1 . During the first weeks of his retirement from the fire service, Max had felt lost. And that’s when Polly, a library manager, helped him sign up as a ________ , for Robot Club in the library.

Max hadn’t volunteered before and he didn’t know anything about ________ . He opened the packs containing the robots, nervously staring at the mess of parts. A dozen primary-age children gathered around the table, ________ eagerly. Almost double the number of adults crowded around them, watching.

Glancing around the library at the many parents and carers accompanying the robot builders, Max knew he had to face this ________ .

“Okay, team,” he started ________ , adopting the tone he’d used to brief his unit during his firefighting days. “We’re going to build these robots one step at a time.”

The children nodded, their hands busy with screws and plastic limbs. Max wandered from table to table, ________ words of encouragement, and slowly but surely, piecing together the instructions in his mind.

An hour passed, and the room was filled with the sound of chatter and clinking parts. As the final minutes of Robot Club ticked away, Max stood back and ________ the room. Robots of all shapes and sizes stood on the tables. The children were excited, ________ their creations to anyone who would look.

As they began to leave, many children stopped to thank Max. Each “thank you” and “see you next week” chipped away at the sense of ________ he had felt since retiring. He hadn’t put out a fire today, but perhaps he had lighted something far more important — a new ________ for himself.

2 . The Happy Hitchhiker (徒步者)

Several years ago, I decided to visit my best friend, who lived in Napier. _________ I was short of money, hitchhiking was the only way to go. Carrying a small bag on my back, I set off on a sunny morning, and soon I got lifts. I enjoyed the conversation with the drivers, and was _________ enough to have made some distance before it got dark.

As I walked along a tree-lined country road, I _________ where I would spend the night. It was summer and the weather was warm so I thought I could sleep under a tree. An elderly gentleman came up and asked me where I was _________. I told him that I was hoping to get to the next town, “Op-o-tiki”.

He laughed and asked if I _________ “Opotiki”. Being English, I was not familiar with the correct pronunciation and replied that I did. “It’s still a long way. You won’t get there before dark,” he said. “So come with me and we will put you up for the _________ .”

Opotiki was a further 25 km away, so I _________ him to a comfortable, warm house nearby. He introduced me to his wife who was preparing dinner. They invited me to have a nice cup of tea, and even a hearty beef casserole (砂锅).

After dinner we all _________ for a while about where I was from and how I was finding the town, and then I was shown to my room. My host was a retired sea captain, and he told me that he was used to being up early and would wake me up. I had a very comfortable night’s sleep.

The next morning I woke to a cup of tea and a nice hot breakfast. I thanked them for their care, when the lady handed me a sandwich saying that it should _________ me going until I reached Opotiki. We had a laugh and said goodbye with each other. I have never forgotten their amazing __________ .

3 . I hadn’t seen Anne in nearly 20 years since college, yet we could still party like old times. It was great to have her here, _______ our lives.

She was looking at the few blooms (花) left in my yard. I hadn’t planted much after losing my job. It had been a _______ year for me. Just when I thought I was done with the bitterness, it would all come rushing back and the _______ thing on my mind was flowers.

“One of my hobbies is taking photos of _______,” she said and steadied herself near the last rose of the season. I shrugged (耸肩), wondering why anyone would _______ taking time to look at a lowly rose.

Suddenly a hot song rang from her cell phone. “I set it to remind me to take my medicine,” she said calmly.

“An _______ for medicine?” I laughed. “Are we that old?”

“For my brain,” she smiled. “I have been diagnosed with a rare cancer, a small tumor (肿块) no bigger than your fingernail,” she laughed softly. That was Anne — ever _______. Even cancer was no more than joking about.

So _______ that I was beyond words.

Later next day, an e-mail filled with the flower photos popped up from Anne — clear and beautiful. She had gotten past the anger, the pity and unfairness, taking one moment at a time and polishing it until it _______.

I shifted my eye to outside, and I had her flowers in full bloom. Actually, I always had them, but it was Anne who got me to really ________ them.

4 . I was preparing for dinner with my husband when our daughter Rikki stormed into the sitting room and marched to the sofa. I glanced out of the window and saw our neighbor Lexi walking slowly back to her house with her head down, looking so _______.

“I don’t want to play with her,” Rikki complained, “I wish she would stop coming over here all the time. Her dress looks terrible and smells disgusting. Everyone in our class chooses to _______ her.” “That’s not her _______ , Rikki. Maybe she doesn’t have anyone to help her.” I said.

“You see, baby,” her father began to say, “I really know how she felt when you showed your _______ to her because I had the same experience when I was a kid. I was the poor kid with hand-me-down clothes, the kid who others looked down on. That _______ never goes away.” He told her he wanted her to be kind and _________ , not judgmental and hurtful. Tears were streaming down her face.

Then we _______ Lexi to come over and have dinner with us. I remembered Lexi coming in all smiles. We gathered together and soon I saw the girls talking and _______ . They had a great time. I could even see a sweet glow in Rikki’s eyes.

Rikki began to think _________ from that day on. Lexi came over a few times after that. They became good friends.

Today, Rikki has a heart of gold. She is always the first to welcome those whom others might __________ and is generous in helping others. I truly believe that day made a major difference in the person she has become today.

5 . A winter storm dropped huge amounts of snow overnight on January 16 in western Pennsylvania. Coach Brian Delallo, who worked on a local high school football team, decided to _______ his players’ weightlifting practice. He texted his players saying: “Due to the expected severe _______ Monday’s weightlifting workout has been cancelled. Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel (为……除雪) their driveway. Don’t accept any _______-that’s our Monday workout. ”

The players received the message and went out to work on the more than six inches of snow that fell overnight. They said that they removed _______from dozens of homes. Some players texted their coach afterwards to tell him how _______ it was. “We all feel great about it, ” said team captain Gavin Moul. “It’s not only helping them, but it’s helping us to become a better team. ”

Many of the people whom the team members approached couldn’t believe that the players wouldn’t accept any payment. Sometimes people even _______ their help because they wouldn’t take money for it.

Actually, it was not the first time for the team to have shoveling workout. It was started by a coach more than two decades ago. It was one of the many _______ the team kept.

“It’s about community. ” the coach said. “It is an inspiring way for us to interact with our community and show that it _______. Shoveling snow is just one of those opportunities to show appreciation to the community that supports us. ”The team got a workout and gave _______ to the community by doing these acts of kindness at the same time. It was a __________ for all.

6 . A golden fog settled over the fields. The sun prepared to rest for the evening. I looked forward to setting my _______ aside for an evening.

I wasn’t long headed home when I heard a voice behind me. “Photo, photo, photo.” A young boy about 7 or 8 years old followed closely. I breathed a tired sigh. I had no _______ to press the shutter button one more time, no matter how beautiful or eager he was, but he kept following me. As I looked at him, half _______, an idea for a composition flashed in my mind.

I kneeled in the field and instructed the boy where to stand and how to pose. As I prepared to take the photograph, his energy suddenly shifted from _______ to shyness to fear. No matter what I told him to do — how to stand, how to look — I just couldn’t get the _______. Defeated, I gave up. I looked at the boy, who looked _______ and awkward.

In an effort to _______ him, I clapped my hands, saying, “That was great. You were great.” Passers-by gathered around, cheering and clapping loudly. The boy’s face immediately broke into (a) _______. I intuitively (直觉地) took a few shots of the moment.

That photograph turned out to be better than the _______ I’d imagined because it came from a deeper place within me. When we ________ frustration (懊恼) and focus on what’s here in the moment, that is when we are moved to create from the inside out.

7 . On a bright afternoon, Jordan, Mahir and Mahir’s father gathered at the foot of a mountain. “Hey, Jordan, over here!” Jordan’s best friend, Mahir, waved his hand, pointing to a crack in the side of the mountain. “We could ________ this!”

Jordan tied his safety harness (系带) and checked his rope. He weighed one of them in his hand, determining its weight. Then he looked for ________ locations, considering the difficulty of the task. “That crack is ________ narrow. I don’t think we’d get up very high.”

“At the time of a test, a person rises or falls.” said Ghanim, Mahir’s dad. Shaking his head in ________ over the foreign proverb (谚语), Jordan examined the crack. It was nothing more than a sliver in the solid face of the cliff. He shifted in his harness as Mahir gave the proverb his own explaination: “If you’re not reaching the ________, you’re not trying hard enough.” Jordan recognized the bit of advice from a previous climbing lesson.

His own father’s voice resounded in his thoughts, as if in a half-forgotten dream. “Climb a mountain, son, and you climb the insecurity in your own life. You climb over your shadow, climb over your ________.” That was five years ago, before the automobile ________ that took his dad’s life. Jordan’s father swiftly turned his car and effectively ________ a car from going over a cliff. The sudden move had saved the people in that car. But his father’s car went off a cliff. ________ with the difficult situation, Jordan’s dad had never hesitated before making the decision.

And now Jordan wouldn’t either. ________ on his balance, he took a deep breath and began to climb. Finally, they made it to the peak of the mountain.

8 . Last September, Sarah, 44, slipped on a platform and ________ in the gap between a train and the platform edge. When the train left the station, it ran over her right arm and leg. Unfortunately, another train pulled in, causing further ________. A few minutes later, someone noticed her and called emergency services. They ________ to the scene and took Sarah to the hospital, but doctors were ________ to save her arm and leg.

________, Sarah is now the world’s first woman to use a £250.00 bionic (仿生) arm ________ by AI.

“It’s hard to explain but when I think about a ________ — say ‘open my hand’ — my muscles twitch (颤动) in a particular way. The sensors in it will ________ these twitches, and send signals to make my hand work. And if it ________ the fact that I point my finger often, it will learn that I like to do that and make it easier for me to do so,” said Sarah.

In February, Sarah returned to work and a few months later she attended a conference in Rome to give a speech about the accident.

“I do miss myself before the accident. But at the end of the day, I’m just ________ that AI can give me a piece of my life back. I know I am blessed to be able to keep moving forward with my family.”

9 . Before entering university, Wang Jiayi had never stepped onto a soccer field. Sports wasn’t really her _______ before college.

However, her perspective changed after witnessing the passion and heat of a male soccer match at university. Absorbed by the sport, Wang eagerly wanted to _______. But the _______ of a women’s soccer team at the university meant she could only join the male soccer team in a management capacity.

However, the following year, she took effort to _______ a women’s soccer team in her university. Recruiting team members proved to be _______. Wang visited the campus sports ground each morning to approach girls out exercising. She also sought out potential players from the women’s basketball and volleyball teams. Some girls joined out of _______, but their interest in soccer was limited. So she and the coach had to _______ them both before and during training sessions. To her delight, their attitudes gradually began to shift.

In June, Wang joined a local team, where she made an interesting _______: None of the team members were married. It seems that marriage and motherhood often prevent women from pursuing their personal development —not only affecting their choice of career but also _______ the realization of their own personal value.

But something did __________: before this new semester begins, incoming freshmen are already seeking her out to join the women’s soccer team.

10 . I was having breakfast at home, checking out social media on my phone. Suddenly, a picture ________ my eye. It was a 9-year-old dog, Charlie, who was regarded as the loneliest one in Britain. He had been in a rescue center for more than 500 days.

I ________ on the link of this story, and straight away, I saw Charlie’s cute but sad eyes looking at me. I was ________ and my husband Sam felt exactly the same way. The idea of taking him home appeared in our minds. It took us some time to ________ it. A few days later, we ________ an email asking us to ________ him.

On our way to the center, we had no idea of what was going to happen. We hadn’t got much information about Charlie’s ________. Since he hadn’t got along with a new ________ for a long time, we thought there might be some ________. We had been told Charlie was ________ of humans, but when he saw us, he was full of joy, wagging (摇) his tail happily and coming straight over to us. He even jumped on Sam’s lap as if they’d been best friends for many years. Later, being told that we could take him home, we were so ________.

As soon as he got to our house, he soon made himself at home. He sniffed (嗅) around and then ________ onto a chair. Charlie knows exactly what he wants, which is to be with us all the time. He’s so warm-hearted and has none of the ________ you might think of after spending a long time in a rescue center.

We get out every day on walks and we’re much closer now. He’s always so happy to see us when my husband and I come through the door. If you give dogs ________, they’ll give you a number of wonderful things in return.