1 . Hey! You have a hairless spot on the back of your head! " Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug it off. “It’ll grow back.” I worked to sound________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger and there was still no________ of any hair poking through the skin. I began to________but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, wiling this to________happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection to try, which would be________to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the________My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________Though aware that I should________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________ hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect my self ________then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

2 . I believe that we get out of this world what we put into it. Usually, the rewards are indirect and sometimes hard to _________，but usually what you _________ comes back to you there and then!

A couple of days ago my step-son, Josh, was preparing for an event. Children from his primary school were going for their first trial day at the secondary school，so that they could know what they would meet after the summer holidays. A big _________ for a student!

I was in the middle of softie stuff when I noticed him _________ in a pot where we keep pens and pencils. In primary school they use pencils, _________ secondary kids get to write with pens. And Josh was looking for a pen. He came out with a(n) _________ pen that was missing a piece off the end. His _________ day deserved a pen better than that. So I _________ what I was doing and went to the drawer where my _________ pen lived. I would __________ that pen, but this was a special occasion.

“Josh,” I said in a deep，serious voice. “I __________ my pen which I like best to you, the next generation. Protect it well and cherish it. ” He smiled and said thanks. And I went back to go on __________. Coincidentally, that day was __________ my birthday, but we were just back from a weekend away and I wasn’t expecting any more gifts. Moments after the pen ceremony, Josh walked to me with a smile on his face and gave me a prettily packed box. __________, I opened it—and was even more surprised! Inside the box was a beautiful, brand new pen!

Almost like someone had planned it! It is so __________.Give and you will receive!

5 . For most people, having things stolen feels like an offence. Robbie Pruitt admitted that he got _________ when he discovered the theft of his mountain bike last September. But soon enough, his _________ took a turn. After letting go of his anger and frustration, he found himself on a road to sympathy _________.

For Pruitt, a keen bicyclist, the first thing to do was _________ his stolen bike. But when he went bike shopping, he found few available, which got him thinking: What if the _________ of bikes was Covid-19 related, and what if the person who’d taken his bike really needed transportation to get to work?

With that thought in mind, Pruitt _________ a plan and posted it on the community website. He _________ to fix bikes free of charge for anyone who needed it. He also asked for unwanted bikes, which he would repair again for free. And then he would donate them to folks who could truly use them but didn’t have the _________ to buy one.

The day the post went live, Pruitt received thirty _________ bicycles. Then came more than 500 enquiries for detailed information. By the end of 2020, Pruitt had repaired more than 140 for donation or to be __________ to their owners.

Pruitt tries to give his donations to families that are __________ struggling. __________ simply satisfying a material need, he has provided an opportunity for kids in his neighborhood to learn how to fix their own bikes.

In addition to practical skills, Pruitt’s lessons teach teamwork, encourage self-worth, and promote feelings of community. Meanwhile, the kids have gained a sense of accomplishment.

“It’s a really great __________ for kids,“ said a neighbor in an interview with the local newspaper. “Pruitt is certainly providing a __________, but it’s not just the bikes. It’s the relationships in the community. It’s the __________ that he can make on people.”

6 . It happened on a rainy Saturday morning last month. My wife Catherine and I were driving along what some people called moose (麋鹿) alley. It was so ______ that there were few cars on the road. ______, something happened. A moose jumped out across our path. I had been driving for years and was good at driving. In order to ______ knocking into the moose, I made a quick turn to the other lane. If I had not done that, the moose might have been killed, and my wife and I might have got ______, too. A few seconds later, when I ______ and looked back in my rear view mirror, the moose was getting up and then ran into the bush. Shaken but ______, we both looked at each other with a surprised expression.

From then on, I often thought about the relationship between humans and ______ . We know that animal species have appeared and disappeared ______ since life began on the Earth. This is a(n) ______ phenomenon. However, animal species have been ______ at a much faster rate for about a century now ______ human factors such as pollution.

Certain philosophers and scientists keep repeating that if we don’t save animals, how we will be able to save ourselves. A better ______ of animals gives us a better understanding of our own species. The ______ to protect animals and nature in general ______ the value of a society. And all animals play roles in nature and have a right to ______. Therefore, I think we should try our best to save endangered animals, because humans cannot live on the Earth alone.

8 . Seba Stephens is only 10 years old, but he’s a very talented musician. Seba and his family live in Memphis, Tennessee — a place famous for _________. He grew up with music all around, but he _________ loved the drumming of Stewart Copeland from the band The Police.

Before he turned three, he wanted drums for his birthday. His parents weren’t _________, but after seeing him play the drums at a local music store, they _________ he was serious. They bought him a(n) _________ drum kit. “He didn’t stop playing — ever,” says his dad, Everett.

But soon Seba grew _________. He couldn’t get his drum kit to make the sounds he heard Mr. Copeland making. It was a _________ for the family: Good instruments were worth _________. His parents bought him a professional drum kit and _________ him up for lessons. He faced __________ — some related to his size. “I couldn’t see over my drum set.” he says. __________ , Seba learned extremely quickly and needed a higher level of training.

In 2020, Everett got special __________ for Seba to join a summer music program at Berklee as an 8-year-old. After the intense summer, Seba asked his parents to home-school him so that he could __________ going to Berklee during the school year. Through Seba’s __________, last May, Seba became the youngest person ever to receive a professional __________ from Berklee. The certificate is equal to about four college-level classes.

9 . When Marco was a boy, he tried everything to get his father’s love and attention. He studied hard to get good ________ and tried to behave well. He was shy and shorter than the other boys. Besides, his father was ________ and had little time for him. Except for his ________ for housework after school, there was no communication. Marco felt very ________.

One day,his maths teacher called him that some young teenagers were ________ a public speaking contest. She thought he should give it a ________. She firmly believed he could perform on stage (舞台) like other kids. Feeling her strong trust, Marco agreed to ________ the contest.

All winter, he took a bus to ________ twice a week in another city, where the competition would take place. Marco was taken by a strong ________ he never felt before. Finally, the big day arrived. His father, and yes, his maths teacher, were present. When he stepped onto the stage and began to speak, he felt ________ at home. He was funny,and acted very natural. He won! He noticed his father’s eyes were ________— he was so proud. It was then that his father ________ he should pay more attention to the child.

As the winner, his name was ________ in the local papers. He knew this was the ________ of his new life. It all happened because of a phone call, from one who ________ him.