1 . When I was 10 years old, my aunt and uncle lived far away from my parents.

Suffering from a severe disease _______ my uncle to walk with a stick. Back in the 1950s, he was _______ unable to work, so my aunt worked full-time to support the family. _______, she was responsible for her elderly mother who lived with them, too. As an innocent kid, I didn’t know that their _______ situation was not stable.

One day, my father and I went to see them, and my aunt asked me to get a _______, so she could pour me some milk. When I _______ the cupboard for a glass, I found that one of the drinking glasses on the shelf held a $10 bill. I felt so _______. At the time, $10 was a respectable _______ of money. Later, I asked my father why they kept money in a glass. It wasn’t until then that I _______ it was my father who’d __________ the money there. My father wanted to help his brother secretly, but didn’t want to make him __________ by handing him cash, which his brother surely would have __________. Dad knew the money would be discovered after our __________, thus avoiding any rejection and face-to-face __________ to keep the cash.

I learned a lot from my father about __________, pride, and how people help one another out while leaving their dignity unhurt.

2 . I have no memory of my mother feeding me when I was young. But I’ll never ______ the first time I fed her.

She was in her late 90s, a few years into what’s become a six-year ______ at a home for dementia (痴呆) care. I happened to be visiting around dinner time. I ______ her a bite-sized piece of chicken and added some potato. In years gone by we might have been playfully debating the relative benefits of ______ the food on the plate, which she liked, versus (与……相对) my ______ for eating each individual item to its full. But Mum wasn’t speaking much by this point.

That first bite was ... ______. It had been a decade and a half since I’d spoon-fed my own kids. And ______, this was my Mum. I was ______ at first. She wasn’t. We soon fell into a deeply familiar pattern, even if the ______ weren’t.

Remarkably, Mum now has a full ______ behind her. Most of her friends have passed. Visitors are_____. Her world is all but as ______ as it was when she was new. When the past is ______ and the future immaterial, maybe there really is nothing more to say. As I sat there with her the other day, ______ her hand, and letting all the noise of my world ______, I felt something new. It was ... love. Just love.

3 . I was sitting at my desk when my phone buzzed. It was a _______ from Angus Menzies, my best friend since childhood. We had planned to go canoeing (独木舟). Whenever we'd hang out, we would hold some sort of adventure, maybe to prove that we hadn't yet become old men _______ of handling difficulties.

Then came the day when Angus and I _______ at a steady pace on the massive river which had reached a record high of around 200 feet. It started smoothly but all of a sudden, we heard a deep rumbling (轰鸣声). It was the sound of the rapids. I trembled with _______ , but we _______ . The river curved ahead. We _______ over a 3-foot wave and came down with a strike as a bigger one sped towards us. We hit it high and at an angle. As the canoe tipped over, I leaped clear, hitting the cold rushing water. I _______ surfaced, trying to get my direction. The canoe, upside down, _______ across the rushing current to my right. Angus couldn't reach it and ended up behind me. The current was impossible to _______ . Later, I heard Angus's voice, "Hold on to the canoe." I grabbed it, put my cheek to the canoe's ________ belly and the current moved us steadily along.

By pure ________ , a few minutes later, a small boat came into ________ . We whistled and the boat, ________ by a father and his two sons, came over and dragged us up. The boys stared at us as we sat on the deck, soaked and ________ . As we pulled up to a shore, we saw a line of firefighters. They wrapped an emergency ________ around Angus and me. We were rescued from our crisis.

4 . Seven years after a terrible fall left me paralyzed, here I was, with my two teammates, on the way to becoming the first all-disabled team to cross Europe's largest ice cap, the Vatnajökull glacier, unsupported and unassisted.

A year before, when McCann first suggested making the 100-mile trip, I was excited by the _______ of reaching this lost world of mountains and ice, yet _______ about whether I’d struggle. But I was eager for

From our start point, we would need to _______ through storm-force winds and overcome the _______ of our injuries. This was going to be the toughest challenge of my life. Roped together, we started toward the frozen horizon, _______ two sledges (雪橇) loaded with equipment behind us. Just 10 minutes into our journey, I was already beginning to feel the _______ on my shoulders and arms. The weight of our equipment was a constant _______ as it dragged stubbornly through the snow behind us. And yet, with each drive of my poles into the snow, I pushed myself further from civilization — and _______ to the man I'd once been.

After 11 tough days, and countless ________ and slips, we approached the eastern edge of the Vatnajökull glacier. We had beaten the odds, ________ our physical limitations and emerged victorious.

That moment at the ________ affected every aspect of my life and the way I ________ my disability. No longer did I consider myself ________ , because, if I could reach the summit of a remote ice cap, I could overcome the frustrations and setbacks of day-to-day life with flexibility and ________ .

5 . Juleus Ghunta is a published children’s author and award-winning poet. But when young, he could ________ read.

He grew up with his three sisters in rural Western Jamaica, raised by their single mother. Life was tough, and proper schooling was out of the question due to ________ resources.

When Ghunta finally went to school, he couldn’t ________ on reading. Not only had he been kept home from school as a child, but he had not been ________ to books.

By sixth grade, he could spell his name, but still couldn’t make out words or read with ________. He struggled in school with a deep sense of ________ and worthlessness.

At age 12, a young teacher-in-training ________ a special reading program for ________ students. Ghunta was the first to join. That teacher, whose name he does not ________ now, became Ghunta’s unsung hero — the person who changed his life.

The teacher was incredibly kind to him. Under her guidance, Ghunta’s reading skills saw marked improvement, and his sense of inadequacy began to ________.

“She had left me with the gift of literacy,” he said. “And a deeper ________ of my talent.”

After Ghunta’s experience with the teacher, his life course ________. He graduated with academic ________ and is now the author of two children’s books, including “Rohan Bullkin and the Shadows.”

Years later, Ghunta returned to his old school and asked the principal and teachers if they knew her ________, but none did. Carrying this memory, however, he still hopes to find and thank her for seeing his ________ and being a source of light and hope in his life.

6 . On March 16th I left the offices of The Economist to head home. That was the last day when all editorial staff assembled in our London office. And, at the time of writing, no date for a return to the office is in _______

It is remarkable how quickly we have adapted. The newspaper has been written, edited and produced from couches and kitchen tables. January and February seem like an ancient era — the BC (before coronavirus) to the new AD (after _______).

The shift may _______ great workplace transformations in the 19th and 20th centuries, and it has been a much more sudden transition than occurred with factories, enabled by advanced economies that revolve around services instead of manufacturing. Back in the 1970s, when Britain adopted a three-day week (to commit a miners strike), there were power cub and TV stations had to close down early. This pandemic has not turned the lights _______

Not only that, it has made remote work seem both normal and acceptable. In the past employees who stayed home had to overcome the _______ that they were bunking off (偷懒). Now those who insist on being at the office sound self-important.

Things are _______, of course. Video calls Jack the spontaneity of a normal meeting; no off-the-cuff (即兴的) remarks to lighten the mood. Distance makes it difficult to generate camaraderie. Creativity is probably harder to foster. Experts say new ideas come from weak links in networks — i.e., people you meet occasionally. Such “ _______ collisions” have become rarer.

Yet _________ offices will not disappear, it is hard to imagine that working life will return to BC ways. For more than a century workers have stuffed themselves onto crowded trains and buses to get into the office. For the past two months they have not had to commute. _______, for their part, have maintained expensive offices in city centers because they needed to gather staff in one place. The rent is only part of the cost; there are the cleaning, lighting, printers, catering and security ________.

Another aspect of the AD era may be the disappearance of the five-day working week. Even before the pandemic many workers became used to taking phone calls or answering emails at the weekend. In the AD era, the ________ between home and working life, a useful way of relieving stress, will be even harder to sustain.

In future employees may work and take breaks when they please, with the company video call the only ________. The downside, however, is that the rhythm of life has been disrupted and new ________ are needed. Looking further out, the AD era may bring other changes. Some may decide to live in small towns where housing costs are lower, since they have no need to commute. Men will have ________ excuses to skip cleaning or child care if they are not disappearing to the office. In a sense, this is a(n) ________ to normal: until the 19th century most people worked at or close to their homes. But social historians may still regard 2020 as the start of a new age.

7 . David, my cyber friend, now 25, is still searching for something to do with his life. His father, who has ________ their lives, wants to take him into his successful business. After a lifetime of ________ and want, David’s father holds out to him a small sign of hope for a ________ future. “He seems to be sincere in his ________ to make things right with us,” David says. “To have a job, to have a father — it is ________.”

But perhaps not to David’s ________. He hasn’t said much about how she feels about the ________ re-appearance of her ex-husband. But it’s pretty clear that she’s at least ________, if not made extremely angry. David feels that he has to make a ________ between loyalty to his mother, who has been there for him all his life, and forgiveness for his father, who may ________ his hope for the future.

“I ask you for advice,” he writes to me. “I do not wish to ________ my mother, especially not after all she has done for me. But my religion teaches me to ________ all men — including my father.”

Loyalty or forgiveness — which is the greater value?

It seems to me that life’s most ________ choices are not between right and wrong. ________, those choices are pretty easy to make. But choosing between cherished virtues puts our souls on ________.

8 . If you could save someone’s life, would you? That question was ______ in the hearts of Julia Harlin’s children. Their mother was at risk of dying without a liver transplant. Julia did not want her children to become living ______ , but the kids had other ideas. Eileen Harlin and two of her siblings (兄弟姐妹) made the ______ to have testing as possible ______ without telling their mom.

After securing a good test result, Eileen phoned her mother, “Hey, don’t get ______ , but I’ve been tested to see if I’m a match. And I am, and I want to do it. How can you be mad when your daughter is going to save her mom’s life?” The news went around and was ______ tears all around.

The transplant surgery went ______ on August 16, 2022, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Unfortunately, Julia received bad news shortly after getting her new ______ of life. She was experiencing kidney ______ due to her liver disease, so even though the liver was mending, the kidneys had too much damage to ______ .

Without a second thought, Eileen ______ and another transplant was ______ on December 19, 2023, at the same facility.

Daniel G. Maluf, M. D. , the surgeon for both of Julia’s procedures, said, “The mom’s kidney function recovered ______. And both of them were home two or three days after the transplant. Julia is a wonderful patient, very ______ of her kids’ efforts. And obviously, the hero of the story is Eileen, who ______ twice to save her mother.”

9 . My name is Annijke Wade, and I am an adaptive athlete. ________, an adaptive mountain biker.

It was July 17, 2021. I was mountain biking at my favorite downhill mountain on my favorite trail. I hit a barrier and tried to ________ as much speed as I could. Unfortunately; I ________ hitting the next barrier.

I could no longer feel or move anything ________ my chest. I knew at some point I was paralyzed (瘫痪的). I stayed at the hospital for 17 days, ________ to move 75 percent of my body.

For the last few years I have enjoyed every aspect of mountain biking. I love being able to take in nature in that particular ________ So after the accident, I knew I wanted to be back on the trail and I felt the need to build my ________ around adaptive mountain biking. So three to five days after my accident, I started to ________ all of my time and energy into researching this sport.

The experience of learning how to mountain bike again has been fun and ________, and the natural, safe progression of skills has been really important. I have to remember that although visiting the same trails, I have a ________ body. Taking that step back has allowed me to feel confident in those moments of extreme uncertainty as I ________ the trails.

Each day there are going to be tons of issues. For instance, putting pants on used to be something that took less than 30 seconds, and now it can take ten minutes. Whenever I ________ in tasks that take longer than before, I just try to be present and not think about how ________ the task may be.

Every single day you have the opportunity to decide whether to accept your situation or not. Some days it’s easy. Some days it’s a(n)________. But I do think it’s a matter of choice. Coming to terms with my accident has been really ________ in allowing me to reenter mountain bike as an adaptive athlete.

10 . As a traveler with a disability, I have always avoided cruises. This expedition-style small-ship cruise changed my mind.

When our expedition leader ________ we would make a Zodiac (卓迪船) ________ at Jan Mayen, a tiny island in the Arctic Ocean, I stepped out onto my balcony aboard our ship, ________ to find clear skies and calm seas. ________, I was met with a gust of wet wind and a view of mist-covered mountains in the distance. Jan Mayen wasn’t on our itinerary (行程), and due to its ________ location and often unpredictable weather, very few people ever ________ the island. I knew the ________ weren’t ideal, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

In fact, the possibility of ________ adventures was one of the reasons I chose this small-ship cruise. So I ________ joined my shipmates in the mud room, where we put on waterproof clothes and life jackets before hopping in the Zodiacs for a bumpy ________ to a black-sand beach. Even the fierce wind and rain couldn’t ________ our excitement as we ________ our way to the beach and hiked to a viewpoint, pausing to photograph little purple flowers ________ the volcanic rocks.

Our visit there wasn’t about what we could do or see. It was an opportunity to just be—to exist in a brief ________ on a tiny, often inaccessible, volcanic rock in the Arctic. And that’s something I never thought I’d ________ in my lifetime.