1 . The snow arrived earlier than predicted as I _________ grocery bags into the Chevy’s trunk and shut the hatch. Several feet of snow already covered our community, and this new _________ was, of course, another cruel _________.” It’ll probably be the disaster of this century,” I complained, thinking about the past few difficult years. I had _________ the illness and the financial loss, but something else was _________ me —the hopelessness that results from _________ goals. Usually a positive person of _________, I had always viewed life as a series of problems to _________. Though I thought I’d handled the dilemmas well, I hadn’t _________ that the real me, the one whose passion for life had __________ others, had burned out. In the past year, I had been faced with __________ choices, and I’d made critical __________. Now I was afraid to trust my judgment and my future.

When nighttime arrived, I decided to take a walk. Outside, my feet seemed to be __________ in the endless white as I walked along snowy fields toward the forest. Somewhere along my journey, I realized I’d been crying. Pausing to catch my breath, I felt a moment’s __________. I’d traveled off the recognizable path from my home. Tired and defeated, I fell and __________ against a very strong trunk, __________ my head on my drawn-up knees __________. A deer stood only a few inches away, locking her stare on mine. A few minutes passed, she stepped closer and lowered her head to __________ my pocket as if to be in search of food. I felt my pocket and offered an apple to her gently.

“Mistakes can bring positive outcomes, after all.” Excited by my new __________, I moved ahead, growing tired but pressing onward. It’s the __________ and willingness to learn from the past and then press onward that can lead to a joyful future.

2 . Chusovitina retired from her legendary career after competing at a record eighth Olympic Games. After failing to ________ a spot in Sunday’s vault final, the 46-year-old, representing Uzbekistan, waved goodbye to the small ________.

Born in Uzbek capital Tashkent in 1976, Chusovitina ________ gymnastics at age 7. She made her first Olympic ________ at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She then ________ Uzbekistan, later competed for German, but ________ back to Uzbekistan in 2013.

When Chusovitina’s 3 - year - old son was ________ with leukemia in 2002, she sold her ________ and used any prize money earned to pay for his medical ________. Her switch to German ________ was motivated by the promise of a higher income and better ________ care. After her son’s recovery, Chusovitina continued to compete, but this time it was her love of ________ that kept her going. “There is no ________. I just love gymnastics and no one ever ________ me to compete. I do so with ________,” she said.

In a sport renowned for its ________ champions, Chusovitina has become a global fan ________ thanks to her persistence. She was selected into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and was ________ the Best Athlete of the Decade (2011-2020) in a public vote. She   has ________ 11 medals at major global championships and has five eponymous (以主角/创作者命名的) gymnastics ________ to her name. She’s a legendary athlete, a great mother.

3 . A big fire took the life of the mother in this family. When I _________ the father and his child Mario were _________ staying in a garage. There were already quite a few _________ at the door. A mother and her daughter caught my _________ . The mother said to her ________ , “Look, this is the best jacket your daddy just _________ . This quilt is Mommy’s best one. We all can _________ our best to Mario’s family, so why can’t you give your best? Can we change this old bear to your most _________ one? ”

The daughter asked, “If I give away my best to Mario, will he give it back to me? ” I couldn’t help but _________ , “Of course not, once you donate something, you can’t __________ to get it back”.

Together, we __________ the garage. As the little girl’s mother __________ the quilt and clothes, the girl took Mario’s hand, whose eyes filled with tears, and __________ and carefully placed her mother’s ________ into Mario’s small one. Her face was pale. She bit her __________ as if making a big __________ , and said, “Mario, I am donating my mom to you, now you have a mom. ” After doing so, tears streamed down her cheeks, and she turned and __________ .

Her mother ran after her. The little girl, with tearful eyes, looked up at her mother and timidly said, “Mom, no, Mario’s mom, I don’t want to take you back, but I still want to give you a __________ kiss. Can you let me kiss you without telling Mario? ” Her mother __________ her tightly, and I saw that the mother’s eyes were filled with tears, her face beaming with happiness and __________ .

4 . When it comes to what shapes me into who I am today, the first things coming to mind are my experiences as a child of immigrant parents. I was _________ in New England, and my family was one of just a handful of people of color in the area.

I remember feeling _________ by trying to _________ my Indian culture and American culture of my hometown. Between speaking Hindi at home and English everywhere else, as well as some other _________ — such as the way I look, the foods I eat —that seem to _________ out like a sore thumb _________ my peers. I neither felt fully Indian nor American, leaving me _________ in a strange balancing act.

_________, there is a _________ line between having a sense of belonging to a culture and feeling isolated (孤立的). I used to hate feeling like I did not belong to a __________ culture, and sometimes I find myself still __________ what it would be like if I was just a little more Indian or American. __________, I have been able to find my communities: people who make me feel welcome and __________ to be who I truly am, and who constantly __________ me to something different from what I used to know.

Like many people __________ by unfamiliar cultures, there is bound to be a mix of belonging and __________, like a tug-of-war. The isolation is uncomfortable, like being behind a glass wall, being able to see in but unable to truly __________ what is going on.

But alongside that isolation, I usually __________ learning something new, whether that is a custom that __________ mine or values that don’t resonate with me. Although a constant feeling of belonging is comfortable, it is always important to remember that if you stay in an echo chamber (回音室) of your own ideas, there is never any __________ for growth.

5 . It was not a “whale-come” experience! A humpback whale caused quite a _________ by landing on a boat near the _________ of Plymouth, Massachusetts on Sunday.

“The 19-foot boat was _________ in the area of White Horse Beach when the whale _________ out of the water and fell on top of this guy’s boat. As his bow (船头) went down into the water, engine out, the whale _________ over the side of it, totally fine, but his boat was _________,” witness Ryder Parkhurst said. “It was _________. The guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that’s all.”

Plymouth Harbormaster Chad Hunter said no one was _________ by the whale. “This could have been much worse for all _________,” added Hunter. “People like to __________ over the side of the boat to watch the fish, so it is very __________ that nobody got hurt here. An incident like this is pretty __________ but very dangerous to boaters.”

Harbor officials had been __________ whale activities in the area since Friday after a boat __________ hit a whale. “There are a lot of whales in this area but it also draws a lot of __________, which creates problems like today,” said Hunter. “They’re beautiful __________, but, you know, they are still animals, you got to keep their __________ .” Officials have stated that with an increase of fish, more whales have been __________ to the coastline. Boaters have also been __________ that under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, they are required to stay a(n)__________ of 100 feet away from the mammals.

6 . There are countless stories of man’s best friend stepping in to ________ humans. And that’s exactly what happened between a dog named Macho and a teenage boy, Griffin.

Single mom Nicole Evans was out of town when a fire ________ inside the home. Her teenage son, Griffin, was in his room sleeping at 5: 30 am, not ________ what was happening. That’s when Macho started behaving very ________. He nipped (咬) at Griffin repeatedly, ________ to leave alone. Fortunately, Macho’s immediate ________ enabled him and Griffin to ________ from the burning house just in time.

The fire completely ________ Nicole Evans’ home. And hearing about the ________ while out of town was a nightmare for the single mom. “It was probably the worst ________ of my life to not be with my son while something’s happening to him,” Nicole explained.

________, while she lost nearly everything she owns, it’s what ________ the fire that was most important to Nicole. “All those things are just things, and they’re all ________,” she said. “It’s a(n) ________ to know both Griffin and Macho are safe, and I can’t thank Macho enough for his incredible ________.”

Meanwhile, Nicole won’t face this ________ time alone. From the moment the news of the fire spread, donations began ________. Neighbors are helping the family ________ from the great loss and a charity account is ensuring friends and strangers alike can provide ________ as well.

Our pets not only provide us with companionship and unconditional love, but can even act as our furry ________.

7 . Ronald Blythe had not expected his book to be such a success. It had been _________ not only in Britain but also in America. The _________ he wrote in 1967 — 1968 was called Akenfield. It was a collection of conversations gathered from the ordinary people in his _________, Suffolk. Among his major _________ was a shepherd (牧羊人). Although he thought now and then how good it would be to _________ something, rather than looking after the sheep of other men, he firmly believed that he _________ Suffolk.

“Change is not _________ for me,” he once told Mr Blythe. “But it is happening too _________ in the outside world. I prefer to stay in this dreamy town.”

To this view, Mr Blythe was _________. He himself had stayed in Suffolk all his life. His family had been farmers here, and __________ was in his blood. He never saw the point of moving, or __________ jobs far from his hometown, if he could make a(n) __________ in Suffolk. As a boy he would __________ the area on his bike or lie in the grass, __________ clouds. With the encouragement of the artist-and-writer __________ he met in his first librarian job in Suffolk, his desire to be a writer was __________. So he started researching and writing about the __________ folks.

Usually, he chose to be __________. He spent his last four decades by himself in a very old house near a river, where he had a(n) __________ and quiet life. From ten to one, he wrote his books. After work and lunch, he __________ or took care of his farm.

8 . Several years ago, I was driving down a busy freeway in Portland, Oregon, when my tire blew out. I pulled over and made a (n) _________ that said I needed help.

Three hours later, a car finally _________. Out came a family of three. They were Latino, and their young daughter acted as a (n) _________ between her parents’ Spanish and my English, so that we could work together to _________ the car. The father found a _________ on the side of the road, and using it to lift the car to _________ the tire. An hour later, we finished.

I thanked them and tried to give them money as a (n) _________. Though I only had a $20 bill, and I thought it was the _________ I could do. They just wouldn’t _________ it. I insisted, and __________ put the money in the mom’s hand, and walked away.

Then I heard their small daughter call out, to ask if I was __________. Indeed I was, and she came over with a sealed (密封的) paper bag. We __________ thank-yous and she went back. As they were trying to get into traffic, I __________ the bag and found a hamburger with my money under it. I immediately __________ the car, which was leaving, to get the father’s __________. He rolled down his window and just __________ his head. With a big smile, he said, “Today you, tomorrow me.” They drove away.

I know the __________ is common in Mexico, where I __________ the family was from. But its value is __________. It just shows that everyone can be in __________ in a given situation, and that everyone needs help.

9 . It was a busy morning and I had several things to do. As I was walking by the side of a busy _________, I saw an old lady in her 80s standing _________ close to the traffic. When I approached her, I _________ that she was trying to get the attention of passersby who were too busy to take _________ of her. She kept _________ to the middle of the road. When I tried to gently move her back further away from the _________of the busy road, she said that she had _________ her key in the middle of the road. I _________ and realized that no one seemed to be interested in us two. I knew I was getting _________ but decided to help.

The traffic was busy on the road. It was the __________ time of the day to cross a busy road without a traffic light. I asked the old lady to __________ at a safe distance and cautiously stepped onto the road __________ my hands.__________, the traffic on one lane stopped and then I moved further on to the middle of the road. Just then a school bus was __________ me and I boldly (大胆地)__________ in front of it to stop it. The school bus stopped so I __________ up the key right away, ran back to the old lady and __________ the key to her.

The school children who were watching my __________ from the bus let out a cheer and clapped. I felt so __________ to have helped this lady. I hope the school children watching me and cheering will do the same when their __________ comes in life.

10 . Nick Lee, also known as Magic Nick, tries to bring joy to seriously ill children and their families during a child’s time in hospital. As a magician, Lee works with the ________ Spread A Smile, which sends numerous artists, including magicians, into hospitals to entertain ________ patients who are being treated for life-threatening illnesses. The aim is to ________ lasting memories for families at the ________ of times.

Before Lee worked with the charity, two of his ________ had been in Great Ormond Street Hospital and had been ________ there by Spread A Smile magicians. ________ the joy his nephew experienced from magicians encouraged him to use his talents to ________ in the lives of others.

________ from common belief, Lee did not grow up in a family of magicians. ________, he is the first magician in his family. He got his first magic set when he was three, and at 16 he started doing shows ________ on the stage. Lee has dyslexia (阅读障碍), a condition that ________ the way a person learns. He admits that maths and English have always been a ________ for him, but he remains optimistic and admits, “Performing magic seems to be going quite well.”

Lee ________ significant insights from the children he meets in hospitals. He says seeing the children’s strength has given him ________ as well. “I might be having a bad day, but this person is ________ having a much worse day than I am and they’re still ________,” he reflects.

By means of his work with Spread A Smile, Lee has been able to bring a sense of magic and ________ to children and their families. His ________ to his career and his sympathy for others make him a ________ magician, both on and off the stage.