1 . For as long as I can remember, music has been a special part of my life. Throughout my _________, my family constantly had music playing in our house. I _________ the music that my parents liked, from The Beatles to John Denver to the Irish music that everyone in my family loved. As I grew older, music remained something that was _________ to me. It became more and more meaningful to me as I began to _________ my own taste in music. I started finding songs that I _________ over others, and I found singers that I admired. Taylor Swift was my favorite; I loved her poetic lyrics and I looked up to her as a person. As an idealistic child who loved to daydream, I loved all of Taylor Swift’s passionate _________ about love and the beauty of life.

As I grew older, I began to develop a unique taste in music. I saw the world of music as a place to _________, a place where I could discover who I was and express myself. I loved listening to different types of music and finding my own bands that I liked. My _________ were like a collection to me; I could keep adding more to enjoy and to show to other people. Listening to music was a hobby for me. It allowed me to feel as if I was free to do _________ I wanted to do. I felt happiest when I was listening to music because it was, and _________ is, my favorite thing to do.

I felt a sense of _________ and independence when I could choose whatever I was in the mood to hear, and I loved feeling as if I could use music to _________ myself and my personality. I was a shy and _________ child, but music gave me the ability to be someone else. When I listened to music, I could be whoever I wanted to be. Whenever I felt _________ or afraid, I listened to my favorite music and immediately felt _________ alone. Music has brought me so much joy in my life that I would not trade for anything.

2 . Heat waves area fact of summer. When one hits, Manhattan turns into a concrete desert; even my dog is affected. The moment Millie_________the temperature outside our building, she makes a(n)_________and heads back home. Today is going to be a day when_________happens, which makes me satisfied.

I recalled the_________Saturday last year, which was perfect for an outing. “Come on, Mil,” I requested her, “You need exercise!” She gave me a begging look and then_________in the direction of the city park, moving slowly, on purpose. I tried to speed up but ___________

Finally we arrived. Millie settled herself for a nap (打盹) in the _________, under the bench where I was sitting checking my phone. Napping was not_________! I glanced up and scanned the surroundings for a ball I could throw.

I saw dogs were everywhere, relaxing, stretching or just sitting_________with their people. Owners read books,__________themselves, or napped, heads leaning to one side. A breeze gently blew from the Hudson River, causing trees to__________. Otherwise, all was quiet.

Millie was right. What was all the__________about, especially in such a good day? Take a__________. I switched off my phone, slipped it into my pocket and__________my eyes.

A day when nothing happened and I felt____________.

3 . At my first Lions Club meeting I found myself sitting next to the happiest person I’ve ever known, who was in his eighties. Over the next few years, I learned about his sixty-six years of perfect meeting _________.

As Ken entered his nineties, it became increasingly _________ for him to drive, so I offered to pick him up so he could continue to attend the Lions meetings. I soon _________ our weekly drives together.

When Ken was a child, his family had little money, but he was _________ to attend college. Through his hard work and perseverance, he became a dentist. Sharing his stories, Ken often challenged me to be _________. When I said, “I have to go to work,” Ken _________ me to say instead, “I get to go to work.” It was this small _________ that made me realize I had the power of _________ in my life.

I often went to Ken’s nursing home. One day I arrived but found Ken was not there. A nurse told me, “Ken has been rushed to the hospital because of a stroke.” My heart _________, and I went to the hospital without any delay. As I entered Ken’s room, I saw him sitting in a wheelchair. He glanced up slowly and __________ me. Quickly he smiled. After __________ each other, Ken waved his good arm and leg and said __________, “Look, this side works!”

Before long Ken fully __________ from his stroke, and I enjoyed the time with him even more until he passed away at ninety-seven. Lion Ken taught me much about life. He’d told me, “It’s __________ that life will throw lemons at us, but it’s up to us how we choose to __________ them.” And I just felt extremely blessed to have been a part of his life.

4 . My parents said that I started reading tomato soup labels when I was two. But my earliest________are of The Poky Little Puppy, comics I found on the bookshelf. I quickly moved on to the library. I_________Little House on the Prairie and absolutely anything by Judy Blume.

I don’t know whether I read because I was curious or I was curious because I read. Probably________I do know,________, that books were my refuge (避难所). They gave me________and comfort when life was confusing or uncertain. They were a(n)________and a shelter. Books transported me to places I never________and exposed me to ideas I had never considered. I preferred Watership Down to hide-and-seek with the neighbor________. My father worried that I was turning into a recluse (孤独者), but I was________. Maybe they made me smarter. I know they provided me with________.

So, when I had my son, it surprised no one that I filled his room with________. With a certainty I didn’t know, I read to him for hours, hoping that I would________the magic to him. It did. Now he writes________about fire engines, policemen and flying birds. He is becoming a(n)________storyteller--just like his parents. I________to him through stories in a way I didn’t envision (想象).

5 . Bang! Somewhere, someone set off fireworks. After hearing the loud noise, ten-year-old Rosie, ran back towards her ________, Steve Harper. Rosie, ________ from a rescue shelter, was easily shocked by loud sounds when she first arrived, but soon fell in love with the Harpers’ sons and ________ with Steve. But Rosie’s ________ of loud noises always continued and never ________. After the second bang on that Friday afternoon, she took off and ________ disappeared from sight with a silver ring shining around her neck.

Nowhere can Steve find Rosie. Steve had less than five minutes to begin worrying when his phone rang. “Is that black-and-white dog yours, Mr. Harper? She’s just ________ herself over. It seems that she were a criminal.” On the other end the voice came, and the caller was half ________.

Closed-circuit television showed Rosie walking into the police station, ________ around for a few seconds as if she were looking for food, and ________ seating herself in the waiting room just like a lady. A few minutes later, staff ________, gave her some water and called Steve, whose phone number was on Rosie’s ________.

Steve supposed why Rosie knew just where to ________: the waiting room chairs closely resemble those at the local vet. “Maybe she saw the chairs and thought, Oh, this is what I do. I sit and wait.”

Steve headed to fetch Rosie from the ________ and the dog was overjoyed. On their way home, Steve hugged her and stroked her curry hair. Finally they arrived home, safe and ________.

6 . Martin, Tom and Paul were brothers. They were very different, but they were consistent (一致的) about two things. They couldn't succeed in business. And they never _________ about anything. Martin was a hardworking farmer, growing organic vegetables and raising chickens. But he was _________ and forgot to pay his bills. Paul owned a textile factory that produced clothes. He was organized, but he was greedy and took too much clothing. His closet was _________ with his own products. Tom was once a sergeant in the army. He ran a martial arts school, but his attitude on discipline was too strong. He had almost no _________ .

One day, they received a _________ saying that their father had died. They were heirs to his old farm. They planned to sell it as soon as possible, so they went to see it even though there was a terrible storm. The house didn't look great, but there was a lot of land. There was so much, in fact, that they could hardly see its _________ .

_________ , the storm got worse. The sheer force of the wind almost knocked them _________ . Martin said, "Look, it's a typhoon!" Paul said, "No, it's a cyclone." Tom said, "No, it's a tornado!" They argued _________ Paul began to wail and said, "Whatever it is, it's coming __________ at us! We're doomed!" The three brothers scrambled inside the old house. Martin said, "If we survive, we must stop fighting. This farm could be great if we __________ it up. With my hard work, Paul's organization and Tom's __________, we could run a great business together!" The storm finally ended. And luckily, it didn't __________ the farm.

"Just think," Martin said, "it took the chaos of a typhoon to bring us together" Paul replied," You mean a cyclone brought us together." Tom said "Didn't I tell you both that it was a tornado?" The brothers never agreed on what kind of __________ it was, but by combining their __________ , they started a successful farm.

7 . I was moving as fast as I could, stepping cautiously from rock to rock along the uneven beach. When suddenly I saw it: a bright, square shaped stone, the color of water, _________ a shining gold chain. It was just lying there on the wet _________, and a few seconds later it was in my pocket. Yes, I like collecting things. So far, my yellow biscuit box has _________ some other awesome _________. My family calls me their “little collector”, but some _________ kids at school call me “trash girl”.

While I was _________ home, a sign on the window of a candy shop drew my attention, which _________: LOST: Gold and blue necklace. Very special. If found, call Chrissy at 555-9924. Chrissy had painted a crayon _________ of the necklace at the bottom of the _________. “It looked different from the one in my pocket,” I decided. When I was home, I lookd at it, so clean and __________. Could it be Chrissy’s “very special” necklace?

“Dad,” I shouted, “could I call Chrissy?”

Fifteen minutes later, Chrissy and I was sitting in a booth (小隔间). “It was a __________ from my mom,” she said, “before she got sick.” Chrissy __________ the blue stone in her hand. “I thought I’d never __________ it. Holding on to it __________ makes things a little brighter,” she said. “Do you know what I mean?”

I thought about the mean voice at school and how holding on the beautiful things often makes me feel __________. I nodded, “I think I do.”

8 . As an only child, Renae often felt _________. But that all changed when she turned ten. For her birthday, Renae’s grandmother _________ her with a lovely puppy named Chloe. From then on, the two were _________. Every bit of love Renae gave, the little dog returned more. “She was such a sweet dog,” Renae says. “She’d lick your face forever if you didn’t stop her.”

When Renae was 14, her father got a new job and the house needed to be free of noise. “Chloe liked barking,” Renae says. “I didn’t want to lose my dog but I didn’t have any _________ as a kid.” With no easier _________, the family sent Chloe to a humane society(动物保护协会). Though they were _________ that the dog would find a new home with people who loved her, they couldn’t know for sure. “I called the humane society to try to _________ what happened to her, but they couldn’t tell me anything. So, I never knew,” Renae says _________.

Later, Renae grew up, got married, and had a child. But her family didn’t feel quite _________. Remembering the joy that having a dog had brought her as a kid, Renae wanted her daughter to __________ the same. She had it in her mind that she would __________ a puppy. One day she saw a post on Facebook about a senior dog that needed a new home. The dog in the photograph looked like Chloe-she was even named Chloe. In an __________ it was decided: she would adopt it. “When we met, she ran up to me and started __________ my face. I was crying,” Renae says. “I just knew in my heart that it was her.” After years of thinking she’d never see her dog again, Renae is __________ to have her back. “I get so excited to come home and see her,” she says. “__________ Chloe, she’s made herself right at home,” Renae says. “And why shouldn’t she? She knows that she’ll be with me forever.”

9 . Pingtan, the biggest island off the coast of Fujian Province, is popular with tourists these days. It has also attracted many ________ seeking a pleasant place to settle down. Among them is Italian fashion ________ Filippo Strada, who has lived on the island for four years.

Born in Milan, Strada has a well-developed ________ of fashion design. It is this love of fine clothing that led him to a career in the industry. Over the past decade, he has ________ his career in China, living in various cities. ________, due to his growing business and ________ travels, Strada spent a lot of time away from home. After his daughter was born, he made up his mind to go back to his wife’s hometown of Pingtan in 2018.

Strada ________ Pingtan with his family, determined to build a happy home on the island. But he also had a dream of building a successful business there, making the most of the local ________ development. Strada had a winning idea. He would ________ his heritage to provide goods and services with an authentic Italian ________. Starting from zero, Strada now ________ a high-end tailor shop, a cafe and an Italian restaurant in Pingtan, ________ exotic (异域风情的) experiences to both locals and tourists.

As for the future, Strada plans to ________ Chinese and English salons (沙龙) in his Italian restaurant to ________ more knowledge of Western culture. “I’m very willing to do my part to make Pingtan a (n) ________ and diverse community that is popular around the world,” he said.

10 . Wuhan University graduate Yang Xiaohan embarks(启程)on a transformative journey to Xizang, exploring the essence of excellence through scientific pursuits, voluntary service, and a deep commitment to patriotism.

Before officially embarking on his journey, Yang made _______ preparations to quickly _______ work and life in Xizang. He _______ gathered information from online sources to better understand the local social conditions.

Upon arrival, Yang was _______ by severe altitude sickness. The oxygen deficiency _______ his fingernails to turn purple, and he found it difficult to sleep at night. _______, Yang dedicated himself to a daily 10-minute jogging routine to boost his _______.

On the very next day after Yang’s arrival, a local _______ of the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. “During the battle of pandemic prevention, working overtime and staying up late at night became our _______,” Yang said. “However, no one ________, putting in as much effort as possible.”

On July 1, 2022, Yang participated in the cleaning and marking of the boundary ________ at the border between Gyirong and Nepal under the ________ of the local Committee Organization Department. “This experience has given me a deeper understanding of the ________ connection between myself and this homeland,” Yang said.

“Excellence lies not only in the pursuit of perfection but also in ________ flaws(缺陷 ) and imperfections. As long as we do our best, regardless of the outcome, it is ________ compared to before.” Yang said.