1 . In the early hours of the morning on April 17, Kevin Record, 43, was sleeping in his apartment on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, England. His dog, Shogun, jumped onto the bed and ______ him up. Record’s e-scooter (电动摩托车) was sparking. In a sudden, the scooter’s battery ______ and the bedroom was quickly set on fire.

Though suffering serious life-changing ______ on the right-hand side of his body, Record managed to ______ from the flat and survive from the fire. ______, Shogun lost his life. “Losing my hero dog especially made me ______.” Record said. “He was everything to me. I’ll never ______ what he did for me.” Record added: “I can’t explain the ______ of the fire. I had never seen anything like that. Within seconds, it was like a fireball that ______ to everything in sight. It was so quick and ______.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) ______ to the apartment fire. They put out the fire but could not ______ any of Record’s belongings. Fire investigators believed that the ______ in Record’s e-scooter had been overheated while powering up, causing the scooter to catch fire.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Kevin promised he would routinely check his e-scooter and make sure it is in good working ______. After Kevin recovered from his injuries, the 43-year-old was hoping his experience would serve as a(n) ______ for anyone storing or charging e-scooters.

2 . There once lived a monster named Nian, who lived deep in the sea and climbed up to eat cattle and ______ people.

Then, one New Year’s Eve, the villagers were in a great ______ to run away. Some were closing windows and locking doors, some were ______ and others were driving cattle and sheep. There came a beggar (乞丐), saying “I’ll drive away the ______ .”

Around ______ Nian rushed into the village. He found the grandmother’s house was bright with red paper ______ on the doors. The monster gave a loud cry, looked ______ for a moment and went to the door. There suddenly came the sounds of explosions (爆炸). Shaking all over, the monster dared not take a step ______ . It turned out that the colour ______ flames and explosions were what Nian feared the most. The monster ran away quickly in the darkness. All the villagers felt ______ and came back to thank the beggar.

To ______ such good luck, the villagers put on their ______ clothes and hats and went to their relatives and friends to send their ______ and congratulations. These ______   have been passed down through the generations, which is the ______ of the Spring Festival.

3 . We are often told that there’s no _________ limit when it comes to pursuing our goals, but it’s truly _________ to see someone achieve them later in life-especially if they are 95 years old.

Angela Alvarez is a Cuban-born singer and songwriter who finally _________ her first album in 2021. Now, she has just won the Latin Grammy for Best New Artist.

Growing up surrounded by music, Alvarez once told her father she wanted to become a (an) _________ singer. However, life wasn’t easy for their family then and she had to _________ her dream of pursuing a career in entertainment for decades, but music was always there to keep her company and bring her _________.

With time, her kids had kids, and one of her grandchildren, Carlos Jose Alvarez, _________ found out that his grandma had _________ over 50 songs throughout her life, he knew that something had to be done. He asked her if she would be interested in going to a studio and _________ her songs. “And her answer was ‘Carlos, my dream is to __________ this life knowing that somehow my music would emerge and last.’ And that was the __________,” Carlos said in an interview.

Alvarez’s story __________ caught the attention of actor Andy Garcia, who decided to become the producer and narrator of Miss Angela, a documentary about this amazing woman. “Her story just blew me away. She __________ a generation, perhaps our generation of Cubans,” said the actor.

The dream reached new __________ as she became nominated (被提名) for a Latin Grammy. When she took to the stage to accept her award, she gave an inspiring speech, “To those who have not achieved their dream, I promise, with __________ and love you can achieve it, it’s never too late.”

4 . I have travelled across the country to improve the water and sanitation (卫生) programme for some of the poorest people that have been hit by a disaster.

As a ________ member of Oxfam India, basically, I have spent three years in Tamil Nadu. It’s a dream that comes true for me as I have always wanted to ________ humanitarian activities! That’s why I chose to study nursing after completing my basic ________. In 2015, I got my Master’s Degree in Public Health, and then joined Oxfam India.

Almost ________, I was sent to Tamil Nadu to serve the people affected by one of the worst ________ in recent history. The disaster pushed everyone in Oxfam India to become ________,with some preparing floods reports, and others writing suggestions. And I was tasked with the ________ of leading the team for Public Health activities. I still remember my ________ situation-a kind person desired to do ________ work for people, but was ________ experience! However, my goal of leading the ________ was clear. I received good ________ from my team members who made my job easier.

In the past three years, I have ________ a number of activities on safe ________ and sanitation. Those activities created a good ________ for me to carry out all I have learned from books.

5 . A cheerleader amazed everyone at the Nebraska State High School Cheer & Dance Championship (锦标赛).

Just two weeks before the competition, something unexpected happened. Morrill High School cheer coach (教练) April Ott _________ the sad news to 17-year-old Katrina that she was the only one left on the cheer squad (拉拉队) after three girls _________ for personal reasons. The coach added the only choice for them was to watch other girls in action, but Katrina had other _________. She made up her mind to go at it _________.

And that was exactly _________ Katrina did. It was the first time that a cheerleader had competed on her own. Surprisingly, she had the _________ audience when she was _________. She was greeted by huge cheers. And despite not being able to be _________ the same as other competitors, her _________ ended up eighth out of the 12 squads.

“It was the last competition in my high school life. It was certainly out of my comfort zone,” said Katrina. “That was not something I would __________ do by any means, but I didn’t want to end my senior year on a(n) __________ note.”

Katrina’s story __________ her coach and many other people. “Katrina __________ herself,” Ott said, “I feel like this is a story for everyone. Never quit. Whatever the __________ are, just keep going.”

As for her advice to others, Katrina smiled, “Never back off. You’re __________ than you think you are.”

6 . China’s 17-year-old Liu Qingyi did so excellently that she won the champion in the Huangzhou 19^th Asian Games, 2023 and made it to the next summer Olympics. Now the young Liu Qingyi is one step closer to her ________ at Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games as the street dancer won a ________ medal in the Breaking for Gold World Series in 2023, the first Olympic points event in break dancing (霹雳舞) this year.

Liu won the gold medal by ________ Japan’s home favorite and world champion Ami Yuasa in a tense final.

“During the past winter season, I have ________ some Chinese elements in my performance,” Liu told reporters after the win, noting she had spent nearly three months for the ________.

Speaking of her ________ of defeating the defending world champion, Liu ________ being proud. “It’s either win or lose when you enter a ________ . Nobody could win ________ ”, Liu said. “I am happy to win and I am also here to ________ and communicate.”

With break dancing becoming an ________ sport at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it is becoming more widely known and giving more dancers the chance to turn their hobby into a career.

It is through dancing that she overcame her ________ nature. “Before breaking, if I didn’t know someone, I couldn’t even talk to them.”

Now she believes that dancing will be her ________ career. “Dancing represents the ________ of art. I will never stop ________,” Liu said.

7 . Torbjorn Pedersen is a Danish traveler who recently finished a trip around the world. But this wasn’t just any trip. Mr. Pedersen spent nearly 10 years ________ every country in the world.

As he began to plan his trip, he made a few ________: no flying, no visiting home, and spend at least 24 hours in every ________ . He hoped that he could ________ about $20 a day, and finish his trip in about four years.

It took him far longer. The first part of his trip was pretty easy. He ________ across Europe and North America, where his biggest ________ was not spending too much money. But as he ________ on to other parts of the world, things began to get much ________ . Mr. Pedersen says he had many difficult experiences. He was once ________at gunpoint and thought he might be killed. He also became ________ ill with malaria（疟疾）.

But he also had many good ________. Mr. Pedersen says that one reason he didn’t ________ was the help he got from people all over the world. “You might have to try 1,000 closed doors,” he says, “But there is always a（an）________ door somewhere. Never, ever give up.”

On July 26, 2023 Mr. Pedersen arrived back in Denmark after a 33-day boat ride. He was ________by about 150 people, including friends and family members. Mr. Pedersen says he plans to write a book and ________ what he learned in his travels around the world.

8 . Flooding was fairly usual for a Queensland summer. This time, however, there had been a lot of rain and flash flooding further north which _________ ran down to the river.

My younger brother was getting _________ and thought we should evacuate. We spent hours trying to _________ him down. The water had never gotten to less than 1 to 2 meters away from our street level. After a few more _________, the water levels were getting much higher than we’d seen before and we thought it best if we moved our cars to the higher _________ just in case it got to the street level. Later, we _________ a lot of furniture and electronics upstairs.

Finally, we decided to _________. The water was getting close to the street level, which only meant another foot from _________ our bottom floor. We left to spend the _________ with my cousin who lived in a neighborhood close by. We heard that the water had __________ further, but had no idea how far as it was dark and we couldn’t see anything from our cousin’s house.

The __________ moment was when we finally got to see our house. There is a high school behind our house, which __________ at the base of this large hill, with an elevated sports oval (高架椭圆形体育场) right behind our house. The water at its __________ was about 2 inches from being level with the oval. We __________ it to survey our house. Seeing water lapping (轻拍) at the windows of our bedroom on the second floor of our house was the most unbelievable __________ I had ever seen.

9 . A children’s choir (合唱团) from the snowy highlands of Tibet recently ________ their beautiful singing to the capital, Beijing.

The Qomolangma Children’s Choir was set up in 2020. They recently paid a week-long trip to Beijing to ________ their music skills and show their talent to national audiences.

When journalists met the choir on Saturday, the children were ________ the recording of a music program at CCTV in Beijing. Before ________ the program, they received professional ________ from teachers at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM). Besides, they also visited scenic ________ in Beijing such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and so on. Tenzin Dunyu, a 10～year-old member of the choir, told the journalists that he has been playing the zhanian for five years. The zhanian, a beautiful ________, is widely used in songs and dances in Tibet. For him, coming to Beijing and ________ in Tiananmen Square was both a nervous and ________ experience, marking his first journey outside Lhasa. Another 10-year-old member, Tsering Lhamo, has been singing for a year. Her trip to Beijing broadened her horizons, and when it came to what impressed her most, she said she ________ enjoyed the cheerful songs of the choir performed at CCTV.

Geng Muyao was the choir’s ________ from CCOM to help the children with training. She ________ that the choir was set up by the Tibetan government and ________ by CCOM. “Many members were ________ of vocal (声 乐的) training due to poor condition, so this choir experience means a lot to them. ”she said.

Including children from all over Tibet, the choir primarily shows Tibetan folk culture. Though the members are ________, the choir has performed at important events, achieving amazing success in a short time.

10 . David lost his beloved dog Baya before Christmas two years ago. Baya was active and cute. David’s family spent many days _________ for their furry (毛茸茸的) family member. The kids said they wouldn’t want any _________ from Santa Claus. They just wanted to get their dog back. All attempts to find her turned out to be _________. Baya was nowhere to be found. It seemed that the family wouldn’t have any more _________.

Two years later, a homeless dog _________ alone on a busy road. Someone _________ it to the Animal Protection Association (协会). Thanks to the microchip (芯片) planted in the dog, the association was able to _________ the owner. They _________ David. When David got a phone call that they were going to get Baya back, the family were pretty _________.

Obviously, Baya is __________ to living in this home. She is quite __________ of where her feeding bowl is. Even though Baya isn’t the dog she used to be, David is confident she’ll become her old __________ again. He said, “She was a very healthy and __________ dog. She’s not like that anymore, but we’re going to get her back. Our whole family are taking __________ of her. Kids play with her happily. She’s __________ her joyful nature. We will love her even more.”