first day!

I’m __________ to say it’s a privilege (荣幸) to be able to __________ the zoo and its animal protection work. I find it very __________ to meet people from all over the world and help them to learn about the wildlife.

6 . Marion Sheppard began to go blind in her 40s. Since childhood, she had always been a(n) ______ dancer. Now she was so scared that she rarely left her ______. She couldn’t shake the worry that people would look at her ______.

After a tough time, Sheppard ______ herself to leave her house. She attended a social event. For people with visual impairment(受损) and was shocked to find that no one ______. They all just sat still.   “Oh no!” she told herself   .“That is not the way I ______ to live!”   She bought a walking stick and continued to ______ at the library. She retired from the library in her 50s when her ______ further declined, but she kept moving and dancing.

When she participated in ______ at a Manhattan community center for the ______ run by Visions, she asked if she could teach her class there, but was ______ for the safety of the visually impaired. But she insisted, and finally ______ the administrators to let her teach line dancing on a volunteer basis. Her ______ proved to be so popular that in 2012, Visions hired her to be on the staff.

Over the past decade, Sheppard has ______ her students in more than dance steps. She has also encouraged them to be confident and ______. She always says,   “As long as we’re alive, we have to keep moving.”

7 . The most affectionate memory of my childhood is about a round table. When I was still little, my entire family would ______ on almost every traditional festival to have dinner. While the ______ were discussing something beyond our comprehension, we kids would play hide-and-seek.

The round table is a ______ of a reunion of our families and an ______ to our families. But as a matter of fact, in China, almost everything can be solved over a ______ table. The marriage bells between a loving couple and the ______ between business partners can all happen on the same round table. ______ , I start to wonder what this round table is to us, and its true significance starts to ______ in front of me.

The food on the table may ______ with time. The reasons why we come together may be ______ , but the sensation behind it remains the same. And that is our tolerance of different people or willingness to ______ different cultures.

In less than two months before the Spring Festival, a(n) ______ epic migration: would take place in China. The power that ______ us to do so has been sustaining Chinese civilization for thousands of years, and even the history of our nation has been the stories of ______ or running to the round table to which we ______ . The round table is and will always be a symbol of the Chinese sensation.

8 . Set Aside Time Each Day

Most of us can find 15 minutes or half an hour each day for some _________ regular activity. For example, one famous surgeon always _________ it a rule to spend at least 15 minutes on general reading before sleeping each day. _________ he went to bed at 10 p.m. or 2:30 a.m. _________ no difference.

Check Your Progress Through Pacing

Nearly all “speedy reading” courses have a “pacing” element — some timing _________ which lets you know how many words a minute you are reading. You can do this _________ by looking at your watch every 5 or 10 minutes and noting down the page number you have _________.

Check Your Understanding

Obviously there is little _________ in increasing your reading speed if you do not understand what you are reading. If you find you have lost the _________ of the story, reread the section.

Lightning Speed Exercise

Take four or five pages of an interesting book and read them as fast as you __________ can. Do not __________ about whether you understand or not. After a “lightning speed” of reading, you’ll find your “normal” speed has __________ .

Pay Attention to the Organization of an Article

Most paragraphs in an article have a(n) “__________ sentence” which expresses the central ideas. The opening paragraph often suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while paragraphs that follow __________ or support the first. The ________ paragraph often summarizes the very essence of what has been said.

9 . In the fall of 2008, I was looking to leave my current job in a doctor’s office to explore something more ________. So I started investigating the new world of travel nursing. With a bit of ________, I was connected to Carlyn.

At this time, I am working on all areas of my life...... in the ________of becoming a stronger, more confident person, and ________more about who I am. Without amazing, enthusiastic and supportive Carlyn, I wouldn’t be where I am today. For the past 2 years, Carlyn and I stayed in ________through email, facebook, and a periodic phone call, becoming friends…. I had a whole view of all the things she was ________in her life and it inspired me much.

I was anxious to ________Carlyn face-to-face for the first time. But, as soon as she ________in front of my house, it was like we had done it a million times before. This “my friends” is the ________ of the human connection that she talks about. It takes two people from ________to friends!

Now as fate would have it, Carlyn has ________my world. So now, I hope to repay her ________for all that she has helped me ________. I am fortunate to be part of a friendship that is a by-product of her ________. She continues to inspire me and I hope to learn and meet more through her _________.

10 . Do you often feel tired in the morning even though you’ve been in bed for seven or eight hours the night before. Like many people, you are not sleeping as much as you think you are. ________, your sleep efficiency is not that good.

Sleep experts_______ “sleep efficiency” as the percentage of time lying down that you are actually sleeping. The science of sleep efficiency is still young. There is no________ number for efficiency that’s been proven as linked to poor health. However, according to a report about sleep________, some experts estimate a rough range of 85% or above as a reasonable place to be. Besides avoiding caffeine intake after lunch and________ physical exercise before bed, here are some tips for improving sleep efficiency.

Short-wavelength blue light________ by the sun and screens of computers and smartphones, stops production of the sleep-stimulating hormone melatonin(褪黑激素)and makes you feel more________. Blue light tells your brain it’s________. Experts suggest turning off your computers and smartphones one hour or at least 30 minutes before bed.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time, or________ the same time, every day. Avoid excessive sleeping at the weekend. Consistency is key to a good night’s sleep, especially when it comes to waking up. When you have a consistent wake-up time, your brain_______ to this and moves through the sleep cycle in preparation for you to feel rested and alert at your wake-up time. Roughly an hour before you wake, hormone levels increase gradually (along with your body temperature and blood pressure),________ you to become more alert.

Most people may feel_______ in the afternoon. If you aren’t getting enough sleep at night, you’re likely going to feel________ to sleep in the afternoon. When this happens, you’re better off taking a short nap than turning to caffeine or strong tea to keep you awake. A short nap will give you the rest you need to________ the rest of the afternoon, and you’ll sleep much better in the evening.