1 . As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this principle at work in people of all _________. For example, on Christmas morning, children are excited about _________ with their new toys. But their _________ soon wears off and by January those same toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of _________ stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s _________ interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child _________ bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a short time, however, the _________ of caring for the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescents enter high school with great excitement but are soon looking forward to _________. The same is true of the young adults going to college. And then, how many _________, who now complain about the long drives to work, __________ drove for hours at a time when they first __________ their driver’s license (执照)? Before people retire, they usually __________ to do a lot of great things, which they never had time to do while working. But __________ after retirement, the golfing, the fishing, the reading and all of the other pastimes become as boring as the jobs they __________. And, like the child in January, they go searching for new __________.

3 . “Fire! Fire!” What terrible words to hear when one ______ in a strange house in the middle of night! It was a large, old ______ house — the sort that burns easily, and my room was on the top floor. I jumped out of bed, ______ the door and stepped out into the passage. It was full of thick smoke.

I began to ______ , but as I was still only half-awake, instead of going towards the stairs I went in the opposite direction. The smoke grew thicker and I found it hard to ______ . The floor became ______ under my bare feet. I ran into another room and tried to reach the ______ for fresh air. But before I could reach it, one of my feet got caught in something soft and I fell down. The thing I had fell over felt like a bundle of clothes, and I picked it up to protect my ______ from the smoke and heat. Just then the door ______ under me and I dashed to the floor below with pieces of ______ wood all around me.

______ , there was a doorway in front, so I put the package over my face and ran. My feet were terribly burned, but I got through. As I reached the cold air outside, my bundle of clothes gave a thin ______ . I nearly dropped it in my ______ . Then I saw many people gathered in the street. A woman dressed in night clothes screamed as she saw me and came running ______ .

“My baby! My baby!” She cried. The crowd ______ loudly as she took the smoke-blackened bundle out of my arms. I almost failed to see who she was — my boss wife. I had saved her baby, and became a hero.

4 . It was 3 am, a cold and wet night, on August 21, 2010. I had just left a local club to travel ten kilometers home when I lost ________ of my car on Grand Junction Road in Hope Valley.

I ________ into a still car that was parked in front of a house, and then hit a tree. I was badly injured! ________ still, I had no idea that a fire had started ________ the bonnet (引擎盖) of my car.

________ in the car behind me was a young man, who I later found out was called Jared. He saw the accident occur and ________ to help me out of the car. He put his own life in ________ when he got into the back seat trying to undo (解开) my seat belt.

With my seat belt undone, Jared then broke the driver’s window to drag me out. He ________ did this while my car was burning. ________ by the crash, the homeowners came out to investigate (调查) . Jared told them to ring emergency services ________ he continued to help me out of the car.

I owe my life to Jared and I consider him a good friend due to the ________ bond created on the night he dragged me to safety. I was rushed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a serious condition, five bones broken.

I spent a few weeks in hospital, during which time Jared visited me to see how I was ________. He also continued to contact me after I returned home. He says he doesn’t believe that he did anything special. On that, I totally disagree with him and am very glad that he didn’t get hurt in the ________.

Today, nearly seven years later, Jared and I still ________ and often talk about the events of that night. Jared is my ________ and my friend.

6 . Life is full of uncertainties, and every activity we do carries some level of ________ . Some activities, like snowboarding (单板滑雪运动), often have a higher possibility of injury. Ian Steger ________ this firsthand when he had a serious snowboarding accident but he was so ________ that Francis Zuber passed by.

In March, Ian and a group of friends went on a snowboarding trip in Washington State. During their ________ , things took a dangerous turn. While moving through the trees, Ian fell backward and crashed into one, finding himself ________ in a deep hole of snow.

Ian explained the ________ , “When we entered the trees, they were so ________ together that we each had to find our own paths. Unluckily, the path I ________ led me straight into a big tree well.” Fearing the worst, Ian thought he was facing his   ________ moments. However, Francis Zuber, a skier, happened to pass by.

Francis saw a flash of red in the corner of his eye. He ________ a snowboard sticking out from the snow, which was ________ considering how far they were from any populated areas. Worried, Francis called out to Ian but didn’t receive any ________

Without hesitation (犹豫), Francis began to dig hard to save Ian from the snowy trap. In the end, he ________ it. Feeling extremely ________ , Ian hugged Francis, telling him, “I’m so glad you ________   my life today.”

7 . As a general rule, all forms of activity lead to boredom when they are performed on a routine basis. As a matter of fact, we can see this ____ at work in people of all ages. For example, on Christmas morning, children are excited about playing with their new toys. But their ____ soon wears off and by January those ____ toys can be found put away in the basement. The world is full of ____ stamp albums and unfinished models, each standing as a monument to someone’s ____ interest. When parents bring home a pet, their child ____ bathes it and brushes its fur. Within a short time, however, the ____ of caring for the animal is handed over to the parents. Adolescents enter high school with great ____ but are soon looking forward to ____. The same is true of the young adults going to college. And then, how many adults, who now complain about the long drives to work, ____ drove for hours at a time when they first ____ their driver’s licences? Before people retire, they usually ____ to do a lot of great things, which they never had ____ to do while working. But ____ after retirement, the golfing, the fishing, the reading and all of the other pastimes become as boring as the jobs they ____. And, like the child in January, they go searching for new toys.

10 . Inconvenient Truths

If doctors lie, it is surely inexcusable. One of the basic_________ the public have of doctors is honesty. But what would you think if I told you that research has shown that 70 per cent of doctors   _________ to lying to their patients? If I am honest, I have told lies to my patients.

Mrs Walton was in her eighties and _________ to see her husband. She would try to get up to find him, despite being at risk of falling. “He’s on his way, don’t worry,” the nurses would say this to calm her down. I said the same thing to her. But it was a lie. He died two years ago. The truth, if I can use that word, is that it is a _________ to lie sometimes.

Mrs Walton is one of the dementia (痴呆) sufferers, who lose their short-term memory and the memory of_________ events, but hold memories from the distant past. Sufferers are trapped forever in a confusing past that many realize bears little   _________ to the present, but are at a loss to explain. Those with dementia often feel upset, scared and confused that they are in a strange place, _________ by strange people, even when they are in their own homes with their family, because they have gone back to decades ago.

They look at their adult children   _________ and wonder who they could be because they think their children are still little kids. I have had countless families break down in tears, not knowing how to react as their loved one moves further away from them back into their distant past and they are   _________ in the present. And how, as the doctor or nurse caring for these patients, does one manage the anger and outbursts of distress that comes with having no   __________ of your life for the past ten or 20 years? The lies that doctors, nurses and families tell these patients are not big, elaborate lies — they are   __________ comforts intended to calm and allow the subject to be swiftly changed.

__________ with them about this false reality is not heartless or unprofessional — it is actually kind. That’s not to say that lying to patients with dementia__________ is right or defensible. But what kind-hearted person would put another human being through the unimaginable pain of learning, ________ again and again, that they have lost their beloved ones. It would be an unthinkable cruelness.

Sometimes honesty is __________ not the best policy.