1 . At the age of 16, I went to Australia as an exchange student and lived with a host family. Even though I had made some preparations, the culture shock was still _________.

During the first months, which is called the “honeymoon phase” of culture shock, I was super _________ to be in a different culture and found everything _________ and exciting. But soon, things started to feel _________. Differences became more apparent and frustrating _________ populated my head: “I wish people would just be able to speak German for one day! ”

“I wish public transportation would…” These thoughts were of course highly _________. However, they’re part of the “negotiation phase”.

Over the next few months, though, feelings of adjustment and belonging gradually _________. I developed my own routine, learned to adapt to the _________, and made many new friends. I had slowly and unknowingly _________ the “adjustment phase”. I had adapted my own behavior and learned to __________ new ways of thinking and attitudes. My English had improved __________!

Things started to make sense and I __________ Australian culture better and better! That was a major __________ for me personally. Every day I felt more __________ with my new home. I adopted many new traits (特性) while also __________ earlier ones from my home country. This process is called the “mastery phase”. My happiest moment was when my dear friend one day __________ during a conversation: “Jude, you __________ just like us! You’re an Australian now!” I had transformed from a silent timid German to an almost accent-free bicultural Australian/German.

The __________ of culture shock are different for everyone and can cause different behaviors and __________. But one thing is for sure though: Culture shock cannot be avoided and __________ is the first step towards adapting to a foreign culture.

2 . Christmastime is generally thought of as joyful. But 40 years ago, it was a ______ time for my wife, Geri, and me. Both of us were about to lose our ______. I was an educator and Geri was a psychologist. To make matters ______, we had loans (贷款) on two houses-at a time when interest rates hovered (徘徊) at 16%. We wanted to ______ one of our houses, but the sale ______ at the last minute.

A place to call ______ looked extremely hopeless for us. Yet we ______ to celebrate Christmas in our new house before we faced the terrible ______ of becoming homeless. So we did something crazy: We ______ a Christmas tree.

It was an artificial tree—the ______ we could find at the local store. I ______ we spent just $11 or $12 on it. It looked ______ with nothing on it, which is only what you would expect from such an inexpensive ______. But it didn’t look half bad when it was fully ______.

Perhaps it gave us good ______. Our job situation turned around, making it ______ for us to keep our new house after all. We ______ put up the tree every year. Friends have advised us to ______ it. But our daughters, who know its ______, insist that we keep it.

Today, the tree is a reminder of our ______ beginnings in our present home-the same one where it first stood up 40 years ago.

3 . Malaysia Airlines(马航) flight MH370 disappeared from radar(雷达) screens an hour after it   _________ on March 8 . It has _________ for more than 2 years.

The plane may fall into the sea. China, Malaysia and many other countries have joined to search for the _________ on the sea. The relatives of the 227 passengers and 12 crew(机组人员) are _________ good news from them.

How did the accident   _________? It is said that the plane was attacked by the terrorists. Some think there may be something wrong with the plane, and_________think the accident may be _________ by the mistake of the crew. However, it is _________ to tell the reason because the plane hasn’t been found yet.

It may _________ some time to find the missing plane and even more time to get to get to know the truth of what happened. However, we can’t stop __________ what happened to the plane __________ it is found.

Whether the missing plane is found __________ not, the whole world should __________ more attention to the safety of people, especially at airports.

We hope these people on the plane will be __________ , and they can get together with __________ family members.

4 . As a child, I was fascinated by the world of theater and began taking classes at the age of 7. Throughout my teenage years, I actively _________ plays, television shows, and movies. _________ provided me with an opportunity to explore and _________ things that I may not have had the courage to attempt in real life. One of the most significant _________ of acting was the ability to step outside of my comfort zone and transform into someone else, _________ and bold on stage.

Despite this, in my everyday life, I was often plagued (困扰) by _________ and hesitance. Acting allowed me to explore different time periods and _________, as I donned (穿上) various costumes and immersed (投入) myself in different eras and worlds. I played a variety of _________, ranging from aliens to ringmasters, and _________ a diverse set of skills along the way.

Performing was an excellent way for me to __________ my shyness and inhibitions. I gained a newfound confidence in myself and learned to be more __________ and daring. __________, after a while, I grew tired of living inside someone else’s __________ and was ready to forge (打造) my own path. I was fortunate to have received unwavering __________ and guidance from my family, who had always __________ me of the importance of education and self-worth.

Looking back, my time as a __________ actor was a period of significant self-discovery and __________. Through acting, I gained __________ insights into myself and the world around me. I will always be __________ for the experiences and lessons I __________ during my time in the spotlight.

5 . Many years ago, I bought a house in the Garfagnana, where we still go every summer. The first time we ______ there, we heard the chug chug-chug of a motorbike ______ its way down the hill toward us. It was ______ called Mario, coming to ______ us a box containing some tomatoes and a bottle of wine. It was a very nice ______ for him to make. But when we looked at the tomatoes, we were ______ because they were so misshapen: not at all like the nice, round, ______ things you get in a supermarket. And the wine was cloudy, in a funny old bottle with no label (标签) on it. These can’t be any ______, we thought. But we were ______ his kindness, so we ______ them.

What we discovered is that it’s ______ to judge what you eat only by its ______. Those tomatoes had ______ that reminded me of the ones my uncle used to grow when I was a child. Nowadays supermarket tomatoes ______ perfect but taste of water. Nobody’s going to have a ______ memory of those. It’s a surprise they haven’t managed to grow square ones so that they can ______ them easily. Mario’s wine may have been cloudy and come out of an old bottle, but it was ______.

It’s good to eat things at the correct time, when they’re ______, and as close as possible to where they were ______. What Mario had ______ us was the taste of the Garfagnana.

6 . To become the Olympic champion in the individual (个人) all-around event, Gabby Douglas had to leave everything she _________ best. She had to _______   her bedroom in Virginia. She had to say _________ to her two dogs and to the beach, where she loved to _________ waves on her board. But it was _________ to take the leap (飞跃), however _________ it would be. Even at 14, Douglas knew that. So she _________ about 1,200 miles away from home, to _________ with a coach from China. She lived with a family she had never _________ and everything was new to her.

As it turned out, Douglas did __________ what she needed to do to become Olympic champion when she __________two Russians. The Chinese coach __________ Douglas into one of the best gymnasts in the __________, helping her skyrocket from an __________ member of the national team to the top of the sport. By __________ the Olympic all-around title, she became the first black woman to do so. She __________ the competition from beginning to end. She said she had felt __________ all along that she would win.

Not so long ago, Martha Karolyl the coordinator (联络人) of the women’s national team, did not think Douglas had what it __________ to be an Olympian. As time went by, she thought __________ that she could make the London Games — and win.

“I’m going to inspire so many people,” she said. “I’m ready to __________.” And shine she did.

7 . It was a cold, sunny December day when I set out for a run in Moab, Utah, with my dog, Taz.

About an hour into my ________ along a remote canyon (峡谷) trail, I hit a patch of black ice (透明薄冰) and then ________ 60 feet into the canyon. I wasn’t paralyzed, but I was in great ________. Taz had managed to ________ his way back to me, so there must be a way out of the canyon, but I couldn’t ________ or even crawl.

I shouted for help and was intent on ________ myself to the bottom of the canyon. Every inch was an effort. It ________ me five hours to go a quarter of a mile. ________, it got so dark that I had to stay where I was for the night, next to a puddle (水坑) of water. At night the temperature dropped below ________. Taz stayed with me, ________ some warmth.The next morning, I couldn’t move at all. I tried to stay ________. The second night in the canyon seemed even ________ and colder. The puddle turned to ice, and I had to ________ it to get water.

On the third day, I felt myself growing weaker. I was coming to terms with the fact that I might ________. In a last ________ , I called Taz over and told him to go and get help. Taz took off through the canyon and I lay there thinking about my family and friends. There was more that I wanted from life.

Taz returned, ________ . Then I heard an engine in the distance. I cried with joy. It ________ that Taz had found a search and ________ team. I was airlifted to the hospital, where doctors found I had lost almost half the ________ in my body. If the rescue team had arrived later, I wouldn’t have ________ it. I was grateful to my faithful friend -Taz.

8 . Principal Jody Sowards, is being applauded and regarded as a hero for saving the life of Jonathan Wells, an 8th grader of Huntington East Middle School.

The teenager was attending his basketball training in the school’s hall when he________collapsed (昏倒). The principal was immediately________that a student was in need of________“I turned the corer and saw a young man lying on the floor,” Sowards said. “That’s when it really________me that somebody did need me.”

After assessing the teenager’s________, looking for his pulse and checking on him if he was________, the principal leaped into________at once by performing CPR (心肺复苏术) to save the boy’s life and later________him to be taken to the ambulance before he was taken to the________hospital.

The doctors________that Jonathan’s left coronary artery (冠状动脉) had not been pumping enough blood. His mom Katesha Wells said that her son had been born with some heart problems but that had never been a(n)________for him to join in sports until now.

The teenager is________well, receiving a physical treatment. He delightfully praises his school________for saving his life that day. He________to return to school and________sports as soon as possible.

“Seeing him be able to walk and talk without any difficulties right now, I think it’s a(n)________.” Sowards said. For his quick response and________actions that had helped to save the boy, Sowards was awarded the “Superintendent’s Superhero Award”. “It’s part of what my leadership________is,” Sowards modestly explained. He also gave________to all the others who were________that day to save Jonathan.

9 . The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest wonders of the world. With a ________of more than 2, 000 years, some parts of the Great Wall have disappeared. ________, it is still a very popular place of interest.

It is the ________wall ever built. It is about 8 meters high. The top is 8 meters wide and it ________even wider at the bottom. It is made ________stone and brick. People built it by ________and it took a long time to finish.

No one knows ________when the building of the Great Wall was started. It is believed that the wall was built to ________parts of the country in the old days. It also made people live a (n) ________life.

Today, many of the visitors go to see the Great Wall. ________they stand on top of a tower and look down on this wall, they can’t help saying, “Wow, that’s fantastic!”

10 . Andre Bouvier hiked in a snowstorm to reach a trapped woman. The retired ________is being praised as a hero for________the woman and three other cars likewise.

Many have had the same________as Shannon St Onge even when looking at a yellow________of snow—that they have time to________their daily tasks. So she drove to work and she had________left when the snow began to fall. She________a dirt road to provide better________for her tires, so she quickly became lost. She stopped and called 911, with the operator suggesting she________the snowstorm. The operator took her________and told her an officer would call back. Almost 14 hours had passed, and nobody had called her yet to check in.

“What if I fell asleep and the tailpipe was________? Would the gas tank last until morning? What if I didn’t________it home at all?” St Onge wondered. Determined to ensure the________end, she went out in the snowstorm and discovered her location on a road sign. Then she was________enough to find a neighborhood Facebook group for the area she was passing through—informing those it________of her trouble through a Google Maps pin.

That’s when Andre Bouvier, an 80-year-old retired teacher, learned about St Onge’s situation.________his own safety, the 80-year-old went out to find her on foot,________he couldn’t manage to start his tractor. On the way he found three other trapped________, totaling seven people. Walking a quarter mile________, he led the helpless cars one by one to his home. He remarked that everyone would have done the same, and that it took very few thoughts or________to help.