1 . It is not always easy to discover yourself. From a young age, I had a strong sense of who I would become —but an accident changed everything.

To me, skating was more important than anything else in the world. Nothing else filled my heart with so much ________. I spent 24 hours a week   ________ my skills.

I had no social life or interests other than skating. But I was rewarded with first place medals in nearly every _________.

Unfortunately, during one competition, I fell and was badly hurt. The doctor told me that I couldn’t skate anymore. The pain in my back was hard to bear and even basic daily tasks became   ________.

My passion (激情) had been taken away. I lost heart and had no idea what I would become. After eight months of suffering, something had to   ________ . Instead of sitting around and wasting my days, I began to work with local community service projects. By volunteering as a swimming teacher and summer reading assistant (助教) for kids, I got an idea of who I wanted to   ________ . After a few months, I found a new _________. Little by little, I stepped out of the shadow and   ________ my confidence.

Sometimes, ________in life will get in our way. We can choose to stay behind or try to get past these challenges. My accident was a challenge that failed to stop me from   ________ success. Today, I’m a very confident and optimistic person.

2 . On a Monday morning, a bus full of bright-eyed kids was on the way to school along with Connor and his brother Seamus. The bus was being driven by a 60-year-old driver, McDougal. _______, both the brothers heard McDougal fall to the floor of the bus.

“I didn’t see him fall. I heard him _______ the ground, and then the bus started veering (转弯) all over the road,” Connor recalled the moments before _______ set in.

After the bus driver fell down, Connor and Seamus _______ the emergency situation. They realized that they must jump into action. Otherwise, the students on the bus would be in danger of getting _______. Connor knew that no matter what happened, he needed to get the bus to stop moving. So he _______ and pressed on the brake (刹车) and told Seamus to call 911.

Meanwhile, Seamus tried to keep his fellow classmates _______ and in their seats. He told everyone it was going to be okay and the police were on their way. Seamus even gave one crying frightened student a _______.

The bus didn’t veer off the road because of the _______ thinking and actions of these two brothers. The bus could have hit another vehicle or perhaps something worse could have happened. Thanks to the ________ efforts of these two young men, they managed to save the lives of everyone on the bus.

3 . I still remember the day when I came home from work at two o’clock one afternoon. Imagine my _______ when I heard my daughter Megan and her friend Joann laughing in the house since it was the right time for class. They finally _______ that they came home for lunch and never returned to school. But they said they had forgotten to look at the clock.

I told Joann to go home because I needed to speak to Megan _______. When Joann left, I _______myself and managed to ask Megan very quietly, “You forgot to look at the clock?” Megan lowered her head and said, “Well, we were just experimenting to see what it would feel like not to go back to school.” For the moment I was getting angry. I considered _______ her, but instead I said, “I’m very upset by all this. When you’re supposed to be in school, that’s _______ I expect you to be. Now I’m probably going to get a phone call from your teacher.” Megan said, “ Write me an absence note, say I was sick and then you won’t get a call.” I said, “Megan，the note has to come from you and it has to be the _______.”

Well, she wasn’t very _____ about that, but she did write a note saying she was just “experimenting” and that she wouldn’t do it again.

Although the teacher gave her a _______ time over the note, I still felt I did the right thing. I knew I had helped Megan face up to what she did and take ________.

4 . On the morning of my first marathon, I woke up before my alarm and ate a classic runner’s breakfast. I had slept eight hours. My unreliable left knee wasn’t bothering me. I was _________.

Then my girlfriend, Louisa, knocked on the door, asking whether I had checked my email. Race officials sent an email at 5 a. m. announcing The Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis and St. Paul had been _________ due to record high temperatures.

While I understood why the race organizers didn’t want to put runners at _________, I also knew that I had trained in the baking and humid Washington D. C. all summer. If I could start earlier than planned and finish around noon, I’d miss the worst _________ of the day.

I went to the starting line and saw many runners despite the cancellation. I joined a group of local runners who knew the route. While running, I was overfilled with _________ to still see neighbors who gathered outside their houses _________ out bottles of water as they watched runners go by. The runners and supporters made the race feel like a real marathon, during which the shared goal of reaching the finishing line and the affirmations from the crowds made me believe I could run the _________ race.

The last one mile of the route was downhill. By that point in the race, my legs felt like jelly. But from the top of the hill, I could see dozens of supporters cheering runners home, which _________ me to move on. When my smart watch finally ticked to “26.2” miles, I called out “I’m done” to Louisa, who had been giving a much needed _________ along the way. I let out a dry sob and gave Louisa a hug. After months of training, the unexpected emotion felt like a total release.

My first marathon was canceled, but I ran 26.2 miles   __________.

5 . Yes Day

My friends and I were having breakfast at a Mexican holiday resort (旅游胜地) while enjoying the cool sea breeze. It promised to be another ______ day, as we embraced the break from our busy routine.

We were looking over the list of the resort’s activities. After we ______to convince (说服) each other of what would be best to do, I said, “Let’s have a YES DAY and say yes to EVERY activity, even if it’s not in our comfort zone. Let’s ______ and enjoy ourselves in unexpected ways.”

I hate ______ , but the zipline over the resort was at the top of our list. I was scared when I climbed into position. I wanted to back out, but my friends cheered me on. So, I jumped off the platform and screamed the whole way down. But I was glad I ______ it. Besides the ______, I also appreciated the amazing views. Thankfully, I didn’t say no, otherwise I would have missed this wonderful experience.

My friend Katie, who didn’t want to do karaoke, also had to face her _____ of being the center of attention. We danced and sang, laughing all night long. We were _____ brave enough to attend a wedding party and danced on a glass topper over a swimming pool.

We still talk about our magical Yes Day! When we see the photos from that magical time, we are so happy. In fact, we may miss so much if we only ______ what we are comfortable doing. I believe we all______ Yes Days.

6 . With a two-year-old behind me and fliers in my hand, I knocked on another door in my neighborhood. I had volunteered to spread the _______ about some changes at the local primary school, so I was excited to see a _______ with a baby in her arm and a preschooler tightly wrapped around her leg.

Within seconds, I realized I needed to _______ my rusty Spanish to connect with this mom. That initial conversation explained the lonely, desperate look in her eyes. I wrote my phone number on the flier and told her to _______ if she ever wanted to walk to the park with the kids.

I hadn’t _______ much about Maria until a month later when she called. Many walks around the neighborhood later, I _______ more details about her life that offered me some viewpoints about my own.

One day I sat at Maria’s kitchen table and shared some of my own family’s _______. Her eyes got big, saying “I thought I was the only one with problems.” I thought my stress was _______, but from her viewpoint, my life seemed to be a pretty package from the outside. By _______ the details of my life, I was able to give her the same gift of viewpoints she had been giving me.

Friendship can be discovered in unexpected places, as long as we find common ground with those who ________ might seem different.

7 . It was a September day. Today was the first day of high school for a freshman, Kayla. Kayla had always been a bit of a shy kid, but she had always ______ her studies. She was determined to make full use of her high school years.

As she walked down the hallways, Kayla couldn’t help but feel ______. The older students seemed so confident, while she felt small and unimportant, But Kayla was determined to succeed, no matter what ______ came her way.

It wasn’t long before Kayla’s determination was put to the ______. In her first week of school, she was assigned (分派) a (n) ______ project that required a lot of research and planning. Kayla did her ______, but she soon realized that she was in over her head. As she struggled (努力) to complete the project, Kayla began to ______ herself. She wondered if she was cut out for high school. But then, something ______ happened.

Kayla’s classmates began to notice how ______ she was working, and they started to offer her help and ______. They gave her advice on how to ______ her time better, and they shared their tips for ______ assignments. With their help, Kayla was able to complete the project on time and with great ______.

From that day on, Kayla ______ that high school was not a challenge to be faced alone. With the help and support of her ______, she was able to deal with any difficulty that came her way.

8 . On a sunny afternoon, Anthony Perry stepped off the train at Chicago’s 69th Street station. The 20-year-old, who worked nights in a grocery store, was on his way to see his ________.

On the platform, something unthinkable happened: a man fell over the edge and onto the electrified train tracks! As Perry and other horrified passengers watched, he shook uncontrollably as the ________ moved through his body.

“Help him!” someone cried. “Please, someone!”

Perry couldn’t just stand there and ________. He sat at the edge of the platform and eased himself down. ________ all rails between the man and him were electrified, he quickly leaped towards the victim, using a high-knee technique from his high school football days.

Perry soon reached down and grasped the victim’s wrist. ________, he felt a powerful electric shock shoot through his body. Perry jumped back. He reached down a second time, and was shocked again. But the third time he seized the man’s wrist and forearm, and managed to move the guy’s body away from the ________.

“Give him chest compressions!” yelled an old lady on the platform.

Perry was no expert, but for a few moments he worked on the man’s heart until the victim regained ________. Then, first-aiders arrived. Perry let the professionals ________. Heart still racing from the electric shocks, he climbed back up onto the platform, grabbed his things and continued on to his grandfather’s.

The evening news reported the incident, ________ an unnamed hero with saving the victim’s life. To many, Perry’s ________ deeds demonstrated the power of choosing compassion over personal safety.

9 . The story of Jennifer Bricker is one of the most amazing story, which is full of both great surprises and life lessons.

Jennifer was born in Romania without any legs. She was later _________ by a loving American family, the Brickers, and raised in the small town of Hardinville, Illinois.

The Brickers never let this _________ stop her from achieving her dreams. Her new parents gave her a simple rule, “Never say can’t”! They did whatever they could to make her life a success.

The girl was _________ just like the Brickers’ own children. She was encouraged to play with the other normal boys and girls and became good at many _________, including volleyball, softball and basketball.

But it was tumbling (翻腾运动) that was her true love. When she was a little girl, she was a big _________ of the Olympic gold medalist--- Dominque Moceanu. She would copy her on TV whenever Dominque Moceanu _________in the tumbling programs and continue practicing afterwards.

As she grew older Jennifer began _________ against professional tumbling athletes around Illinois. Not only did she compete, but she even went on to become a State Champion! Jennifer and her family always believed she could do whatever she wanted to and that her positive attitude and hard work would make it another _________.

If her story was not amazing enough already, when Jennifer turned 16, she got the most _________ news in her life. She learned that her beloved Dominque Moceanu was actually her biological sister! Now Jennifer is touring the country as a(n)__________ speaker to encourage more disabled youngsters.

10 . Sleepy-eyed, I arrived in Jordan just before midnight: Picking up the rental car, the agent mumbled (咕哝) something about a gas station. Trying to stay _______, I really didn’t pay attention.

The next morning, I headed the desert castle excitedly. While driving, I noticed that there wasn’t a fuel gauge (指示器) on the dashboard. That was _______, but I didn’t think twice about it. I had just got the rental so there would be plenty of fuel.

After passing numerous gas stations, I was finally in the open desert. Complete _______. And that’s when my car suddenly came to a stop.

What? In the middle of nowhere, I stared at the engine with no idea what to do. _______ seized me.

Within 10 minutes, a Jordanian _______. He didn’t speak English and my Arabic was limited. After _______ my car, he told me through hand gestures that I was out of gas. Who knew that rental cars didn’t come with a full tank of gas there?!

The man _______ me to get in his car and drove to the nearest gas station to get extra petrol. We then got back to my car to put the gas in.

When I pulled out my wallet to pay him, he refused. My thanks, a smile, and one photo together were all he wanted. Before we fully _______, he even followed me a bit to ensure that I was safely on my way even though it was not getting late.

Today, whenever I think of Jordan, this memory _______ comes to mind, and my heart swells with gratitude. It is the stranger who saved my trip and reminded me of the importance of ________.