1 . Do you think you are too old to do something? Just go online and ________ the video of John Harrison doing the 50m backstroke in 2014.

He ________ the 100-104 years world record by 15 seconds! Yes, you read that ________. The 100-104 years group! A time of 1:29.78. The first ever British man to set records in that age group. The applause (掌声) is long-lasting and heartfelt from all the crowd. A(n) ________ moment.

John loved swimming. He still tried to keep ________ by swimming in his last years before he passed away at the age of 105 in January 2020. Many of John’s friends speak ________ of him saying he was a “wonderful man”.

John was born in Farnborough on 25 July, 1914. And his ________ in swimming was unusual. “When I was five years old, on the way home from school, I came across a small pond,” he said ________, “so I went swimming. It taught me two things. One, to swim; and two, not to drink the water.”

“My parents ________ two years later that I was still doing it. They were ______ at first. But their anger soon ________” when I said, “I didn’t get asthma (哮喘病) last winter. They then bought me a costume and ________ me swimming skills.”

However, John didn’t start swimming ________ until his wife told him to stop teaching swimming and life-saving classes and ________ the sport for himself at the age of 79. From then on, he didn’t look back and was full of praise for everyone who ________ him during his successes.

2 . In 2005, Rachel O’Neill, of Rockwood, Michigan, was working full-time as an assistant in an engineering company. While _______ in a local charity, she’d never done any global volunteering. But after a travel in Africa for her fiftieth birthday, followed by a trip to Malawi, she said, “I felt I had to do something more.”

She was struck by the heavy work done by girls to _______ their families. “I wanted a way to honor them,” she says. She _______ a few women at her local church to make 1,000 simple _______, which were _______ to girls in Malawi.

Rachel _______ her goal that first year. As word spread, donations _______ in. “Dresses started coming every day from all over the country!” Rachel says. In 2008, without any _______ , she started a nonprofit organization called Little Dresses for Africa, with a goal of getting simple homemade dresses for girls(and pants for boys)in _______ communities, where people hardly change their ________ for a year.

So far, more than 10 million dresses have been donated to children in 97 countries, including the United States, though Africa remains a focus. The nonprofit runs a distribution center in Malawi and works ________ with community leaders there to distribute donated dresses and pants, which have proven the key to keeping girls in school.

“Nearly half of Malawi’s population is under age 14,” Rachel says, “We are ________ meeting their needs. For dress designs and donating information, go to littledressesforafrica.org. We only ask people to make high-quality, colorful clothes. ” She also asks for money to ________ shipping costs, estimated at $2 a dress. ________ donations have allowed Little Dresses for Africa to address other needs, including building more than 85 wells and two primary schools. “I couldn’t have done any of this on my own,” Rachel says, “But when you step out in ________ , miracles(奇迹)may happen.”

3 . Mount Everest (珠穆朗玛峰), located in Asia, is the highest mountain in the world. Many climbers have tried to climb to the top of Mount Everest’s about 29,028-foot peak and about 900 people have _________ the climb to Mount Everest’s summit. One of the most successful climbers is Erik Weihenmayer because of his _________.

Erik Weihenmayer was _________ an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became _________ and then he lost his sight eventually. However, he did not lose his _________ to lead a full and active life. Erik began climbing when he was 16. Having climbed the tallest mountains on five continents, Erik became the first blind person to reach the peak of Mount Everest.

_________ the age of 32, Erik began his climb as part of a team. His team wore bells that he could follow during his climb, and fellow climbers could quickly warn him of such things as a big drop on the right or a big stone to the left. Erik _________ his own method for climbing mountains. He also carries two long climbing poles to feel his way _________ him. Erik is a good team member. He does his _________ of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.

During his climb, Erik faced many dangers. He __________ through 100 m.p.h winds and sliding masses of snow, ice and rock. Because the air became thinner the higher Erik climbed, he wore an oxygen __________ that helped him breathe as he climbed higher. It took Erik about two-and a-half months to reach the top of the mountain.

Although he couldn’t __________ the view, Erik felt the __________ of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change __________ people think about the blind. “When people think about a blind person, now they will think about a person standing on top of the __________.”

6 . Returning home from my university on a hot day, I longed for a cold sugary drink. I rushed to the fridge to ______ one, sat on my sofa and ________ playing with my mobile phone. That was where I ________ an ad for some burgers and fries. I decided to order because I was ________ and needed some ________ to finish my to-do list for the day.

I didn’t know at that point that eating this type of highly processed food would make me feel lazier, sleepier—and ________ my whole life in a harmful way.

I had moved away from home in 2021, when I was 18, to ________ my education. It was my first time living without my family and ________ myself independently. I was out of my comfort zone and felt ________. There were so many things to do, so I paid little attention to my ________ because eating highly processed food seemed the quickest and ________ thing to do.

About 4 weeks after moving away from home, I continued ________ whatever I wanted, until one day my stomach hurt so badly that I could ________ walk. My doctor told me it was the ________ of all the unhealthy food I had been eating. He suggested I make an effort to eat a healthy and ________ diet that gave me all the right nutrients.

8 . 82-year-old Willie Ortiz, an old solider, has a special love for cats. It started in 1995, when he _______ a hungry stray cat begging for food. While people were ignoring and driving the cat away, Ortiz instantly _______ that it needed help.

He started feeding the cat, which led him to a shocking _______ that there were several colonies of stray cats throughout Hartford in need of food and proper _______ . Since then, Ortiz has devoted his life to looking after stray cats. He would do it regardless of the weather; the only _______ was when it was snowing so much. Though not everyone understood his _______ , people’s negative feedback did not stop him from doing what he wanted.

However, the _______ of the cats’ medical care increased as he collected more cats. To continue his _______ , he has led something of a _______ life: by day he collects scrap metal to fund his continuing evening activity to help homeless cats. His friend Kathleen Schlentz set up a GoFundMe for Ortiz’s cats to help the kind veteran and to ________ his noble work.

“I have never met a more ________ person; Ortiz unknowingly ________ me in so many ways. I feel ________ to know a person like him. Knowing him has made my life better,” wrote Schlentz.

Willie Ortiz ________ that though he has a big and happy family, his life became even more ________ when he started feeding stray cats. While his calling is difficult, this is his life, and it brings him joy.

9 . Katie was diagnosed with a rare cancer three years ago. Doctors gave her 16 months to ________ . But her father ________ to find a clinical trial that could save her life.

Without delay, Katie flew to New York to see if she would ________ for the trial. As she was going through a series of ________ , she found herself missing her mom, who passed away when Katic was a young ________.

On ________ days, her mom would offer energetic hugs that were extra ________ and extralong. Now Katie ________ for one of those special hugs.

Her father was standing in line for her name to be called, and she was sitting in the waiting room all by herself. Then she saw a girl of her age leaning in her mother’s ________ . Katie was so ________and missing her mom and those energetic hugs.

Soon, a nurse called the daughter into the doctor’s room. When Katie ________ her head, the mom was seen standing right in front of her. And she said, “You look like you could use the ________from a mom.” With tears in her eyes, Katie ________ and then she was wrapped in those warm arms.

“It was just one of those moments in life where somebody ________ and gave you something that you needed,” she recalled. This summer, Katie and her family ________ her second anniversary of being cancer free.

10 . At 20 years old, I was a confident and handsome student at the University of California at Berkey.

But that year, I ________ a bump (肿块) in my right nostril (鼻孔), and when it didn’t go away, I made an ________ with a doctor. It turned out to be a tumor (肿瘤). Then I underwent surgery. Fortunately, the procedure was ________, and I returned to classes soon.

But six months later, a new bump appeared. Numerous ________ confirmed it had reproduced a horrible, life—threatening tumor. I was advised to have another operation and ________ that I might lose part of my nose. I was too young to think about death then, but the thought of disfigurement (毁容) made me feel ________.

I awoke from the surgery with a scarred, disfigured face. As I re-entered the real world, I noticed adults ________ and children pointing—and sometimes laughing—at me. The occasional and ________ negative reactions from my friends also hurt me. My self-respect sank increasingly lower, and I constantly asked others, “Do my looks ________ you?”

Five years and 20 reconstructive surgeries later, I ________ a man receiving treatment. After hearing my question, he criticized me. My problem, he ________ me, was not my physical appearance, but my emotional insecurity. His ________ helped me realize my mental scars were far more disfiguring than my physical ones.

I began examining myself from the inside out. Later, I volunteered at a cancer support organization to offer inspiration and hope to those ________ cancer

Now, I am ________ for who I am—a much stronger person than before. To you, I offer this message: Avoid making judgements about people at ________.