1 . A few weeks earlier, my pastor (牧师) had called upon me to be one of ten team leaders to help with the church’s upcoming fundraiser for building improvements. Though I said yes, this was definitely outside my _________.

Each team leader needed to find five to seven people to _________. I already had three team members. I only needed a couple more. _________ the crowd, I noticed Beth. I thought she might have time for the project. I explained everything to her. She listened _________ and agreed that the church needed some _________, and then she said, “I’ll happily donate towards the improvements, but I had the _________ to say no.”

I stood there shocked by her _________. I wasn’t upset about her refusal. _________, I was completely awed (充满敬畏的) by the way in which she _________ it. “I’m giving myself the right to say no.” It had never __________ me that I could say no when asked to help out or volunteer for a project. I was afraid that by saying no, they would __________ me.

Beth had just opened up an entirely new world to me, and I __________ it was time that I gave myself right to say no as well. The next time I was asked to __________ in a project that I didn’t feel was a good fit, I __________, just like Beth had taught me. I discovered that there were no hard __________ when I said no, and it gave me the necessary free time to do a better job with other projects.

2 . Julia found some of her grandmother Georgie’s old design sketches (草图) from the 1940s. Georgie told her granddaughter she was proud of the sketches and wanted them to be _________ by more people, for _________ was a big part of her life. “Being alone all day was difficult for Grandma. I think doing something would _________ lift her spirits,” Julia said.

Julia took some pictures of those sketches and made a post. It became _________ overnight. A lot of replies under the post _________ Julia to physically make her grandmother’s designs. Though her sewing (缝纫) skills were _________, Julia decided to figure it out. And she learned the basics soon.

With the help of her grandmother, Julia spent countless hours _________ the sketches and turning them into complete designs. Despite the great interest her followers had in_________ her grandma’s designs, the dresses Julia recreated were not for sale. “We have _________ when we do these projects and we don’t like to take this too seriously. Maybe one day that’ll become a career, but right now we’re just focusing on our __________. I’m glad to put on the dresses and __________ them to Grandma. I __________ that I will re-wear the dresses. So I try to be as environmentally friendly as possible,” Julia said.

“You can have your own __________ and it’s never too late to go after it. You can still follow something __________ in your life at any age. Maybe it won’t __________, but it’s worth taking that risk,” Julia said.

4 . A classroom of kindergartners listened attentively as their teacher, Robin Hughes, read them a book about snow. But as Hughes turned pages and _______ them photos of children making snow angels, she noticed some students looked _______. Hughes was shocked to know that only a couple of kids had seen snow. So she _______ her sister Amber Estes for help. “Could you make a snowman for me?” Hughes texted Estes. That text led Estes to build “Lucky”, a tiny _______.

Days later, Estes _______ her the snowman—completed with blueberries as eyes, a carrot as a nose and two branches as arms-on a nearly 800-mile journey in a _______ filled with ice bags. Hughes opened the box eagerly. To her surprise, the snowman had arrived almost _______.

The kids _______ saw the snowman in the classroom. “I was so excited just to see their joy,” said Hughes. Ever since, at least twice a day, Hughes brought “Lucky” out from the cafeteria _______ and put it on a silver plate so students could ________ the snowman and asked questions. Cheers and wows filled the classroom every time the snowman was ________. Whenever the snowman started to ________, she took it back to the fridge.

“In a time when things are not ________ for kids in the classroom, this little snowman has created ________,” Hughes said. She planned to melt the snowman before Earth Day and use the ________ while planting a flower at the school.

5 . Jen is a 39-year old community dancer with Down’s Syndrome(唐氏综合征). She is the founder of Dance Syndrome, a nonprofit organization that brings together _______ dancers and make them feel equal to everyone.

Dancing has always been in her veins. As a young girl, Jen seized every opportunity to dance with full _______ both in the morning and during her 10 minutes of _______ before bedtime. The dynamic workout would keep her _______ all day long.

Life hasn’t been straightforward for Jen. She was _______ by a number of dance clubs in primary school and encountered numerous _______ while pursuing her passion for dance. Despite these challenges, her ambition to share her love for dance and _______ disabled individuals in the art grew stronger.

After leaving school at 18, Jen spent over 10 years searching _______ for opportunities to be trained as a dance leader. Eventually, she had to give up and decided to try her own way, not knowing where it might lead!

Despite the _______, Dance Syndrome was established in 2009. Jen and her fellow disabled dance leaders took ________ of the charitable organization, working alongside non-disabled dance artists who helped them work more professionally.

Over the decade, Dance Syndrome has ________ thousands of disabled dancers, cultivating an environment where every person is recognized as equal, ________ and accepted for who they are. The year 2019 witnessed Jen ________ for the third time as a member of Shaw T rust’s Disability Power 100. She is a living proof that ________ can come from unexpected places and that disabled individuals can ________ society in extraordinary ways.

8 . I was cooking dinner when my cell phone rang. My friend Anna called because her car_________ and her two kids were hungry and tired. She asked if I could go and_________the kids while she was waiting for the car service.

I asked my husband to_________cooking dinner and then started my car. As I was driving to my_________, fog formed and thickened. After picking up the kids, I had to_________in thick fog.

The children were my responsibility and I couldn’t help but be_________. I tried to put on a brave front as I drove in almost zero_________. Soon the fog thickened to the point where I could hardly see and my anxiety began to_________. I knew I had to pull over, but I couldn’t even see the lines on the road. I drove as_________as possible, going to the right where I thought the__________might be. I stopped and reached for my phone, only to realize I had left it at home. While I was__________what to do, flashing lights in my rearview mirror (后视镜) caught my attention. It was a huge relief to see a police car getting__________. The police officer asked for my address, __________ me to follow him and guided us home. Before I found time to __________him, he had disappeared into the darkness.

All I could do was be__________in my heart.

9 . Desmond Jumbam grew up in a poor family in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. His mother worked_________ as a cleaner and cook for an organization to _________him to school in Yaoundé.

“It was not always easy but my mother sacrificed a lot to _________ that I got the best education. In 2010, I _________   Harvard University with enough money for only one semester. My mother took a huge _________ for that.”

With the help of family, scholarships and a job as a private teacher, Desmond was able to afford school fees for a “very_________ first two years” in the US. But having achieved so much in the country, Desmond has now returned to Cameroon to_________his knowledge and skills there.

Desmond couldn’t have got as far as he has without the _________ of his family. He said: “I will avoid common advice like ‘don’t _________ ’ and ‘follow your dreams’. At the risk of sounding__________ , I would advise anyone with big dreams to expect severe adversity (逆境) ahead.”

Everyone faces some__________ in getting to their goals and dreams, especially for those from __________communities. Desmond was one of those children. He hopes his story will __________children to know that it is completely __________to achieve the dreams which may seem beyond their__________, despite the severe adversities ahead.