1 . People always tell me I was brave to apply to medical school in my 30s. But for me, the bravest thing was to ________ from being a doctor 10 years later.

I’d always wanted to study ________ to help release the world from sufferings, but believing I was not bright enough, I left school at 15 and didn’t return to education ________ my 30s. ________ the fact that the commute (通勤) was tough and the money was ________, I kept going this time. I dreamed of becoming a doctor who made a(n) ________.

I spent five years at medical school learning ________ to fix things, but after graduation, when I worked in a hospital, I soon discovered there were many things in life I was unable to ________. It wasn’t the workload I struggled with, though. What I found really ________ was the emotional load. As a doctor, I knew I would ________ upsetting things. I knew I would watch people die and I knew I would see the most awful things. However, being always present at all these moments became a ________ for me.

I knew I needed a solution ________ it, and I finally ________ writing. Writing allowed me an escape, a door into another world, and it also helped to ________ my anxieties. Writing, something I had started as a form of treatment, now gave me success, an exit card, and a chance of self-protection. ________, I was wondering whether I was a doctor or a writer. Having thought thick and thin, I ________ my job and took the writing.

It was not a decision I made ________. I knew if I didn’t put ________ first, I would eventually disappear.

I still work on the wards (病房) now, but as a(an) ________. There are times when you need to focus on yourself. If you have walked so far down a rough road, you may find it ________ to head back because walking away is often the safest route of all.

2 . I can’t understand how unlucky I am to have a moderate hearing loss. I remember my parents dutifully took me to have regular visits to the audiology(听力学) clinic, but I _________ to wear my hearing aids and wanted to live my life without them. These visits struck _________ into my heart. As soon as I hit adulthood, I never set foot inside an audiology clinic. I liked to _________ myself: Well, I did well at school and went on to university.

However, in my late thirties, it became apparent that my hearing was _________; I found having conversations in large groups _________. I often turned up the volume on the TV, relying _________ on subtitles(字幕). My lack of ability to _________ conversations from a different room also filled my husband with _________.

When I finally went to the audiologist, he was _________ that I should have managed for so long without hearing aids as my loss was now very severe. Until I __________ wearing my hearing aids, I still considered myself __________ in the hearing world. I wish I could say that I wore my aids with __________ but I didn’t. I kept my hair down and rarely put it up; I __________ answering questions about my hearing aids.

Several days ago, I went out to dinner with several friends. The waitress noticed my aids and whispered in my friend’s ear, “Is there anything else I can do for this lady?” It felt __________ to me, who is at least an independent and hearing person with aids. While I kind of __________ her deaf awareness, she __________ me in some way. She just wanted to communicate with my friends rather than talk __________ to me.

From this experience, which made me realize the __________ that deaf people face, I think I owe a(an) __________ to the deaf community for not wearing my hearing aids confidently. I also see the need to build a more deaf-friendly society and I will do what I can to __________ this.

3 . Louis Tewanima seemed born to run. Like other Hopi people in the late 19th century, Louis ran for his mental and ________ well-being.

In 1907, Louis ________ himself riding on one of the locomotives (火车头) that had amazed him as a boy. With no ________ of the English language, he headed east to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania to learn English.

The ________ in Pennsylvania was much colder. He missed his family and his way of life. He turned to something ________, running. He’d seen the school’s track team practice, so he approached the coach, Warner, and ________ if he could run for him.

After watching Louis run, Warner ________ realized Louis had talent. Warner coached him on applying his stamina (耐力) and ________ to track and field. It wasn’t long before medals, and ________ filled Louis’s room at the Carlisle school, and he became a celebrity in distance ________ in America. Even when he ________ difficulties, Louis prevailed (战胜). He once missed his train to a ________ in Harrisburg. Instead of calling it a loss, he ran 18 miles to the event, arriving on time. He ________ to compete in the two-mile race, and he ________ first!

In 1908, Louis entered his first Olympic, and placed ninth in the marathon. Four years later, he ________ in the 1912 Summer Olympic in Stockholm, Sweden. This time, he ran the 10,000-metre race and finished in second place.

5 . Usually, waiting for the holidays is the most beautiful and expected moment, when people can meet their friends and eat together. However, not everyone can _______ such a nice life.

One day, Carmen Mendes, a beautiful lady, went for a walk and _______ with her husband during the holidays. They were at a _______ waiting for their fresh meal when she noticed a(n) _______ woman at the front door. The woman was begging (央求) the passers-by and _______ to hand their scraps (剩饭) to her. But some passers-by and customers just _______ her and passed her by while others just threw their scraps in front of her. The scene was so _______ for Carmen that she was much struck and _______ to give hers, with a smile and respect. Then, when she met the woman at the entrance and handed her _______ to her, suddenly she ________ that she did something wrong.

As Carmen said, she had worked with the homeless for many years, so she had a special ________ for them. Soon, quickly changing her ________, she asked the woman to sit and eat a fresh meal. As the homeless woman was very ________, Carmen immediately ordered fresh chicken strips with fried potato for the woman to have.

The kind gesture ________ the woman so much that she was moved to tears! Then, both of them had an emotional ________!

7 . Jacky Hunt-Broersma, 46, completed 104 marathons in 104 days, breaking the world record for most consecutive marathons. She ________ her goal in January and averaged about five hours to complete each run.

She is grateful because running has given her the ________ she was afraid she would never regain. In 2002, doctors________that she had a rare type of bone cancer. Within two weeks, they amputated (截断) her left leg to save her life. For the first couple of years, Jacky ________ with the change in her life. She was ________ to be different. She wore long trousers in public so that people would not notice her artificial ________.

Five years ago, she ________ to do some running with the help of her husband.________, she runs on a prosthetic (假体的) leg made out of strong, light ________ known as carbon fiber, which are costly for her. But her ________ is worth it. “Running has really changed my life. It has made such a(n) ________ to my mental state and shown me how ________ my body can be. It has given me a total new ________ of who I am. I fall in love with the process of pushing my body further to see what I can do,” she said.

“The best thing is the support I’ve received from people who’ve ________, telling me how this has inspired them to________ themselves in turn,” she said, “I am determined to keep going.”

8 . This is a story that happened 15 years ago, but it has always stayed with me since then.

On the way back from work every evening, there would be a ________ man, standing at the exit of the freeway. He often ________ at every car, smiling. Every time I got close to him, I would hand him some spare coins. He always said to me, “Thank you. I’m blessed!” And I always left with ________ and satisfaction (满足).

It ________ me that even in the unsettled lifestyle he was so ________. And his reply would remind me of how ________ I was a single mother with a lovely child, with a place to call home and with a job to ________ my kid.

One day, I was informed by my boss that I was ________ due to the terrible economy. A feeling of ________ surrounded me. I was in no mood to do anything. On my way home, I didn’t do ________ I had always done when I saw the man, who was still ________ others by waving with a smile. I just drove straight ahead.

To my ________, while I was in line at a red light to leave the ramp (坡道), he stopped at my car with a dollar bill, saying ________, “You look unhappy, but you know all will turn out fine. Give you a dollar today and ________!” Then he left.

That day he taught me a lesson. No matter what mate rial things are taken from you, no one can take away your ________ to be joyful.

9 . Last year, I told my family that I didn’t want or need anything for my birthday. _________, I wanted them to think of a way to share a _________ in their world for me. My husband and my daughter did something different, but _________.

The week of my birthday my husband went to a local cafe and told a waitress that he wanted to _________ pay for the breakfast of a family. The waitress was _________ and said it was her last day at work there and this had never _________. When the family finished eating, the waitress told them their _________ had been paid. The mom started crying and the dad stood up, trying to _________ who might have done it, but my husband was outside _________ the whole thing. He told me he had such a wonderful __________ in his heart that he would like to do it a few more times.

My daughter was on a __________ budget so she __________ the week smiling more at people, and letting someone go before her at the market. She just took the time during my birthday week to slow down and be __________ and kind to a stranger and her co-workers.

When we finally all got together for Mother’s Day and my birthday, everyone was in tears as each person __________ what they had done. As you can see, it was the __________ birthday ever!

10 . My brother and I were driving home together and we were deep in conversation. Because of his ________, my brother took a wrong turn, taking us towards a ________ and we had no way to turn back. ________, my brother paid the bridge fee and drove on. He was clearly frustrated by the mistake and the ________ waste of $4.

We eventually reached an exit slipway and, as we took it, my brother ________ a beat-up black car parked by the side of the road. A young guy was standing nearby ________ someone. I was busy trying to figure out which ________ we went next but my brother ________ and asked the guy if he needed any help. And he did. He had a flat tire (瘪了的轮胎) and needed a ________ to get it off. My brother gave it to him, then proceeded to help him ________ the tire. After we had finished the job he thanked us again and again, pulled out $20 and tried to give it to us. “No,” my brother said. “We never ________ to even get on that bridge. We took a ________ turn. But now we know why we did. It was to help you. Thank you for turning our mistake into a(n) ________ to serve.

What I loved most was watching my brother throughout this ________. He was able to see a chance to help even in an otherwise ________ situation, which can only come from a calm mind and an open heart.