1 . At 20 years old, I was a confident and handsome student at the University of California at Berkey.

But that year, I ________ a bump (肿块) in my right nostril (鼻孔), and when it didn’t go away, I made an ________ with a doctor. It turned out to be a tumor (肿瘤). Then I underwent surgery. Fortunately, the procedure was ________, and I returned to classes soon.

But six months later, a new bump appeared. Numerous ________ confirmed it had reproduced a horrible, life—threatening tumor. I was advised to have another operation and ________ that I might lose part of my nose. I was too young to think about death then, but the thought of disfigurement (毁容) made me feel ________.

I awoke from the surgery with a scarred, disfigured face. As I re-entered the real world, I noticed adults ________ and children pointing—and sometimes laughing—at me. The occasional and ________ negative reactions from my friends also hurt me. My self-respect sank increasingly lower, and I constantly asked others, “Do my looks ________ you?”

Five years and 20 reconstructive surgeries later, I ________ a man receiving treatment. After hearing my question, he criticized me. My problem, he ________ me, was not my physical appearance, but my emotional insecurity. His ________ helped me realize my mental scars were far more disfiguring than my physical ones.

I began examining myself from the inside out. Later, I volunteered at a cancer support organization to offer inspiration and hope to those ________ cancer

Now, I am ________ for who I am—a much stronger person than before. To you, I offer this message: Avoid making judgements about people at ________.

2 . At twenty-three, I had no idea that a summer class I feared would change my life and help me achieve dreams.

The class focusing on literature centered on _________ and illness. A few weeks into the course, I realized I was changing my opinion about it _________ feeling scared. It was _________ me to go after my dreams and stop waiting for tomorrow to work towards my _________. As I drove to school one day, I _________ my wish list and realized l wanted to see my name on the _________ of a published book. Thus, I went home, sat down, and _________ what story I would tell.

Recently, I’d had _________ to several news stories about wrongful conviction (定罪). Inspired by them, l _________ I wanted to write about that topic and explore it more __________. Therefore, I __________ a green notebook, where I set out to write the first page of what would become my first novel. Four years later, my manuscript (原稿) was __________ by a small publisher. The moment I received the e-mail, I told my husband the __________ news, trembling and crying.

Even bigger __________ were brought to life after that. I wrote more books and got picked up by one of the five publishers. Life may bring us a big surprise. Sometimes, the things we fear the most will eventually become the things that change us for the __________.

3 . My first job was at a fast-food restaurant called Carroll’s in my hometown. One spring day my next-door neighbor _________ me to apply for work with her there, and I agreed to have a try.

One little _________ was that I wasn’t 16 yet, so I just changed my birth date on the application from July to _________. Luckily, they didn’t ask for any ID to prove my _________, because there were few applicants for the job. Both of us were _________.

The pay was _________, only $1.60/hour with no tips. I worked at the _________ and only boys were allowed to work in the kitchen. I got a chance to make milkshakes, though, which I considered kind of fun. I also _________ the relationships with all the other workers, who were mostly easy-going teenagers.

It was great to _________ different diners. The restaurant was located on a __________ entryway into town, so all kinds of people came in. One day a man in plain clothes __________ but ordered many signature dishes. When he came to my counter to check out, I was __________ to find he was my idol.

Besides __________ about my age, I also failed to inform the manager that I was leaving in June to attend summer camp, so my first job only lasted a few __________. It has been long gone, but the __________ in the restaurant remains a sweet memory of my life.

4 . When I was young, I often had outdoor activities. One day, we decided to hold an archery (射箭) _______, shooting plastic animals. It was a _______ activity, and it was great to relax with my friends.

That day, the first target was a “_______”. One of our friends was about to shoot it when a strange woman came _______ from her car parked beside the road. My friend _______ shooting as she kept walking before the target. We were puzzled until we _______ that she thought our target was a _______ deer. We tried to explain, but she totally _______ it.

All the competitors came to see what was happening. I rushed to stop her because she was still trying hard to _______ this “poor animals”. I pulled the head of the deer off its body to __________ it was artificial (人造的). The woman was too __________ to speak for a long time. She then said “Sorry”, walked away __________ with a red face, and returned to her __________.

We decided to replace (替换) the deer with a false snake. And we thought no one __________ to stop us. Anyhow, the woman was worth __________ for her determination to protect wild animals.

5 . Steve Sanders is a dad who suffered from a serious kidney (肾) disease. Although he had been living a ________ life, going to the gym regularly, the doctors warned him that his kidney function was ________ and that he needed dialysis (透析). This made Sanders start a ________ for a kidney donor (捐献器官者) online. After he shared the post, he got ________ from 26 people who began handing in paperwork to become donors, ________ nothing moved beyond that. It could have been that they weren’t matched, or they stopped the process. “I don’t ________ them on that,” Sanders said. “I completely ________.”

One day, Chris, a local shopper, ________ him that told him he wanted to be a kidney donor. ________, Chris ended up being a perfect donor, making Sanders very excited. It was a total ________ for Sanders and he said he was happy that somebody was ________ to give him a chance.

Chris filled out the paperwork and ________ the process after a few weeks. When asked why he chose to donate his kidney, he said that he wanted to ________ what he preached (宣扬) to others on being kind and ________. Chris wanted his kids to grow up and ________ what kindness is.

Once the hospital showed his kidney was a ________ for Sanders, he agreed to receive the operation ________. Sanders was grateful for Chris’s ________. “Chris has made me feel very comfortable not ________ him anything. This is a guy who did this out of love,” Sanders added. After lots of tests, the two dads had the operation in October 2022. It was a(n) ________ transplant (移植) and even after it, they have continued their friendship.

6 . Kai Ture, at 11 years old, is a budding (崭露头角的) actress. All of her acting roles mean that Kai has to ________ her acting and school life. ________, she doesn’t let those ________ upset her and takes a positive attitude to them. For her, going to auditions (试演) and getting acting roles mean that she is only ________ her acting career.

When Kai isn’t ________, she focuses on putting her ________ and community first. ________ her hard work, she was able to be ________ into a school for top students. Despite all her acting credentials (证书), Kai still regards her educational achievements as her biggest ________. Acting isn’t her only fine arts skill—Kai can ________ play the violin and piano.

Kai has worked hard to help her local community as well. With the help of her Girl Scout group leaders, Kai was able to ________ some of Atlanta’s homeless communities with food in a community service event. Kai remains ________ when helping the homeless and is working again with her Girl Scout group to organize a larger ________.

Kai enjoys her ________ schedule, doing all the activities she loves. Kai first started off in smaller roles and has been able to get larger roles. Start off with some small steps and you’ll ________ achieve your biggest dreams!

7 . Last Sunday, our school held an ice hockey (冰球) game. I was so proud when my team ________ the game. It made me feel like I could do ________. Only three years ago, I was________ of walking or skating on the ice. To deal with this problem, I decided to ________a skating club. I really envied (嫉妒) the other club members, who were so ________and confident on the ice. But my teacher was good at teaching and before I knew it, I was able to ________. He then advised me to try ice hockey. I ________ it and was soon practising ________ my local team almost every evening. We are now training for national games________  hope to be winners one day, but my final________is to be an ice hockey teacher and help people learn to play this game.

8 . In high school, I got my first job at the local hardware (五金制品) store, all thanks to Mr. Anderson, our neighbor. He offered me a chance to _________ there. My parents gave the thumbs (拇指) up, so I _________ the world of part-time jobs.

My daily tasks weren’t too _________. I tidied up shelves and helped _________ find what they needed. But working in a(n) _________ hardware store during the summer turned out to be more _________ than I thought. I had to manage between helping customers with screws and refilling shelves with goods.

At dinner, I’d _________ tales of my day, admitting that the _________ was proving more difficult than I first thought. My dad, who had his share of hands-on experience fixing cars, would laugh and share _________ from his early mechanic (机械师) days.

He’d say, “Jobs like this teach you more than just about money; they __________ your character.” Back then, I didn’t realize that my summer __________ at the hardware store was turning out to be more than just a way to __________ some extra money.

As the summer went on, I found myself gaining a __________ understanding of responsibility and the essence of hard work. The simple __________ in the store became life lessons, teaching me to appreciate and __________ the people who work hard every day to make everything go smoothly.

9 . Dr Rabia Sa’id grew up in a polygamous (一夫多妻的) family, which is legal in parts of Nigeria; her father and two mothers had ten children _______ lost three of them.

Her father was a _______, so she attended an Army school, finishing at the _______ of her class.“If you are very _______ in my country, the government will direct you to study science, ” she explained.“I’ve always wanted to get higher education; never wanted to just stay back and be a wife and mother.”

But after high school, she put her _______ on hold.She had three young children and she had to wait. Ten years passed. “Within that time, all my classmates _______ university and were working, and I was just a housewife, and I wanted to be also in their _______, ”she recalled.

She admitted that she felt envious when she saw students who were not nearly as _______ as her in school graduated. When she _______ went back, she did well in the sciences.

Now she ________ as Deputy Dean of Student Affairs at Bayero University Kano and teaches in the Department of Physics. Her research has ________ electronics and space weather physics, and she applies it to local ________ needs, including waste recycling.

She is now ________ a government project to gather atmospheric data. She is now a mother of six children, two with disabilities. She is a role ________ for science education in her community, where girls’ education is ________ to be recognized.

10 . Three years ago, a friend of mine lost her dad. One night, I found her sitting alone. I knew it’s easy to say the wrong thing to someone in _________. So I started with how I grew up _________ a father. I told her my dad had drowned when I was 9 months old and I _________ him. I wanted her to realize that she wasn’t alone and that I could totally understand her _________.

But after listening to my words, she _________ me angrily, “Okay, Celeste, you _________. You never had a dad, and I at least got to spend 30 years with mine. I guess I shouldn’t be so _________ about my father’s death.”I was _________. She walked away and I stood there helplessly.

From that day, I started to _________ how I responded to stories of __________. When my son told me his fighting with a kid, I would talk about a girl I had a __________ with. What they needed was for me to __________ them and admit __________ they were going through. Instead, I forced them to listen to me.

These days, I’ve tried to listen more and talk less. I had a __________ conversation with a friend who was going through a failure. In the end, she said, “Thank you for your advice.” But I __________ said a word. I knew she just needed to be heard.