1 . I was at the bus stop, heading home after a long, busy day, when I served guests at a restaurant. Suddenly I realized I’d left behind my wallet with $80 worth of tips and one of my photos in it! I couldn’t afford to ________ a day’s pay. When I ran back, the restaurant was closed. So I had to tell myself: I’d try to ________ about it this evening.

The next day was much ________ than the day before. I was already ________ five tables there, when a white-haired ________ sat down in my section (区域). No matter how ________ I was, I made sure to give them the best ________ I could. After their meal, I thanked them for their kindness. The couple had left the ________ by the time I picked up the tip. This wasn’t right, I thought; there was much more than twenty dollars. It was too much for a tip. I ________ again; forty dollars!

Quickly, I ________ around to look for the couple. They’d left the restaurant. ________, I went to the hostess (女招待). “Did you see that ________ couple who just sat in my section leave?” I asked. “Oh, they are my parents, and have gone home,” the hostess said. “They told me about you. Yesterday they ________ your wallet. Since you were very ________ just now, they asked me to give the wallet to you. By the way, they said they were very ________with your service and gave you twice as much as a tip.”

How kind they are and what a coincidence (巧合)! I will always try my best to serve customers well in future.

2 . My son Dan was going to fly out to France in a couple of hours. When we had to say _________, I looked closely at his face. I would have liked to have provided him with some _________, but not a sound came from my lips.

I knew that this wasn’t the first time I had let such a(n) _________ pass me by. When Dan was a little boy, I followed him to the bus on his _________ day in preschool. He looked at me when the bus stopped. What’s it like, Dad? Can I do it? And then he _________ the bus and disappeared. The bus drove away. And I hadn’t said a word. Some ten years later, something _________ took place. His mother and I drove him to university. When it was time to say goodbye, I _________ to come up with something to say. _________, the words let me down.

There was one chance I didn’t _________, however. One day I advised Dan to take a year’s sabbatical (休假) after he graduated from university. I said he should travel around the world, __________ I believed that was the best way for him to get a deeper understanding of life. Dan thought it probably was not a bad __________.

The night before his __________, I lay twisting and turning in bed, __________ about what to tell him. I couldn’t __________ anything. Maybe, I thought, it wasn’t really __________. But when I stood in front of Dan, I knew saying something really did __________ something.

“Dan,” I finally said, “if I had the __________, I would have chosen you every time.”

That was all I could say. I was not sure whether he __________ what I meant. But then he stepped towards me and put his arms around me. For a short while the world and everything in it__________, only Dan and me were there.

What I told Dan was simple and __________. It was nothing. And yet it was everything.

3 . A few years back, my boyfriend Andy invited me to meet his parents for Christmas. We booked an early morning _______ on the morning of Christmas Eve and _______ the airport before the sun was up. As we were waiting in line to _______ , we noticed a kid with a military haircut in a _______ and shorts. He couldn’t have been much older than 18. The kid _______ on a bench with his T-shirt stretched (拉长) as far as it would cover his knees, hugging himself in the _______ weather. As we _______, people kept walking past him without seeing him, and my heart went out to this _______ kid.

Without a _______, my boyfriend walked right up to the kid on the bench and they started ________. As I watched from the line, Andy ________ the sweatshirt that he was wearing ________ handed it to the trembling kid. The kid broke into a huge smile of ________ and wonderment.

With tears in his eyes, Andy walked back to the line. And in a gruff (粗哑的) tone, he told me ________ that the kid was a soldier just trying to get home to see his ________. And he said it was the least he could do considering the ________ the little guy had made.

That was 7 years ago and I was ________ enough to marry Andy. I sometimes ________ what happened to that kid in the airport. And I am grateful to be reminded of the impact that ________ the smallest bits of human ________ can have on others.

4 . Once there was a little bird that lived in the old times. When a sage (智者) was thrown into a ________ by his enemy, the little bird saw what happened and decided to put it out to ________ the sage. The little bird ________ bringing a few drops of water in his ________ mouth from the nearby river. The larger birds in the tree ________ and laughed at the little bird, saying, “Why are you carrying the ________?”

The little bird said, “To put out the fire around the sage.” The larger birds continued ________, “How could you put out such a huge fire with so little water? It is ________.”

Do you know what the little bird ________? “I don’t know whether I will manage to put out the fire or not but I know what I have ________ is to stop the fire.” Hearing the answer, all the larger birds were ________ .

We often think that our effort is the factor responsible for our ________ . This is a wrong way of ________. If we believe we can succeed, we shall succeed. Our ________ is just a sacrifice (牺牲) that we are willing to make. ________, the little bird knew that with a few drops of water the fire would not be put out but it was his ________ to do whatever he could to achieve this goal.

It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that is ________. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your ________ or may not be in your time, but that doesn’t ________you stop doing the right thing. You may never know ________ results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.

5 . I’m forever grateful for everything Dr Cohen has done to save my life.

While I was studying at Baylor University, I ______ from a loss of feeling throughout the entire left side of my body that ______ from 15 to 45 minutes. As a gymnast, I have always been ______ and I know exactly what I eat and do to perform at my best. So, I thought that ______ in my body could not be anything ______. After all, I was only 20 years old.

I continued my ______ at the University of Notre Dame to earn my master’s degree. When I ______ home one weekend, I experienced another loss of feeling. My dad, who happened to be in the room, rushed me to the nearest ______.

Medical examinations ______ a tennis ball-sized tumor (肿瘤) taking over the right side of my brain. My dad ______ made an appointment for me to see Dr Cohen to ______ the next steps. I knew I was in excellent hands, having Dr Cohen as my doctor. It even made me feel a little more ______ when Dr Cohen told me he would open my brain and give me an operation. This was without any ______ the hardest thing I had ever had to ______, but I always knew everything would be okay and that I would ______ whatever came my way. About a year and a half later, I made a full ______.

Not even a brain tumor could ______ me. Luckily for me, I ______ from the University of Notre Dame with my class on time! This ______ has given me a different opinion on life and made me very thankful that I am still here, ______ by such loving and supportive people.

6 . I was living in Cali, Colombia. One day my younger sister decided to visit me for a holiday and I was supposed to go to meet her at the airport. I somehow lost ________ of the time and realized that I was ________my home much later than I had wanted to. And to make matters _________, when I went outside, the rain was pouring from the sky and I couldn’t get a taxi to save my life. I ________ jumping on board a public bus to Palmira, where the airport was .

The driver said that I would be dropped ________ at a crossroads which was located six kilometers away from the airport. I had no ________ but to travel with the bus. The journey took ages, however. When the bus did eventually ________ the previously mentioned crossroads, the driver pointed in a given ________ and told me that the airport was down that way. By this time, I had descended into tears. My sister would be arriving in twelve minutes, and there was no way I was going to be able to make it ________. Beside myself (失去控制) with worry, I ________ the driver to drive the six kilometers down to the airport to drop me off. He stood up and took a vote from the other passengers. Fortunately, they all ________. Thanks to them, I arrived on time. This was my first encounter with Murphy’s Law (墨菲定律): Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. And the only way to beat this devil is to take ________for the outcome of all your actions. I should have made a Plan B by ________ the possibility that there would be no taxis available. Of course, some major victories were achieved by the very fact that they did not have a Plan B to ________.

However, most of the situations we encounter in our lives are much less dramatic and can often be ________ in more ways than one. It is ________to have a Plan B because you cannot always guarantee that your original plan is going to work out, and in some cases, your contingency (不测之事) plan might just be even ________ than your original one .

Now more than ever, in this rapidly changing world, ________ is often the key to success. If you are prepared to bounce back when everyone else ________, you will be the winner. Think of your contingency plan as a form of ________, one that, if nothing else, can give you the peace of mind you need.

7 . In the crowded hallways of high school, Edward, towering at 6 feet 5 inches, stood out. Yet, despite his _________, he seemed to shrink（退缩）into the background, typically sitting alone at the back of the class. He had no friends and always ate lunch _________. Sensing Edward’s loneliness, his teacher, Harriet recognized the need to offer him _________.

One evening, while _________ the final test papers, Harriet _________ at Edward’s paper, which was likely to receive a low grade of D. _______, deep down, she wished to give him more than just a D grade, feeling that he deserved better. Feeling exhausted and ready to _______ home, she was surprised when Edward walked into the room, looking terrible.

Edward’s eyes were filled with sadness, his clothes appeared _______ for weeks, and his hair was messy. Edward looked at the teacher and said, “I know I`m getting a low grade on my final. I realize I’m an embarrassment to others. I’m a lazy, selfish and stupid person with no _______.”

In that moment. Harriet perceived（察觉到）________Edward’s sorrow, she saw his potential. Encountering his hopeless look, she said, “Edward, your final grade is an A.” These words ________ Edward with total surprise, and his eyes ________. Harriet continued, “In my heart, you are ________ to get an A. I believe in you and I will always be here for you. Now, go and ________ the life you dream of. You’ll go far in the future as long as you work hard continually and I’ll be there, ________ you on every step of the way.

Those words __________ a seed of hope in Edward’s heart and helped him believe in his worth. This newfound confidence __________ him to change. His grades began to improve, and by the time he finished college, he had __________ a completely different person. Today, Edward stands proudly, not only in physical stature（身高）but also in his remarkable achievements, having become a world-famous dentist.

This story clearly exemplifies（例证）how powerful language can be in our lives. It vividly shows how words can __________ our attitudes and relationships. __________ the proverb goes, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” This illustrates that what we say can have a significant impact on ourselves and those around us.

8 . In 2013, Alie Ward’s life was falling apart. In a matter of months, her relationship with her partner ended, her dad was _________ with a rare form of cancer, and she was also feeling a gap between the career she had chosen and the person she wanted to be.

To distract herself from her _________, Ward liked to find and take _________ of bugs which she has loved since she was a little kid. Sometimes, if she found a beetle or a bee that she particularly liked, she’d _________ it on Facebook. Those posts attracted the _________ of a woman named Lila Higgins, who studies _________ at the local natural history museum. After seeing Ward’s pictures, Higgins _________ to Ward and invited her to go on a tour of the museum.

At that time Ward was emotionally fragile, and meeting someone new in that state made her nervous and teary. However, her passion for bugs outweighed her anxiety.

Upon Ward’s arrival at the museum, Higgins warmly _________ her and handed her a lab coat. She then led Ward through various _________. “I remember she opened up this freezer, like, ‘Come check this out,’ and it was full of dead bugs,” Ward recalled. “Although lifeless, these samples held significance for the natural history museum, serving as evidence to nature’s diversity. I was also impressed by how __________ Higgins was, which made me feel passionate about the work for the first time in a long time,” Ward continued. Noticing Ward’s __________, Higgins suggested she __________ at the museum for a few hours every week.

Despite her doubts, Ward decided to __________ Every Wednesday, she’d arrive at the museum. And with each volunteer __________, she felt a little bit better. “It gave me this sense of __________. It helped me reconnect with my love of __________ and nature that I’d always had,” Ward said.

Soon, Ward __________ her job and started working in science media. She now is the creator and host of a podcast called Ologies. Ward had Higgins on the show as her first __________. “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t taken her up on her __________. What would my life have been like? It’s not a nice thought. Who would I be? You know, Lila Higgins, in one instant, __________ my whole life,” said Ward.

9 . Talking about Beijing Opera, we cannot forget to mention one of its greatest performers: Mei Lanfang, a brilliant artist who played an important role in bringing Beijing Opera to the world. Mei Lanfang was born in Beijing in 1894. He started to learn the ______ of Beijing Opera at the age of eight and made his on-stage debut (首次登台) at age eleven. Mei Lanfang worked hard to learn as much as possible from the great artists and______ of Beijing Opera, and by the age of 20, he had become a(n)______ actor in Beijing Opera’s dan role (角).

Mei Lanfang quickly became well-known among Chinese audiences ______ his acting skill. Mei Lanfang’s skill opened doors for him to become friends with people from all over the world, as he often ______ guests from other countries who wanted to meet the young actor. As Mei Lanfang ______ to know ambassadors (大使), European royal families, and celebrities from ______, he ______ bring his beloved Beijing Opera to the rest of the world, so that even more people from other countries might understand and ______ the beauty of Chinese culture and art.

And so, in 1919, Mei Lanfang began to travel abroad, ______ performances in Japan and the Soviet Union (苏联). His ______ were a great success; audiences were fascinated by this ______ opera from the Orient (东方). One of Mei Lanfang’s greatest ______ was to visit the United States, and after cight years of ______, he and his opera group finally brought Beijing Opera to the USA.

Mei Lanfang ______ his whole life to the art of Beijing Opera. He ______ sought to improve his own artistry, creating many unforgettable and beautiful ______ for the stage. His style became known as the “Mei Lanfang school (梅派)”, a(n) ______ graceful style, and is still one of the most popular styles of Beijing Opera today.

Mei Lanfang died in 1961 of heart disease. During his more than 50 years on the stage, Mei Lanfang took traditions from the past and ______ the best parts to create new and enrich old forms of Beijing Opera. Although this great opera master has now joined the heroes of history, he ______ a legacy of cultural wealth for his people and for all future generations.

10 . Steve Sanders is a dad who suffered from a serious kidney (肾) disease. Although he had been living a ________ life, going to the gym regularly, the doctors warned him that his kidney function was ________ and that he needed dialysis (透析). This made Sanders start a ________ for a kidney donor (捐献器官者) online. After he shared the post, he got ________ from 26 people who began handing in paperwork to become donors, ________ nothing moved beyond that. It could have been that they weren’t matched, or they stopped the process. “I don’t ________ them on that,” Sanders said. “I completely ________.”

One day, Chris, a local shopper, ________ him that told him he wanted to be a kidney donor. ________, Chris ended up being a perfect donor, making Sanders very excited. It was a total ________ for Sanders and he said he was happy that somebody was ________ to give him a chance.

Chris filled out the paperwork and ________ the process after a few weeks. When asked why he chose to donate his kidney, he said that he wanted to ________ what he preached (宣扬) to others on being kind and ________. Chris wanted his kids to grow up and ________ what kindness is.

Once the hospital showed his kidney was a ________ for Sanders, he agreed to receive the operation ________. Sanders was grateful for Chris’s ________. “Chris has made me feel very comfortable not ________ him anything. This is a guy who did this out of love,” Sanders added. After lots of tests, the two dads had the operation in October 2022. It was a(n) ________ transplant (移植) and even after it, they have continued their friendship.