1 . I was once a dropout.I know how powerfully a_________can influence the life of a person who does not_________herself. I quit school at sixteen to work. Years later, I had a(n) _________ and couldn’t work for months.I felt depressed.With an unemployable father and a mentally ill mother to support, I couldn’t_________to give up.

Searching the ads, I found a notice that our local community college offered free work_________.One requirement was a high-school diploma or GED certificate. Years ago, I got my GED certificate, but with_________scores. I felt certain that I had little to_________other than a willingness to_________.After my physical injury healed, I went to meet Ruby Martin, the advisor who would_________me.

I sat__________waiting while Mrs.Martin looked over my score sheet.I was__________to hear her blame me for wasting her valuable time.She looked at me for a long moment__________ she spoke.

“Why did you apply for this__________?” she asked.“Why aren’t you applying to college?” With my face burning with__________, I could only whisper, “Because I am stupid.”

She explained how the GED scores are based on, and that my numbers were very high indeed. I would make an excellent candidate for the training program.

I regained my__________.Later, I got a bachelor’s degree and became a teacher just like her.

3 . A Letter to Mom and Her Mince (肉末)Pies

When I was a little girl, on Christmas Eve, you and I would bake cakes. “Make enough mince pies, because Santa likes them, ” you would tell me.

On Christmas morning, I’d wake up and thrill at the________ before me. At the bottom of my bed would be loads of presents. I’d scream in delight, ________ tearing the wrapping paper. Running downstairs, I would________ that Santa hadn’t just stopped in the________. There were also lots of________ around the Christmas tree.

Many years later, the________ continued. One afternoon________ we were making extra mince pies, it________ hit me that the extra wasn’t for________. I said, “Those extra mince pies were never for Santa, were they? They were________ you!” You never said a word- a smile was your only________.

Christmas changed in 1986, when you suffered a________ brain disease. After________ throughout Christmas, you passed away on December 29.

Only now am I starting to enjoy Christmas again. And while I don’t do the________ any more, I do have mince pies in the house. I leave one out just for you, as if you were________ a part of my Christmas.

5 . Paper cutting is a special form of folk art in China, with a history of nearly 1,500 years. The first paper cutting _______ the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420—589) period. The _______ and spread of paper cutting had a close relationship with Chinese _______ festivals.

In rural areas, paper cutting is _______ a handicraft for women. In the past, every native girl was _______ to master it. _______, professional paper cutting artists were usually males who earned poor incomes by working in workshops.

The main cutting _______ are simple: paper and scissors or cutting knives. It is easy to learn how to make paper cuttings but very difficult to master it with perfection. This is because making paper cuttings _______ much effort, practice, craftsmanship and imagination. Flexibility (灵敏度) is also needed, but any _______ or wiggling (摇晃) will lead to imperfection or __________ damage the whole image.

Wishes for wealth, health and longevity (长寿) are mostly __________ through paper cuttings. For example, during the Spring Festival, the character “Fu” is pasted (粘贴) upside down on the door to express people’s wish for good __________; at a wedding ceremony, a big red paper-cutting with the character “Xi” is a traditional and essential __________; upon the birthday party of a senior, the character “Shou” is often seen and will __________ delight to the whole celebration; a pattern of chubby (胖乎乎的) children hugging fish implies that every year they will be rich in __________.

6 . Devon Gallagher, a college graduate from Philadelphia,wants the world to know where she’s been during her great worldwide vacation in a special way.

The traveler, who was _______ with a bone disease, had her right leg _______ at the age of four. Although the amputation (截肢) caused difficulties for Gallagher early on, she, in her 20s now, _______ it as an inspiration for making the _______ of her life.

To spread that _______, Gallagher turns to social media,where she _______ photographs of her travels across the world, but instead of _______using a geographical tag, she draws her location across her artificial leg before taking a picture.

Now she has been taking pictures across Europe. “I get a new leg every two years and I can choose the design on it. One day I had a sudden _______ that my new leg could be used as a blackboard,” Gallagher said. “My mum and grandmother weren’t too _______ the idea, but my friends thought it was great and told me to go for it, so I did.”

Gallagher said people often stare when she’s __________ on her leg, but that once she shares the photos, she receives only praise and encouragement. “My leg __________ me from doing anything I’ve wanted to do,” she said. “I don’t know whether it is my determination to __________ to myself that I can do it, but anyhow, I’ve been able to __________ my peers and lead a pretty great life.”

Gallagher shows us that you should never let anything stand in the __________ of your dream. And if you meet with an obstacle (障碍), get __________ with it-if life gives you an artificial leg, make art.

7 . With a breathing tube in his throat, it was all Radice could do to lift his arm to signal the doctor. Never had he felt so _________. “Am I going to die tonight?” Radice wrote on a piece of paper. The words _________ Dr. Pitera like a knife. The thing was that he owed his _________ to Radice, a cardiac(心脏的)exercise _________ at St. Barnabas. It was a debt Pitera thought he’d never be able to_________. Now their roles were turned around because of Covid-19(新冠肺炎). Petera had to give Radice something to hold on to--Hope. Pitera took Radice’s weak, nearly _________ hand, “You’re not going to die on my _________.”

Nearly six years earlier, Pitera had _________ a serious heart disease. Later he began his recovery exercise at St. Barnabas, where he met Radice, an experienced exercise specialist in the department. Radice _________it was important for his patients to regain their self-confidence because it was their strength. For one hour, three days a week, he__________ took Pitera through the six different exercise machines. “Radice gave me my life back.” he said.

Radice was just impressed by Pitera’s progress and devotion. Six years later, when he found himself a __________ at St. Barnabas, he couldn’t believe he again met the man whose__________ he’d rebuilt.

“Not on my watch.” For Radice, those words were exactly what he needed to hear. __________ day by day, Radice was recovering. Radice began his own exercise program. Pitera visited as often as he could to cheer on Radice’s progress.

Nearly 20 days after he was sent to hospital, Radice completely __________. Pitera came to his room to say goodbye. “You __________ my life,” Radice told him. “You saved my life,” Pitera answered back.