1 . When I was five, my parents began to place me in a variety of different sports. The first ________ was gymnastics, which was a complete ________. The second was track and field. Track was fun at first, I actually liked to run and I was pretty fast. When I joined the team, the ________ was going to begin soon, only giving me three weeks to ________ for my first track meet.

I ________ for a while and then the day of the track meet arrived. Arriving at the stadium I was ________ to see how huge it looked. Before my race I did my warm ups while watching the other kids run their races with a few hundred audience. The ________ of the stadium was something I never felt before.

While ________ the starting line to run the 400m dash, I started to feel ________! At the starting line, we sat there silently waiting for the gun to ________. In that silence I continued to ________ myself and I felt like I was going to win. The gun finally shot and racer s began a(n)________ dash to the finish line. The first 100 meters I was doing great. Then came the 200m mark, and my legs were dying. I was slowing down still trying to run. Alone ________ I was on the track, I still walked to finish line. When seeing my mother, I burst into tears. That race was probably the most ________ one in my life. Even though I gave up running track and field, I am grateful for what I experienced when I was 5 because it ________ me who I am today.

2 . “Anybody has a bandage (绷带)?” a voice echoed (回荡) down the dorm hallway.

In the first week at college, we were all _________ some “forgetfulness”. I _________ to bring snacks for late nights. A poor girl in the dorm _________ forgot bandages. We all felt _________, more or less.

Several months before, I sat at my high school graduation party admiring my _________: sewing items, desk supplies, etc.—all well-intended and well-received. They would demonstrate their givers’ _________ over and over during my college life.

But one gift struck me as _________. Medical package? When I _________ it, a small packet of pills and creams lay within the wrappings. I frowned (皱眉头). Who would give that as a present?

I barely thought about that _________ until “anybody has a bandage?” rang out in the dormitory hall that day.

“Actually, I have one.” I __________.

As I __________ the kit, my new dorm-mate struck up a conversation with me.

Soon, more __________ from my dorm-mates for medicine for mosquito bites or a slight headache and so on came. As cold season approached, many needed cough drops. Each girl __________ for a few moments.

The little gift I had __________ initially now led me toward new friendships. As it broke fevers, it also broke the ice, allowing me to meet and __________ many in the dorm building.

3 . When it comes to high-proof fathering lessons, few adventures can compare with the motorcycle trip I shared with my 20-year-old daughter Ewa.

In 2023, we _________ a one-week motorcycle trip in the southern part of British Columbia. Each _________ a motorcycle, we headed north on the Sea-to-Sky highway. What made this trip so _________ was that Ewa took it on herself to be the planner. We didn’t even have a _________ about it. As a father, wasn’t I supposed to plan it?

My old Harley had no gas gauge (汽油表). So, when the main gas tank was empty, the motorcycle _________. After all, these years I hadn’t known whether I would _________ it. But on the first day of our annual trip, when we were on a lonely highway leading to the US border in Sagna, Ontario, it came to a _________ after some time.

Ewa headed into the distance_________ that she was riding alone. When she _________ noticed that I wasn’t in her rearview (后视镜) mirror, she stopped and waited as I pushed my Harley to meet with her. In my adult life, while __________ children, I always followed my parents’ __________: I stood by and provided support. When Ewa __________ her own way of life, I seldom said ‘no’. But when she said she wanted to __________ with the out-of-fuel motorcycle on the side of the country road while I was going for gasoline, I said “no way”. I wouldn’t let her stay there on her own. She insisted, but I was very __________. Ewa finally __________ and went looking for gasoline with me.

I learn from the trip that however old my child is, I will never stop being a father.

4 . Dave Hall led Surprise Squad, an organization to bring surprise to those in need, on a mission to spread joy at a local Albertsons store. Their _________ was simple yet influential: to pay for the groceries of _________ customers. Among the customers was Stephanie, a disabled veteran(退伍军人)who relied on her wheelchair.

She _________ to Dave that she was shopping for food for herself and her dogs. She was down to her last $50,_________ of how she would manage after that. Dave, thrilled to help, paid for all her groceries, a _________ that left Stephanie extremely grateful.

Dave _________ a man standing beside Stephanie. _________ mistaken for her husband, Larry turned out to be a friend of Stephanie’s husband and a fellow veteran. Despite his own financial _________, Larry was determined to support Stephanie.

He stood in the checkout _________ with just a bottle of dish soap and a piece of candy—all he could afford. Dave, moved by Larry’s situation, __________ buying him groceries. Larry’s eyes were filled with tears as Dave accompanied Larry back into the shelves, filling a __________ with food and toiletries(洗漱用品), far more than Larry had __________that day. As they finished checking out, Larry __________ that he had never spent so much on groceries before. The gratitude and emotion on his face were __________.

He thanked Dave wholeheartedly and left the store, carrying not just groceries but a moment of __________ that would never fade.

5 . Dreaming of photographing the world’s beauty, I wrote a travel wish list and hung it on my wall, not expecting to actually go anywhere. However, a local photo contest gave me a _________. I chose the Grand Canyon, one of my bucket list places to visit, since I got my first camera.

The journey was _________, with unique touches like aspen trees towering and lizards (蜥蜴)rushing about. After a day’s _________, I decided to have a good rest and start fresh the next day for the mission to _________ the Canyon’s grandeur.

The next morning, I woke up early to capture (拍摄) the _________. Reaching the overlook, I found an elderly man alone on a bench. After exchanging _________, he noticed my camera and _________if I’d captured any favorites. I _________ shared a couple of photos, not anticipating any further conversation that followed. He _________, revealing that he and his late wife, Betty, visited the Grand Canyon annually for their anniversary. Her __________the previous year marked his first return without her and he spent each sunrise reflecting on their treasured __________. His heartfelt tales __________ me deeply, as I, too, had experienced a recent loss, making the moment __________.

Returning home with numerous photos, I __________the best from my adventures for the contest. This journey taught me the value of chasing dreams, embracing challenges, and __________with others through shared moments, making it a truly enriching experience.

6 . He Cuiying lives on a mountain peak in Yunnan province, at an altitude of 3,000 meters. Every morning, the 91-year-old woman is _______ by floating fog, which creates a fairy-tale landscape.

Four years ago, He Cuiying opened a homestay (民宿) in her yard with the help of her granddaughter, He Qingmei. Ever since, she has _______ her stories, the beautiful scenery and the _______ culture of her village with visitors from across China and other parts of the world.

He Cuiying is a member of the Naxi ethnic group, while her husband is from the Tibetan ethnic group and he is a _______ in Tibetan Buddhism. In Qibie village, He Cuiying’s home, eight ethnic minorities live _______ in the same village, where local people _______ 102 homestays.

The villagers say they have turned “houses into homestays and people into _______”. They speak the Naxi language, _______ Tibetan customs and warmly welcome tourists from all over the world. In just eight years, they have developed a _______ multiethnic (多民族的) homestay village, becoming a key demonstration project for cultural ________ in Yunnan.

He Cuiying loves ________. Whenever guests visit her home, she sings songs and offers blessings continuously. Her favorite song is Chairman Mao Is Like the Sun. She remembers how the remote village was liberated and ________ poverty under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, so she has a sincere ________ for Beijing as the capital city.

Now, as He Cuiying gets older, He Qingmei and her cousins are gradually ________ the homestay. They hope to share the beautiful scenery and stories of Grandma’s home with more people through the ________ of guests from all over the world.

7 . “We’re going where!” It was more of an exclamation (惊叹) than a question. “We’re going to do what?” Now that was a real ________, because I wasn’t sure I had ________ right.

And so my ________ repeated it. “We’re taking you to Colorado to ________ your eightieth birthday. And we’re all going on a hot-air-balloon ride.”

I almost started breathing heavily. I took a moment to let it ________. “A hot-air-balloon ride?”

“Mom, don’t you want to go? I remember you ________ to do that on your fiftieth birthday. And I want to help you fulfill your bucket list.”

“Honey, eighty is a ________ way from fifty.” “You’re not afraid, are you?” I didn’t want to ________ it, but that was the reason I hadn’t gone ________ ago.

She continued ________, “We’ve got a lodge (屋舍) reserved for your ________ week in July.” Now I was backed in a corner. “Who’s the ‘we’?” “It’s going to be all girls: me, your three daughters-in-law, and your six granddaughters. I’ve ________ each of them, and they’re all in.”

My mind was whirling (混乱). My three daughters-in-law! One was local, one in Tennessee, and another in Hawaii. And my granddaughters all lived even farther.

“Did you say all?” “Yes, all.” The tickets were purchased. The flights were ________.The lodge was booked.

To ease any ________, she sent me a link to watch a reporter taking her first ride with the company. They first checked the wind and then explained how the balloon was prepared. ________, I watched her experience on the liftoff (升空). I can do this, I thought. It was time to start making my to-do list: pray, lose weight, and pray.

8 . The teacher asked, “Is everybody ready?” I _________ wasn’t ready. It was the early 1980’s. I was in my high school typing _________ and totally confused.

I had taken it as a (n) _________ course because taking French or Spanish language seemed too difficult. _________, I wished I hadn’t chosen it. I was on _________—my fingers were shaking and my heart was beating wildly. I had thought we would just be learning to touch type (盲打), not be tested on speed and accuracy. Besides, I was the only freshman in the class, and the other students were _________ to me. My young body felt too nervous to be typing so quickly and _________.

The teacher said, “Hands on home keys. Eyes on books. Ready, type!” Suddenly, the room was alive with 30 electric typewriters’ keys _________ on. I tried my best to _________, but it was obvious that being a secretary wasn’t in my future. While I didn’t __________ many errors, my typing speed was horribly slow. And I knew I wasn’t going to get a good __________ on this test. I really __________ taking this class and wished I could be learning French instead.

Now years later, I’m a novelist. I’m so happy that I took that class and learned how to type. It has helped me write countless __________ flowing through my mind and into my __________ through keyboards. It has helped me to write e-mails full of kindness to __________ with friends and family. It has helped me to do what I should do and share what I was meant to share in life.

9 . A man took a little too long to complete his PhD. While a majority of PhD programmes are _________ to be finished in five or six years, a 76-year-old student who studied for a PhD in 1970 completed it after 50 years.

Dr. Nick Axten received a scholarship for a PhD in mathematical sociology in 1970 at the University of Pittsburgh. _________, he returned to the UK after 5 years with an unfinished PhD.

Dr. Axten _________ his studies again in 2016 when he was aged 69, studying an MA in Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He then studied for a PhD in Philosophy at the same university and _________ in 2022, aged 75. This year, he _________ his doctorate in front of his wife and 11-year-old granddaughter.

“What I was trying to do in the early 70s was extremely _________,” said Dr. Axten. “Some problems are so _________ that it takes the best part of a lifetime to get your head around them. This one has taken me 50 years, which is simply _________.”

Dr. Axten’s research is a new theory for understanding human _________ based on the values each person holds. Dr. Axten says it can __________ our view of behavioural psychology.

“I have loved being a __________ again at the University of Bristol. All of the other philosophy graduate students were around 23 but they __________ me as one of their own,” said Dr. Axten. The 76-year-old considered his classmates as __________ and expressed that he loved spending time talking to them.

“Nick was a(n) __________ energetic and hardworking student,” said his professor. “It’s great to see him graduate half a __________ after he started his original PhD.”

10 . Many years ago, I was a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. I had an evening class that was a fifteen-minute ________ from my dorm. No one in my dorm was taking the same class, so I walked to and from class alone, ________ in the dark.

One evening, I ________ two very large, black Doberman Pinschers following about twenty feet behind me. I have always been an animal lover and I have never been ________ of dogs, so I stopped walking, turned around, and talked to them. They ________ to come to me and when I tried to walk toward them, they backed up, keeping their ________. They were not threatening in any way as they did not growl (低吼) or flatten their ears — the way dogs do when they are about to ________. They just wouldn’t allow me to get close to them.

For weeks, every time I walked to this particular class, the two dogs appeared and ________ me. I was very ________ with the situation, even though the dogs would not interact with me.

One night, a car with three young men slowly ________. They were loud, ________ my attention. When the young men got out of the car, I felt a sense of ________. As they walked toward me, before I had time to react, the two Dobermans charged and barked at them. You never saw three people get into a car so ________ and pull away!

I spent the rest of the semester searching for those heroic dogs. ________, after that night when I needed their ________, my guardians never reappeared.