1 . I was in my early twenties. I had _______ from college with a degree in Education but still couldn’t find a full-time teaching job. _______ I worked as a substitute (代课) teacher. I was determined not to just slide by. I was responsible for my students and stayed positive. I congratulated the kids when they achieved something, and _______ them if they didn’t.

One day just as the students were leaving, a girl handed me a folded _______. It was a lovely drawing full of childlike wonder and read: “You are the best teacher I have ever had!” My mouth fell open in shock. It really _______ me that one of my kind comments had touched that girl’s heart so deeply. Anytime I was feeling down or _______ I would look at it and it always made me relieved. _______, I lost the note when I moved house, but it still _______ in my mind and heart.

That experience showed me the _______ of single kind words. I never did see that girl again, but I pray that her life has been full of kind words and loving people. And I continue to try my best each day to let the love and __________ live through my life. May you do the same. You will create so much joy and your life will never be the same.

2 . In the heart of the city, nested between the towering skyscrapers, stood a little library that had withstood the test of _______. Every brick and book in that building held stories not just from the pages, but of the countless souls who had walked its _______.

Anna, a young writer, often visited this oasis (绿洲) of knowledge. She was on the _______ of publishing her first book but was facing the crippling self-doubt that often troubles creators. One evening, as she wandered between the shelves, she happened to see an old, dusty _______. It was a journal from the 1800s, written by a then-unknown writer named Lillian.

As Anna skimmed through the pages, she was _______ by Lillian’s struggles which mirrored her own. Lillian wrote of her rejections, her moments of despair, and the nights she wanted to give up. But she also wrote of her _______ moments, where the words flowed like a river and the stories took a life of their own.

The final entry was dated a day before Lillian’s first book was published. It read, “To the future dreamers who may find this: Remember, every _______ has its dawn. Your struggles are merely the dark before the morning light. Keep writing, keep dreaming, and one day, your stories will light up someone’s _______ just as you have lit up mine.”

Anna felt a connection to Lillian across the centuries. With renewed _______, she left the library, ready to face the challenges ahead. For in her heart, she carried Lillian’s story — a beacon of hope and a testament to the timeless journey of ________.

3 . When I was eight years old, I spent a few weeks of the summer at a Girl Scout camp called Camp Redwing — a place where the scenery was beautiful. My friends and I were all excited about the day’s creek hike.

When one person in the group _______ a slug (鼻涕虫), we were all excited. We gathered around pushing each other to be in the front with the best view. And that’s when one of the counselors told us that when you lick (舔) a slug, your _______ goes numb. Then the counselor caught it and began _______ it around. When the slug made it way to me, my _______ took over and I decided to lick it. It was slimy (黏的) and cold, but not as disgusting as I expected. _______, it did not numb my tongue; the numbing chemical must have been _______ by the time it reached me. The enthusiasm I had to try it out and learn something new is a feeling that has stuck with me since.

When we’re kids, we want to know everything. We bother our parents with _______ questions of “Why?” and we try everything in school. But as we grow up and reach high school, then college, curiosity seems to _______ a lot.

Now, when I feel myself losing the passion for learning, I remembered to lick the slug — whatever the slug is in that moment. I’ll do anything that ignites that same enthusiasm in me, and I _______ what other people think about it. I know that my childlike curiosity is something I don’t want to __________ up, and I try to bring it to the surface as much as I can.