1 . We have to admit that we all get defensive(戒备的)sometimes. Defensiveness is a human________in certain situations. Not everything makes us defensive - it seems that specific situations________ defensiveness. I was usually a________ individual, but there were always some cases where my insecurities________ me and I got defensive and doubted my ability.

In my family’s eyes, I was________ my elder sister. I was an outgoing kid who liked undertaking outdoor work________ my sister was shy and preferred to do household chores. We were responsible for sharing different housework. My parents were satisfied with such “perfect”________ in our life. But problems started to________ after I got married. The members of my new family are all great cooks. I suddenly found myself a(n)________ . Any time the subject of cooking came up, I became________ and defensive. When I went deeper and________ the reason, I discovered it was due to its conflict with my value. I perceived their reaction to my poor cooking skills as a(n)________ .

It took me years to________ myself and my cooking abilities.________ , my new family did much to make me feel relieved. I know it is the insecurities that make me annoyed easily. Over time, I’ve learned to calmly     ________ those insecurities and I have learned to be happy with “good enough”. Now I’m aware of the trap and________ myself not to connect the feeling of inadequacy with my sense of self-worth.

When our defensiveness________ , it can feel like we are being blamed for something. Being defensive can________ effective and honest communication. Sometimes, it has the________ of preventing the issues from being resolved. So we should get rid of too much defensiveness to make ourselves________ constantly.

2 . Two sisters have a debate about which life is better: city or country life. The elder sister, who lives in a city, ______ that city life is much better, ______ they don’t have to toil (辛苦工作) in the soil, and can enjoy lots of ______. The younger sister states that, their life in the countryside is rough, but they don’t waste their time on useless things, such as meeting with traffic jams (交通堵塞), and have no other worries.

The younger sister’s husband, Pahom, has the same opinion with her. He thinks that everything is good with their country life, except that he ______ a bigger piece of land, so that he does not have to fear the Devil (恶魔). Pahom luckily ______ to buy more land. ______, with more land, his heart wants even more land. ______ gain more, he travels to the Bashkir land. The Bashkirs have a ______ with him that he can have as much land as he walks during the ______, for a thousand rubles (卢布). Their only ______ is that he must come back to the starting point at the end of the day. Pahom’s ______ to achieve more makes him walk so much that he loses his strength. So when he ______ reaches the starting point, he has no strength to live and dies. The Bashkir chief laughs, and Pahom’s servant states that he now needs only that much land that is enough to ______ him.

Man is never satisfied, and he often becomes greedy in an effort to ______ more. How much is more can’t be defined, and it is up to him to ______ how far he must go simply to achieve something he wants at the expense of others.

3 . Among the images that appeared on TV screens were soldiers, and I wanted to be one of them. Within weeks of 9/11 in 2001, I joined the Army with the _________ of my family behind me.

My biggest _________ was that I smiled too much, as soldiers don’t smile! I made up (弥补) the military (军事的) _________ that I didn’t have, with great _________. Our group’s motto was “Always Forward”. It told us personally to never _________.

Under our _________ officers, we were physically and mentally challenged day and night. It _________ me that we could work out the entire day, learn new military _________ and, in the middle of the night, wake up for additional duty. I smiled through it all. Always Forward!

A few months after graduating from the camp, I met my former drill officer. We _________ a few words of greetings. I thanked him for being so strict. He smiled and said, “Thanks for your smiling face. You really brightened my days during the rough times.” We __________ goodbye with “Always Forward” and went in our __________ ways.

It’s been nearly twenty years since that conversation, and it’s never __________ me. I had no idea that my smile made a difference. I learned from that conversation that even in the most difficult situations, small __________ with people lasts a long time. Sometimes, we don’t even know the joy we __________ to others.

I stayed in the military for ten years. Challenges continued to __________ my way, but I never lost my smile.

4 . Dogs are our friends. Taking your dog to work with you can be great for ______. That was what Steyaert, who sells women’s clothing in an outdoor market learned after ______ her dog Nelson there. At first, she did so just to prevent him from being ______ during the day. She put a blanket in front of her stand so that Nelson could sit there ______and take in everything around him.

Soon Steyaert realized that Nelson’s presence would ______ shoppers walking by. “He lifts his paw to greet people,” Steyaert said. “He knows how to steal their ______. And people’s behaviour made me ______. I never thought passers-by would pet a stranger’s dog so often.”

The ______ Nelson gets from strangers passing by varies from simply turning their heads to showing great love. Many people have ______ him over the years. Steyaert, in turn, has gained more ______ within her community. “It happens often that people ______ me through Nelson,” Steyaert said.

Besides interesting many shoppers, Nelson has also ______ some people. For example, one day a girl passing by asked Steyaert if she could pet Nelson. She told Steyaert that her dog had just passed away and that it was ______ to see and pet Nelson. That encouraged Steyaert to ______ her influential act of taking Nelson to her workplace.

While Nelson’s presence in the market contributes to Steyaert’s sales, it’s their ______ that benefits much more from it. “He’s my best friend and always at my side,” Steyaert said.

5 . Liu Xiaosheng finally had time to himself when the summer vacation recently ended. The 73-year-old had been teaching children English _________ six days a week for over a month. His “ _________ ” was a rural family courtyard in a village in Zunyi, Guizhou province.

Before retiring, Liu was a professor at a university in Chongqing. In 2012, he brought his family to Guizhou, a region known for its _________ climate, to spend the summer.

One evening, he saw a neighbor’s child learning English. He asked the child to read him a passage. “The pronunciation was _________, ” Liu recalled. As a teacher, he knew how important standard pronunciation was and he began to correct the child _________ . In this way, Liu had his first student. News of free English tutoring from a retired professor soon _________ through the village, and more and more children came to learn.

At first, Liu taught in his living room, and then moved into the corridor for more _________ . But soon, the corridor was packed with students. One villager _________ to leave his room to use as a classroom, and the villagers _________ their money to buy desks, chairs, benches and a blackboard. Later, as the number of students grew, Liu __________ a classroom in the courtyard of a villager’s house. Now he is known as the “courtyard teacher”.

__________ once suggested paying tuition fees, but Liu turned down the __________ . Some also tried to give him some __________ to express their gratitude, but he refused. He said that teaching had become a part of his life, and he did it for neither fame nor __________ . Before he wrapped up this year’s session and returned to Chongqing, he __________ the children that he would see them again next year.

6 . Everyone has a wish to travel.But those who cannot do so themselves might find it _________ to work in a travel agency(旅行社),_________ journeys for other people.Brian Lawley does this,working in a small travel agency in an industrial city.Most of his work is concerned with holidays,both at home and abroad.Every autumn the agency _________ hundreds of booklets(小册子) full of attractive,coloured photographs,_________ the holidays that the customers will be able to have the next year.Soon,people begin to come into the office to _________ their holidays:perhaps a week’s skiing in Australia in January,perhaps a seaside holiday in Spain in May,or a tour of North Africa.Brian often has to _________ people on what holidays will be _________ for them.And people always have a lot of questions.Last year,for example,a lady of eighty-two wanted to book a mountaineering holiday in the Alps,and Brian had great difficulty in _________ her that it would not be suitable.In the end,she decided to go for a Mediterranean cruise(游览) _________. 

Arranging journeys for people who have to travel ____________ on business is often very complicated,but Brian ____________ his work.For example,last spring,Mr Perry,director of a local chemical firm,____________ a business trip,and Brian arranged it all for him.First,Mr Perry travelled to London by train,and stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport,because his plane ____________ early the next morning.He flew to Frankfurt,where he ____________ the morning discussing business.Then he went on by train to Zurich,and spent three days there ____________ going on to America.He had business in Seattle,Chicago and New York,and then went home by train.The next day he telephoned the agency to thank Brian for arranging everything so well for him.

7 . The Enemy Is in My Pocket

Yesterday I went to a phone store. There were no other ___________ inside, just me and three salespeople.

“How can I help you?” One of them asked me.

I replied, “I ___________ if I'm able to trade in my iPhone for a non-smart phone.”

“Um, let me check on that.” She walked to the other end of the ___________ to ask her manager. Later, she came back with ___________ news. She smiled, ___________ they didn't provide such service. “___________ , you're the first person we've ever had who wanted to trade down your phone. "

That moment had come after months of struggle. I ___________ thought that I'd reach that point. I'm young and always ___________ the latest internet happenings using my iPhone. I didn't want to ___________ anything.

But one day, I began to wonder how important being online really is and if it made me a ____________ person. Twitter has funny jokes, but I’m often mad at posts from trolls (喷子). I spend hours playing games that ________the intention to read the news online. Throughout high school, the lessons had no hope of pulling my ____________ away from my phone. Being online so much made me feel ____________ or anxious and ____________ real-world things I needed to get done.

So, I wanted to ____________. Unfortunately, as I was told by the saleswoman, that isn't possible quite yet. But since then, I've started to leave my phone in my bedroom when I need to ____________ and when I go out with friends. The best way to stop ____________ my phone constantly is not having my phone on me to begin with.

I've only been doing this for a few days, but I have found myself obviously more ____________ and creative without breaking my concentration whenever I get a TikTok notification (通知).

Where there is a ____________ there is a way. There are always ways that everyone can enjoy the conveniences of new technology ____________ being burdened (烦扰) by it.

8 . A single tremble shook beneath my feet. The trees above me began to sway(摇摆) hard. Then came the deadly_________that could only mean one thing, destruction. Every house and object was now_________. My vision blurred (模糊) even more when I saw the remains of my house. The house that used to_________all the happiness in the world was now_________a pile of ruined pieces. I_________all the times I played with my little brother and sister. Images of them were_________in my mind, so I let the darkness sweep over me completely so I could see them vividly one last time. I regained a bit of my_________after lying on the ground for some time. My eyes viewed different things, but I walked on mindlessly, with no_________to anything around me at all.

Years have passed since the disaster that_________me years ago. I never thought I would be okay again after this__________event.

Today I am going on a trip to California to help__________of a recent earthquake. Then, I see her. A young girl is weeping into her arm. I walk toward her. Losing family was__________, but because of my life changing experience, I am strong, and I can__________the lives of those who are suffering as I was. When I reach the girl, she stares at me with sad eyes, and I gently stick out my hand for her to hold to. One day, she may__________others the way I did for her. She holds my hand tightly, and together, we look for a brighter future where we can help those around us and__________the world starting with one disaster at a time.

9 . As a(n) _________ English teacher at my school in Japan, I have a weekly English music broadcast where I showcase different English songs. I try to get the students to recommend songs to me for the broadcast. At the broadcast, I usually _________ who recommended the song and then play it for everyone to hear during lunch time.

I give everyone a chance to _________ themselves through their music, including one _________ student of mine. This student constantly gets into fights with the other students, doesn’t study, and brings down the _________ of the class. Most of the other teachers and students push him away. I knew though that he just needed a _________, or at least someone he can connect with.

I could tell he was _________ to me over the last year. I told him to think of a song he likes that has some English words in it and that I’ll play it on the broadcast for him. He eventually recommended a song. In _________, I really liked this song so I put in on the broadcast and made sure to announce his name, so everyone knew that he contributed and recommended such a _________ song.

__________, the boy was thrilled, and he’s been much happier and focused in English class ever since. While everyone else still __________ him and pushed him away, I saw right through and knew that he just needed someone who __________ him and give him a chance. There’s still language __________ between us, but words aren’t needed, you can always sense where you’re at with someone.

He recently walked by me and gave me the most __________ smile that I’ve ever seen. My colleague turned to me and said “I’ve never seen him smile like that before. How did you __________ to him?” “I gave him a chance,” I said, “through just one song.”

10 . “Mom, we want to write a book,” my five-year-old twins, Delilah and Nathaniel, announced one day.

“Sure, I’ll get some paper,” I said. They had made so many “books” and I had all the _________ at hand.

“Mom, we want to make a _________book. Like these!” Delilah said, holding up some picture books.

Were they _________? I thought. I didn’t know how to get a book published. Still, I didn’t want to destroy their _________. I said, “OK... What do you want it to be about?”

“An envelope that travels across the world spreading kindness,” Nathaniel said, his eyes _________.

Over the next few months, they dreamed up more of the story. The main _________were a pair of twins just like them. I wrote down everything, making sure not to _________any detail. I was _________with the twins’ ability to think big. But was their _________too big? Anyhow, I didn’t want my kids to be ____________ .

Writing and publishing a book was ____________to me. I had to spend months ____________: I looked up information online and watched videos; I joined first-time authors’ groups and asked questions. Self-publishing seemed like our best ____________. Still, all the steps it would take were not ____________ .

Even after the kids and I finished writing the story, I wasn’t ____________ . Could we really turn this into a book? ____________, we managed to self-publish The Magical Envelope last Veteran’s Day. The kids decided that 10 percent of the____________they got would go to a charity to help more people. I was proud of my kids.

The twins, now eight, continue to____________me. They’re creating a coloring-book version of The Magical Envelope. They’re launching a Facebook page to____________what they’re doing and get others involved. They ____________me of one thing—we can always think bigger and do more.