1 . Mary was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默症) in 2013. With Mary’s condition slowly _______, her doctor told her heartbroken 44-year-old son Sean not to fear. “Being _______ and happy, the Alzheimer’s might make progress”, the doctor said. Taking the doctor’s advice, Sean decided to make a trip with his mom to Nepal.

Sean was _______ when Mary started walking and talking again during their trip—even learning new words. He said, “I thought Alzheimer’s was just a decline, but when we got to Nepal she started to _______.”

Seeing the great _______, Sean was determined to keep _______ with her mom for the next 18 months. Mary got to _______ a festival of color in the Himalayas, climb across mountains in Italy, and feel the sand beneath her feet at the tip of South Africa.

People thought Mary would be a _______, but for Sean, it was the least he could do for the mother he loved so much—who had always _______ to others throughout her life. He said: “She was the best thing in my life. Unconditional ________ is a thing you don’t get often, and she always gave it, even though she had a tough life.”

2 . Billy lived in a coal-mining town in the north of England. His mother was dead and his whole family was suffering from the loss. The father became silent and _______ tempered. Billy was quiet and lonely. The family had little money but his father scrimped to send Billy to a boxing club. Billy was not good at _______ and only went to make his father happy.

One day Billy came across a ballet class run by Mrs Wilkinson in the same hall as his boxing club. Billy was interested and Mrs Wilkinson invited him to _______ the all-girl class. Billy fell in love with ballet at once. In the tough mining town where Billy lives, ballet is thought to be suitable only for _______. So he didn’t tell anyone about it but used his boxing club money for ballet lessons. After the secret was discovered, his close friends accepted it, _______ some other boys at his school laughed at him and called him “ballerina boy” and “girlie boy”. When Billy’s father finally learned about Billy’s dancing, there was a _______ argument and he was forbidden (禁止) to dance anymore. But Billy _______ his lessons. When his father found out, he was angry and _______ down to the hall to “beat some sense into him”. However, Billy danced in front of his father, performing a combination (组合) of tap dance, ballet and athletics. Billy’s _______ and talent shocked his father. He finally allowed Billy to go on dancing. Billy eventually struggled to become a successful dancer with the Royal Ballet.

Billy’s advice to young people is simple: “No matter what kind of _______ boys and girls have, they should go for it. So long as you go for it, you can make it.”

3 . The Drum Set

To Gabe, everything was as a drum. He beat on the sofa. He beat on his school desk. His life was a steady beat of drum sounds.

All Gabe wanted was a drum set, but his parents couldn’t ________ to buy him one. Then, one day at school, the class began studying how to protect the Earth and its resources. Mr. Gomez ________ three things that everyone could do: recycle, reuse, and reduce.

Gabe thought about what he and his family already did. They recycled bottles, cans, and paper. They didn’t waste a lot, either. Gabe’s new jackets were ________ new. His elder brother had worn those years before. They also reduced. They ________ lights whenever possible.

As Mr. Gomez spoke, a brilliant ________ hit Gabe. Not only could he help protect the Earth, but he could also do something to make himself very happy! Then Mr. Gomez told the class about a science project. Gabe didn’t need any more ________. He already knew what he would do.

He ________ big balloons from his birthday party, found old cans of different sizes, and ________ some tape from his father. Then he cut off the narrow end of each balloon, stretched a balloon over the top of each can and taped it on the side of the can.

He tried out his drum set by beating on them one by one with chopsticks. Each drum made a ________ sound. It sounded pretty good!

The science presentations were held on Monday. When he finished his ________ with his drum set, his classmates clapped and cheered!

Finally, Gabe was chosen to be a member of the school band.

4 . Jonathan Bauer is afraid of heights, but that didn't stop him from jumping off a ________ to save a little girl's life.

On May 2, Bauer and his teenage daughter Ava were________ in a serious five-car crash on the bridge over Maryland Bay. After making sure Ava was okay, Bauer got out of his car to see if anyone needed________.He saw a girl struggling in the water, her arms moving, legs________.

Searching the water for nearby boats that might be able to help, Bauer found none close by. He yelled to his daughter to bring the first firefighter or doctor she saw. Then he________ took off his shoes and didn't________ to jump off.

He swam to the girl, lifted her over his shoulder and patted her back until she started to cough. Moments later, doctors arrived. After pulling Bauer and the girl to safety, they ________ the pair to hospital.

When the girl got proper treatment, Bauer quietly walked away without asking for ________ for his brave actions. Even after the report of the incident went________ , he still tried to keep quiet, preferring to remain an unknown Samaritan (好心人).

Jonathan is truly a(n) ________ hero and that's what makes this even more special than it already was.

5 . Broken Bones Don’t Get in the Way of a Big Break

Matt Shilcock lives to dance-and he will break his bones to prove it.

Shilcock, 33, was born with osteogenesis imperfect (成骨不全症). It is effectively inevitable that bones in his body will break. Shilcock was in a wheelchair as he grew up in Adelaide, until the determined teenager _________ it when he turned 15.

He said, “I just felt like being in a wheelchair was stopping me from being able to participate in things, so if I don’t take it to school, that’s going to be the start of some kind of _________.”

He admits the decision led to “complications”. “I definitely lost _________ of how many bones I’ve broken,” he said. “If you experience something enough it becomes your norm.”

Having a regular day job was never going to happen _________ dance occupied Shilcock’s mind.

“I _________ took up dancing because it was just cheaper than physiotherapy. As I started to gain more confidence and competence moving my body, _________ injuries and coming back from injuries and learning my physical potential, just the _________ that came with that was really addictive,” he said.

And so he began a career on the stage, with an 18-month acting course progressing to his first dance show in 2010 with the Restless Dance Company. He had gone from project to project for a decade before _________ the big one, a mentorship (顾问) with the acclaimed Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) last year.

Shilcock has turned his hand to choreography (编舞). He said he has given himself permission both to _________ or be great, when audiences judge his choreographic work.

It is the start of a gradual transition out of dancing that he admits will be __________ for his body to take.

6 . When I was ten, we moved to a new house across town. Mark, one of the_______boys, came over with his Star Wars action figures. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber lit up and he could swing his arms and say, in a tinny voice, “Use the Force!” I didn’t think the figure looked much like the real Obi-Wan at all. Together, we watched him repeat this performance five times on the coffee table.

“Can he do anything else?” I asked.

Mark was_______by my question. “Look at all the details,” he said.

I looked at the details. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say.

Mark was disappointed by my response. “Show me your toys.”

I didn’t have any toys_______my paper menagerie. I brought Laohu out from my bedroom. By then he was very worn, patched all over with tape and glue, evidence of the years of repairs Mo m and I had done on him. He was no longer as nimble (敏捷的)and _______as before. I carefully sat him down on the coffee table. I could hear the skittering steps of the other animals behind in the hallway, timidly peeking into the living room.

“Xiao laohu,” I said, and stopped. I switched to English.“This is Tiger.” Cautiously, Laohu strode up and purred at Mark, sniffing his hands.

Mark_______the Christmas-wrap pattern of Laohu’s skin. “That doesn’t look like a tiger at all. Your Mom makes toys for you from trash?”

I had never thought of Laohu as_______. But looking at him now, he was really just a piece of wrapping paper.

Mark pushed Obi-Wan's head again. The lightsaber flashed; he moved his arms up and down. “Use the Force!”

Laohu turned and pounced, knocking the plastic figure_______the table. It hit the floor and broke, and Obi-Wan’s head rolled under the couch.

“Rawwww,” Laohu laughed. I _______ him.

Mark punched me, hard. “This was very expensive! You can’t even find it in the stores now. It probably cost more than what your Dad paid for your Mom!”

I stumbled and fell to the floor. Laohu growled and leapt at Mark’s face.

Mark screamed, more out of fear and surprise than_______. Laohu was only made of paper, after all. Mark grabbed Laohu and his snarl was choked off as Mark crumpled him in his hand and tore him in half. He balled up the two pieces of paper and threw them at me. “Here’s your stupid cheap Chinese garbage.”

After Mark left, I spent a long time trying, without__________, to tape together the pieces, smooth out the paper, and follow the creases to refold Laohu. Slowly, the other animals came into the living room and gathered around us, me and the torn wrapping paper that used to be Laohu.

7 . Betty Bromage was in her 80s and had recently moved into a retirement home in the south west of England. Despite her old age, she still wanted to have some _________ in her life. After considering,she_________ up an extreme sport - wing-walking, which means standing on the wings of a _________ while it's flying in the air. She did her first wing-walk when she was 87,and has since done two more, each time to celebrate her birthday.

Before doing her first wing-walk, Betty had to get a doctor's _________ to prove she was fit enough.“The doctor asked me what I thought being old. I said I'd feel _________ if l couldn't get up from a chair, but not until then." The doctor was_________ by her desire. After all, it was such a_________sport.

When she landed after her initial wing-walk,the first thing Betty asked was “Can I go back up again now?”   

Betty has used her wing-walks to raise money for a local_________. So she has received lots of publicity, although this was never one of her aims.

Betty has two young grandsons. She hopes to_________them to live a meaningful life There's no doubt that she has achieved this. When she was told that the world's oldest wing-walker is a 95-year-old man, Betty's reaction was:“Well, I’ll have to__________the sport until I'm 96.

8 . Rob made ends meet for his family as a handyman, doing odd jobs around the area. But those odd jobs quickly dried up due to a financial crisis. Then he lost his apartment. This _______ his family into renting a motel room.

“We have to pay rent every day, and I'm running _______ on money,” Rob said. So, the _______ handyman took to the streets with a sign that read: “Handyman, 25 years exp., Need work.” Rob wasn't asking for money or looking for a handout but rather for an opportunity to earn his _______.

Rob stood on the side of the highway holding his sign for a week. The temperatures were scorehing（灼热的）but he _______ the hot sun each day in the hopes of finding work. Someone took a photo of him and _______ it on social media! Kyle, the owner of Greenstar Home Remodeling, saw Rob's photo online. And he derided to offer the handyman a chance to help him gel hark on his feet.

Kyle brought Rob on to help with some demolition（拆除的）work. Rob didn't even ask how much the job paid. He just showed up. “I _______ out as a painter, and then I became a landscaper — roofing — whatever could make money at,” the handyman explained.

Rob _______ intends to put his all into working for Kyle for as long as Kyle has jobs for him. And after seeing Rob's dedication and _______, Kyle is willing to do all he can to help the man build a brighter future.

Sometimes all someone needs is to be given a __________.

9 . A Football Match

My father is a great football fan. In his young days he was the captain of his college Football Eleven. Now he often goes to see a football match. Sometimes he _______ a football match on TV. He never loses a _______ to see a good football match as far as possible.

Last Sunday my father _______ me to see a football match. It was played at King's Stadium at Lords Avenue. We _______ the Stadium on our bike. We parked the scooter and _______ two tickets and then entered the Stadium.

The match was between a Local team and a visiting Russian team. The Stadium was full to capacity. It was a cool and bright afternoon of October. The tall and strong players looked very smart in their team uniforms. The match soon _______ It proved to be an exciting match.

The Russians played fast and scored the first goal in the 15th minute. The Local team kicked hard. Before interval (中场休息) they scored an equalizer(扳平比分). The match continued after the interval. In the fifth _______ the Russians scored another goal. Their shooting and team-work were _______

In the second half the Russians showed their best. The Local team tried hard but could not match the _______ . It became a one-sided game. They proved far superior. The Russians __________ the match by 4 goals to 1.

It was an enjoyable experience. I shall never forget this experience.

10 . In July, I took my kids on vacation to Los Angeles. A month after our trip, I found myself under a lot of stress; I just wanted to get away and _________ for a while.

While I was sitting by the pool, an idea suddenly _________ me.

I'd always wanted to see the Greek island of Santorini. Therefore, the idea of a two-week European vacation alone was _________. It was _________ I never thought I'd be planning this soon in my life. I had always thought, if it did ever _________, it would be when I was _________ and old.

I would lie if I said I wasn't _________. I'd driven alone across the US before, from California to New Jersey, but traveling to other _________ whose languages weren't the same as mine terrified me. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to _________ with anyone, especially if I got __________ somewhere. But I soon realized that if I wanted to __________ my dreams, I had to step out of my comfort zone. And it __________ on me that I was scared, and if I let fear take __________ of me, I'd never get anywhere.

As I searched for other __________ to visit on my trip, I found Mykonos, Greece, which I realized I liked just as much as I liked Santorini. When I arrived in Europe, it was like I was __________ a dream. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and what I was __________.

The best part was the bus ride to Venice. As I rode on the bus and __________ at every new thing I saw, I was having the time of my life. It was nice to see people, young and old, __________ their bikes to wherever they needed to go. I thought the __________ of the houses and the buildings was so charming, but seeing people doing their routine was the __________ part for me.