1 . In 2012, I had just recovered from a serious illness when I received an invitation to a writer’s conference in Orlando, Florida. My family persuaded that a(n) _______ might be just what the doctor ordered, so off I went.

Arriving in the Sunshine State was rather tiring, but I _______ to catch a taxi to my _______ and settle in. Next morning, I took another _______ to the shopping center to buy a few souvenirs. Later, I went to a café to have lunch, but all the tables were _______. Then I heard a friendly voice saying, “You can _______ my table.”

I gratefully sat down with the _______ lady and we had a happy lunch together. As the meal drew to a close she asked how long I would be in Orlando. I had already told her that I hadn’t _______ a car, and hadn’t realized how _______ taking taxis would be. After a while she said, “My dear, don’t use any more taxis. I’m retired and it would be my pleasure to drive you wherever you wish.” I told her that I couldn’t put her to that ________ , but she brushed aside my protests (反对). She asked me where I was ________ and next morning she was waiting at my apartment at the ________ time to take me to Disney World. She spent some time with me before leaving me to ________ alone. At the end of the day, she ________ to take me back to my accommodation. I offered her money but she refused to take any.

I’ll never forget that wonderful lady who, through her ________, filled my brief holiday in Florida with wonderful memories.

3 . Culture and tradition are the soul of a country. When a country ________ them, it is difficult for it to make ________. Chinese culture can be seen everywhere in China. _________, I did not really understand it in the beginning. Then I realized I had to ________ something in order to understand it.

Last winter I decided to stay at our university to ________ all the activities organized for foreign students to celebrate the Spring Festival.

The ________ began a month ago with the decorating of our rooms with Spring Festival couplets (对联) and New Year paintings. On February 10, we ________ an activity to write Spring Festival couplets. When I saw the brush, I became ________ . Why is there such a pen? How do we use it?

After understanding the tools, we started our creative ________ . I tried to hold the brush and start writing ________, but the tip of the pen was too ________ and I couldn’t grasp it at all. I was ________, but I didn’t give up. After several ________, I wrote a line of words. At this time, I found that my sleeves were dirtied with ink as I was too ________ practicing. Even so, I was very happy, because I felt that I had learned the essence (精髓) of writing calligraphy.

Through this activity, I came to ________ the amazing Chinese culture more.

4 . Dexter lives in Ouray, Colorado, where, for the past few years, the two-footed dog has been turning heads wherever he goes. His owner, Kentee Pasek, says ________ on two legs isn’t a trick she taught him. Rather, it’s a(n) ________ he made after a near-death experience.

When Dexter was a puppy, he escaped his yard, dashed into the ________ and got hit by a car. He lost his front legs. Everyone ________ he would need some kind of adaptive equipment to get around. He did use a ________ for a while until one day when Pasek set the dog at the foot of her porch (门廊) without it.

Pasek ran in to get a cup of coffee, came out and ________ found that her dog had climbed the stairs. She ________ her cellphone, put Dexter back at the bottom of the stairs and ________ him walking up the stairs on two feet without the wheelchair.

In the six years since, Dexter has become a full-blown celebrity, ________ in parades and building a group of social media ________, who now come to the dog’s hometown just hoping for a glimpse of Ouray’s most ________ “citizen”.

The whole thing isn’t considered as a ________ for many people. People praise Dexter for his option to stay ________. He shows where humans see ________, dogs sometimes beg to differ. And Dexter’s action has proven that sometimes getting ________ is the only way to see how tall you stand.

5 . Born into a poor farmer’s family in Meixi township in 1960, Liang Ruirong suffered polio (脊髓灰质炎) when he was a child. This physical disability ______ his life.

After failing the college entrance examination, he made a ______ working in fields. After about a year, Liang seized the ______ chance to become a full-time employee at a _____ factory in a neighboring town. Modest and ______, he was promoted to workshop director after five years. Over time, the idea of ______ his own company began to take shape. “I didn’t have the money,” he said. “I had to ______ it from friends.”

During the first few years, Liang traveled with the delivery truck to ______ customers with the bamboo products in person. “To save on ______, I often slept in the truck at night,” he said.

Liang never forgot about the ______ he had gone through. As company chairman, he created jobs on the processing lines, which do not require much physical ______. To make sure that as many people as possible could ______ his success, the company establishes a charity which ______ 250, 000 yuan to Meixi township.

Liang’s company is now well-known for environmentally friendly bamboo products. For Liang, the company has   ______ to the world, showing that it is possible to ______ the right balance between economic development and environmental protection, making money and benefiting society.

9 . A little girl created a perfect gift for her mother’s birthday. It was a drawing of a ________ on white paper with the words “For Mom: love, love, love” decorated with hearts. She folded her letter, but then she ________ it.

For most people, that would be the ________ of this story, but this story had a different result. James Carrell found the letter. He had just ________ his mother, wishing her a happy birthday. After he hung up, Carrell saw the ________ on the ground outside of a hardware store in Manvel. “I ______ it was a gift,” said Carrell. “I opened it up and saw the flower and hearts. It really ________ me.” Carrell thought the letter would ________ someone’s day and that maybe he could find the owner, so he posted it on the Internet. The message moved a lot of people, ________ one man.

“I was sitting at my friend’s house and saw a man’s ________,” said Carrell. The comments included one from Robert Alvarado. He wrote, “I can’t ________ you found my baby’s letter.” Carrell reached Alvarado to ________ the letter. It took a few days, but the men finally met on Thursday night.

“Eventually the letter made it home,” said Alvarado. “We are ________ for what James Carrell did.”

We often forget the power of ________ things, but for this family from Alvin, Carrell’s small act left a (n) ________ impression.

10 . Jamil Jan Kochai moved to America from Afghanistan at age one. At home, his family only spoke Pashto (普什图语), so when he reached first grade in an English-speaking school, he was _______ at a loss.

Then came Ms. Lung, Kochai’s second-grade teacher, who quickly realized that Kochai was _______ hard at school. Nearly every day after school, Lung would give Kochai _______ lessons on reading and writing. By the end of the year, Kochai had learned to read and write, and even won the first prize in the school reading competition.

Sadly, Kochai _______ the teacher after his family moved several times. “I tried everything to find Ms. Lung, but all proved _______,” he explained. “The _______ was that I didn’t know her first name. She’d always just been Ms. Lung to me.”

In the meantime, Kochai was starting to go after a successful career in writing. He has received many writing _______. But he never gave up _______ Ms. Lung.

Two years ago, Lung’s husband, Allen Lung, happened to read an article Kochai wrote for a literary magazine that _______ Ms. Lung. He then __________ Kochai through Facebook.

Allen Lung asked Kochai if he wanted to speak with his __________ that same night. Because of the pandemic (疫情) they were only able to __________ each other, but Kochai was excited. This was the moment he had been waiting for years.

Kochai cried when he heard his teacher’s voice. He told Ms. Lung everything he had achieved was all thanks to her. They planned to meet __________ at some point in the future.

However, that moment didn’t come until August 13, 2023, when Kochai was doing a book signing event for his new novel. Allen approached Kochai, introduced himself, and brought him over to reunite with Ms. Lung. “I didn’t know why I didn’t see her __________, since Ms. lung is sitting in the front row. It has been 22 years since I saw her last time,” Kochai said.

“My father used to say that every child is a rocket filled with __________ and all they need is a single spark (火花) to lift off into the sky,” Kochai said. “Ms. Lung was my spark.”