1 . A family visited the public elementary school where I taught students with a listening defect(缺点，缺陷). They said they would _________ the district and planned to enroll (给……报名) their deaf daughter as a first grader. They were _________ that their child’s kindergarten teacher told them not to have high _________ for her academically (在学业上). Standing behind them was Katherine, who didn’t make a _________ or use gestures, even when her parents encouraged her.

After a few weeks with Katherine, I found her a very _________ and strong-willed girl. Although I was able to make her take part in a variety of learning activities, writing was a _________. I tried all kinds of ways to _________ her in writing. Every time the _________ came out, she would shut down and _________ to participate.

One day Katherine got off the bus and stood in front of the school __________. The staff members present did not know enough __________ to ask her why she was unhappy. Finally, they took her to the __________ where they handed her a pen and notebook. Katherine __________: “PAC BAK.” __________ the office staff realized she left her backpack on the bus. Soon Katherine got her backpack back.

That day Katherine discovered the __________ of the pen. She is a young woman now and has become a writer.

2 . Before coming to Palencia, I had never heard of the city. The city is _________ and at times a little quiet and the people are friendly. Working at a language school means that I_________ the faces of hundreds of students. A trip to the supermarket therefore often involves numerous stops for _________. When Carnival arrived I had my doubts. Would Carnival in a small city really be as _________ as it would be in for example Madrid, the capital city of Spain? Yes!

The morning of Carnival I planned to meet up with my friends to buy our _________ for the evening's celebrations. The tradition of dressing up is _________ across all the country during Carnival, with people of all ages making a(n) _________ to wear a costume. I saw crazy frogs, princesses and men dressed as women. My friends, however,had _________ to dress as knights.

Being the only Englishman among a group of Spaniards, however, I decided to fully immerse(沉浸）myself in Spanish culture.

Before meeting with my friends I _________ my costume and felt slightly embarrassed,but excited. An Englishman dressed as a matador. The fun started when I met with my ____________ in our usual place. As they decided among themselves where we were going,I ____________ that a few of them had suspicious(可疑的）smiles on their faces. It took me too long to ____________ that they were talking about me. Before I had time to ____________ they came for me and lifted me onto their shoulders. I was paraded down the High Street to shouts of “matador, matador, matador”， ____________ on the shoulders of my friends. Needless to say numerous students ____________ me. Although I felt embarrassed, I could not help but laugh, after all, I chose the costume.

3 . It all began when I moved to Dallas in the fourth grade. I ______ that I was behind in my reading at Saint Michael's School. Reading out loud, I had difficulty with half the ______ . My teacher, Mrs. Agnew, said my reading comprehension and ability to ______ words was at a lower level than other fourth graders. She suggested that I be tested for dyslexia(阅读障碍). The test made me feel uncomfortable,and I was ______ to answer the questions, in fear of facing the ______

The test results showed that I had developmental dyslexia. At first I felt discouraged by this diagnosis(诊断) ______ eventually, I became determined to ______ my disability. I got tutors and speech therapy. I would read difficult books, hoping to ______ the confidence I had in myself.

I had finally overcome my learning disability. But even though I had conquered(征服)one of the biggest ______ in my life, I still felt like something was missing.

The missing link was ______ when I walked down the hall of the hospital as a ______ , the same hospital where I had once sat, nervous and confused. Because I felt so lucky to have got so much help from this facility, I wanted to ______ by helping patients here.

One day a little girl in a wheelchair asked me to read a book to her. I read the book very ______ so that she could understand the story. When I left, the girl thanked me for reading to her. Eight years ago I would have ______ to read a book to this little girl, but now I was ______ . I had overcome my disability and was helping others to overcome theirs.

4 . It's amazing how friendships can blossom in such a short time. I met Julia in December, but we have been _________ since. Being in lockdown is really _________ and I ever said to her that we should both go shopping in the same supermarket. That way we could see each other at a _________ of six feet away.

This morning when she _________ me, asking if I was going to the store, I told her I was feeling really low and just didn't have the _________ to even go to the store. Actually, the _________ of being inside has set in. It's been getting, _________ and today was one of those days. We have had pouring rain these days so even going for a walk hasn't been a(an) _________.

A short time later, she came to my _________ with a bag of shopping and from six feet away, she __________ a bag of stuff for dinner, my favorite chocolates, a face mask, and hair products! From six feet away, I felt like crying __________ tears. I was so moved, although not being able to __________ her.

That's what best friends are! They don't __________ how much money you make and what you do for a living. If you've hit rock bottom, they just __________ you back. And that's what she proved: __________ aren't necessarily about people who you've known the longest, but those who come into your life and say, "I'm here for you."

5 . Knitting is well known for its healing benefits. For Clare Young. the pastime has helped ________her broken heart after her husband Ken died of cancer.

Mrs. Young was diagnosed with a mental disorder and anxiety after her husband’s death in 2015. They met online 15 years ago. He was ________with cancer in 2013. Then they wedded in 2014 and she gave up work to care for her husband. She was advised to take up knitting as a way to ________the stress.

She created Work of Heart Garden in ________of her husband to help manage her sorrow and the ________health symptoms. Her piece ________a bed in a hospice (临终安养院) garden, with knitted grass, flower pots and walls. Her knitted creation and her ________fundraising (筹款) for Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court hospice, which helped care for Ken, saw Clare enter the Creative Fundraiser of the Year. In the awards ceremony. Clare was ________Creative Fundraiser of the Year.

Following her win, Clare said, “I started knitting at home to manage the sorrow and mental health symptoms. Never in my wildest ________did I think creating a knitted garden would lead me to receiving 50,000 knitted hearts from across the world and picking up this ________. I would like to ________it to them. It is for every person who has knitted, donated and ________. It was a huge honor to those who are making a ________to the world. Creating Work of Heart Garden has been a( an) ________experience. Not only have I achieved my aim of raising ________of the work of the hospice, but I have encouraged more people to talk more people about hospice care, loss and grief.”

6 . You can learn a lot sitting in a parking lot. One day, I was sitting in my car with my son waiting for my wife who was in the _________. I would look up and _________what was going on outside. Then, I noticed a brand new bright red car park next to my car. A well-dressed woman stepped out of it. She looked _________with a serious look and her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. I watched her as she headed for the same supermarket and _________what her life was like.

After a while, a truck parked on the other side of the red car. It _________ of burning oil and probably didn’t have many months of life left in its engine. A young mother with four little girls got out. All were dressed in _________ clothes that were most probably _________ at the second-hand store. She gathered them together and headed for the store, laughing and talking all the way.

A while later, I saw the well-dressed lady come out, _________ a shopping cart with several bags of items in it. She put them in the car and drove away quickly. Her eyes were still _________ and there was still a frown (皱眉) on her face. About thirty minutes later, the mother came back with her girls. They had a week’s __________ of groceries in their cart. After putting everything into the truck, the mother took out two __________, broke both in half, and gave each girl a half. They smiled as if the cookies were the most__________ gift in the world.

As they __________, I thought about the two women. I __________ knew who had more money, but I wasn’t sure who really owned more. Actually, there are many kinds of __________, but the most valuable is love. The truth is that one who loves the most, also learns the most, lives the most, gives the most, and grows the most in this life. And the more you share, the more you get.

7 . A daughter expressed gratitude to her mom's love and support in the best way possible! The image traveled the world and brought tears of _________

During her college graduation photo session, Roberta Mascena _________everyone by opening her gown(学士服)to proudly _________her mother's work uniform.

“When we went to take the _________, I opened the gown and she saw the clothes. She started crying and _________me. She didn't say anything because I don't think there are any words that can _________any kind of feeling she had at that moment,” the young woman recalled.

_________the cleaning staff uniform?

First, her mother, Marlene Cordeiro de Oliveira, helped   _________for Roberta's college education with her job on the cleaning staff of a building. That's not the only reason why she wore her mother's uniform, _________. In fact, her mother Marlene's life story has always been Roberta's __________She had to abandon her studies when she was just 13 years old; that was when she __________ home to work as a maid in family homes in the countryside. As an adult, Marlene moved to Santos, where she __________a taxi driver. When their children were in school, Marlene also went back to her studies and __________elementary school, with Roberta's help.

Roberta said that wearing a cleaning staff uniform on that __________day was the way she found to thank her mother for her efforts to pay for her college education. In addition, she wanted to show how __________she is of the dignified life her mother has built.

8 . Mother Hen

From the moment my husband brought home a box of six chicks, our nine-year-old, Sophie, hasn't let them _________ her sight. She named them Trixie, Bearty, Sweet Pea, Speedie, Captain Flint, and Adrian and was very _________ when we wouldn't let them sleep in her bed.

Sophie takes at least one chicken everywhere we let her and has done_________ things with her chickens. One hot day, she wanted to take Captain Flint to the creek(小溪). I wasn't so _________ about it: Could chickens swim? Sophie balanced a stick on her river tube (游泳圈)for Captain Flint to stay on, and the two_________ down the creek.

_________, Sophie dressed as a chicken for Halloween and _________ us that Trixic had to come. The reactions from neighbors were _________＂Wait,is that a real chicken you're holding?" Trixie cooed (咕咕地叫)the whole time.

The chickens are teaching us about love as well as _________ and grief.Sadly,Captain Flint faced an untimely death after an eagle attack. We had a chicken funeral, said a few words about what a good chicken she was, and thanked her for the __________ she brought to our lives before we __________ her. Sophie painted a lovely picture __________ it and has worn a pendant（坠饰） with Captain's picture ever since.

The chickens weren't__________ in the house until one morning when Sophie told me,＂There's nothing to feel happy about." Since then, we've allowed one chick inside at a time if Sophic promised to__________ immediately. The chickens brought a glimmer of joy back to our lives. In a few short months, they have taught us to__________ situations we can't change and find joy where we can. I am so grateful.

9 . All eyes were on me as the other moms quieted down. Someone had just asked, “Are you going to _________ us?”

“Yeah, you should dance with us,“ another_________ .I was waiting for my daughter's dance class to finish while the other moms got_________ for their adult dance class.

"No," I said. I'd_________ these moms from the sidelines through the years. However, I didn't have a dancer's body.

But my husband said to me, "You’ll never know if you don^’t try." So I_________ for ballet. At my first class, I was the_________ woman in the room. What did the others think of me?

The instructor started us with basic, simple steps. _________ nobody made comments about my size and till the end of the class, I realized I had_________ the night. So I kept going each week.

The instructor moved on to more_________ steps. My muscles were painful, but I__________ it. The steps continued to be harder, but I__________ at home with my daughter. Later, I realized something __________ My legs weren^’t painful anymore.

I saw a(n) __________ in the way I carried myself too. I was stronger. My muscles weren't the only part of me that had been__________. " I don't care what others think when I'm dancing," I told my husband with my new__________. "Anyway, I've learned ballet!"

10 . I'll never forget the day Marilyn came in my office. She said, “I am too old to learn how to use a computer.” I _______ my head in disbelief.

Here is a woman who has raised 6 children, who has _______ smoothly in her career telling me that she was too old to learn something _______！ My own philosophy on life is that you are NEVER too old to learn. Having new knowledge is a(n) _______ and can open new doors.

Needless to say, she did learn how to _______ the computer! Marilyn is now retired and leading a very _______ life volunteering in her community. She helps anyone who needs help and is using her computer skills! This woman has all amazing talent _______ making people laugh and feel at ease.

Now she is well into her 60s and she calls me and says she is going to make a CD. You can _______ my surprise and delight！！ All her life she has played the _______ and taught others. Now she has her own CD. My mind ________ back to the day when she told me she was too old to learn！！！！

To produce the CD, she had a lot of learning to do. It was not just sitting at the piano and playing. She had to research the ________, learn about copyright issues, and learn about marketing. Pretty amazing for someone who once said she was too old to learn!

Marilyn's story ________ my beliefs that no matter what your ________， you can learn and do whatever you set your mind on. Congratulations to you, Marilyn; you are a(n) ________！

It is my hope of ________ Marilyn's story with you. And it will inspire you to take action to learn and do the thing that you have thought about but have never done!