1 . It was 1:20 a.m. I had just gone to bed, a bit _________ after celebrating my 31st birthday. Before dinner, I’d placed _________ outside my garden door and prepared the cell phone just _________. After all, it had been _________ that week, resulting in flood warnings.

I was awakened by the _________ of rushing water. When I swung my legs off the bed, I was shocked to feel cold water already up to my knees and _________ fast.

Shaking in darkness, I _________ my phone and turned on its flashlight. Then by the light I could _________ water was from the garden door. It must have breached (在……上打开缺口) the sandbags. The river, usually such a quiet, slow moving river in my region, had _________ burst its banks. And now I had to __________!

I took __________ action. Any effects of the alcohol before sleep were gone; __________ sobers (使清醒) me up. After I went outside, I learned the river had flooded the neighbourhood. Therefore, if I had woken up just a few minutes later, I would have drowned.

In the end, I think the experience made me __________ and determined to live each day to its fullest. I came very close to drowning that day. But rather than dwell on (沉湎于) what happened, I prefer to __________ what my mother told me afterwards, “Don’t remember the day when you lost everything. Remember the day you __________. That day marked the beginning of a new chapter in your life.”

5 . I checked my equipment one final time. It was my first ______to climb the highest volcano in the world, Ojos del Salado, in South America.

I’d ______ to climb with a local guide. I left camp just after midnight. “You go first and I’ll be behind you,” he said. As the hours passed and the terrain (地形) became more dangerous, I wondered if I’d made a huge ______ . Looking into the_______ behind me, I listened out for the sound of my guide’s steps but I was all_______ . Finding my way by ______, I knew the icy conditions were merciless. Breathing heavily, I realised I’d run out of ______ soon.

Back home, 11,000 km away in Melbourne, my dad was following my ______with my GPS tracker. ______ , now alone on the side of a volcano, all I could do was to ______ my energy as I climbed higher and higher.

Reaching the top was the ultimate goal, but really it was only half the ______ . As my breathing became more laboured, ______ set in. Had I gone too far this time? I knew all too well how frightening it was to be ______ , for I’d suffered from chronic asthma (慢性哮喘) as a child.

Pushing on, I ______ made it to the top, where I ______ the breathtaking views. But I only spent a few minutes taking photos before I went down the mountain. I was ______ to see my guide on the way down and it turned out that he had______ a climber in danger and had to ______ our exploration to save him.

Through blood, ______ and frozen tears, the last 10 years had taken me all over the globe. And with every high and painful low, I learnt more about myself. I’d pushed my ______ , both in body and mind.

7 . Senior high school began with meeting new friends, which was the most exciting part of that period. However, I noticed the _________ from junior high school right away since students around me were trying their best to get good _________.

It was surprising for me to _________ that my friends were no longer willing to meet very often after school. This made me _________ that perhaps I failed to know the true _________ of the three years of high school. I should state that it became especially _________after I talked to my best friend. He told me that he was really _________ because I seemed to have no plan when it came to _________ for college. To be completely honest, he was right.

_________ for me, my best friend was wise and able to explain his point of __________to me. Also, he offered to spend time studying with me and getting me ready for the test to make sure I did not __________anything meaningful from the textbook. This was surprising for me since I was __________ that activities like reading textbooks could not be enjoyable. I was wrong, and this __________ taught me that having fun in high school does not just mean going to parties or spending time in cafés. Instead, you can have a( n) __________experience that will also be worthwhile for your future.

I am glad that I was able to learn from this situation. Now, I am studying harder to __________ more knowledge and try to understand which subjects I am most interested in to find out what I want to study in the future.

8 . A boy was walking home from school when he saw a large, tempting (诱人的) apple on one of the branches of an apple tree hanging out over a tall fence. The boy wasn’t much of a fruit­eater, _______ a bar of chocolate if given the choice, but _______ people always say, the forbidden fruit can be tempting. Seeing the apple, the boy wanted it. The more he looked at it, the_______ he felt and the more he wanted that apple.

He stood on tiptoe, _______ as high as he could, but even as his tallest height he was unable to touch it. He began to_______ up and down, as high as he could, at the _______ of each jump stretching his arms to get the apple. Still it remained out of _______.

Not giving up, he thought, if only he had something to _______ on. His school bag wouldn’t give enough height and he didn’t want to break the things inside, like his lunch box, pencil case, and Game Boy. Looking _______, he hoped he might find an old box, a rock, or with luck, even a ladder, but it was a tidy neighborhood and there was nothing he could use.

He had tried everything he could think, __________ seeing any other choices, he gave up and started to walk __________. At first, he felt angry and disappointed thinking about how hungry he had become from his __________, and how he really wanted that apple. The more he thought like this, the more unhappy he became.

__________, the boy of our story was a pretty smart guy, even if he couldn’t always get what he wanted. He soon started to say to himself, “This isn’t helpful. I don’t have the apple and I’m feeling miserable as well. There’s __________ more I can do to get the apple — that is unchangeable — but I am supposed to be able to__________ my feelings. If that’s the case, what can I do to feel better?”

9 . A thief accidentally dropped a winning lottery ticket (彩票) at the scene of his crime, but he has been given a lesson in______. The man whom he robbed ______ the ticket and won the ￡25,000 prize. But the man managed to find the thief, and handed over the ______.

The robbery happened when Professor Sam was changing a tyre (轮胎) on a highway. A motorist, who stopped “to ______”, stole a suitcase from his car and drove off. The professor found the ______ and brought it home.

The next day, the professor saw the lottery ______ on TV and realized the ticket he had picked up won. He ______ the ￡25,000 prize, but he decided not to keep the money. He made an announcement on the radio, ______, “I’m trying to find the man who robbed me. I have ￡25,000 for him — a lottery ______. Please meet me.”

The professor received hundreds of ______ from people who were hoping to ______ him into handing them the money. But there was one voice he ______ and he arranged to meet the man in a park.

The robber gave back the ______ and burst into tears. He could not ______ what was happening. “Why didn’t you keep the money?” he asked. The professor replied, “Because it’s not mine.” Then he walked off, turning down the thief’s ______ to share the prize money.

10 . My daughter loved dancing until she didn’t find it attractive. After an _________ first year, I noticed her interest fading week by week. Then one day, she slowly walked to me before class and asked if she could just _________ it.

My first reaction was to advise her to “finish what you start”. _________, sticking with something difficult can teach perseverance, discipline and confidence. But watching mydaughter ____ herself into each ballet position, I started to question how much _________ that “blanket advice” made. Is it really in my kid’s best _________ or even practical, to make her stick to every commitment through until she reaches a bitter end? What if there are different but _________ valuable qualities, which can be gained by _________ the things that are not right for her.

After a few days’ consideration, she decided dance wasn’t for her - a choice I _________. Quitting is never a black and white issue. Sometimes, it means __________ a barrier in your way to love something else. In my daughter’s case, ending dance made space for her new hobbies, such as horseback riding and Girl Scouts. She’s into them for now, but it is okay if that __________ changes.

As adults, we are used to __________ the power of saying yes, but what about saying no? The ability to recognize when something isn’t an __________ investment of our time or energy is also important. As my daughter gets older, I want her to feel confident to __________ something that’s no longer meeting her needs. She shouldn’t be held back by the thought that she must finish something at any cost __________ because she has started.