1 . I have been a student at Tirana International School for the last three years. I really _________ it here, the teachers, the students and everything. However, leaving my old school and going to a new one wasn’t so _________ for me.

I had never changed _________ before; I was quite happy where I was and _________ with everyone, but my mom thought it was time for a _________. My mom wanted me to better my skills which were something I wasn’t _________ before. I’ve always loved social sciences, but until the sixth grade, _________ I hadn’t written one great essay (文章). My mom was right. I had to start learning more about writing, _________ it was a love of mine. It is also a very _________ skill to have because it is needed in every way that one might follow.

Besides, I didn’t want to __________ my old friends. I had been with those friends since first grade, and I thought that if I left school our __________ wouldn’t be the same. The summer of 2018 was __________ for me. I was feeling sick and worried __________ that I wouldn’t make any friends at my new school. But my mom would just come to me and tell me __________, “Everything will be okay, believe me.”

Then, the first day of school came. I got on the school bus with great __________. But I soon felt less nervous when I was greeted by __________ new faces. I had a great time on the first day. I met a lot of new people from different places. It was really __________ to hear about their childhoods, cultures, and backgrounds.

After one week of school, I started feeling __________. I was enjoying the learning and having fun with my new friends. With persuasion (说服) from my mom at first, I had made the __________ choice. I am really __________ to everyone around me, especially my mom.

2 . The rubber surgical gloves were created about 135 years ago. Believe it or not, this little tool _________ in every doctor’s office and hospital was invented out of _________. In 1889, Dr. William Halsted was in love with the nurse and eventual wife, Carolyn Hampton. _________, this invention should be named “rubber gloves of love”.

Hospital procedures _________ surgical personnel to wash and disinfect their hands before interacting with patients. Carolyn _________ severe dermatitis (皮炎) due to the use of mercuric chloride (氯化汞) for disinfection. She was almost _________. Halsted wanted to keep her near him. To protect her _________, he thought hard and suddenly, something _________ him. He contacted the Goodyear Rubber Company, asking the engineers there to _________ thin rubber gloves for Carolyn.

__________ rubber gloves were very different from what we have today, but they proved to be an excellent ________ to the operating room. The gloves were __________ well received. Many other personnel began wearing the gloves. It’s generally __________ that now they have many uses, far beyond their original __________. For example, hairdressers use them to protect their hands from dyes (染料) and solutions used in their business.

Whenever I see gloves anywhere, I couldn’t help but think of this __________ of inventing the “rubber gloves of love”.

3 . Anger Is a Gift

“Mom, where are you? I’ve been waiting for 10 minutes.” I shouted into the phone.

“Honey, sorry. I left the office a bit late and the _____ caused really bad traffic, but I…”

I hung up. Conversations like this happen every week. Being a teen is _____ enough, and my parents often make me feel less important than their work.

In second grade, I broke my arm on the slide. When the school nurse called my mom, she was too _____ to answer. When the phone call reached my father, he sighed (叹息) and said, “I’m in the middle of research.” I sat in the nurse’s office for hours, before my parents finally _____ to take me to hospital.

I wished my parents could keep me company. To make my parents take me seriously, I screamed. I tried to establish my own authority by ignoring their schedule. My mom did everything possible to solve the problem, but nothing _____ until she met that adviser.

One day after I shut my door in her face, my mom didn’t complain or cry. Instead, she knocked and said, “I have something to tell you.” I opened the door. “Today I met a really good adviser. He said that every time your daughter is angry, she is just saying: I _____ you.”

It dawned on me that my anger was merely a mask for me to _____ my loneliness and disappointment. But facing one’s _____ need is the first step towards being happier. This concept not only helped things between my parents and me but also enabled me to handle conflicts and emotions. I started to pay attention to other people’s _____. When an angry customer approached me at my volunteering job, he was saying, “I need more service.” When a homeless person shouted to me in a parking lot, he was simply saying, “I need food and help.”

I am now able to see through the fog of anger and see the real face and heart of other people.

Five minutes after I hung up on her, my mom’s car finally appeared through the fog. She rolled down her window and said, “Let’s go to a hotpot place, shall we?” I ______, “OK, but promise me you won’t be late again.”

4 . It was December 2022. I was finishing up my Ph. D. in the United Kingdom, and a professor I admired invited me to interview for a position in his lab in Japan. The interview went well. I was sure everything would go _________ in 2023.

Then, in April, my mother told me about some strange symptoms she was _________. “Have you submitted your thesis (毕业论文) yet?” she asked me. “Almost, Mom,” I said. She seemed to be _________. But I was buried in finishing my experiments, so I brushed away my _________. A week later, the doctors had an update: It was lung cancer. During the next 2 months, I was _________ between my research and my family as I prepared for my defense, _________ for mid-July. My Ph. D. supervisor (导师) encouraged me to take all the time I needed to be with my mom, but my _________ always pulled me back to the lab. In the meantime, cancer had spread throughout my mother’s body.

Yet my scientific _________ still occupied me. I was set to attend a conference in New Zealand in early July. But on my way to the _________, I got the news that my mother had 1 or 2 years left. So I flew back to Madrid instead. I __________ my Ph. D. defense. Meanwhile—in just 3 weeks—the rest of my mother’s life was changed to 1 year, then months, weeks, days. Cancer __________ my mother at the end of July. I am always __________ for losing precious time with my mother. I had never slowed down before, knowing what it takes to secure an academic __________. Losing my mother put things into perspective for me. I saw the humane side of science in the __________ and flexibility offered by my Ph. D. supervisor. And the work I missed felt __________. I defended my thesis in September and moved to Tokyo later.

Please, take my advice: If your loved ones need you now, be there for them.

7 . In the first class of college, our teacher gave us a special task — get to know someone we didn’t know before. When I looked around, I found a wrinkled, little old lady _________ me. She said, “Hi, my name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old.” “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked _________. “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids...” she replied. “No seriously,” I asked. I was _________ what may have motivated her to be taking on this _________ at her age. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she said.

From that day on, we became _________ friends. We left class together and talked nonstop. I was always _________ to listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and _________ with me.

At the end of the term, Rose was invited to _________ a speech. I’ll never forget what she taught us. “The secret of staying young _________ being positive and pursuing dreams persistently. You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die,” she went on. “Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any __________ or ability. The elderly usually don’t have __________ for what they did, but rather for things they didn’t do. The only people who __________ death are those with regrets.”

Finally, Rose finished the college degree successfully. A month after graduation Rose died __________ in her sleep. Thousands of college students attended her funeral (葬礼)__________ the woman from whom we can learn a __________ that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.

9 . The hurricane made my father and me homeless. It was lunchtime. However, we had nowhere to cook. Even worse, we were _________ at the moment. Approaching the door of a small restaurant in poor clothes, we _________ to enter it. A diner at the restaurant _________ us and then continued his lunch silently.

After deciding to put the bill to our account, _________ my father and I went in. Our conversation was about the power of a positive mindset, miracles, saving for future dreams and just life in general.

The waiter _________ my attention halfway through our meal and pointed towards the _________ saying something to us, but I didn’t _________ him at first because he was behind the counter which was a fair _________ away so he walked over to us and asked if we knew the guy walking out.

Feeling embarrassed, I said no and his reply was “Oh, he just _________ your table.” Dad and I were completely __________. We tried to __________ who the person was to say thank you but by the time I turned around, he had already gone.

I asked the waiter how it __________ and he said he just asked to put our bill with his, without giving any __________.

There are beautiful souls in the world that spread __________. As my father and I talked, when you __________ miracles, miracles will happen.

10 . 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.