1 . When John asked his daughters which sculptures they like best, they shouted excitedly, “The Story birds!”. These birds are the _______ of Robin and John. Robin explains, “Made from plain clay (黏土), the colorful ceramic birds stand on metal legs. There is a little _______ in it. Together, we make something better.”

At John’s house, art is a family _______. Robin brings style to their ceramics. John crafts the metal elements of the sculptures, Their daughters, Ruby, Eliza and Carmella, help too. “The girls _______ into bodies,” says John, “Everyone contributes to the works, so every sculpture is a symbol of our _______ effort.”

There are lots of _______ to turn a clay into a bird. First, John breaks the clay and _______ it until about one-quarter inch thick. He covers it so that it won’t dry out and _______. Then, Robin _______. She thins the clay here and there, pushing in and out to make the bird’s body. John adds fresh clay on the drier clay and Robin ________ the body with bright colors. Then it is Ruby’s turn. She sculpts it. Eventually, the bird will go into an oven for firing-baking and ________. Robin programs the oven so that the temperature ________ bit by bit. Total oven time can be 20 hours. “That may be a long time.but the ________ you heat the clay, the more likely it is to crack.” Robin says.

Soon, the bird stands ________ on its feet, John shows it to his families. “I did the carving!” Ruby says excitedly. The girls gather for a closer look. The________expressions on their faces tell a story — they love making art together.

2 . More than 200 people were killed and 900 others injured in a major accident Friday evening involving three trains in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, officials said on Saturday.

At least 233 people ____ and about 900 were injured in the ____, and the number of death is ____ to increase further.

According to officials, the Coromandel Express, which runs from Kolkata to Chennai, hit the Yashwantpur-Howrah Express, which derailed (脱轨). A cargo train was also said to be ____ in the accident.

Officials said the ____ of the collision was so ____ that carriages of the two trains climbed atop each other, ____ deaths and injuries to passengers. A large number of passengers were ____ inside the derailed coaches.

____ after the accident, rescue teams, health officials, police, and fire services rushed to the ____. A large crowd of locals ____ reached the spot to help the injured.

All the health facilities nearby were ____ alert. Meanwhile, the injured were ____ to the hospital throughout the night.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ____ grief over the ____ of lives in the accident and condolences (吊唁) are pouring in from various quarters.

3 . I took a seat on a park bench under an old tree. I was out of work and didn’t have enough money to support my family, which made me feel ________ upset. A young boy ran towards me out of breath. He ________ right before me and said with great________, “Have a look at what I found!” 

In his hand was a flower, whose petals (花瓣) had fallen. Wanting him to take his ________ flower and go off to play, I forced a ________ smile and then turned around. He didn’t leave, but sat next to my side and put the flower to his ________ and said, “It smells good and it surely looks ________, too. That’s why I picked it. Here you are. It’s for you.” 

I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I ________ for the flower and replied, “Just what I need.” But________ putting the flower in my hand, he held it in mid-air. At that moment, I was ________ to find that the young boy could not   ________ anything at all. 

I was so touched that I almost ________. Tears shone in the sun. I really ________ his kindness. And this time, I said with a big smile, “You picked the best flower for me.” He also smiled, “You’re welcome.” Then he ran off happily. 

Through the eyes of the ________, I finally realized that I had ignored the wonderful world around me because of my family economic ________. After that, I decided to cheer up and face life bravely.

4 . A family from Canada was on a year-long trip around the world to create visual memories before their three children lose the sight. Mia, Colin, and Laurent were suffering from a disease without effective __________, which would gradually take away their __________.

The parents, Edith and Sebastien, decided to __________ with their children early last year. The __________ flew from Montreal with no fixed __________. During their travels, they played with schoolchildren in Botswana, danced with people in Tanzania, and stayed on a banana farm. In Thailand, Laurent even touched an elephant, calling out in __________ at how rough it felt.

Each day, Edith and Sebastien watched their kids __________ physically and emotionally. Mia grew taller and needed more independence. Both Laurent and Colin became more confident and outgoing, __________ to chat with strangers.

By the end of last year, the family had travelled 83,700 kilometers and visited 13 __________. When the kids reflected on what they had __________ about the world and themselves, Colin said, “There’s a lot of __________ and poverty, but lots of good and interesting things, too.” Mia __________ her head, “Yes, this has been a magic year we’ll __________ for the rest of our lives.”

The couple wanted their kids to lead __________ lives. Whether they are blind or not, they will find their __________.

5 . A New Jersey man Chris will never forget his 62nd birthday. That’s because his sons ______ his phone number on a large roadside billboard (广告牌) inviting people to call and wish him well. So far, he has gotten over 15,000 calls and texts from ________ persons.

It was his sons who ________ a billboard and stuck their dad’s phone number on it. They thought it would be something of a local joke to amaze their dad, with their dad getting a few calls from ________. But after the affair was a hit on social media, things got a bit out of   ________.

The billboard was ________ on March 6, and until now more than 15,000 birthday ________and calls as well has poured in. He tried to reply ________, but he eventually gave up responding. Instead, he changed his voice mail to “Thank you for calling to wish me a happy birthday, I really, very much ______ it ...”. Chris ________ his sons’ trick last Thursday, when he got a call from a man named Nick who wanted to wish him a happy birthday. “How do you know it’s my birthday ________ ?” Chris asked, to which the man ________ “I saw it on a billboard”.

The ________ news is that the billboard isn’t torn down, so the madness isn’t ________ to stop anytime soon. However, his sons have suggested that next year they may rent an even larger billboard to show their love and ________ to their dad.

6 . Brandon Leseberg and his sons, Louie, 6 years old, Everett, 3 years old, headed for their farm one afternoon. When the sun set, Brandon_______ feeding his cows and decided to go back. His two boys ran ahead of him. Louie_______at a water tap on top of an old well to drink water. However, the board on the well had grown fragile(易碎的) over time. When Louie stepped on it, it was_______. Louie fell into the well! Brandon didn’t notice the_______until Everett told him. Brandon ran to the well with worry and jumped in, and luckily, he_______Louie.

Knowing they couldn’t stay in the ice-cold water for so long, Brandon put his own legs against the narrow walls to_______himself when he lifted his son, _______his body was still partly sliding down. Though tired, Brandon shouted to Everett, “You have to be_______. Run to the road and stand by the mailbox until someone stops. Tell them we need _______.” Everett did as he was________.

Minutes passed like hours for Brandon. He’d been hoping for the________of strangers, but there was no sign of anyone. ________, about 15 minutes later, Christi and Mark, their neighbors, were coming to rescue them when they heard Everett crying for help. Finally, Brandon and Louie were________by the neighbors. Brandon was________for all the rescuers’ action. “If there is a(n)________in this story, it’s three-year-old Everett. He’s a real lifesaver”, the neighbors said.

7 . An airline loses two suitcases belonging to two different travelers, Lucy and Pete. Both suitcases happen to be the same and also contain ________ antiques. An airline manager ________ to compensate for their loss figures that simply asking them for the price is hopeless, for they may ________ it. Instead, he has them write down the price as any dollar between 2 and 100 ________ so that they cannot negotiate with each other. If both write the same number, he will pay each of them that amount. If not, he will assume that the person writing the higher number is ________ and pay both of them the lower number with a ________ and a punishment-the person writing the lower number will get $2 more as a reward for ________ and the other will get $2 less instead. For instance, if Lucy writes 46 and Pete writes 100, Lucy will get $48 and Pete will get $44. What numbers will Lucy and Pete write?

________, Lucy’s idea is that she should write the largest possible number, which will earn her $100 if Pete’s similarly ________. Soon, it strikes her that if she wrote 99, she’d make a little more — $101. But surely this ________ will also occur to Pete, who will choose 99 too. Continuing with this line of ________, when both are unwilling to lose money or get less than the other, they will end up writing down the ________ price of the antique. Experimental studies conducted by economists, however, ________ this narrow view of reason. In their studies, most participants pick $100 or a number close to it, either without thinking the problem through or tending to believe they’ll ________ the “unreasonable” number. By doing so, participants ultimately get a much bigger ________ Based on this, researchers have concluded that people appear to have a natural tendency towards cooperation, which favors seemingly unreasonable but beneficial strategies.

8 . Born without legs, Zion Clark is now a wrestler. “You don’t need legs to leave your footprint on this planet” is a (n) _______ by which Zion Clark lives his life.

Since birth, the man has continuously _______ every challenge. He was born with a (n) _______ disease called Caudal Regression Syndrome, which left him without legs. During childhood, he was shy and _______. It was through sport, especially wrestling, that he started _______ overcoming difficulties in life.

Wrestling gave Clark a (n)   _______ which changed his life. It also inspired him to hit the gym, from which he could see a major _______. However, he wasn’t _______ with just wrestling success. Clark _______ his life to representing his country at both the Olympics in wrestling and the Paralympics in wheelchair racing. He still hopes to ________ to Paris 2024 and is following a strict training schedule in order to make that dream a ________.

Now in order to ________ others, Clark has become a speaker, who shares the lessons he has learned throughout his life. The public ________ are his way of giving back, motivating people in whatever they desire to do in their lives.

“Are you going to wait for an opportunity or are you going to ________ the opportunity? Either way, once you do that, that’s when you start ________ your imprint (印记). Anybody can do that anywhere,” Clark said.

9 . A classroom of kindergartners listened attentively as their teacher, Robin Hughes, read them a book about snow. But as Hughes turned pages and _______ them photos of children making snow angels, she noticed some students looked _______. Hughes was shocked to know that only a couple of kids had seen snow. So she _______ her sister Amber Estes for help. “Could you make a snowman for me?” Hughes texted Estes. That text led Estes to build “Lucky”, a tiny _______.

Days later, Estes _______ her the snowman—completed with blueberries as eyes, a carrot as a nose and two branches as arms-on a nearly 800-mile journey in a _______ filled with ice bags. Hughes opened the box eagerly. To her surprise, the snowman had arrived almost _______.

The kids _______ saw the snowman in the classroom. “I was so excited just to see their joy,” said Hughes. Ever since, at least twice a day, Hughes brought “Lucky” out from the cafeteria _______ and put it on a silver plate so students could ________ the snowman and asked questions. Cheers and wows filled the classroom every time the snowman was ________. Whenever the snowman started to ________, she took it back to the fridge.

“In a time when things are not ________ for kids in the classroom, this little snowman has created ________,” Hughes said. She planned to melt the snowman before Earth Day and use the ________ while planting a flower at the school.

10 . When I was young, my sister was diagnosed with “Asperger Syndrome (阿斯伯格综合症) ”, which turned my parents’ world upside down. However, they never let it _________ me and gave me a very peaceful childhood.

It was only at the age of ten that I started to mind it, and become conscious of my social life and self-image that I had carefully developed. My sister, on the other hand, was socially _________. She could not look at people in the eye. She would murmur to herself. She, however, was academically _________ and hence we attended the same primary school. Despite this, I never, ever admitted in public that she was my sister. There was one _________, however, just two years ago, that changed how I _________ my sister and changed me.

In grade six, every student was required to give a performance, whether in a group or individually. Due to her _________ to integrate, my sister was the only one left without a group. “I will sing,” my sister told my parents, somewhat _________. Hearing that, I was completely _________. How could my sister, who was socially clumsy, sing in front of the school? I knew so very well that if I allowed this to happen, she would _________ me, one way or another. “No!”I protested but in vain.

The moment my sister appeared on the stage, I kept telling myself, “No one knows she is my sister. It is fine, you don’t need to tell anyone.” I shifted nervously in my seat, __________ I were somewhere else. Finally, she opened her mouth and sang __________ and melodiously. Her voice rang through the hall, beautiful in its power. I was completely stunned and watched in __________. How did I not know that my sister could sing so perfectly? I listened ever so carefully to the lyrics that she had composed all by herself. I was __________ myself.

Guilt and shame filled my heart as I listened to my sister. Although she knew that I was embarrassed by her and was __________ to attend her concert, she had __________ me; she had never taken everything that I had done to her to heart. It was then that I determined to love her unconditionally.