2 . Gurnah, growing up in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of Tanzania, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday.

He is the first Black writer _________ the prize since Toni Morrison in 1993, and some observers saw his _________ as a long delayed corrective (矫正)after years of European and American Nobel laureates (获得者). In his 10 novels, Gurnah has often explored the _________ of exile(流放), identity and belonging. They _________“Memory of Departure” “Pilgrims Way” and “Dottie,” which all deal with the immigrant(移民)experience in Britain.

Gurnah’s first language is Swahili, but he _________ English as his literary language. He drew on the imagery and stories from the Quran, _________ from Arabic and Persian poetry, particularly “The Arabian Nights.” The news of Gumah’s Nobel _________ by fellow novelists and academics who have long argued that his _________ deserve a wider audience.

Gurnah was born in Zanzibar, which is now _________ of Tanzania, in 1948. Then, in 1964, he fled to England. __________ , poor, homesick, he began to write scraps(片段)in his diary, then __________ entries, then stories about other people. In his 20s, he started __________ fiction. Then he finished his first novel, “Memory of Departure,” about a young man who flees a failed uprising, at the same time he was writing his Ph. D. dissertation(论文). __________, he became a professor of English.

Though Gurnah hasn’t lived in Tanzania since he was a __________, his homeland always inspires him of his imagination. __________, he said “my homeland always asserts myself in my imagination, even when I deliberately try to set my stories elsewhere”.

3 . It was the most destructive wildfire in California history. It started in Paradise (天堂镇) and caused $16.5 billion in _______, destroying nearly 19,000 buildings and killing 85 in all. The beauty of this _______ named place was gone.

Grammer, working in Los Angeles, grew up there. When his friend Edwards posted pictures of his white chimney — the only part of his house to survive — he felt _______. And then he had an idea.

“I’ve got to _______ that chimney,” he says, “I’m not trying to say anything. I’m an artist. It was an opportunity for me to _______.”

Grammer spent three hours painting an image of a woman on the _______ — a reminder of the chimney, of the beauty of life, or even just of _______ itself.

Grammer posted the image on Instagram. Those who were affected by the fire, _______, could not calm down. Someone _______, “You bring beauty and hope.”

Greatly inspired, Grammer returned eight times. Outside one house, he found a photo of a girl, Eleanor. He painted a picture of her on the wall of her home left __________. It was a stamp that life was here and that life can __________ to be here. The painting has __________ meaning for the homeowner. Eleanor’s father, recalls how she used to play just feet away. Eleanor herself returned once to __________ the painting.

Ironically (讽刺的是) that first painting, on the chimney in Paradise, __________ only a few months — the bulldozer (推土机) is a cruel art critic. However, Grammer couldn’t be more delighted. It means that the __________ of Paradise is rising again.

4 . Our neighbors had a loud party last night. We weren’t _______ but this was one of those celebrations that I didn’t mind. They are a bunch of young, single guys and I would have felt out of place.

What _______ me was the way they behaved. Ono of the young men came over _______ in the day to “warn” us of the upcoming event and said it would be over at about 11 p. m. That was the first step. Even more _______ was what they did next. “Here’s my _______”, offered our neighbor _______ “Text me if it’s too noisy.” That was a level of _______ I had never experienced in all my years of being a neighbor!

And it really worked in their favor. My husband and I were so friendly that even when the event went past the _______ end time, even when the music reached high decibels(分贝), and even when we couldn’t get through to the phone number, we felt no _______. We knew they would stop and ________ to it eventually.

It takes such little effort to make people feel that they ________ and get people on your side. Everyone needs to ________ every now and then, especially in these uniquely tough times. But people who do it without disturbing others are few and far between. I hadn’t fully ________ my neighbors until this week. But now I see them in a new light and with greater ________ . They didn’t just bring the noise to the neighborhood; they showed us a good manner of ________ in life.

5 . When most of us get a text message on our cell phone from an unknown person, we usually say “sorry, wrong number!” and move on. But when Dennis Williams ______a text that clearly wasn’t intended for him, he did something _______.

On March 19, Dennis got a group text ______ him that a couple he didn’t know were at the hospital, waiting for the arrival of a baby.

“Congratulations! But I think someone was mistaken,” Dennis ______. The baby was born and update texts were coming in quickly from the overjoyed grandmother, Teresa. In her ______, she didn’t seem to realize that she was sharing the baby’s photos with a complete stranger. “Well, I don’t ______ you all but I will get there to take pictures with the baby,” replied Dennis before asking which room the new ______ were in.

Much to the family’s surprise, Dennis stuck to his ______! He turned up at the hospital ______ gifts for the new mother Lindsey and her baby boy. Lindsey’s husband was totally ______ by the unexpected visit. “I don’t think we would have randomly invited him over but we ______ it and the gifts.”

Teresa ______ a photo of the chance meeting on a social networking website ______by the touching words: “What a______ this young man was to our family! He was so ______ and kind to do this.” The post has since gained the attention of social media users all over the world, receiving more than 184,000 shares and 61,500 likes in just three days.

6 . One day, I was standing on the boat when a very large female leopard seal swam by. I put on my diving gear and got my camera. I was ___________. My mouth was dry. At first, I couldn’t even move. But I knew it was time to___________this mysterious creature.

I jumped into the freezing water. Immediately, the seal swam toward me. Then she put my entire camera—and much of my ___________— into her mouth. Although the seal was putting me at risk, I tried not to ___________ any fear. After a few seconds, she let go of my head. She ___________  me a few more times and swam away. Then she ___________ with a live penguin. She even tried to show me how to___________it. She tried to push the penguin into my camera — she thought the camera was my___________! The seal thought I was just another large animal, and she was trying to___________me, I realized.

By now, she didn’t seem very____________. She stayed by me for four days. One time, she noticed another leopard seal ____________ behind me. She made a deep, threatening sound and ____________ the other seal away.

Those four days were the most incredible experience I ever had as a wildlife ____________. I got some amazing pictures. I also learned that animals do not always behave the way we____________. My relationship with this powerful and ____________ animal will stay with me forever.

9 . Isabella’s life was totally in trouble in 2021. Her relationship with her partner ended. Several months later, her father contracted a rare form of cancer, and she was feeling increasingly ______ in her job.

To distract herself from her troubles, Isabella liked to find and take ______of bugs. Sometimes, if she found a beetle or a bee that she particularly liked, she’d ______ it on Facebook. Those posts attracted the attention of a woman named Madeline, who studies ______ at the local natural history museum. After seeing Isabella’s pictures, Madeline ______to see if she wanted a tour of the museum’s insectary.

When Isabella arrived at the museum, Madeline ______ her and handed her a lab coat. She then led her through various exhibits.“I remember she opened up this freezer, like, ‘Come check this out,’ and it was full of dead bugs. ... And I just remember how ______ I was about everything.” Isabella said.

For the first time in ages, Isabella felt herself light up. Madeline noticed her ______ and suggested Isabella volunteer at the museum for a few hours every week.

Despite her doubts, Isabella decided to ______. Every Wednesday, she’d arrive at the museum. And with each volunteer ______, she felt a little bit better.“It gave me this sense of purpose. It helped me reconnect with my love of ______ and nature that I’d always had,” Isabella said.

Soon, Isabella ______ her job and started working in science media. She now is the creator and host of a podcast called Ologies. Isabella had Madeline on the show as her first ______.

“Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t take her up on her ______. What would my life have been like? It’s not a nice thought. Who would I be? You know, Madeline, in one instant, ______ my whole life,” said Isabella.