1 . “If after the first 50 pages of a book you don’t get engaged, you’re allowed to stop reading and try again later when you feel ready for it,” my father told me.

My father holds this ______ responsible for his lifelong love of literature. As a busy labourer, he has regarded reading books as an almost sacred ______. He feels a strong, perhaps, irresistible ______ to read frequently and a lot.

I don’t think my father ______ to hand the advice down to me. He’s not the sort to give advice and I’m not the sort to ______ it. But I find it’s the advice that’s delivered ______ that.is most likely to be listened to.

I like this advice “reading first 50 pages”, for the generosity and respect it extends to a book’s ______ and their craft. A reader, it suggests, needs a little ______ to adapt to a book’s particular tone and voice. Meanwhile, this advice gives a person permission to ______ reading. Nobody, it implies, need force themselves to struggle through a book they’re not ______.

I particularly like the ______ advice to return to a book “when you feel ready for it.” It’s a ______ that reading is naturally relational and that the readers need time.

Even when I’m more than ready to stop reading by page 50, ______ the exercise feels worth doing. Just like stopping swimming halfway makes the muscles in my legs ache ______ it uses them in a different way from cycling. But in both cases, it’s a satisfying kind of hurt because it’s a ______ of getting stronger.

2 . My life is full and active taking care of my grandson. But weeks ago, he headed for an overseas holiday, I was left feeling _______ and lost. I needed something extraordinary to lift my _______.

Then one day, I entered the Coffee Club near my home and _______ a cup of coffee. I settled into a comfortable sofa, _______ tasting the delicious drink. After a while, I approached the waitress and handed her my _______. She smiled and said, “That’s already been paid for.”

I looked at her in _______. “Really?” Then she said the words I’ll never forget. “It was a _______ of kindness, and it happens a lot.”

I was shocked. I never really _______ these things though I had heard about them. Today, I _______ it firsthand. Good, kind people are out there in the world. And they ________ when you need them most. I left home this morning feeling, somewhat lost. I returned with a ________ in my step, excited about sharing my story and ________ the kindness.

Two weeks later, I paid for a girl in the Coffee Club. The only thing is, this time, the Coffee Club did it ________. The waiter pointed me out. She couldn’t believe it and ________ me. I simply smiled, explaining that I was passing on the ________ I’d received not long ago.

3 . It’s been over a year since I started my volunteer work as a caregiver at a well-known location here in Oklahoma. During a recent visit, I had a(n) ________ with a nurse there. We discussed how I ran into some issues with my right leg after a terrible fall. I was sharing how my new ________ led me to have to make some personal changes and so I ________ some at-home projects, such as a vegetable garden, a chicken pen, and my pet birds, when Judith wheeled over and politely introduced herself. She ________ offered me a like-new bird cage to replace my ________ one, and I gratefully accepted her ________.

When I went to Judith’s house to ________ the bird cage, she asked if I could ________ her for an upcoming surgery since she had no one else to rely on. I felt ________ to be chosen to take care of her after the ________. Judith, who is also a ________ and has devoted many years to working as a hospital volunteer, truly ________ to be treated with kindness and respect.

This experience serves as a beautiful example of two ________ showing random act s of kindness towards each other. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason, and I am truly ________ for the opportunity to care for Judith. In the future, should I ever need ________, I hope to receive the same loving support.

4 . Lauren Schroeder was volunteering at a community food bank at age 14. As she filled bags with _________ groceries, she noticed that there were plenty of food that came in cans and boxes, but she didn't see anything _________ and healthy to give to families in need.

Inspired to make a _________, she told her parents that she wanted to start a vegetable garden on their farm, so that people could get the _________ they needed. Although they were _________, her parents made her aware of how much work it would take. Still, the teenager was up for the _________.

Lauren managed to receive a(n) _________ from a youth organization to pay for seeds and gardening _________. She did a lot of research online to find out what plants_________ and what didn't, what needed shade, and which ones needed more water. Over the hot and dry summer, she __________ her crops for weeds and watered them by hand every day. Her first harvest resulted in 40 pounds of produce that she then__________ gave away to local food banks, a soup kitchen, and a nursing home.

More __________ than ever, she relaunched her project, doubling the size of her garden and __________ her vegetable selection. So far, she has spent over 1,000 hours working in her garden and donated 7,000 pounds of home-grown produce.

“I love __________,” said Lauren, now 17. “Many people help you out, but it makes more __________ when you help other people out.”

5 . Most airplanes are constructed with seats in rows of two or three Mathematically, someone in my family of five has to sit by a ________. I always ask to be that person and consider it the greatest ________ to meet someone remarkable.

From the time I could speak, I realized that overcoming communication ________ was an essential key to ________ the enormous potential in constructing meaningful relationships with others. My father is a successful scientist, but he has been ________ since birth. My childhood was spent understanding his intelligence while sometimes ________ to convey ideas because the words I chose were too ________ to lipread. But I learned how to employ my own approach to face the challenge. Gradually, I developed a ________ for communication skills.

Since kindergarten, I have loved Chinese culture. In my Junior year of high school, I ________ a competitive scholarship to study in China for the summer, learning Mandarin and the eastern culture. Dropped into Chengdu and ________ to speak the language fluently, I found myself a toddler (学步儿童). However, I didn’t quit. At the end of the program, I was voted to ________ the 500 scholarship recipients (被授予者) to deliver a speech in Chinese. My speech did win cheers. Finally, I returned home with a cultural awareness beyond expectation, possessing lifelong ________ with former strangers whom I now communicate with in Chinese.

Thanks to the strangers in my life, I learn that one must embrace (拥抱) certain new experience. I’m so ________ to confirm that stepping out of my comfort zone can, actually, ________ experiencing something from slightly interesting to life-changing. On the flight home from China I ________ chose to sit next to a stranger and it didn’t disappoint.

6 . It was a busy morning for me. As I was walking I saw an old lady, maybe in her 80s, standing quite close to the traffic. Although my mind was _______, I thought I should warn her.

When I _______ the spot, I noticed that she was trying to get attention of passers-by but they were too busy to _______ her. When I tried to gently move her back to a safe place, she said she had _______ her key in the middle of the road. I looked around but no one stopped. I knew I was getting _______ but decided to help.

On the road were office goers in cars as well as school buses _______ with children. It was the _______ time of the day to cross a busy road without a traffic light. I carefully stepped onto the road waving my hands wild with _______ almost expecting to be hit by an oncoming vehicle. I moved on to the middle of the road _______ to wave my hand. Just then a school bus was approaching me and I ________ walked in front of it to stop it. My experience has been that school bus drivers are always ________ of reckless (鲁莽的) pedestrians like me. I won. I quickly picked up the key and ran back to ________ the key to her. Having watched my actions from the bus, the school children let out a ________ and clapped. As I turned to continue my hurried walk, the old lady pulled me by my hand and gave me a big warm ________. I felt so happy and relieved, hoping the school children who were watching me would do the same when their ________ comes.

7 . When I was 24, I moved to America, 11,000 kilometers away from my homeland. This was _______, especially fitting into an unfamiliar environment. Working from home increased my _______, as I was cut off from social interactions. However, serving as a volunteer at a local animal shelter _______ everything.

Upon arriving at the shelter, I was _______ to a small, grey and white cat named Luna immediately. Found abandoned and terrified of humans, Luna _______ in the corner, shaking. Her lonely green eyes seemed to _______ my own sense of displacement in this foreign land. My task was to slowly gain Luna’s _______ and help her adjust, which felt similar to my efforts to _______ this new place.

As days turned into weeks, Luna and I developed a _______. The process of feeding her, speaking softly, and the ________ required to look after her made this little creature gradually open her heart to me. Her ________ encouraged me to step outside, make new friends, and become part of the community.

My time at the shelter provided a valuable ________ into settling down in a new country. It is an inspiring experience of ________ gaps of language and culture and a journey of personal growth. From it, I realized the value of time, love, and a(n) ________ heart in forming meaningful relationships. This journey aided me in finding a sense of ________ in an unfamiliar land.

8 . The greatest sports moments often have a wonderful flow state behind the victories or performances. Being in flow refers to the moments where distraction reduces, and concentration ________ .

It was a _______ summer camp ping pong tournament where I was not only down I set, but 7 points behind my opponent (对手), who had only 3 points left to ________ the set, and the tournament. For a comeback, I had to win at least 10 points, without making ________ !

Facing the desperate situation, I could ________ it a day and let my opponent win. Perhaps my opponent had already focused on the ________, but failure wasn’t an option! Thus, I ________ it out, hoping for the best. I told myself, “Let’s just try and win the next point, nothing else.” ________ deep, I stared at the ball with a clear mindset and keen ________. I took it, hit it back and scored!

5 points to go, 4 points to go... My opponent started getting visibly ________ and made mistakes. Point by point I was getting closer to being even.7-8. I was one point away from doing the ________. My mouth was shut and my eyes stayed ________ the entire set. He made another error. 8-8. The comeback was complete. The crowd went ________! Winning the next 3 points, I managed to win that set. In the last set, my opponent turned restless again. ________ the flow, I ended up winning the final set, and the tournament.

Despite a small game, it inspired me a lot. Not being able to control how our opponent plays, we can _______ how to react. Don’t be there, where you are not. Instead, be here and now! Stay in flow! Be concentrated!

9 . I vividly remember the day when my husband and I set off on a new journey to Tanzania. He had been ______ a position there as a Civil Engineer. Accompanying him, my aim was to find a job shortly after. As you can imagine, I was very excited, even rather ______, as I’d never been abroad before. So, my first ______ was to get settled in this small town called Dodoma in the middle of Tanzania.

As we got off the train, however, at six in the morning, a lady came rushing along the ______ towards us. Completely out of breath, she said, “We’ve heard you’re from England and our school ______ needs an English teacher — please say you’ll help us.” I felt tired and ______ a shower after the journey. Though shocked by her ______, for some reason or other, I agreed to ______ it!

I washed, changed, had a quick bite to eat and was ______ to the two local teachers and my ______ at 8 o’clock. It felt like being thrown into the deep end, as my teaching timetable began ______ at 8:30! Although I’d hardly had time to get my breath, I never ______ my sudden decision.

Though my entry into this ______ was unexpected, I found joy in teaching those youngsters and gradually became part of the local community in the following years. I’ve been fortunate to ______ lifelong friendships, which has left a lasting ______ on both my students and myself.

10 . What’s the point of studying? It’s something you might ask yourself if you’re _______ to finish an assignment, _______ if your friends seem to be out having fun, or are _______ and earning lots of money.

Many of us choose to go to university as a first step towards a good _______, but sometimes graduates are educated beyond what is necessary for a job. Even so, according to a research conducted by an organization, a _______ will, in the long run, earn you more. What’s more, there are _______ in your earning potential. A researcher says that graduates of the 24 Russell Group universities earn about 40% more than those who studied at other universities after five years.

_______, it found it’s not just the location but other factors that can _______ what you can earn. For example, graduates in subjects such as law and medicine _______ to do well. And as they progress, the pay gap between these careers and others, such as the creative arts, ________. Also, a student’s ________ background can have an effect, with those from households highly valuing education much more likely to go to university, and mostly likely a ________ one.

But if you still don’t feel university delivers the best work opportunities, there are ________ words from Alistair Jarvis, head of Universities UK, who says that graduates are half as likely to be ________ as non-graduates. So maybe all that studying is ________ — after all “no pains, no gains”!