1 . There is growing interest in East Japan Railway Co. ltd, one of the six companies, created out of the privatized national railway system. In an industry lacking exciting growth ________, its plan to use real-estate assets in and around train stations ________ is drawing interest.

In a plan called “Station Renaissance” that it ________ in November, JR East said that it would ________ using its commercial spaces for shops and restaurants, extending them to ________ more suitable for the information age. It wants train stations as pick-up ________ for such goods as books, flowers and groceries ________ over the Inter. In a country where city ________ depend heavily on trains ________ commuting, about 16 million people a day go to its train stations anyway, the company ________. So, picking up commodities at train stations ________ consumers extra travel and missed home deliveries. JR East already has been using its station ________ stores for this purpose, but it plans to create ________ spaces for the delivery of Inter goods.

The company also plans to introduce ________ cards—known in Japan as IC cards because they use integrated circuit for ________ information ________ train tickets and muter passes ________ the magic ones used today, integrating them into a/an ________ pass. This will save the company money, because ________ for IC cards are much less expensive than magic systems. Increased use of IC cards should also ________ the space needed for ticket vending.

2 . When I was fifteen, I wrote an essay about how excited all my friends were to be getting driver’s licenses. I was full of _______. I knew I’d always be walking everywhere I went or else relying on others to _______ me.

I have a condition called dry-eye syndrome (综合症). _______ I do have some sight, I never know when I _______ in the morning exactly how much vision I will have that day. The _______ for this is that my eyes do not produce enough tears.

There are many things I cannot do. I can’t drive or read a book. But there are far more things I can _______ do. In high school, I played basketball. My teammates gave me oral (口头的) _______ and I learned to judge where the ball was by their voices. I learned to focus extremely well and _______ the sportsmanship award.

Do I wish I could _______ like other people? Of course. But being blind hasn’t ________ me in any of the important ways. If I’ve had to depend on my friends, ________ I’ve learned who my friends really are. I don’t know why God chose to give me only a little ________. Maybe he did it so that I would ________ what I do have. Maybe he did it so that I would have to ________ my other talents to compensate (弥补). It ________.

There are many different ways to look at life. This is how I see it.

3 . A winner of the highest honor in the field of translation, Xu Yuanchong was best known for his translations of ancient Chinese poems into English and French. Xu _________ himself to translation for more than 60 years. For him, translated literature is “a beautiful _________ for the whole world.”

His academic _________ began during his college years in Kunming. In the late 1940s, he spent a few years in France studying French literature. Then he _________ China after graduation and devoted himself to translation ever since. Xu was the first Chinese to _________ Chinese poetry into English and French in rhyme. He was _________ the “Lifetime achievements in translation” in 2010. He was also the first Asian translator to _________ the Aurora Borealis Prize (北极光奖) — one of the highest _________ among international translators — and gained _________ recognition.

Throughout his academic research, Xu __________ the beauty of language and was __________ in creating literary ties between Chinese, English and French speakers. His works have served __________ a cultural bridge linking the East to the West, which __________ English and French-speaking people to better understand the beauty of Chinese literature and the Chinese __________ within. Chinese readers, __________, can appreciate foreign works in the same way they would read novels and poems written in their mother tongue.

4 . Ethan Reynolds of Columbus, Indiana, has always been a helper.

The 11-year-old loves to ________ at a local nursing home and an animal shelter. ________ asking for toys or video games last Christmas, he wanted lawn mowing (割草) equipment so he could start his own ________!

When COVID-19 began, he ________ more people who were holding cardboard signs asking for food in his area. Thinking of his own $10, he ________ found a way to help. He ________ it by buying as much food as he could. ________ he put everything on a table in his family’s front lawn with a sign saying, “________ Food.”

When the neighbors ________ Ethan’s table, they started ________ their own donations, such as canned fruit and meat. Even better, his ________ was reported by a local news station, and soon, ________ were coming from all over the city to make donations of cash and goods! As Ethan’s table got larger, the ________ fifth-grader started up his lawn care service to bring in some extra ________ for his new charity. Of course, his neighbors were more than happy to ________ him to mow their lawns.

But Ethan’s mower kept ________ in the middle of jobs, so his community got together and decided to ________ him with a brand new push mower! When Ethan came home and saw it sitting in the driveway, he fell over with ________! We’ve never seen someone this ________ get so delighted over lawn equipment, but Ethan is no ordinary child. He’ll use it for a ________ he’s valued.

What a great kid! We know he’s going to put that mower to good use.

5 . He caught my eye and up went his arm. As usual, I _________ and gave him a smile. “Do you know the old man, Mom?” asked my son. I _________ my head. “I don’t know his name, but he’s very _________. He waves to me whenever we meet.”

We were _________ to this town. Having moved from another city, I wasn’t used to waves from strangers. _________, where we were from, people hardly _________ each other. We simply passed by each other, heads down, _________ our own business.

Perhaps that’s why I _________ these daily waves. It felt good to be noticed and _________ that message of “Hello!” On days when I didn’t meet him, I missed him and wondered if he was __________. The next day, I’d find myself driving with only one eye on the road. It was a happy __________ when I’d spot him, and I’d wave first in my __________.

One evening when I was walking alone, my __________ travelled to “The Waver”, as my children called him. I wondered if I could be __________ enough to wave at the people I don’t know. I wanted to give it a try, but I __________. “I’ll feel silly,” I thought to myself. Then I heard a __________ approaching. The next moment I found myself waving to the lady in the passenger seat. Her __________ softened and waved back. I was a little shocked. They do this here! I reminded myself. It’s __________ cool! I waved to everyone I saw the rest of the way home.

That was the day I became a “__________”. I can’t change the world. It’s enough to help __________ it a little.

6 . An elephant was rescued in southern India after falling into a well. It ______ more than 12 hours, but the elephant in Tamil Nadu has been rescued after plunging into a well estimated at ______ 50-feet deep.

The elephant had ______ into the village of Dharmapuri from a nearby forest when it fell into the well. The well did not have a ______ and had been hidden by bushes.

Locals from the village alerted authorities about the ______ animal early on Thursday. They dropped banana leaves down the well for the elephant to ______, as rescuers worked throughout the night to ______ it.

Forest officials brought in a crane (吊车) to ______ the elephant. Footage of the rescue showed the elephant strapped in (系住) by belts and hanging upside down as the crane lifted it to ______. Doctors helped rescuers sedate (给……服镇静剂) the animal after it ______ pipes they were using to pump water out of the well.

The area where the rescue happened has had some ______ saving trapped elephants. Two other elephants have fallen down wells in the past year. ______ wells and ditches have caused a ______ to the animals. The animals need ______ land to survive as they look for food and water.

Open wells and ditches (壕沟) in elephant migratory ______ are huge problems for these animals. Since they are long ______ creatures, they migrate to long distances for food and water.

Least we can do is ______ such wells or keep safety wall. Imagine it was a 50 feet deep well. Authorities ______ the elephant for roughly three hours after the rescue. It was found to be ______ and active.

______ are also given to the elephant for her will.

7 . My adult son walked to the table this morning for breakfast. As he did he opened his _________ to me. I did the same and gave him a big _________ just like I do every morning. And this time a beautiful _________ came back to me.

My Italian grandma had been a big hugger when I was a boy, but my mom had _________ in a more reserved (保守的) family and didn’t hug me often as I grew into my teenage years. My dad seemed to _________ the gender roles of the day back then and didn’t hug me much as I got older. By the time I was a teenager then, _________ grandma, I didn’t hug anyone.

When I was sixteen, I went on a trip with a group of boys to _________ a college. We visited a _________ on our way, where we were _________ by the largest monk (和尚) I had ever seen. He gave each of us a HUGE HUG. My own __________ came at last. Though I felt a bit __________, I stepped in and hugged him back. I sensed a __________ in my heart as he shared his loving kindness. It was amazing. Later that day I began to wonder why I had __________ giving and receiving hugs when they brought so much joy. When my own children were born, I __________ never to stop hugging them and telling them I __________ them, no matter how big they grew or how old they got.

8 . Kelsie’s grandmother always encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone and try new things. The two of them were especially ______ because it was her grandparents who raised Kelsie rather than her parents. Sadly, her grandmother passed away last year.

One ______ her grandmother pushed her out of her comfort zone was ______ her to sing more, especially in public. Kelsie gave it a shot, but it didn’t turn out as she’d ______.

“I once tried to sing in church,” she said. “The music started playing and I just ______.”

Luckily, Kelsie didn’t ______. She took the American Idol ads as a ______ from her grandmother for her to take another chance on ______.

Taking this leap was no small courage for this ______ 18-year-old. As she grew up in the country and had never been on a plane before, just getting to the audition (试唱) would mean experiencing lots of ______. Not only was she about to ______ for the first time ever, but she was about to do so before ______ Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie.

Kelsie chose to sing “Piece by Piece” by Kelly. All three judges were ______ by Kelsie’s voice. But the judges could tell Kelsie’s ______ held her back. After much encouragement, they asked her if she could sing the second song she had ______: “When We Were Young” by Adele.

At first, Kelsie’s ______ remained the same. But as Perry shouted out instructions to cheer her up, something ______ happened. Kelsie eventually walked out of her ______ and performed wonderfully. The judges were so ______ by her excellent first performance that they couldn’t help but say, “You are ______ going to Hollywood!”.

We can’t wait to see where Kelsie’s singing career takes her!

9 . I have been in Taiyuan for two years as an international student from Bangladesh. Over the two years, I have found myself loving Shanxi and China as I more ________ local lives and got more familiar with the city, the province and the country.

I must ________ that it’s normal to feel lonely when you start a ________ life in a strange place. You have to adapt to everything—food, language and culture. But for me, the ________ didn’t take a long period of time. I have got used to eating noodles for breakfast and using online ________ by means of my smartphone very quickly.

My ________ in Shanxi, I think, is an opportunity to help broaden my view and life here is full of ________. The pleasant changes are made ________ with the help of my teachers, schoolmates and friends.

My teachers at Shanxi University are excellent. They highly ________ critical (批判性的) thinking among students and ________ us to conduct research in an innovative (创新的) way. After a while at the university, I didn’t feel much ________ in my study. There is still ________ time to allow me to visit various parts of Taiyuan and Shanxi and make friends with locals.

My favorite sport is cycling and I find China very cyclist-friendly because it is ________ to hire a bicycle here. I like to ________on the streets in Taiyuan and visit various places I meet. The cycling tours helped to ________ my understanding of the city.

10 . A flat tire (爆胎) on the road. It’s certainly ______, especially if you have kids with you. For Courtney Potts, a mother of two kids in Tennessee, her flat tire experience was about to turn into something she had never ______.

Potts was driving home on Sunday when one of her tires blew out! ______, she realized she was in trouble. She had her ______ with her and leaving them in the car to change a tire wasn’t a ______ for her. Then a SUV stopped behind her car. A man got out and walked over to her, saying, “God, I almost ______ you! Can I help you?”

Potts was ______! Little did she know her luck was about to ______ even more than she imagined. Immediately she heard the man’s voice and saw his face, she knew this was no ______ man!

“The man offering to help wasn’t some ______. It was Luke Bryan!” said Potts.

If you aren’t a country ______, you might not know Luke, but he’s one of the most successful country music artists of the 2010s and 2020s.

According to Potts, Bryan finished ______ the tire with her extra in 30 minutes. Bryan also took a photo with Potts and her daughter, Ellie. Later, Potts shared a video online showing Bryan ______ on the ground, changing her flat tire, saying he deserved all the praise for ______ to help her. Her video received over 4 million ______ in two days.