1 . Emily loved reading. She used to be very shy. She _________ talking to others. So she turned to _________. In 2019 her dad got sick. It was very serious. Books became an even bigger comfort for _________.

Emily’s dad got better. And she came up with a plan to _________ others.

Emily started a book drive in her hometown. She _________ books. She took them to _________ being cared for in hospitals. _________, she has collected more than 10,000 books.

Emily and her father are very close. When her father learned of her plans for the book drive, he wasn’t surprised. “She was always interested in books,” he says. “_________ she always wanted to do things for the neighborhood.” Emily runs the book drive herself, but she gets some help from her _________. “We do the driving,” her dad says.

Emily still runs the book drive. The memory of meeting the children she helps sticks with her. “It was the ____________ day of my life,” she says. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

2 . Cats bring bad luck. Cats cannot be trusted. This is what I was taught when I was growing up. I ______ cats.

And then I married a woman who was brought up with cats. So it was unavoidable that she would want us to ______ one. My parents-in-law lived with Maggie, a big cat that made me quite ______. When we used to take our baby daughter to their home, I watched Maggie ______. Whenever she went near my daughter, I ran to ensure that Maggie did not ______ her. My wife always laughed and told me Maggie wouldn’t hurt our daughter.

______ from my wife to get a cat became greater after we had two more children. Under pressure, I finally gave in and ______. And then Masala came to our home. Our children loved the new “ ______”. They played with Masala and slept with her. At first, I was a bit ______. I was not sure what would happen next. But slowly I started liking that small animal.

We were happy with life. But then, something ______ happened, and my wife got lung cancer. This terrible time was also when I came to really ______ the cat. Masala provided my wife with good ______ . She stayed by my wife’s bedside around the clock. My wife fought the disease bravely but didn’t ______ at last. After my wife died, Masala also ______ me during my darkest days. Her warm welcome after I came home meant a lot to me. Masala helped me ______my prejudices (偏见) against cats. She really taught me a lesson.

3 . We have an English corner in our classroom. Every morning many of my classmates come to the corner. My teacher Miss Zhang comes here, too. At the corner, we all speak English.

The corner started last year. At first, there were only _________ students because many were _________ to speak English. After several weeks, more and more students came here. At first, some students just _________ to the other students. I was one of them. I was afraid to speak English. I thought someone would _________ me, but I wanted to speak. I always spoke English in my heart. My teacher went on saying, “Don’t be afraid. Open your mouth.” I tried and tried to open my mouth. At last, I said, “Hello!” to the teacher. The teacher was very _________. She said “Hello!” to me at once. From _________ on, I began to speak English. I work hard at English and I try my best _________ more. I learn _________ my teacher and my classmates at the corner. Now I can speak a little English. Every Sunday morning, I come to the corner _________.

It’s a good __________ to speak English. Please join us.

4 . It was a sunny weekend. I had planned to go mountain climbing in the suburbs with Daniel. However, a sudden heavy rain that morning disrupted my plan. Looking out of the window, I couldn’t help feeling a little ________ as the rain poured down.

However, Daniel ________ , “Since we can’t go mountain climbing, why don’t we go to an old ________ in the city? I heard there are many interesting shops and delicious food there.” I thought it was a good idea and _________. We braved the heavy rain and arrived at the old neighborhood. Although the sky was still ________ , the old buildings and unique atmosphere of the neighborhood attracted us.

We walked through the narrow streets and admired the ________ shops on both sides. A retro-style coffee shop caught our attention and we decided to go in and rest. In the coffee shop, we tasted the delicious coffee and talked about our daily lives. ________ , a strange figure walked into the coffee shop. He looked ________ and lost. His eyes fell on us casually and seemed to be looking for something. Out of ________ , we took the ________ to talk to him. It turned out that he was a photographer and he had just lost an important memory card which contained his works of many years. He had been searching for it in the neighborhood for a long time, but still couldn’t find it.

After hearing ________ his troubles, we decided to help him search for it. We searched around the neighborhood and asked many people, but couldn’t find the memory card. Just when we were about to give up, a little kid ________ to us with a memory card and said he had found it by the roadside. We excitedly took the memory card and after checking it was ________ , we gave it back to the photographer. The photographer looked at us gratefully with tears in his eyes. He said, “Thank you very much. This memory card means a lot to me.” We felt happy that we could help him and it added more meaning ________ this unexpected trip.

This experience made me realize that life always has unexpected surprises and twists. Sometimes, ________ your plan is not a bad thing and it may bring you a more wonderful experience.

5 . I was expecting to have a quiet day, but it turned out(结果是) to be just the opposite. It was Saturday morning _______ I was reading on the sofa when the phone rang. “Come quickly, Sam, I need your _______!” It was my best friend George, so I couldn't_______. “Where are you?” I asked. “I'm _______home, watching the house opposite. Come quickly, through the back garden.”

I_______there. George told me two men were stealing things from Simon's house. They were moving the TV and the computers onto their van(客货车).

“But George, it's clear,” I said impatiently(不耐烦地). “They _______ be moving house.”

“That's impossible! You know Simon's in our class, but he has said _______about it！” said George.

I realized he was right. So we phoned the_______. They soon arrived and took the two men _______. “You are so brave！” said one policeman. Later, Simon's parents learned what we had done and they were so ________. They took us out for dinner that night.

Sometimes, a small act can mean a lot to others.

6 . It was July 15, 2021, and my friends had helped me celebrate my 31st birthday.

Earlier in the day I had prepared for the _________ event of a flood. We are about a third of a mile from the banks of the Ahr River. It had been raining heavily that week, and the government had issued a flood _________, though not for where I was. _________, I’d placed sandbags on the floor outside my garden door just in case _________ got through. Before my friends left, they _________ me for doing that, but I thought, why take a chance?

As I drifted off to sleep, I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water, as if I were lying beside a waterfall instead of in my bedroom. When I moved my legs off the bed, I was _________ by the touch of cold water lapping against my knees and rising fast. Trembling and in darkness, I _________ my cellphone and turned on the flashlight. I saw water was shooting through the gaps of the garden door.

I admit it, I began to _________. The Ahr, usually such a __________, slow-moving river, had violently burst its banks. And now I had to get out—fast!

Any effects of the celebratory drinks I’d had earlier were now gone. I heard the garden door starting to crack under the __________ of the flood. In bare feet, I started to move to my only __________: the door that leads to the hallway. All around me things were breaking, and the cupboards were being __________.

I tried to pull the door open, but the force of the water wouldn’t __________ me. Finally, I __________ to make a gap of about a foot, just wide enough to squeeze through and make it into the __________.

If I had __________ just a few minutes later, I would have drowned. Many of the houses around us were destroyed, including, __________, a home for the disabled. Not everyone got out.

I came close to drowning that day. But rather than keep thinking about that, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterward: “Christian, don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________.”

7 . Send Your Best Wishes

Last summer, a big flood hit Henan Province hard. Some people_______or went missing in this terrible disaster. People from all_______China came to help Henan, including some people I know.

My mother told me that her hairdresser, Mr. Zhang was_______to close his shop for one month. He was going to Zhengzhou to help _______the rescue (救援)work. Mr. Li has a restaurant in my neighborhood. He was also going to Henan _______out. What they did really moved me.

But unlike them, some people did_______but complain online. They said bad things about the local government, the rescue work and many other things.

I don’t think they did the right thing during disasters, pointing fingers (指责)won’t help_______. It’ll just cause fear and worry. Saving lives is _______

I think we _______learn from Mr. Zhang and Mr. Li for the positive energy they brought. I wrote some positive things________and sent my best wishes to Henan. Helping others is the best way to help ourselves.

8 . My first job was at a fast-food restaurant called Carroll’s in my hometown. One spring day my next-door neighbor _________ me to apply for work with her there, and I agreed to have a try.

One little _________ was that I wasn’t 16 yet, so I just changed my birth date on the application from July to _________. Luckily, they didn’t ask for any ID to prove my _________, because there were few applicants for the job. Both of us were _________.

The pay was _________, only $1.60/hour with no tips. I worked at the _________ and only boys were allowed to work in the kitchen. I got a chance to make milkshakes, though, which I considered kind of fun. I also _________ the relationships with all the other workers, who were mostly easy-going teenagers.

It was great to _________ different diners. The restaurant was located on a __________ entryway into town, so all kinds of people came in. One day a man in plain clothes __________ but ordered many signature dishes. When he came to my counter to check out, I was __________ to find he was my idol.

Besides __________ about my age, I also failed to inform the manager that I was leaving in June to attend summer camp, so my first job only lasted a few __________. It has been long gone, but the __________ in the restaurant remains a sweet memory of my life.

9 . Last Sunday, our school held an ice hockey (冰球) game. I was so proud when my team ________ the game. It made me feel like I could do ________. Only three years ago, I was________ of walking or skating on the ice. To deal with this problem, I decided to ________a skating club. I really envied (嫉妒) the other club members, who were so ________and confident on the ice. But my teacher was good at teaching and before I knew it, I was able to ________. He then advised me to try ice hockey. I ________ it and was soon practising ________ my local team almost every evening. We are now training for national games________  hope to be winners one day, but my final________is to be an ice hockey teacher and help people learn to play this game.

10 . When I was in primary school, I fell in love with reading. The books _______ me to a wonderful world. The more I read, the more I wanted to know. However, my parents _______ afford so many books. I had to solve the problem myself.

There was a book shop near my home. One day I walked into _______ shop and picked up a book. I didn’t know whether _______ there without buying any books. _______ I wasn’t noticed, I just read a few pages and then put it back. Luckily, no one noticed me. After that, I went there to read every day. Several days later, while I was reading, the owner came up and asked, “You like reading?” I looked down and replied _______, “Yes.” “Don’t worry,” he said with a smile. “You may read books here _______ you help me clean the shop.” I felt quite surprised, “Really? It’s so kind of you!” I was very happy that I _______ to read there. From then on, I spent a little time cleaning the shop. After that, I quietly read there. That way, I read lots of books. I became one of _______ writers in our school. I even won some prizes in writing.

Now studying in high school, I can borrow books __________ library. My hobby of reading is kept. It will make a big difference to my life.