Chinese speakers tend to use “spear and shield”     1    (describe) anything that’s contradictory. Actually, now the Chinese phrase for “contradiction”     2    (call) Mao Dun or “spear and shield”.

Nearly 2, 000 years ago, there was a man living in the State of Chu. One day, he went to a market to sell spears and shields—two most common     3    (weapon) at that time. When a small crowd gathered around the seller to look at his goods, the man     4    (decide) to advertise his shields first. He said, “Please look at my shields. They are certainly the     5    (strong) ones you can ever find in the world.”

Then some of the potential buyers came closer to have a careful examination of the shields,     6     they couldn’t see anything special about them. The seller then moved on to brag about his spears. “Now please have a good look at my spears. They are the sharpest weapons     7    have ever been produced. So, no matter how firm a shield is, my spears will pierce (刺穿) through it     8    (easy).” After listening to the seller’s pitch, a man stepped forward and said, “You just told us that your shields are the strongest in the world and then you claim your spears are the sharpest. How about     9    (use)your spears on your shields?” The seller was unable to respond.

So today, instead of saying “you are contradicting yourself”, Chinese will say “you are attacking your shield     10     your own spear”.

3 . I once worked on a farm. One day, a powerful wind slammed (猛推) me against a post. My left arm got totally _________, and it was later cut off.

Back home after an operation, I found everything a(n) _________. My husband tried to help me, but I wanted to be _________. I called my left arm “Stumpy” and tried to _________. I learned to squeeze toothpaste; I developed a technique for pulling the toilet paper.

“Mom can do anything,” my daughter said _________. The one thing I really wanted to do, though, was get back into _________. First, I tried to swim. When I swam with Stumpy, there was no forward motion. _________, I kept going and finished the lane at last. Then I tried the triathlon (铁人三项). I _________ how to balance the bike with one arm and start running. Within a year, I became an _________ athlete, winning a silver medal at the Paratriathlon World Cup.

In 2020, I decided to do New Zealand’s __________ event. Competitors have to run for 36 km, cycle for 140 km, and kayak (皮划艇) for 70 km. I __________ hard over the next six months. Then the big day came. After kayaking for a long time, my legs felt like jelly. “Don’t __________,” I told myself. In the last few kilometers, I heard loud __________. Many people came to support me.

Life in __________ for me, but I choose to change it. “Just because you’ve got only half a wing doesn’t mean you can’t __________ to achieve your dreams,” I said to myself.

4 . Texan 81-year-old good friends Ellie Hamby and Sandy Hazelip toured the world in 80 days, proving that adventure doesn’t have an age limit.

Their first stop was a location challenging even many experienced travelers: the Antarctic. Getting to the southernmost continent first required crossing the Drake Passage, the waters between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic’s South Shetland Islands. “For almost two days, we were rocking and rolling, slipping and sliding through the Drake Passage and we were holding on for dear life, “Hamby said. The voyage, however, faded from their mind as they set foot on the ground of the Antarctic, fascinated by the breathtaking beauty of penguins, icebergs and glaciers.

Since that first venture, the pair have visited 18 countries across all seven continents. And despite the challenges international travel presented, the good friends said they had finished their trip without any argument. Though they’re both independent and stubborn, they respect each other’s feelings. And what they remember the most are the people that they met. “We met some of the most wonderful, kindest, friendliest people. We just have friends now all over the world that we love dearly,” Hamby said.

The two shared a crucial piece of advice for travelers worrying about the language barrier on their own adventures.” You know, people often ask us about it,” said Hamby.” We tell them there’s one universal language, and that’s the smile. We found it worked wonders because we were often aware that English was not always spoken and that the smile could cover all languages.”

They also encouraged other older people not to let age hold them back. Aside from some minor changes in plans, their age didn’t affect their itinerary(旅程)abroad. They said they felt confident that if they were injured during their trip, their children would have been at peace knowing that they were doing what they absolutely wanted. And Hazelip described 81 as the perfect age to embark on a trip.”Getting older does give us a little bit of wisdom of making decisions,” she said.