1 . In mid-January, Jacky Hunt-Broersma, a native of South Africa, set her goal of running. And since then she has been running 26. 2 miles every day, about the _______ of a marathon. On Saturday, she completed her 104th marathon — a (n) _______ she expects to be confirmed by Guinness World Records. If so, she would then hold a world record for 104 back-to-back (连续的) marathon runs, two more than her previous _______.

Hunt-Broersma lost half of her left leg _______ a rare form of cancer in 2001. “The biggest ______ was accepting that part of my body was gone,” she said. “Until five years ago, I was not very _______. But after looking into running, I decided to give it a try.” Currently, she keeps running on a false leg made out of carbon fiber. The carbon fiber blade (刀锋) she uses, designed specifically for running, costs about $10,000.

But Hunt-Broersma says her investment (投入) has been well worthwhile. “Running really _______ my life,” she said. “It gave me a sense of freedom. I fell in love with the process of _______ my body further just to see what I could do.”

Hunt-Broersma is hoping to _______ a single thought in others — “You’re ________ than you think and you’re capable of so much more.”

2 . Society has certain standards for beauty. But Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc, who spent nearly four years ________ photos of women from around the world, is challenging these standards.

She believes that beauty can ________ many forms. “Beauty just means being yourself,” Noroc told NPR,“I don’t think we have to ________ ourselves to be in a certain way; I think we just have to keep ourselves as we are and don’t ________ need to change.”

________ by a trip to Africa in 2013, Noroc hastraveled to more than 50 countries and regions since then. In 2017, she published a book called The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits to show how many different kinds of beauty there are in the world.

From a struggling Russian dancer to a talkative cafe owner in New York, Noroc’s subjects (拍摄对象)________ her in deep conversation. Noroc found out what ________ them, what their daily struggles and joys are, and what brings beauty into their own lives. “No matter where I go, it’s the ________ that carry all the culture and traditions of a place. I really try to focus on women’s stories, how they face challenges and ________ them,” Noroc told CNN.

Ala, a student at a self-defense school in Jordan called “She Fighter”, left a(n)________ impression on her. Ala raises her clenched (紧握) fists as she looks into the ________ while her faceis covered by a white hijab (面纱). Noroc describes “She Fighter” as “the first self-defense school for women in the Arab world”, and writes, “I discovered an amazing enthusiasm and a(n)________ sisterhood.”

In Iran. Noroc met Farnoush, a woman who lives in two worlds. “In one, she is an economist, by ________. In the other, she is an artist, because this is her ________.” For Noroc, the women’s beauty ________ how natural and comfortable they appear while just being themselves.

5 . My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted the coat which was hanging at a secondhand clothing store in Northampton Mass. All the other coats drooped (低垂) _______ this one looked as if it were holding itself up (支撑起来). The coat had beautiful tailoring, a Fifth Avenue label and a(an) _______ price of $28, which was popular just then with _______, but could cost several hundred dollars new. This coat was even better with that _______ of classic elegance. John tried it on and the fit was perfect.

John wore the coat to school the next day and came home _______ a broad smile. “Did the kids like your coat?” I asked. “They loved it,” he said, _______ folding it over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat. Over the next few weeks, a _______ came over John. Agreement replaced contrariness (作对) and reasoned discussion replaced fierce _______. He became more mannerly and _______, eager to please. He would ________ lend his younger brother his bike, which he normally wouldn’t.

When I mentioned this incident to his teacher and ________ what caused the changes, she said laughing, “It must be his coat!” Another teacher told him she was giving him a good ________ not only because he had earned ________ but because she liked his coat. At the library, we ________ a friend. “Could this be John?” he asked surprisingly, ________ John’s new height, assessing (评估) the cut of his coat and extending his hand, one gentleman to another.

John and I both know we should never ________ a person’s clothes for the real person within them. ________ there is something to be said for wearing a standard of excellence for the world to see and for ________ what is on the inside to what is on the outside.

For John it is a time when it is as easy to try on different approaches ________ life as it is to try on a coat. The whole world, the whole future is right ahead, a vast landscape ________ all the doors are open. And he could picture himself walking through those doors wearing his wonderful, magical coat.

7 . Last year, Doctor Steve Lome came to truly understand what it means to be at the right place at the right time. During a half-marathon, he found himself in the position to ________ not one, but two runners. Things had been going ________ up to that 3-mile mark, but that’s when Steve noticed a (n) ________ runner named Gregory.

Gregory had just reached the peak and was ________ to see that he would run downhill for a bit. This was the last thing he ________ before he became senseless. Meanwhile, Steve saw this happen, and he could ________ it wasn’t a simple fall. Steve stopped immediately to perform CPR (心肺复苏术). Once it was ________ that Gregory was doing well and the medical team took him away, Steve continued the race.

The rest of the race itself was ________ but when Steve crossed the finish line, his life-saving ________ was needed once more. A man named Michael began to feel dizzy moments after crossing the finish line. Then, just like Gregory, he ________.

“I never expected something like that would happen to my life, let alone in the same ________,” Steve said. The ________ of this entire situation is truly remarkable. If Steve had not ________ to help Gregory, he would have crossed the finish line much sooner than Michael, ________ he wouldn’t have been around to save him, too. Thankfully, the events had a happy ________. Now the three remain good friends.

8 . One of my wonderful memories is about a Christmas gift. Unlike other gifts, it came without ______.

On September 11th, 1958, Mum gave birth to Richard. After she brought him home from ______, she put him in my lap, saying, “I promised you a gift and here it is.” What an ______! I turned four years old a month earlier and non e of my friends had such a baby doll of their own. I played with it day and night. I sang to it. I told it stories. I ______ it over and over how much I loved it!

One morning, ______, I found its bed empty. My doll was ______! I cried for it. Mum wept and told me that the poor little thing had been sent to a hospital. It had a ______. For several days, I heard mum and Dad whispering such words as “______”, “pitiful”, and “dying”, which sounded ominous (不吉利的).

Christmas was coming. “Sally, don’t expect any presents this year” Dad said, pointing at the socks I ______ in the living room. I’d never seen him cry before.

The phone rang early on Christmas ______. Dad jumped out of bed to answer it. From my bedroom I heard him say, “What? He’s all right?” He ______ and shouted upstairs. “The hospital said we can bring Richard home!”

“Thank god!” I heard Mum cry.

From the upstairs window, I watched my parents ______ out to the car. I had never seen them so happy. And I was also full of ______. What a wonderful day! My baby doll would be home. I ran downstairs. My socks still hung there _____. But I knew they were not empty: they were filled with ______!

9 . “Look Mom, he paints like me!” Eight-year-old Alexandra Nechita had just discovered Pablo Picasso’s artwork for the first time. The art world _______ and began to call Alexandra the “Petite (小号的) Picasso”. This _______ artist has been turning heads in the art world ever since. 

Even at age two, Alexandra _______ nearly all her time on her coloring books. _______ their daughter spent too much time alone, Alexandra’s parents took her coloring books away. They hoped she’d start to jump rope or play with dolls. But taking away her _______ was like taking the air out of her life. Alexandra began to color on papers her mother _______ home from office. 

When Alexandra was four, her parents began to notice the portraits she drew. They were abstract and _______ Picasso’s work, with four eyes and two faces. She _______ painting with water colors and then with other paints. 

Alexandra’s classmates would sometimes _______ her paintings. But her ________ school teacher saw talent in her drawings. She helped eight-year-old Alexandra organize her first ________ at a local library. 

Within a year, Alexandra had several other exhibitions. Her exhibition at the famous Mary Paxon Gallery brought her to the ________ of national art critics (评论家). She began to ________ on television, in news and talk shows around America. 

Admirers have spent a large amount of money buying her paintings. But the ________ doesn’t seem to have affected her negatively (消极地). Through various charities, Alexandra shares her wealth with those ________ around the world.

10 . Culture and tradition are the soul of a country. When a country ________ them, it is difficult for it to make ________. Chinese culture can be seen everywhere in China. _________, I did not really understand it in the beginning. Then I realized I had to ________ something in order to understand it.

Last winter I decided to stay at our university to ________ all the activities organized for foreign students to celebrate the Spring Festival.

The ________ began a month ago with the decorating of our rooms with Spring Festival couplets (对联) and New Year paintings. On February 10, we ________ an activity to write Spring Festival couplets. When I saw the brush, I became ________ . Why is there such a pen? How do we use it?

After understanding the tools, we started our creative ________ . I tried to hold the brush and start writing ________, but the tip of the pen was too ________ and I couldn’t grasp it at all. I was ________, but I didn’t give up. After several ________, I wrote a line of words. At this time, I found that my sleeves were dirtied with ink as I was too ________ practicing. Even so, I was very happy, because I felt that I had learned the essence (精髓) of writing calligraphy.

Through this activity, I came to ________ the amazing Chinese culture more.