4 . “Students with a good mastery of foreign languages need to accumulate (积累) knowledge in other aspects so that they can better ___________ national development, the Belt and Road Initiative, and other major initiatives to help build a community with a shared future for humanity,” said Chen Lin when he was 96 years old. With a “life is to give, not to take”   ___________, Chen devoted his whole life to the ___________ of foreign language education in China.

Born in 1922, Chen worked in foreign education for more than 70 years. In 1949, he ___________ teaching at Beijing Foreign Studies University. At the university, Chen was known for his nickname of “Three UP Professor”, since he always ___________ “standing up” and “speaking up” when teaching. Also, when class was over, he would instantly “shut up”.

Since China’s reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, Chen broke new ground (打破常规) by ___________ one of the country’s ___________ English-language TV programs, which introduced a brand-new way of language learning to China. To help students learn English more effectively, Chen advised providing ___________ English-learning material for students at different levels. In the 1980s, in most English classes, teachers did most of the ___________, while students mostly only listened. But Chen ____________ students to speak and practise more.

In 1999, Chen ____________ experts to develop English curriculum (课程) standards. ____________ that, English teaching ____________ from primary to university had not been connected. But the standards ____________ the situation, making English education work like “one package”.

In 2023, Chen Lin ____________ in Beijing at the age of 101. Chen once said that his lifelong dream was to he 100 years old and still teaching. It was a dream that came true for the senior educator.

5 . I was sitting in the doctor’s office waiting for my annual check-up. The doctor threw in a(n) ________ that took me off guard.

“So Robin, what are you going to do after high school? Why don’t you go to college to become a(n) ________ like me?” he asked while writing on the file.

Go to college to become a doctor? Who was this man kidding? I thought he was ________ for even suggesting it. My grades were ________ and I wasn’t college material. Embarrassed by his question, I ________ to the doctor, “I’m not ________ enough to be a doctor.”

The doctor immediately looked at me straight in the eyes when he said very ________, “You don’t have to be clever to be a doctor. You just have to be persistent (坚持不懈的).”

Even though I wasn’t college material, what the doctor said ________ me. Three years later, I ________ to a college close to my home and soon found myself walking the campus as a new student.

I began ________ anything that seemed frightening. I put all my energy toward passing the assignments one by one. I ________ that when I was persistent, I could ________ things I never believed possible.

I graduated with a master’s degree in September 2023, two decades after that ________ with my doctor. I ________ I could shake his hand and tell him “thank you”. Sometimes even the smallest moments in time can have a life-changing ________.

6 . I grew up in such a family: My father was Italian, and my mother was Greek. This family _______ allowed me to learn to speak both languages with _______ . Besides speaking their native tongues, my parents often _______ in French at our dinner table; therefore, I also learned a third language. In order to further explore my gift for languages, I started to _______ French at university.

There’re many benefits of _______ different languages: It raises my cultural awareness, and broadens my horizons. Being a multicultural _______ also helps me understand and _______ with people from different parts of the world.

One day, a Middle Eastern man served me when I visited a shop. To be frank, he was _______ ignorant about responding to my questions and solving my problem. I walked away from the shop feeling _______ because he kept avoiding eye contact for 20 minutes. Later, when I recounted the ________ to my friend, he reminded me of a(n) ________ cultural truth of some Middle Eastern countries that I had ________. The cultural insight is that males and females in the Middle East are taught to ________ their eyes or avoid long eye contact with each other. This practice is a sign of propriety (得体), which can be ________ as rudeness by anyone unfamiliar with the culture.

My multiculturalism ________ me to realize that something as simple as the lack of eye contact can be a potential source of misunderstanding.

7 . Temperatures remained near zero, and frost (霜) covered the ground on the morning of Saturday, October 29, but none of this _________ the group of volunteers and students who_________ from different schools planting a new microforest. Emma Fox, the community engagement _________, got the group warmed up before their shovels (铲) hit the _______. In just under three hours, the volunteers had all of the trees planted, and Fox   _________ on what they had achieved. The group planted around 100 trees in what is called a microforest.

Microforests, with trees planted together _________ , are more powerful than having the same number of trees planted across a larger area, Fox _________. This is particularly beneficial in environments for ecological, climate, and human benefits.

In support of this, these microforests are allowed to grow free, with as little human _________ as possible. This includes not mowing (割草) around the forest to _________the grasses to grow, increasing even more biodiversity. __________ the environmental benefits, microforests offer many advantages for the students. They offer additional __________ in the schoolyard, and additional __________ educational opportunities.

Fox shared that it’s the __________ of many different organizations coming together to achieve the shared aim of __________ the environment. To make a microforest a __________, they need land, trees and volunteers.

8 . For Wheeler, clearing snow is a tiring task that can take hours, or even days, considering the fact that he has to move about in his wheelchair. He suffered a lot from trying to _________ this task. What’s worse, for people on a fixed income (收入), calling a company for help is often _________.

However, things took a(n) _________ turn when Wheeler received a message saying that his package (包裹) was the next one to be _________. As usual, Wheeler prepared to _________ the deliveryman outside. He never _________ that this meeting would bring more than just a package.

As it turned out, the Amazon driver not only brought his package on time but also _________ a selfless act of kindness. After collecting his package, Wheeler _________ the wheelchair and went inside carefully. Hearing the sound of throwing snow, Wheeler was surprised to see the deliveryman _________ his snow-covered driveway.

“He didn’t give me his name. He didn’t tell me, ‘Hey, post me online so I can get the likes,’ but it was __________ from his heart,” Wheeler told News 5, __________ the sincere nature of the deliveryman’s behavior.

Despite not knowing the man’s __________, Wheeler hopes to meet him again and praise this __________ person for bringing a sense of humanity in a quickly changing world.

Later, Wheeler __________ that the driver had cleaned not only his driveway, but other people’s as well. “I want to cry with __________. It does mean a lot. See, I’m getting so emotional about it,” Wheeler said.

9 . Yesterday, I was shopping in a store, minding my own business, when I saw someone _______ a dog with a “service animal” vest. I gave it very little _______ at first. But then, in the soup aisle (过道), I saw the person and his dog again. When I walked by, the so-called “service animal” growled (咆哮) at me, showing his _______.

_______, service animals are trained not to do that kind of thing. Honestly, it _______ me, and I _______ the dog, fearful of being bitten. I thought about going to find a _______ but finally decided not to because I was afraid to be _______ with the person.

But the dog’s behavior got _______. In the milk aisle, the dog was not growling. Instead, he got his body close to the ________ and started pooping (排便) while the owner just watched. Then, his owner walked on, paying no attention to the waste left in the middle of the ________ aisle.

At this point, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and ________ it was time to actively get a worker. Soon a worker came to guide the dog and his owner out of the ________. Seeing that fearful dog and annoying person disappearing, I felt ________. There was nothing wrong with loving dogs, but dog owners should raise dogs in a ________ manner.