1 . Love has no borders when it comes to children’s birthday wishes. Zack Winton was ________ in his farm near the border between the US and Mexico when he came across a ________ site. A red balloon was caught in the grass and a note was ________ to it.

On it was written one word — Myra — ________ inside, was a numbered list of things, which was a list of birthday gifts she ________. Zack guessed that the balloon had been ________ from the neighbour city, Nogales, in Mexico. As a soon-to-be grandfather, he ________ hoped he could do something for Myra.

He ________ the information on the Internet hoping to see if anyone would respond to it but drew a ________ there. With Myra’s birthday drawing near and time running out, Zack got in touch with the local radio station in Nogales, which then played the information out ________. Within 24 hours, the radio station ________ Zack back.

With the radio station ________ for the two to meet the next morning, Zack took the day off from work, rushed to a ________, and bought the items on the list — clothes, art supplies, and a doll — and some ________ stuff as well after finding that Myra had a 4-year-old sister.

Zack and his wife packaged all the ________, drove across the border and arrived at the radio station, carrying presents for two ________ girls. The couple watched the young children happily ________ the gifts. Myra’s parents thanked them for their amazing act of ________.

Although there is a 20-foot wall at the border which ________ the two cities, Zack and his wife prove that when it comes to a child having her birthday wishes ________, love has no borders.

2 . Steven took his 7-year-old son Alex and 4-year-old daughter Mia out on his boat for fishing and fun. But in the blink of an eye, things took a terrifying _______ when a strong current suddenly swept through, causing Mia to _______ her hold on the boat.

While Mia wore a life jacket, Alex did not. But as the current pulled his sister away, Alex wasn’t going to leave her alone. He, too, let go of the _______ and swam toward his sister.

Realizing the danger, Steven _______ jumped into the water and tried to help his kids. But the strong current made it difficult even for him. So he told Alex to swim to shore while he tried to rescue Mia.

“I told them both I loved them because I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Steven recalled. “I tried to _______ Mia as long as I could. But finally I wore myself out, and she drifted away (漂走) from me.”

Alex followed his dad’s _______ and headed for the shore. But it was no easy task. “The current was going the opposite way,” he explained.

This little boy spent an hour _______ his way back to land. He swam more than a mile. Once he finally made it to the shore, the boy ran to the first house he could find and begged for _______. From there, Jacksonville authorities _______ and rescued Steven and his daughter.

Alex, the brave and __________ little boy saved his sister and dad. If not for him, it would have been a different story.

3 . The snow arrived earlier than predicted as I _________ grocery bags into the Chevy’s trunk and shut the hatch. Several feet of snow already covered our community, and this new _________ was, of course, another cruel _________.” It’ll probably be the disaster of this century,” I complained, thinking about the past few difficult years. I had _________ the illness and the financial loss, but something else was _________ me —the hopelessness that results from _________ goals. Usually a positive person of _________, I had always viewed life as a series of problems to _________. Though I thought I’d handled the dilemmas well, I hadn’t _________ that the real me, the one whose passion for life had __________ others, had burned out. In the past year, I had been faced with __________ choices, and I’d made critical __________. Now I was afraid to trust my judgment and my future.

When nighttime arrived, I decided to take a walk. Outside, my feet seemed to be __________ in the endless white as I walked along snowy fields toward the forest. Somewhere along my journey, I realized I’d been crying. Pausing to catch my breath, I felt a moment’s __________. I’d traveled off the recognizable path from my home. Tired and defeated, I fell and __________ against a very strong trunk, __________ my head on my drawn-up knees __________. A deer stood only a few inches away, locking her stare on mine. A few minutes passed, she stepped closer and lowered her head to __________ my pocket as if to be in search of food. I felt my pocket and offered an apple to her gently.

“Mistakes can bring positive outcomes, after all.” Excited by my new __________, I moved ahead, growing tired but pressing onward. It’s the __________ and willingness to learn from the past and then press onward that can lead to a joyful future.

4 . I was taking my fifteen-minute walk break at work today when an elderly gentleman asked me for directions. He was going to see a ________. I pointed him towards what I thought was the ________way, but he seemed hesitant (犹豫的). So, I walked with him up the stairs and down the hall to be sure. He was right! He was not in the right ________! There was no doctor.

We had to ________ a girl and were directed down another hallway and still couldn’t find his doctor’s home. We were ________. Finally, we called his wife and found out that he was in the wrong building. The poor man was so ________ that he couldn’t even find his car. But he tried to stay ________ and kept thanking me.

When we finally found his car, I gave him ________ for getting to the other building which was down the road. I ________ with all my heart that he could find it. The old man was happy and continued to thank me.

In fact, I thought I should ________ him. Before meeting him, I was having a very ________ and stressed day. After being in his presence, I felt myself again. I kept ________ about how much contribution (贡献) he must have made to society in his many years. Now he needed ________. And it was my ________ to help him in this very small way. I wished I could have done more. I hoped a shining light ________ him to his destination and then back home.

5 . “How did you publish so much as an immigrant (移民) ?” _________ I wasn’t a native English speaker, people asked this question countless times as I interviewed for jobs last year. I knew that telling my struggles was unlikely to _________ me a job, so I would laugh and say, “I enjoy writing!” But the _________ is that writing did not come easily.

From early on I wanted to pursue an _________ career. But my first applications for Ph. D programs were _________. After learning I would be a stronger _________ if I had some publications, I decided to pursue a project in my undergraduate professor’s lab, hoping for publishable findings. When I had results to write up, I _________ to write a well-structured research paper. I was _________ that my professor’s revisions were less significant than they had been on my paper, highlighting my growth.

Still, the paper was rejected (拒绝) from three journals and I was getting rejected by more Ph. D programs. But I didn’t give up. _________,I tried to focus on what I was learning: Revisions and rejections are a normal part of the scientific process, and what __________ was how I adapted and grew from them.

Learning how my professor __________ writing helped me find my voice. I went on to publish several first-author papers and grew more __________. I finally dared to apply to Ph. D programs again, and was excited to get in. I’m sure many __________ on my CV helped me win the place.

As my Ph. D program neared its end, my publication record made me stand out and improved my confidence during job __________. Writing helped me grow from an uncertain immigrant feeling like a (n) __________ in academia (学术界) to a confident researcher whose background is a source of pride and strength.

6 . You may have heard of the famous workplace communication software, Slack. Many companies use Slack to virtually communicate across teams. What most people don’t know is that Slack, despite its _________, was never meant to exist. In fact, the company who developed Slack actually had been hoping to create the next popular video game. But after raising millions of dollars to fund the game development, the company ultimately _________ the project because the game failed to attract enough users.

The _________ goal of the company wasn’t achieved. However, during the process of creating their game, something else happened. The team realized that the _________ system they created to accompany the game was worth investing more time in. And they _________ to invent the communication system idea for one of the fastest-growing startups (初创公司) in history, and Slack was born.

An outcome-focused company might have just moved on from the failed video game or, worse, continued investing resources, risking further negative outcomes. But _________, this company didn’t do that. _________, they had been paying attention to the process. Focusing on the process allowed this company to _________ and redefine their desired outcome.

You’ve probably heard a quote or two in your life about the _________ of “the journey”—how often the journey is more significant and impactful than the __________. The company that developed Slack understood this principle, and by focusing on the process rather than the outcome, they were able to achieve greater success than they first had hoped for.

7 . As a judge, Lee Shapiro realized love is the greatest power there is. He became a(n) ________ after retirement.

Lee created his Hugger Kit. On the outside it ________ “A heart for a hug.” The inside contains little red hearts. Lee will take out his Kit, go around to people and offer a heart ________ a hug.

Once Lee went to the home for the ________. At first, Lee felt ________. He had never before hugged people who were severely retarded (弱智的) or paralyzed. It was definitely a(n) ________, far beyond his handle. But it became easier with the medical staff following him.

In the last ward were the worst ________ Lee had ever seen. The feeling was so ________ that it took his heart away. But out of his commitment to ________ his love, Lee ________ his way around the room.

Finally, Lee came to the last person, Leonard. Leonard was wearing a bib (围兜) which he was drooling (淌口水) on. Though believing there was no way to ________ him, Lee took one heart and placed it on Leonard’s bib. He took a deep breath, ________ down and gave Leonard a hug.

Suddenly Leonard began to scream, “Eeeeehh! Eeeeeehh!” Other patients followed him. Lee turned to the staff, only to find them all ________. Lee asked, “What’s going on?” He will never ________ what the head nurse said, “This is the first time we’ve ever seen Leonard smile.”

How simple it is to make a ________ in the lives of others.

8 . A couple weeks ago, I ventured down to Charlotte, NC, to meet Cole Rosenberger, who had a serious passion for protecting forests. I wanted to _________ share his story with you.

Cole _________ me in March asking how he could help protect North Carolina’s coastal forests. By the _________ of his email I assumed he was in high school, so I sent him materials that I thought would be _________ and talked with him about our _________.

A few weeks later he informed me that he had received the _________ from his principal to get postcards signed by the kids at his school and developed a (n) _________ plan. It was also at this time that I _________ a “secret” email from Cole’s mom, letting me know that he is eight years old and really excited about this project. That _________ me away!

Cole organized his elementary school to sign postcards to ask McDonald’s to use ____________ packaging. A few months later, McDonald’s decided to use 100% recycled fibers in their bags. This win ____________ Cole to do more, and he was ready to ____________ KFC. He partnered with seven schools, got the attention of media, and ____________ over 6,000 postcards to KFC’s headquarters. It took several years before KFC ____________ to use more recycled paper in its packaging.

I almost cried at the beauty and ____________ of youth to make a positive impact on the Earth.

9 . Looking back, the memory of doctors, nurses and the conclusion of appendicitis (阑尾炎) was still clear. ______, nothing hurt more than three days with appendicitis. After a series of emergencies, I could merely lie ______ and beg my body to stop hurting.

All the ______ acquired from years of swimming was eaten away. Previously, I could swim miles daily. Now it was a(n) ______ to sit up and I couldn’t swim for almost three months.

When I finally returned to the pool, I struggled with my ______ ability. Race after race, I ______ my goals. Every time I ______ to enter the national competitions, I failed by a tiny amount.

Finally, I came to the last event that could ______ me for nationals. This was my last ______ : now or never. After so many failures, I couldn’t help being furious about recent events.

The race started, and I dived in, throwing the pain, ______ and anger I had experienced recently into the pool. My mind focused, self-limitation was ______ and I devoted all my attention and strength to my moves.

When I saw my time, a wave of ______ swept over me. I eventually ______ self-doubt and won what almost ______ from me. Nationals were waiting for me, and by no means would I let anything ______ my advancement.

10 . Jerry, 81 years old, set out from Big Pine, California, on February 24th to return to his home in Gardnerville, Nevada. _________, he was trapped alone in his car in a heavy snow for nearly a _________.

The temperatures dropped from 35F to15F overnight, and many areas saw _________amounts of snow — an unusual occurrence for a state that’s not used to _________ winters.

Jerry survived by _________ the few snacks he had in his car. He _________ his window occasionally to eat snow. A hotel bath towel was the only thing Jerry had to keep himself   _________

On February 28, the Inyo County Search and Rescue team received “a call for a _________person”. Then, on March 2, they succeeded in locating Jerry’s car partially buried in _________. The crew loaded Jerry onboard and transported him directly to __________ care.

Jerry was only in the hospital for a few hours and afterward was returned to his __________ in Gardnerville. According to his grandson Christian, he was __________ well.

Christian hopes his grandfather’s miraculous (奇迹般的) rescue can serve as a warning to others about just how __________ winter travel can be. But above all, “if someone gets __________, don’t give up hope,” said Christian. “The human body is   __________   for what it can endure (忍耐).”