1 . In the ancient alleys of Cairo, Egypt, lives a centenarian (百岁老人) whose stories are as rich as the sands of time. At 110 years old, Fatima is an energetic ________ of the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) organisation. The ________ is one of many supported by CARE International, an organization that ________ poverty and advocates for human rights.

Fatima’s group, like others, is made up ________ of women who save money together, ________ a safe financial support. They use the ________ to start businesses, negotiate fair prices, and advocate for equality. Their ________ have accumulated 100,000 Egyptian pounds, ________ loans to women in need and contributed to economic stability.

Fatima, who often appears much ________ than her age, is a mother of seven and a pioneer in her hometown of Makal, Sudan. Her team affectionately calls her “Umena”, which ________ “mother”, a title that lives up to her child-rearing role and age. Despite her ________, Fatima’s spirit remains unbreakable.

“All my friends are long ________,” she says, “but this group of women became my new family, my ________ of joy and strength.”

Fatima’s story is a testament (证明) to the ________ of perseverance, the importance of community, and the lasting impact one person can have on the lives of others. Her contributions to her community ________ an inspiration to people around the world.

2 . Ken Wilcox started working for a new company in Washington DC. While the company _______ well, his boss was what Wilcox describes as a “tyrant (暴君) ”. Besides, Wilcox's closest friend was _______ .

One morning in mid-January after a business meeting, Wilcox was _______ down a busy street. It was bitterly cold, and all the holiday cheer of the New Year had _______ from the city. He'd just received two _______ phone calls: one from his angry _______ and the other from his sick friend.

So he was just really feeling _______. And he just didn't understand what the _______ of life was. He even had a very negative idea for life.

As he _______ his idea, Wilcox made eye contact with a woman walking toward him.

“She quite ________ looked at me and sought out my eyes. And when we locked ________, she just gave me a beautiful smile,” said Wilcox. “She didn't say anything to me. She just smiled at me. And that ________ was enough to keep me moving forward.”

Soon after that ________ with the lady, Wilcox quit his job. He's now doing a job he loves.

“I have to be surprised that it all ________ on a cold January day. There was the wonderful woman on the street who decided to smile at me. She is my unsung ________.”

3 . I first picked up a racquet（球拍) and ball when I was four. Jim Joyce, my first tennis coach, was teaching me to play and think _______.

One day, I started making _______ when I hit. He asked me if I was sick, and I said no. “I heard it would give me more power,” I _______ shyly. “Asho, that’s absolutely _______,” he replied. “You’re not doing any better with it. You’ re concentrating on grunting (发出哼声) instead of _______. If you grunt again, I’m walking off this court.”

Jim also found ways to get me into trouble. I played my first competition when I was six. I’d been _______ for almost two years, and I was certain I was going to win. But Jim made me _______. There aren’t many lessons to be learned from an easy win. He intentionally found an _______ girl to play me clean off the court.

This philosophy extended to everything I did. I remember climbing out of my age group _______ when I was 11 against a 14- year- old girl. Jim went to her and told her how to beat me. “Play to her low forehand,” “Hit a short slice.” He ________ I would pay more attention to my ________ if they led to losses. I won anyway. From then on, I began winning quickly.

But there was one girl, Lyann Hoang. I was forever ________ her, endlessly losing to her. Jim loved seeing me ________ this way — until I cried. “Keep going,” he said. “One day you’ll catch her.” Finally, I did. And I ________ him with a surprised and yet satisfied look. Jim was as cool as ever. “Yeah, Asho, but it’s just one match. Let’s practise again tomorrow.” These valuable ________ continuously influence me whether I win or lose.

4 . Hackett was on the way from a Colorado mountain last May when he heard a faint bark. After _______, Hackett found the source: a black-and-white Shetland sheepdog behind fallen pine trees. The dog was too weak to move and looked _______.

Five weeks earlier, Krugman had let his dog Riley out for a walk. When it didn’t _______ after supper, Krugman became concerned and _______.

“I thought, Maybe Riley has _______ looking for Pam,” says Krugman. His wife, Pam, had died of a heart condition months earlier. “When Pam _______, Riley hid behind the bed for several days,” Krugman says. “You could tell Riley really _______ Pam.”

The next morning, Krugman looked for the Riley’s _______ in the snow and asked a local animal shelter to help _______.

Spotting Riley, Hackett ________ it in his coat and carried him like a baby. When he reached his apartment, he ran a ________ bath for cold Riley and turned on a heater. Hackett ________ Riley through the night, and then drove him to a nearby shelter in the morning.

Krugman picked up Riley in the shelter and drove him straight to an animal ________. Three days later, Hackett ________ Krugman to see how Riley was doing. “I’m just so ________ for what he did and for the efforts of all the people who searched for Riley,” Krugman says.

5 . The fast-paced modern life in the city can be too much for an introvert (内向的人) like myself. And I sometimes really need some time to ______ my shell. Fortunately, I had the perfect ______ to learn and love gardening.

Well, after my A-levels, I stayed at my uncle’s house. At that time the gardening ______ me a lot, because my uncle does gardening with ______ and he has a beautiful garden. When I was there every day, I ______ the beauty of his garden and the interest he showed in ______ it. After seeing that, I was ______ to start gardening in my home and started doing it. Therefore, I started my ______ Garden in my balconies (阳台) with only pots of different coloured roses. As I grew up, my interest in gardening also ______ to grow. It gives me the biggest ______ .

Whenever I go to my uncle’s home, I collect more plant saplings (幼苗) for my Garden. So now my garden is full of colorful flowers and ______ , I went deeper into debt each day buying seeds, plants, flowers, soil, and pots. I preferred to spend my free time in my garden, without getting ______ . It makes me come alive and I just love that ______ .

I enjoy watering my Garden. It gives me enough physical exercise and sends me back to my work with ______ passion. The everyday sun shines bright on the plants and beautiful butterflies fly above the flowers. I smile with ______ when I cast my flourishing garden.

6 . Charlotte Liebling volunteered in a store which sold secondhand goods. She watched people bringing in items to donate, some of these _______ toys.

Liebling could _______ that the toys held emotional value. So she felt _______ when they were sold cheaply, put in the dog-toy section, or even thrown away. After doing some _______, Liebling learned that millions of stuffed toys _______ landfills(垃圾场) worldwide every year.

“The universal _______ is that secondhand stuffed toys lose their value although they’ve been loved once.” She recalls thinking, “If we can change this, we can show people the toys have so much left in them, and _______them to others.” That’s how the Loved Before toy-adoption agency_______.

People can donate toys through the mail or take them to a _______ point. The original owner writes down the name of the toy and a story about it, which helps ________ buyers understand its value. Next, the toy is cleaned, ________ and packaged. Every Monday, the photos of the ________ are posted on the Loved Before website. The agency makes a charitable donation of half of the profit from each ________.

So far, the Loved Before toy-adoption agency has sold more than 50,000 stuffed toys. But the agency’s goal is more than just trying to________some toys from landfills. It hopes to teach kids about the value of ________secondhand things again, in the hope that the act will go far beyond the idea of teddy bears.

8 . Lying in my hospital bed, I was flicking through (快速转换) the channels when I suddenly paused. Muscular women were competing in a body sculpting competition on the _______ . “Wow, they are _______ ,” I thought in amazement.

It was 2004, and I’d been hospitalized with asthma, which gave me the desire to _______ a more healthy lifestyle. I didn’t know how to exercise correctly and found it hard to _______ healthy diets. But now at 49, it was time for a _______ . Therefore, the day after I left the hospital, I joined the gym with one _______ : to look like the women I’d seen on TV.

The first sessions were so _______ that I could barely walk back down the stairs afterwards. But I kept _______ for several hours, four days a week, slowly building my strength. After six months of training, I _______ my first competition—Masters Over Forty. Standing on the stage, my heart nearly leapt from my chest when they ________ I was the winner.

Over the next 14 years, I ________ 35 titles in body sculpting competitions worldwide. During this time, I decided to use my experience to help other women over 40 achieve their ________ goals. I became a personal trainer and wrote a book to help people eat ________ food during their training. With the right diet, everyone can stay healthy and strong longer.

I know many older women have never been in the ________ or picked up a weight. But it’s never too ________ to make changes.

9 . Life is a series of unexpected and unforeseen events. Some of them bring about welcome and pleasant consequences, while sometimes they do not _________ any joy. In fact, they can be destructive and unfortunate.

But during these trials and hardships, the love and kindness of others can make a world of _________. It can even save a life, as was the case for a paralyzed (瘫痪的) man in a wheelchair from Dallas, Texas.

Dennis Brown, who is _________ to a wheelchair, was in a rental car when the vehicle burst into _________ suddenly. When he looked up, he _________ the fire extending several feet from the front of the car, _________ him immediately and sending smoke high into the sky above.

_________, a complete stranger put her life at risk to rescue Dennis, who didn’t _________ to take action. The woman _________ Dennis out of the burning car, shifting him to __________. But before Dennis was able to show his __________, she had left quietly. Dennis said that he was eager to have the opportunity to say thanks to his rescuer.

But Dennis is not the only person grateful to the __________ woman. Dennis’ mother, Julia Brown, will forever ________ appreciation to the woman for her __________ deed. “I cannot thank her enough,” Julia said. “Because if she hadn’t __________ the assistance in time, I would have lost him. She was a hero!”

10 . Henry Bond was about ten years old when his father died, thus left the family entirely in his mother’s care. His mother found it _______to provide for the support of a large family. However, by good _________, she made great efforts to do organize things well, and also to send Henry, the oldest, to school, and to supply him, for the most part, with such _________ as he needed.

At one time, however, Henry wanted a _________, in order to join a class in that study, and his mother could not _________ him with the money to buy it. He was very much _________ about it, and went to bed with a _________ heart, thinking what could be done.

On waking in the morning, he found that a _________ snow had fallen, and the cold wind was blowing _________. “Ah,” said he, “it is an ill wind that blows nobody good.”

He rose, ran to the house of a neighbor, and offered his __________ to clear a path around his blocks. The offer was accepted. Having completed this work, and received his __________, he went to another place for the same __________, and then to another, until he had earned enough to buy a grammar.

When school __________, Henry was in his seat, the happiest boy there, ready to begin the lesson in his new book.

From that time, Henry, was always the first in all his classes. He knew no such word as fail, but always succeeded in all he __________. Having the __________, he always found the way.