1 . In a small village called Brightville, there lived three friends: Kimberley, John and Alicia. They were all students at Brightville High School, each displaying unique _______. Kimberley, a hardworking girl, always _______ for excellence. John, with his _______ spirit, always sought new experiences. Alicia was a kind and helpful girl. They shared a common dream of achieving their goals through _______.

On a sunny day, the three friends _______ at their favorite spot near the village river. They often met there to discuss their dream and _______ each other. Kimberley always stressed the importance of setting goals. John loved exploring new things and finding _______ ways to learn. Alicia, with her caring nature, listened _______ and offered words of encouragement.

One day, they _______ an old abandoned (废弃的) library in the heart of village. Kimberley saw this as a(n)________ for their dream to come true. She suggested turning the library into a learning center for the village.

The three friends spent months cleaning and ________ the library. They reached out to the villagers, and soon, volunteers ________ them to set up the learning center. They created a friendly and ________ environment where students could come to study, read books, and seek help.

News of the learning center spread quickly, ________ students of all ages and backgrounds. The three friends devoted their after-school hours to tutoring the students. They understood that education was about developing curiosity and ________ for learning.

3 . Once, when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus (马戏). ________there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family had eight children, all probably________the age of 12, who were________talking about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him with a big smile on her face.________, when the ticket lady quoted (报价) the price, she let go of his________, and her head dropped. The father’s lip began to shake. He moved a little________and asked, “How much did you say?” The ticket lady again quoted the price. Obviously, the man didn’t have enough money.

Seeing what was going on, my dad________a $20 bill on the ground. Then he picked it up and said to the man, “Excuse me, sir, this fell________your pocket.” The man________what was going on immediately. Looking________into my dad’s eyes, he took the money and said “Thank you, sir. This really________a lot to me and my family.”

That day we came home without any tickets. When I asked dad why he did so, dad said, “My child, it was heartbreaking and________for a father in that situation. Surely he wasn’t________a helpful hand, but he needed our help.” “We couldn’t enjoy the circus tonight, but they could because of our kind help,” added my father with________on his face.

That was a________lesson I learned from my dad.

5 . I remember playing a lot when I was younger and being filled with a sense of openness, curiosity and joy _________, my attitude began changing from having fun to perfectionism. Instead of being present and _________ the process, I started focusing on performance. The more I did this, the more anxious and _________ I grew.

I first developed perfectionist when I was _________ piano lessons in school. I got the idea that I had to _______ each note again and again to perform each song perfectly. I started hating playing the piano and eventually _______. My perfectionism _________ into other areas of my life, too. In school, I _________ myself to get straight A’s. At this time in my life, if I did anything less, I would feel rather_________ and think it was a failure.

It took me several years to find happiness again. One of the major things that helped me do so was recovering a sense of ____________. About this time, my friend Amy and I started taking fencing (击剑) lessons together. I was quite bad at it, but it didn’t ____________. I didn’t care about performing perfect moves. ____________, I cared about being present and staying open and curious. I felt free and ____________,and I realized that I had been ____________ from such pleasure for many years. Fencing helped me rediscover play and leave perfectionism behind, which eventually made my life a (an) _____________

7 . Animal rescue workers often come up with various ways to get their dogs noticed by potential adopters. Happily Forever After Rescue is no different. Their recent idea is so _________ that they’re getting much attention online.

It all started when a 7-year-old dog was discovered _________ in a drainpipe (排水管). The animal was a homeless dog who was taken off the street and _________ for illegal dog fighting. By the time he escaped, his left ear was so badly damaged that it needed to be _________. And this _________ him his new name: Van Gogh.

Van Gogh was brought to the _________, but sadly, no one _________ any applications to adopt him. Then the founder, Jacklyn Gartner, got an idea. She took out some paints and a small canvas (画布), placed them all inside a big plastic bag, and _________ peanut butter on the outside of the plastic bag. The dog started licking off the peanut butter, and his very own _________ artwork appeared!

After Van Gogh completed ten __________, the shelter arranged for a gallery for his artworks. But again, the world just wasn’t __________ for this sweetheart’s work just yet! “Van Gogh was so excited. He was dressed up and waited patiently for his guests to arrive, but only two people __________,” the rescue said. “Van Gogh put many hours and a lot of __________ into creating such beautiful art and we worked so hard to make this a special event”

__________ after Van Gogh’s sad story was shared online, thousands of people lined up to purchase his paintings, and he sold all 30 of his artworks for about $40 each. All the earnings will __________ the shelter and the other dogs that come after him. Most importantly, people are finally sending in adoption applications for this very special boy!

8 . Alvin, 66, was deep in the woods in Grand Cane last December when something like litter on the ground caught his eye. It was a broken _________ with a note attached.

“Dear Santa,” the note _________. “My name is Luna. Four years old. This year I have been _________. I would like candy, Spider-Man ball, My Little Pony. With love, Luna.”

Alvin’s heart hammered in his chest. It reminded him of his childhood wish. He smiled and set out to _________ Luna’s wish. He posted a photo of the balloon and the Christmas wish list on his Facebook page, asking for help to _________ the sender.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez, the mother of four-year old Luna, had no idea that such a(n) _________ was underway. It had been a hard year for her family as COVID-19 spread. On a _________ tough day last December, she _________ the idea of having Luna send a letter to Santa by releasing a balloon. They had a(n) _________ Christmas together, and then the calendar turned to a new year.

One day, Gonzalez received a call saying that someone had found Luna’s balloon. Her jaw __________. She logged on to Facebook and saw Alvin’s __________. She called Alvin and finally agreed to let Alvin fulfill her daughter’s wish list.

“Santa left out your balloon__________,”Gonzalez told Luna, “but one of his elves (精灵) found it.” Not long after that, Luna received three boxes of __________ with a note signed “Alvin the Elf.”

Now, having received so much __________, Gonzalez and Luna intend to pay it forward this year. After all, when Alvin could have just __________ that balloon into the dustbin, he went the extra mile.

9 . Lucas majors in classic linguistics (语言学). He is equal to recognizing a language in a(n) _________ way no matter how unfamiliar it is. Last year, he _________ a shell with some totally strange _________ carved on it at a small stand.

Based on his demanding _________ he knew it was from a small village. Besides, after _________ some information in many reference books, he had his point of view: the symbols were _________ as a variety of the writing system of Jiaguwen, a kind of writing system which dates back to 1500 BC.

Lucas had a _________ attitude to the discovery and applied to his university for a further research by visiting the village. With permission given, he visited it. He found the mother tongue of the villagers was a special dialect, whose vocabulary _________ from Mandarin spoken by 1.4 billion people.

Despite many _________, understanding the dialect and finding more shells helped him complete a report. The report was __________ where he gave a full description: The characters __________ by a small nation in the Shang Dynasty were passed down by means of bones and __________. Afterwards, the nation went through ups and downs, __________ for hundreds of years. But it __________ disappeared due to some factors.

Lucas’s report was a __________ in the academic field, attracting more people to these special characters.