1 . On December 26, 2004, a 10-minute-long earthquake with a 9.3 magnitude took place in the Indian Ocean. This earthquake, which is the third _______ ever recorded in history, caused powerful tsunamis (海啸) that reached many countries’ _______. About 230,000 people were _______ by the disaster. Hundreds of thousands of others were injured _______ disappeared. One of them is a little _______ named Wati.

The tsunami _______ her hometown of Aceh when she was only 3 years old. Like so many others, the huge waves separated her from her family, and she was _______ to an unknown town. After days of _______, her family eventually gave up and thought she had _______.

However, Wati had been ________ by a stranger who found her on the street after the tsunami. The stranger had tried to find her family, but Wati could not ________ the names of her parents and only knew that she had a grandfather named Ibraham.

________ later, a taxi driver who heard Wati’s story happened to know an old man with that name in a nearby town and decided to take her to him. Although the old man did not ________ her at first, he took Wati to see his ________.

“When I saw my mother, I knew it was her,” said the 15-year-old Wati. “I just knew.”

The parents recognized their daughter ________ because of the birthmark on the body.

2 . Liam Garner, 17 years old, started out on a 32,000-kilometer bike trip, from Alaska to Argentina.

In 2021, after graduating from high school, Liam was looking for a crazy _______ . He had some experience _______ long distances. His longest trip was from Los Angeles to San Francisco. He made short videos of that trip, and _______ them on the social media. Some of his _______ became quite popular.

That bike trip helped him _______ to go on a much longer trip from the point farthest north in the United States to the most southern point in South America.

At first Liam’s parents weren’t too happy about him taking such a _______ bike trip by himself. But as he carried on, his parents became his strongest _______ .

After _______ the trip for about a month, Liam set out on August 1, 2021. _______ basic life necessities and some spare parts for his bike, he didn’t have much else.

Liam ________ he took the right path. “As long as I was going south. I knew I was going in the right ________ ,” he said.

After about three months, Liam had crossed the US, going ________ along the West Coast. By early December, he had ________ Mexico. In Colombia, he had a bike accident that left him ________ and required surgery. In spite of it, he ________ going.

Liam ________ arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina on January 10, 2023 — 527 days after he started. He had ________ through 14 countries along the way.

Liam hopes his experience will ________ others to start an adventure of their own. “Everyone is ________ of amazing things,” he says. “The hardest part is getting the confidence in yourself to ________ something.”

3 . Throughout a child’s life, there are several events that are very important to them. _________, most of the events involve (涉及到) being with their friends. Missing those activities can make a child sad and _________.

In early September, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital found Megan, a 17-year-old student had a brain tumor (肿瘤). A few weeks later, Megan had an operation and needed to _________ in the hospital for several more days to _________. And that meant she would _________ her school’s homecoming dance.

However, the doctors and nurses at the hospital were not going to _________ that to happen. Instead, they got to work and created the special dance and memory for her.

“They _________ the meeting room in a New Year theme; it was all about her,” Megan’s mother, Jill Krafty said. “It was called ‘ho, ho, homecoming’ last Friday, and I think we were all just so _________ at the care they put into this whole _________.”

But what would a dance be without __________, right? The caregivers even __________ some of Megan’s friends. They came to the hospital and __________ the Megan-specific homecoming dance. With __________, the kids took photos, sang and danced together.

Megan’s mother said her daughter was deeply __________. “She loved all the decorations and we felt grateful (感激的) for the __________ and love of the doctors and nurses,” Jill said.

4 . Games and sports teach people a lot of useful skills, as well as helping them to ____ fit and healthy.

Lots of people love team sports. They enjoy being a member of a team so they have the chance to ____ the matches and events. They also enjoy sharing the ____, or failure, with others. While playing, people have to ____ each other, otherwise they can never win. At the same time, it is important to respect rules, because no game will work ____ everyone plays according to them. Team games also teach you that ____ is not the end of the world. You will always have another opportunity (机会) and you will be more successful against your competitors next time.

_____, there are many people who just don’t like team sports. They have to find other ______ to exercise. Perhaps they had a bad ____ with a kind of sport when they were younger. Maybe they feel embarrassed (尴尬的) because they think they’re not very ____ at a sport. They worry about disappointing (使失望) the rest of the team if they ____ badly. Team sports are ______ about competitions, and for some people, this is too ____. So individual (个人的) activities are more suitable for them. ____, during the COVID-19, many people exercise in their houses by following work-out (锻炼) videos posted online. Hundreds of free workouts are produced online every day, so you can have your own personal ____ without leaving your own house.

Whether team sports or individual activities, always lead positive lives!

5 . The moment I boarded the plane to China will probably haunt (萦绕心头) me for the rest of my life. I was leaving my best _________ in Germany. A feeling of anxiety rushed through me. They tried to make me _________ that we would meet again. But the truth is that I was leaving and they were staying, _________ I was missing them forever.

When I set _________ in my new class on a cold winter morning, I didn’t feel excited. Staring at me were 40 pairs of curious eyes. My face turned red at once. A lot of people talked to me on my first day, but I was _________ to look at them in the eye, I felt that _________ I made new friends I would be betraying(背叛) my old friends in a way.

Things _________ on a sunny afternoon. I was busy with my Chinese homework and had no _________ but to ask my classmates for help. I thought they wouldn’t be nice to me as I had kept my distance _________ them before. To my surprise, however, they were quite friendly. __________, I started to make friends with them, and we’ve had countless great memories since then.

I still __________ my old friends dearly, but I don’t feel that I’ve abandoned (抛弃) them. I know they’d feel happy for me. True friends are never __________, maybe in distance but not in heart.

So don’t be afraid of losing __________. Just let it go. During the process, you’ll discover that you __________ really say goodbye to it. __________, it becomes a part of you, helping and guiding you in life. Trees lose their leaves, but those leaves fall to the ground and help the trees grow. Let our lives grow as trees do.

6 . Mother is a bit stooped (驼背的) with age, but her hair is only partially gray and her face has few old age spots. Her small and thin body however, is_________than thirty years ago by a head. And nothing seems to remain of her two hands_________a few blue veins (青筋) and bones.

When I was a child, I_________mother used to wash my hair, my body and my feet with her soft hands. As her hands ran over me _________, what a feeling of _________and warmth came over me!

Once, when I was a schoolboy, my_________ wanted me to play the part of a squirrel (松鼠) in a children’s play, I_________very much about the stage costume that, according to the teacher, had to be provided by_________. Mother set my heart at ease by saying, “Don’t worry! I’ll_________one for you all right...”

So, she bought a piece of gray cotton flannel (法兰绒) and __________cutting it out and sewing. On the early morning of the third day, when I__________, I was__________ to find her still sitting at the sewing machine. She __________ showed me the stage costume for a squirrel with a lovely tail. I __________ it on. It was perfect. At that time, however, little did I know about mother having spent quite a few__________nights working hard for her son’s development.

7 . You may have noticed some changes in your grandparents. As they get old, they start   ______things. And the older they get, the _______things they will forget. For example, they may not be able to_______ where they left their glasses, or they may forget the names of their close friends. If you don’t want to ______ memories very early, put down your sandwiches. A new study published in a science magazine shows that cutting calories can ______ people’s (especially the old people’s) memory.

Calorie restriction(热量限制) let lab animals live longer. And these ______ animals seemed to be ______. But it wasn’t clear _______it was the same with people.

In the latest______ , scientists asked 50 elderly women to ______ the number of calories they consumed(吃，喝) by a third. After three months, the _______found that the women were not only _____ , but they were better than they had been at_______ words—they remembered more words than ever, which suggested that keeping calories under ______ could help keep the brain ___________ .

In a word, the less you eat, the more you will remember.

8 . If you were ninety years old, what would you plan to do? Few people want to have new challenges (挑战)____ that age. However, an old man ______ Jing Kui did something that surprised a lot of people.

As a man of 93, he met a challenge. One day,______ film director came to him and asked whether he wanted to act in his movie.“______ can I do in the movie?” asked the old man.

“You’ve been a barber (理发师). I believe you’re the ______ man for my movie The Barber.”

The old man read the script (剧本) before accepting the invitation.______ he knew the story well, he still needed to keep all the words in mind. How big the ______ was! He finally made ______ and took home a silver cup for a special acting prize. The movie also ______both national and international prizes.

Jing became a barber when he was young. He loved the job, so he practiced hard______a better one. In his eighties, he was still doing the same job. That was why he______ by the film director.

While the ______ was being made, the director had his worries because he didn’t know______ Mr. Jing could keep it going. At last, when the filming was done, the director was really pleased. Jing ______solved all his problems! Now Jing set a world record as being a 93-year-old actor star ______ had never acted before!

9 . My career as a chef started at the age of 25, but my ______ for cooking started at an early age, when I was about 5 years old — by watching my grandmother and my mom in the kitchen ______ daily meals for the family. I was also ______by going with my grandfather to markets to ______ the freshest ingredients. My grandfather taught me the art of picking and recognizing “the ______.”

From my youth, I have had this passion for food. Growing up in Morocco, I witnessed the most amazing hospitality and ______ through my grandparents. They opened their ______ to everybody, and fed and sheltered the poor, travelers, family and friends.

I remember as a young kid coming home from school to the ______ of fragrant (芳香的) fresh bread coming out of the oven. Those smells stimulated (刺激) my senses at a young age. The ______were fresh and seasonal — they were very simple dishes but delightfully ______.

Food is almost as ______ as it is necessary. Food makes people feel things. I really think that food tastes its best when there is a ______ behind it. It shapes cultures, religion, politics and health. Food brings people together, and goes straight to the ______.

In my kitchen, I try to duplicate (复制) smells and flavors that make me think about more than what I’m actually smelling or ______ — it makes me think of life, my family, and my history. I love to cook food that ______ people’s emotions and memories; my philosophy is to “keep food real and simple.”

10 . Sitting in the doctor’s office, Tony Reynolds knew he needed to make a_________. At 158 kg, he was battling type 2 diabetes and finding it more and more_________to manage his weight. His doctor told him that if he didn’t lose weight, he wouldn’t_________in 6 to 12 months.

Tony and his wife Margaret, who was 128 kg, made the life-saving_________to change their lifestyle. They were_________to be around to see their grandkids, Michelle, 12, and Susan, 9, grow up, so the Queensland couple signed up to Lite n’ Easy after finding no_________with many plans and diets.

Tony_________the recommended 1800-calorie plan and Margaret on 1500 calories. As they lost weight, they dropped to the 1500- and 1200-calorie plans.

_________, they were eating four to five times what they needed to_________ their bodies. They said, “We have two grandchildren, both with__________ needs, who will need our help and support, so losing the weight and being here for them are__________.”

Margaret, 74, and Tony also started incorporating (合并的) exercise into their daily routine, even__________table tennis. They researched workouts online and started doing 20 to 30 minutes three times a day. They did walking around their dining room and kitchen for 10 minutes doing several different movements. Now, they’re so much__________and love being able to wear size 18 dresses__________size 26!

Now, 18 months on, the couple have lost 115 kg between them-more than the combined weight of their two__________! As Tony’s weight dropped, he__________that his body was relying less and less on injected insulin (胰岛素). His doctor has been reducing his dosage (剂量) correspondingly, to a__________where he has now stopped injecting altogether. He’s also been able to stop a couple of his other__________.

When they catch with friends they haven’t seen for a while, they’re__________at how much weight they’ve lost. They both said, “We’ve dropped many, many clothing sizes, but most importantly, we’ve__________our health.”