1 . William was one of my students. He adored plants but struggled with his reading. After the mid-term test, William’s ______ showed no sign of improvement. Until the last few weeks of the year, when we ______ the life cycle of plants, William excelled. I'd never seen him so ______ in the classroom.

As a class project, each child planted a sunflower seed in one of the containers and ______ its growth. I did this every year, with varying ______. Planting the seeds was exciting for many of the students, the ______ part much less so. It took too long to see results from daily watering, and most kids lost ______ and interest. As a result, they forgot to ______ their sunflowers-to-be.

But not William. Every afternoon, William made sure all the containers were ______ and nurtured (培育). By the last week of school, the ______ were about four inches tall, which really ______ me. In years past, few seeds successfully produced new shoots. And those that did had never gotten so tall. But these were ______. These were William’s sunflowers.

This is what it means to be a ______. At that moment, I knew I didn’t have to ______ William. I’d seen that special seed planted inside him. Others would too. And, one day, he’d start to ______, mature and shine —just like his sunflowers.

2 . Christmas is a time for giving and receiving. However, is it ________ for close family and friends? Do we even spare a ________ for those in need? Our children receive so much throughout the year.

As parents we want our daughters to be ________ for what they have and to think of those who don’t. That’s why my husband and I want them to ________ the spirit of giving back from a very young age.

Through their school, the girls have a charity which they ________ . Every Tuesday they take two loaves of bread to the school food bank. Twice a year they donate ________ clothes, toys and books to shelters. They also volunteer on weekends. As my husband is a regular blood donor, the girls ________ to donate as well. Unfortunately they are too ________ as the start age is 16.

Children mirror the ________ of their parents and if you often reach out to others by giving generously, they will ________ . Christmas is the perfect time to teach them to give back to those less ________ .

Teaching the gift of giving back not only promotes personal growth, it also ________ them a sense of belonging and pride. It will create ________ that they are making a difference in someone else’s life no matter how small the ________ . It teaches them love, kindness, patience and so on. These ________ will help them carry it forward in their adult life.

3 . For one Wisconsin father of three, being 45 years old hasn’t stopped him from performing 3, 000 push-ups while competing in a marathon. _________, Nate Carroll set a new world record for _________ 1.5 million plus push-ups over the course of a single year.

When Nate Carroll _________ his mission on June 14, 2020, he had two _________. First, he hoped to teach his children a lesson about the power of perseverance (坚持) by _________ an example to them. But in addition to being a _________ role model for his children, Carroll also devoted his time to _________ money for a charity.

With a full-time job, finding the time in his _________ to clock thousands of push-ups per day was one of Carroll’s biggest challenges.

“To _________ time to do 4,000 push-ups is impossible.” he told the Wisconsin State Journal. “There is a fact you need to __________. You have to weave that into your day.”

And he did push-ups whenever a (n) __________ presented itself.

In order to set a new Guinness World Record, Carroll has been __________ documenting his accomplishments both in a logbook and with video throughout his year-long __________.

“Set a goal, and try your best to __________ it,” he told Fox News. “Make it who you are, not something you do. That way, when life throws obstacles in your way and offers you __________ excuses to stop or says it’s too difficult, you find a way to persevere in spite of difficulties.”

4 . Six years ago when I was told that my father suffered from dementia(痴呆), everything changed overnight. Until then, I was loved and lived with little _______. My father became a child who needed round-the-clock _______ for everyday activities. _______, we learnt that the best way to deal with him was with patience and_______.

Our family started_______more time and activities together——Sundays were set aside for a drive, a park visit and dinner at a restaurant. Each _______ gave us the chance to connect as a family.They were special to my father and gave him great_______. It was also a time of _______—— I found myself tested in different ways and found perseverance(坚毅) that I didn’t_______ I had.

By December last year, my father’s condition became more________. Unable to deal with his illness, we were ________ to send him to a centre for dementia care.

We brought my father home in February when he got ________. The next month, the government advised us to stay home because of COVID-19. I was worried that he would miss his walks and would get________ if he had to stay home all day long, but when we explained the________to him, he understood. Perhaps it was because he knew his family would ________ with him.

5 . What was I going to do? School was going to be over soon, and one quiet little girl in my class still had not _________ an octopus (章鱼). I made them from bright-colored yarn (纱) and gave them to my _________ as awards for doing something excellent.

I had introduced the octopus award early in the school year. The first winner was a little boy. I was _________ a paper in one hand and an octopus in the other.

I said, "You did very well in this math test. To reward your much _________ , I've decided to give you the very first octopus award." He had the _________ of his classmates as the first winner of this award.

By the end of the year, only the quiet little girl had _________ to win an octopus. One Friday afternoon, I gave a _________ assignment. “Draw any picture of your choice. Write a few words to tell me about it.” I collected their papers and took them home to _________ .When I saw the little girl's drawing，I got _________ She had __________ a blue sky and green grass by a pond. On a path nearby were three people side by side. One was __________ crutches（拐杖），one was in a wheelchair，and one had no clear __________ fault.

Above her drawing she wrote: “The sky is __________ . The grass is green. And all the people are different.” I couldn't wait to get to the __________ and give the girl an octopus for her wonderful drawing. When I called her forward, I saw the __________ expression on her face.

6 . I remember my high school English teacher telling me not to apply to Cornell University. My teacher said they wouldn’t accept me and even if they did I wouldn’t be able to _________ it through the years. I almost _________ but a few days later I came across Ivan Foldfarb, a former teacher, who told me _________, “You apply. You can do it” His words made all the _________. I put in my application and was _________.

Too often we think it’s our _________ to help make someone aware of “reality”. We think we must point out how _________ the job market is as well as how bad the economy is. This world never lacks “ _________ ” and pessimists. It calls for more optimists and encouragers who say, “I believe in you. Have the _________, and you will have the power to make it happen. We may __________ lots of barriers, but we’ll get the project finished. Even if you fail, it’ll lead to something more __________” I know that every one of us loves working for and with people who __________ the best in us. We love being around people who bring us __________ and uplift us. __________ we’ll always remember the negative people, we will always treasure those who encourage us.

So share encouragement. It __________ and we all need it.

7 . In the sport of track and field, athletes compete not only with one another but against themselves to achieve a new personal best. Aiming to ______ his own record, Cerveny pushed himself hard. However, his legs cramped(抽筋)and ______   him with only 200 meters to go. Determined to ______, Cerveny rose from the ground and continued on, only to fall again after another 50 meters.

______, his coach asked Cerveny if he wanted to stop. He didn't. With great ______ Cerveny pulled himself up and with a(n)   ______ pace, moved forward for one final push. ______, it wasn't enough. 100 meters from the finish line, his legs simply ______ .

Before his coach could ______ him, another runner- Brandon-was at his side to help. His first attempt to get Cerveny up failed, but he   ______ to quit too. With a second pull, Cerveny was ______. At a measured jog, the two completed the final 100 meters of the course, with Cerveny holding Brandon for ______ Brandon even made sure Cerveny crossed the finish line first,securing his______a faster time

In today’s ______ world in which the emphasis in athletics is so often put on breaking records, it was ______ to see that for an athlete like Brandon, the value of true sportsmanship still had legs.

8 . I’ve been told I was born middle-aged. That sounds about right. I took on a lot of family _________ at an early age, which meant putting away childish things long before childhood was over. When you have sensible adult _________on your mind, it’s _________ to find time to play. A few months ago, I was listening to a sensible adult podcast (播客) about publishing. During the course of the _________, the host said to his guest, “Ever since I read your latest book, I’ve found myself looking for opportunities to play.” When I heard a sensible adult podcaster talk about taking time to play, I thought “Well, that’s just silly.” The idea of playing as an adult seemed _________ in a way I couldn’t express clearly.

However, I didn’t know why the idea stuck with me. I didn’t want it at the forefront of my mind, but it certainly stayed there in my consciousness because the desire to play still _________ my mind a few days later.

One night, it must have been 9: 00 pm. I was cutting across the local park, which would have been bustling (熙熙攘攘) with _________ if I’d been there during the day. Now they were home in bed with their parents, and it was just me in this well-loved playground.

It was the swing set that really _________ my attention. When I saw it, I suddenly remembered playing on the swings with my cousin at the park near her house. I recalled the _________ of that childhood experience.

During the day you’d probably get a lot of __________ from other sensible adults if you were waiting in line with their children. But at night, with no one else around?

I __________ a bit, but nobody would ever know. So I got on the swing and pushed off the ground, and my body remembered exactly how to get going. I pumped (上下快速摇动) my __________ to go higher, higher.

The best feelings of childhood bubbled up inside me as I flew through the air. It was fun, __________ and simple. Eventually, I came down from the swing, but I didn’t resist smiling. I couldn’t. That smile __________ itself on my face, and it wouldn’t go away.

My childhood may be over, but that doesn’t mean __________ is.

9 . I had been a shy and quiet person; whenever I had to do public speaking, I would get _________, tremble (发抖), and turn red. I spent so much time fearing the judgement of others that I _________ opportunities like school plays and performances. Then I _________ a competition called Poetry Out Loud, which is a national high school-level competition where students compete by _________ “poetry out loud”. I had terrible stage _________, but I figured it was time to face my fears.

Little did I know, I'd actually been given a mentor ( 指导老师) to help me prepare for the _________. Honestly, without him I wouldn't be the person I'm today. I remember meeting him for the first time and being so _________ that when I had to practice reciting one of the poems, I was as quiet as a mouse, eyes _________ to the floor. My mentor softly _________ me to be a little louder, look a little higher. Slowly but surely, I got better at making eye contact and __________ my voice.

On the big day, when it was my turn, I took a deep breath and began to recite. With each word, I grew more and more __________. It was such a(n) __________ feeling; it felt like I was freeing myself from the chains of fear and __________.

Since then, I've also written a ton of poetry, and some pieces have been published already! Being __________ poetry has been a(n) __________ journey that has helped me grow as both a poet and a person.

10 . On the morning of May 26^th, 2006, Dan Mazur’s team was on a planned climb up to the summit of Mount Everest. There was no winds or clouds. Conditions seemed ________for climbing to the summit.

There were two hours below the summit when they ________met a fallen climber, Lincoln Hall. He was sitting on the ________ with his jacket around his waist, wearing no hat or gloves. He was ________ and weak. He was ________ symptoms of edema (水肿), frostbite, and dehydration(脱水). He was without any of the proper equipment for ________in such conditions. Apparently, Mr Hall had ________ the previous day on his way down from the summit.

Mazur’s group quickly decided to give up their own summit ________to save Mr. Hall. They ________ him to the mountain, replaced the hat, jacket and gloves he had ________, and gave him ________ own oxygen, food and water. They ________ Hall’s team, who had given him up for dead. Mazur convinced them that Hall was ________ alive and must and could be saved.

The rescuers ________ Sherpas from Hall’s team to ascend and help with the ________. Mazur’s ________stayed four hours to care for Mr. Hall. By using their own survival ________ to support Hall, Mazur and his team risked worsening weather conditions that could have made them lose their own opportunity to ________. Clearly, these men ________ a lifetime dream and risked their own lives to ________ another climber.