1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . Britain’s toughest grandmother cheated death three times to become a champion powerlifter and is still pumping iron in her 70s. Pat Reeves has _________ two terminal cancer diagnoses and a high-speed car crash.

She _________ weightlifting in 1982 when she was 36, after receiving her first terminal diagnosis due to a brain tumor (肿瘤). She _________ a plant-based diet and began running marathons and _________. She hoped that it would _________ her slow-growing tumor. She was encouraged by her bodybuilding _________ to try powerlifting and fell in love with it, quickly breaking records and _________ titles at competitions she entered. For 10 years, she traveled the world, _________ in national and global events.

But in December, 1993, she was _________ by another terminal cancer diagnosis; this time she was told she had bone cancer. Reeves __________ to let it defeat her and continued with her healthy and __________ lifestyle in an attempt to make the tumors __________, and was declared cancer-free in mid-2016.

In September, 2018, she was involved in a high-speed __________. The accident left her with crushed lungs and led to a(n)__________ disease that occurred when lung tissue was __________. She was told she only had three months to __________ in June, 2019. But she survived again. However, she said, “It does still __________ me, but I’ve found a way to train and I still do powerlifting even with my setbacks.” She has broken around 200 __________ and can lift up to nearly 300 pounds.

We may meet many __________ in life. However, as long as we have a positive attitude, we can __________ overcome them.

4 . In 1997, Ben Lyons, a 5th grader of Oak Ridge School in Sandwich, Massachusetts, sent a message in a bottle out at sea. He did so as part of a _______ project about ocean currents. In his letter, Ben _______ some questions for whoever might _______ his bottle. Questions from Ben _______: Where did you find the bottle? What are the conditions of the bottle? “If you could, please _______ the questions and return to Ben,” the 5th grader _______ on a piece of paper. “Thank you. Ben Lyons from Oak Ridge School in Sandwich, Massachusetts.”

Over the course of decades, Ben’s _______traveled 3,300 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Now in his 30s, Ben _______ has a response to his message from a (n) _______ fisherman. Rather than replying with another ________, the fisherman chose the safer and faster ________ a letter in the mail. He ________ it to Ben according to the message, leaving the school secretaries puzzled as they searched for this ________ 5th grader. Finally, they had to open it to ________ why they weren’t going to find Ben at school anymore.

In the response, the retired fisherman ________ that he found the bottle on a beach in Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. He was walking around cleaning the ________ when he found the bottle and it was sealed so tight with wax (蜡) that he had a really ________ time opening it.

“It’s ________ that the kids can study the oceans and currents from this,” Ben said after being given the letter through the ________ of the school secretaries. “What a ________ way to connect with someone from the other side of the world!”！

5 . Tawnya Ford and Larry Sumpter are always ready to make their kids feel awkward. When their 15-year-old daughter Madelynn Sumpter broke the rules by going to a sleepover party secretly, they gave her a choice between ________ her phone for a month, or giving them access to her social media for two weeks. She chose the latter and the netizens are so ________ of it.

Madelynn Sumpter’s social media ________ by her parents began early in November with an Instagram post that ________ she had chosen to abandon her social media for two weeks. So her ________ could expect “some amazing Instagram posts, snapchats and tiktoks from her parents”. On November 11, Madelynn’s dad had already begun his ________ exploration to embarrass his teen daughter, by ________ one of his photos, saying “Felt cute. Might delete later”. But that was ________ the beginning. From posing in a tight top and ________ a blonde wig (假发), to dancing around in a pair of shorts and a tank-top (背心), it seemed like there was nothing the 43-year-old wouldn’t do to ________.

Over the course of two weeks, Madelynn Sumpter’s Instagram following ________ from around 2,700 to 12,700, at the time of this writing, so she should probably ________ her parents for their ________ punishment. The only question is “Can she ________ dad Larry’s creativity?”. She’ll have to give it a(n) ________ as many of her social media fans are already ________ her to “bring dad back”.

“We always ________ our kids!” Tawnya Ford said, adding that her husband routinely ________ their kids from school dressed as a mascot (吉祥物). From this ________, the girl finally understood her parents’ ________ are another kind of love.

6 . When I was a child, I was a devoted fan of Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous Peanuts comic strip. His creations deeply _________ with us as kids. I _________ his books and had illustrations of his _________ all over my bedroom wall. He was truly one of my _________!

I had always known that comics were _________ drawings. They’re a wonderful way of _________.Charles Schulz kept me _________ that. Somehow, he _________me through my life because no matter where I was, I could open a newspaper and find his work.

I certainly never _________ to meet him. So, when the phone rang one day, and I heard the __________ “Hi, this is Charles Schulz,” I was so __________ that I had to sit down. He called me simply to say, “I like your __________.”

About a year after that phone call, we __________, in Washington at the Reuben Awards. I was nominated (提名)and actually __________ that year for my own comic strip. Charles Schulz came up to me at the event and whispered in my ear, “I __________ for you!”

We __________ so well that he said, “If you’re ever in California, please __________ and visit.” How often do you get a (n) __________ like that from one of your heroes? When I did go to California, he invited me to stay at his home. It was a quiet place on a hillside. We went for a __________ around his property, and I had a great visit. He’s someone I’ll never ever __________.

7 . In 2008, first grade teacher Alvin Irby stopped by a barbershop (理发店) after school for a haircut. Before long, one of his students _________. “He seems impatient and _________,” Irby recalls. “I look at this _________ thinking, ‘He should be practicing his reading.’ But I don’t see a _________ there.”

That moment _________ with Irby, and five years later he _________ Barbershop Books, a nonprofit. “Many kids _________ reading with something they do in or for school,” Irby says. “If the only place a kid practices reading is during a lesson, the progress will be _________... Our program is about getting kids to say three words: ‘I’m a reader.’”

Irby’s program may seem _________, but there’s a lot of __________ behind it. He puts a colorful, kid-sized bookshelf in each barbershop, making it __________ to children. The books displayed are all __________ chosen based on recommendations for kids aged 4 to 8, his target audience. For Irby, the most important __________ of a book is that it should be fun to read.

Putting books in barbershops is not the finish line. Irby says, “Many kids __________ see adults reading.” So, Irby __________ the barbers in his program—training them to engage kids about reading. “We __________ barbers to use the reading spaces,” he says. “Then they can talk to the kids about how they like reading.”

Irby believes that __________ books with a barber can be __________ for the kids. “Our goal is not to __________ barbers into tutors (导师),” Irby says. “This is a good __________ to provide kids with role models.”

8 . I grew up around books. I remember opening my parents’ _______ book Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce and thinking: They might have never opened the _______ from the sign of the dust (灰尘), and with so many obscure words in it, why did they _______ it? In spite of this, I could sense the magic of buying it, and I carried that sense of _______ into my life.

In the past, I had hundreds of books in the house. They _______ my bookshelves, and the books got in the way sometimes. They gathered around the chair where I _______ on to watch TV. They _______ the space on my ottoman (凳子) where my feet were _______ to go. I thought I needed more _______ for my books. Since my work is to write about books, I have some forms of ________. But there’s more to it than that. That is I always had the ________ of holding a book, reading a book, and buying a book.

Though many books I ________ may haven’t been read, nothing can stop me from buying them. ________, with many books around me, there will always be an opportunity (机会) for me to pick up a book ________, and it takes me back to ________ times.

9 . 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.

10 . It’s never easy being the new kid in school, especially when you look a little bit different from everyone else. Aside from the usual ________ about not knowing anyone at Henderson High School in Tennessee, 15-year-old Sergio Peralta worried that people would pick on him for his ________. Sergio’s right hand didn’t form fully at birth.

It turned out that his fellow students were a lot more open-minded than he ________. In fact, when the school’s engineering teacher noticed Sergio’s ________, he suggested the students in his class should be able to ________ him.

The school is ________ with online modeling software and a 3D printer, so the teacher suggested a real-life application that would ________ both Sergio and the other students. Several engineering students ________ began working on a prosthetic (假肢) for their new ________.

Students ________ with Sergio to get the prosthetic right, and when it was ________, it went beyond all expectations. Sergio was now ________ to catch a baseball in his right hand for the first time in his entire life.

Beyond the practicality of having a(n) ________ prosthetic, Sergio felt something even more powerful: He ________. Rather than being laughed at for his difference, he was celebrated and helped. “They ________ my life,” said the grateful teen.