1 . Wu Ming, a young German born after 1995, is a big fan of Chinese culture. As he thought some diseases can’t be treated _______ with Western medicine, he decided to _______traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In 2015, Wu came to Henan province, where a strong TCM culture can be _______. After a year of learning, he _______ the language barrier and started to learn Chinese medicine. Wu always _______ some Chinese herbal medicine by himself to know their flavours and effects, just like Shen Nong, a character in Chinese legend. In Wu’s opinion, TCM is one of the best-preserved _______ of Chinese culture.

Studying TCM also _______ Wu’s mind and lifestyle. He used to be _______ to electronic devices, playing video games every night. Instead of being trapped in the fast-paced but unhealthy daily _______, he now lives a(n) ________ and peaceful life, practicing good habits like drinking tea and reading.

Wu ________ what he has learned to help his family. He always provides his family members with some advice about staying fit after ________ their skin or tongues online. Over time, his family gradually began to understand his ________ for TCM.

Wu thinks there’s no big difference between China and Western countries. “________ comes from being out of touch”, said Wu. He plans to run a traditional Chinese clinic in Germany, which could serve as a(n) ________ between the two countries and publicize TCM and its culture.

3 . Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a _______ balloon with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _______. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _______. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _______ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help _______ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _______ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _______ tough day last December, she _______ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They enjoyed a _______ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw ________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s ________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa dropped your balloon ________,” Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes’ worth of ________with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much ________, Gonzalez and her girl intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just ________ that balloon in the trash, he went more than the extra mile.

4 . Most young people are always on their phones, which may upset many people. ___________, a group called Girl Scouts are receiving _________ for setting up their first walk-in clinic for elderly people, who have difficulty understanding how to ___________ the secrets of their smart phones.

Each teen spent at least an hour of one-on-one time with their oldsters. Based on their _________ knowledge, each Girl Scout was assigned to ___________ different aspects of Android and Apple phones.

Some of the oldsters actually wanted to take part in e-commerce (电子商务), and needed help to _________ a payment account on their smart phones while others simply had _________ when learning how to send messages to their family members. "I was teaching this older woman how to _________, and the first thing she did was to send a message to her daughter,” one of the Scouts said. “How ___________ it was! It just made me feel really, really happy.”

In addition to arranging group lessons for all of the seniors to ____________ together at the end of the clinic, the youngsters even printed out brochures and guides for the seniors to take home in case ____________ seniors would encounter problems with their smart phones in the future.

The eighth graders earned their “Silver Award,, for their job. After experiencing the ____________ of their project, the girls hope to organize more ____________ in the near future. “Those girls were just great,” said Nancy, a great-grandmother who once ____________ the clinic. “They were ready for us and had a very mature attitude about answering our questions, and they ______________ the praise.

5 . At the Abu Dhabi Special Games in 2019, Li Xiang won two golds, four silvers and a bronze. Li Xiang is 15. But his _________ age is 5 to 6 because the teen suffers from Down’s Syndrome, causing his physical and mental retardation(迟缓). Yet he proved to be a _________ at the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

When Li was diagnosed (诊断) with the _________ soon after his birth, it was for his family the end of the world. _________, when Li was 10, Chinese Olympic _________ champion Li Xiaopeng visited the school where Li Xiang was and _________ for those special students there. The act made Li Xiang _________ to gymnastics. He was determined to become an Olympic _________ like Li Xiaopeng, which brought a _________ of hope to his family.

It was not easy for a __________ child to practice gymnastics. Li __________ from coordination(协调) and __________ problems and was very sensitive when facing failure. However, with the __________ of his coach and parents, in 2015, at the age of 11, Li Xiang __________ his first Special Olympics as one of the youngest competitors. He __________ a gold, two silvers and two bronzes.

“Though years of sports haven’t improved Li Xiang’s __________, I can feel his progress in life, in self- discipline and in __________ with other people,” his mother said. It is difficult for people to __________ the hardship Li Xiang’s family has suffered to __________ up their special child and their happiness on seeing the progress he has achieved so far.

“I __________ sports. It makes me feel happy and energetic,” Li Xiang told reporters after his events.

7 . Once a neglected(无人照管的）piece of land, Chapel Hill High School Community Garden has been changed into a productive space.

In early fall 2008, Kristen's teacher mentioned the_______empty land next to the school’s tennis court(球场). The 50x70-foot area was overgrown with _______ ; on it stood an old greenhouse covered with dirt. It was the_______place for a garden, the teacher said. But who had the time and interest to_______the mess? “It sounds great and I can’t_______to do the job, ”says Kristen, who was the president of the high schools environmental club, the Green Tigers. With six members at first, tidying up the garden seemed_______and the project seemed possible.“We realized we could make a _______ ,”she says.

_______, growing season was three months away. “It was enough time to get the land_______,”says Kristen. But there was a __________.”We were Green Tigers without green fingers,”she says.The students didn’t__________what to grow, and preparing the yard for planting was more__________than they’d expected. “At first I thought we should make the garden__________ as soon as possible,”Kristen says. “But cleaning it up was the__________thing to do before researching what would grow well.”

Soon the garden’s changes encouraged other kids, parents and teachers to__________. Students received service credits(学分)for__________like cleaning out the greenhouse and planting flowers, but soon they were stopping by the garden__________ to stay there. Local gardeners__________ways to help with the growing. In spring 2010, the Green Tigers had their first __________harvest: mustard greens, potatoes and onions. It was enough to fill 50 bags with produce for a salad feast(盛宴)for the 100 volunteers-most of them students-who had __________a piece of Chapel Hill under Kristen’s direction.