1 . As an immigrant from China, my mother loves Chinese culture deeply. She _________ Chinese food every night. She prefers to do it herself at home because she thinks the local restaurants aren’t authentic. _________, strangely enough, she likes to take my son to Panda Express to have _________ with her friends who are also from China. She is even _________ to point it out whenever they are at a food court.

Why is American Chinese food not _________ among some Chinese Americans? How is American Chinese food not better than _________ Chinese food? I can’t _________ that it’s not as good as authentic Chinese food. In fact, authentic Chinese food really tastes better while American Chinese food _________ to have food with its own taste — they are right for different persons. It’s important to _________ American Chinese food from authentic Chinese food. They are not the same __________ and have their own characteristics. So they should be treated __________. That’s why my mother thinks that Panda Express is not very authentic, but can still __________ it. Actually, American Chinese food is often created by Chinese immigrants according to their own preferences. As people from various countries have differences in their __________, it is changing.

My mother has a deep feeling for authentic Chinese food and restaurants, so I decide to open a restaurant where she and other immigrants can feel the __________ of Chinese family dinner. My son says he’ll learn Chinese cooking skills from me, which, I think, should be __________ from age to age. Likewise, I’ll also pass on the Chinese food culture to the world.

2 . It was the first day of high school for Emily. As she walked to school, Emily felt nervous. She had heard _______ from her older brothers about how worrying high school could be, and she was afraid she wouldn’t _______. But as soon as she arrived on campus, her _______ were put to rest. She saw _______ faces from her middle school and soon made new friends with students in her classes.

Her first class of the day was English, and Emily was excited to _______ her new teacher, Mr. Johnson. As Mr. Johnson entered the classroom, Emily could see the enthusiasm (热情) in his eyes. He began to _______ himself and then asked each student to stand up and share something about themselves. Emily listened as her classmates _______ their hobbies and interests, and was inspired by their diversity. When it was her turn, Emily stood up and _______ introduced herself. But as she spoke, she gradually gain _______. She was happy to be in this new ________.

The rest of the day flew by. Emily went from class to class, learning about history, science, and math. She was ________ by her teachers’ knowledge, and she found herself ________ the rest of the school year.

That day, she ________ that high school wasn’t as scary as she thought it would be. She was excited about what the ________ held. She knew that she had a lot to learn, but she was ________ for the challenges.

3 . Joseph Salmon, 17, was practising ice fishing with his mom on a lake in Iowa. Suddenly, Salmon saw a jeep, driven by an old man, Thomas Lee, ________ off the ice and into the water. As soon as Salmon saw it a short distance away, he called 911 and ran over to help. For a(n) ________, he was right standing on the ________.

Then another young man waved at Lee and tried to ________ to him to get out of the jeep. However, it seemed that Lee, ________, didn’t really know what to do next, just sitting on the seat. ________, he couldn’t move at all.

Things looked extremely ________. As Salmon and the young man became ________ in face of the emergency, more people came. Then someone found there was an animal in the jeep. Salmon immediately jumped into the ________, got to the jeep and tried opening the back door. It was locked, and he had to ________ the back window and ________ to get Lee out, whose foot was ________ because of being caught between the center console (控制台) and the seat. So Salmon gently pushed Lee back towards the front. Just then, four more passers-by ________ over to help pull Lee and his dog to safety.

Finally, the rescue workers arrived. Lee was transported to a nearby hospital. Neither he nor his dog was injured while Salmon was only treated for a minor ________ from the broken glass. How ________ they were!

4 . When I was young, my family had trouble with money. My parents worked at a restaurant, and I often helped them. One day, a newcomer ordered a meal, but had no money on him. He asked if he could pay another time, and asked me what my ______ was. Although I felt a little strange, I agreed and told him to call me “Angela”. After that, the ______ man was nowhere to be seen. I ______ everywhere and even asked everyone at the restaurant if they had seen him. My mom said I had been sitting ______, talking to myself, “Where can I find him?” Sometimes, she couldn’t help shouting, “Are you out of your ______? There was no one around you.”

That night, my mom was ______. She told me that my grandma had passed away and that the rent on our apartment had gone up. Choking up, she said, “I don’t know how to ______ the funeral expenses and the high rent.” I ______ her I would help pick up the odds and ends. Then I went to check our mailbox, but I found nothing.

My mom told me to check the mailbox again. I ______ in it and pulled out two huge envelopes. She opened one, only to find the big ______ for our apartment. She then walked into her room, saying she was afraid to ______ the other.

I looked at it and saw this: Dear Angela, Love, Your Friend. I tore it open and emptied the ______ onto the bed. There were some checks, all ______ to me. Later, I learned my strange ______ from the restaurant sent it. ______ the valuable checks, we got through the difficult time.

5 . I took up the violin at 8 and have continued playing since. My experience shows music could really ________ me to connect with people.

I used to ________ going to the teen group in our church. Being shy, I didn't have the courage to meet new people there. So I was never involved in any ________ . This was why the teen group always ________ me. But my parents asked me to go there.

Mark Bowen, the group leader, wanted to found a band within the group. He asked me to ________ .At first, I wanted to ________ , thinking being part of a band would make my life ________ at the group. Finally with my parents' encouragement, I changed my ________ and became a band member as a solo violinist.

________ I had tons of experience in performing with my school orchestra, I ________ played alone before. ________ , this made me nervous. But I was ________ after I found my violin going well with the other instruments. After several performances, I made friends with other ________ . We shared music and told jokes.

What was ________ was a visit from a famous musician. One day during the training, a lady walked in. After we ________ , she walked towards me and said, " I heard a violin playing! So I followed the ________ . " This was Charis a Rouse, the violinist I admired most. The thought of meeting her always made me ________ because she was so talented. And now she was ________ me. How amazing! She gave me many tips. And she told me though it's fun to play the violin, I should take the ________ seriously, as playing for the church is a huge responsibility.

Looking back, joining the band made me ________ , and improved my musical ability. I really appreciate it for helping me grow up.

6 . When NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, they marked the first successful rocket launch (发射) off American soil in nine years. However, it was also a first in their close ______ which has developed over their 20-year work at NASA.

“Being lucky enough to ______ with your best friend is some astronauts' wish and we're lucky enough,” explained 53-year-old Hurley.

The two astronauts had ______ the mission (使命), which saw them ______ land on the   International Space Station, over a two-year period. While they were friends before, in this time they could really see each other's weaknesses and ______.

And they're ______ that the experience made them even ______ together. So when they climbed into their space suits and the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, the two men were ______ not only in their technical skills, but in ______ that they'd have each other's backs.

Their close relationship has developed partly from shared ______ experiences. They both ______ women who played roles in space missions. Their ______ go beyond their wives' work. Both men ______ as they shared how their fathers were their first employers—and possibly their strictest ones. And the ______ of fatherhood is very important for both men: Behnken has a six-year-old son, Theodore, and Hurley has a 10-year-old son, Jack.

“My l0-year-old son thinks it's a cool spacecraft with a cool name. So I got the ______ from him and that' all that ______,” Hurley shared happily.

With the two astronauts living their ______ of heading into space as best friends, the mission will ______ end with the two of them landing safely into the cool waters of the Atlantic. After they ______ their work, they can share the ______ with their families together once they're back on Earth.