1 . Chasing Dreams

When I was a little girl, I had always dreamt of becoming a famous pianist. The melodies that flowed _________ the keys spoke to me in a language that words could never capture. However, my family couldn’t afford a piano, and my dream _________ distant and unreachable.

But passion, as they say, finds its way. One day, while passing by a charity shop, I found an old keyboard on sale. It was nowhere close to a real piano, but it was a _________. Using my savings, I bought it and hence started a journey that was filled with ups and downs.

Every day after school, I would practice for hours, trying to perfect each note and each melody. My fingers would often _________ from the strain (软组织拉伤), but the joy of creating music was unparalleled. Mrs. Peters, my school music teacher, noticed my passion and offered free lessons _________ weekends. Under her guidance, my skills flourished.

As years passed, I started participating in local competitions. Not all were victories, but each one was a learning _________. The challenges were many, but with every setback, my resolve only grew stronger.

One day, a letter arrived. It was an invitation to an interview for the National Symphony Orchestra (国家交响乐团), a chance to _________ with the best in the country. The preparations were tiring and boring. Every evening was consumed by endless rehearsals and critiques, pushing me to my limits.

The day of the audition finally came. As I walked onto the stage, the weight of my journey _________ on my shoulders. But as I began to play, all fears disappeared. The music, as always, transported me to another world.

A week later, I received the news: I was selected. My dream, once distant and unreachable, had _________ fruits. My journey taught me that it isn’t the destination but the journey itself that shapes us. Every struggle, every hurdle was a steppingstone to my dream.

Now, as I play on grand stages, I often look back. Not in regret, but in gratitude. Gratitude for every challenge, every setback, for they shaped my __________ and made me who I am today.

2 . 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 ________.

3 . My grandfather was a writer of many books. As a child and a teenager, I wrote _________, trying to be an author like him.When I _________ my first book, I was not sure if I should throw it out to the world or shelter it forever. That’s why I went to grandpa that night, my faithful reader, who once again gave me tremendous _________。

“Did you bring the book? I heard you talk about it and I can’t wait to see your _________.”

“Oh yeah, the book. I completed it yesterday,” I handed him the draft, “but I don’t think it’s that good...”

He turned to a random page and _________ more of the pages. “Why do you think this isn’t good? It looks fine to me.Very heart-warming.”

“Well, I’m not sure. It could be better than it is now.”

“You can’t expect for the book to be _________. Writing is a skill that takes time. You already finished the story, and now you have to _________ others what you’ve got.” he passed the book back to me. “If people don’t like it, then write again. Criticism is important, but you are going to have to keep on writing till you are _________ with your work.”

“Is that how you became a writer?”

“Yes, and every other writer before me. You have to start from the _________ and then reach the top.”

I finally broke out into a smile and he did too. I looked carefully at the book one more time. The pages bound together gave me hope for the future. That settled it. I was going to have to __________ myself and let others see my work. For me and for my grandpa.

4 . My mother looks just like many grandmothers — short and white-haired. She comes from an old, traditional family in Canada, where she now still lives. She was a civil servant. In short, she didn’t do _______ things.

That all changed a few years ago. She began to _______ me with what she described as “independence”. At that time, I didn’t fully understand what she was doing.

In early 2015, the year she turned 75, she informed me she’d _______ a seven-night trip to Turkey, and that she was going alone. There was no way I could _______ that. A little old lady not speaking a word of Turkish, with no _______ of the laws and customs of the land — it was impossible!

My mother paid no attention to me. Off she went. When she returned, she told us it had been a wonderful success. As it _______, she had barely spent any time alone, after _______ a taxi driver to show her around. He introduced her to a rug vendor (地毯商) — Mustafa, “a lovely fellow”, and she bought some rugs. The vendor had taken her address details and promised to _______ them to Canada.

I couldn’t believe her naivety (幼稚) and explained that she had been _______. The vendor had her money. She neither had nor would be receiving any rugs.

Well, I was __________.

To my great shock, her rugs did arrive some weeks later, along with a lovely note from Mustafa. To my even greater surprise, the following year Mustafa himself arrived in Canada.

“I invited him for a cup of tea and he came,” my mother told me. I was __________ because she hardly knew this man! But again, she paid little attention to me, telling me to stop being silly.

I wondered: “Is she not thinking straight?” __________ I worried about her, Mum was thinking straighter than most of us.

Her __________ seemed to be based on a realization that life needs to be lived, when there’s relatively little of it left. It __________ me of the line “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

I don’t think Mum knows what her next big “thing” is going to be. But I am sure, she is open to any __________, which is something we all probably need right now. Live life to the fullest.