Last Saturday David was taking a walk in the park near his home when he noticed a woman with a boy of about eight years old. When David passed them, he heard the woman yelling: “How stupid you are! You’re good at nothing.” David stopped and looked at the little boy. The boy said nothing. He just stood there, looking upset.

David was reminded of his English teacher Mrs. Brown in middle school. After he entered middle school, David lacked self-confidence because he was often made fun of by others. He was often told that he was good at nothing, which David believed.

But one day it all changed. That day, in an English writing class, Mrs. Brown asked them to read a novel. They were asked to write a new chapter of the novel after they finished reading it. A few days later, David handed in his story. He didn’t give it much thought. But the next day to his surprise, the comment “well done” from Brown came into view the moment he turned to the page where the story was written. When David read that, he almost burst into tears. He had never expected to be praised. He suddenly gained some self-confidence.

That day after he returned home, he wrote another short story and gave it to Mrs. Brown the next morning. And again he was praised. David became very interested in writing. He often wrote short dories and asked Mrs. Brown to read them and correct them for him. Mrs. Brown always gave him good advice to improve them. One year later, David joined the school newspaper and became an editor of it. He gained his confidence and was hopeful about his future.

He succeeded in entering college and kept writing. Several years after graduating from college, he had his first book published, becoming famous as a writer in his country. And he owed his success to Mrs. Brown’s encouragement. Without her encouragement, his life might be very different now.

Inspired by his own life story, David decided to do something for that boy.

The mother was ashamed when she heard that.

2 . The COVID-19 pandemic (大流行病) prevents a lot of celebrations from being held. During what seemed like an end to the pandemic, Dawn planned a birthday party_________for her son Jack at a park with plenty of space to keep social_________. For one reason or another, kids and their parents_________to stay at home. No guests_________on the celebration.

After the party that nobody went to, this mom_________her heartbreak online. “All parents just want_________for their kids and it was hard to imagine watching your young kid’s excitement_________sadness when none of his friends went to his party.”

Dawn’s video quickly_________hundreds of thousands of views. Other moms talked about their understanding and a lot of viewers wished Jack a happy birthday._________, people offered to send gifts to the boy to make his birthday a little bit better.

Dawn even took it one step further for her boy. She__________a virtual birthday party for Jack by going live online, and almost 30,000 viewers__________in the party. Hundreds of thousands of__________got together just to make the kid feel special on his birthday!

Jack’s mom posted a follow-up video,__________that both she and her son were incredibly__________for those wishing him a happy birthday and wanting to send toys. She said that Jack didn’t want or need toys, but he just wanted to have fun with his friends. Jack even__________that people send toys to their closest Children’s Hospital instead of to him.

4 . The bus screamed to a stop in Nazareth, Israel. Five Australian backpackers boarded and struck up a conversation with me. They asked typical travelers’ questions — where was I going and why was I traveling alone? My plan was to travel with a friend of a friend, I explained, but when I called her that morning, she didn’t pick up and I had no other way to reach her. My stomach was in knots, but I decided to head out anyway, thinking I might run into her if I traveled to Tiberius, where we had planned to go together.

“Why don’t you travel with us?” one of the backpackers offered. They were experienced adventurers who would work for a few months, save, and then travel for as long as they could. Their current plan was to explore the Middle East and Europe in three months while working in London.

It seemed risky to travel with strangers, but my instinct said yes. For the next two weeks, I explored Israel with the backpackers and learned to trust my instincts in all types of new and interesting situations. When they hook a ride, I took the bus, but when they wanted to steal into the King David Hotel’s swimming pool, I led the way.

The world opened up to me because I chose to travel alone. I joined complete strangers, who become close friends. Years later, one couple from the backpacking group even flew from Sydney to Phoenix to be in my wedding. The trip was such a special experience that it gave me confidence in all areas of my life. Since then, I’ve backpacked alone across South Africa, sky-dived from 12,000 feet in New Zealand and even moved across the U.S. with no job lined up.

On my third day wandering in Israel with my new friends, I bumped into the woman I was supposed to meet. Though I was happy she was all right, I was grateful she hadn’t picked up the phone.

The ancient town of Fenghuang is a place with beautiful village life in rural China. Having travelled directly from the busy city, I regard Fenghuang as a better     1     (choose) to have a breath of the fresh air.

When I paid     2     visit to Fenghuang, it was July. My friend and I     3    (excited) explored, walking along the ancient wall and crossing the beautiful, old bridges. People there were very     4    (relax). They were neither troubled by the hot weather nor by the tourists, walking, eating and playing outdoors.     5     the first evening we bought spicy, cold noodles and ate on the riverbank as we watched the sunset.

We stayed in a small hotel     6     was similar to many of the traditional     7     (building) in the village. Our room was built on high stilts(桩子) over the banks of the river. From our window we could hear the rush of the water and the sounds of of excited tourists     8     (travel) in small boats downstream. We saw people at work busy catching fish and young children playing in shallow waters.

Although there     9     (be) many visitors to Fenghuang, we did not see any other foreigner during our stay. After several days, I was still unwilling     10    ( leave).

7 . I was in the back seat of a taxi holding my mother’s hand like a child. But, in fact, I was already 28 years old, still ________ and hoping my mom would make it all right. We were coming home from the ________, having survived spinal operation (脊柱手术) a week earlier, and ________ to the tiny apartment in San Francisco. Each time the taxi bounced (弹跳) over the mountain roads, I felt as if my bones were ________. I doubt I would get ________ again during the journey.

I was about to ________ at the driver, when my mother said ________, “Thank you! You’re the best driver I have ever seen.” She continued, “These hills must be very hard to drive on. And I’m so ________. My daughter just had spinal operation and is so ________. Because of you, she’s going to get home safe. Thank you. You’re wonderful.”

In the mirror (后视镜), I could see the driver smiling proudly. I felt a flash of anger but before I had a chance to ________ my mother, a ________ happened. The driver slowed down. He moved his neck left and right to make sure a ________ ride before making each turn. ________, he drove us home like the best driver I’d ever seen.

At that moment, what my ________ mom had done clearly showed that she was really certain of the power of ________.

9 . My history with music was not good. I still remembered when I took my short-lived piano lessons, my grandfather said ____ to my grandmother, “Why didn’t he make any progress with much practice?” I ____ to make my piano performance attractive. However, my efforts were ____.

So I gave up playing any musical instrument until my old friend Leroy ____ me to play the violin with him when I was 57. It made me enjoy the joy of playing music again. One day, Leroy sent a text ____ me that there was a music performance and he wanted me to join him. Thinking of my past, I ____ his invitation. I expected to hear his words that I would become ____ with practice on stage. But he said,“OK, only play if you want to.” I was totally ____ by the unexpected answer and made no reply except to tell him goodbye.

No one was ____ me to participate, but I faced a special ____. Should I play on stage or just watch a movie? I had chosen the “movie route” too many times and this time I was ____ to grasp the opportunity. After a long and careful ____, I played my violin with Leroy. ____ I didn’t lose all my nervousness, it was enough for me to overcome my fear. Finally, I ____ a full performance in front of the audience.

A short time later, my friend Leroy passed away, but his ____ stayed. It helped me not only in music, but in all aspects of life. When I focused on what I wanted to do, fear will be replaced with joy.

10 . When I was 25 years old, I had a big dream in my mind and lots of things in my backpack. I wanted to travel around Africa with my _______. So I left my hometown with great confidence and _______ in Cape Town on a one-way ticket, not really sure what to do next._______, before my trip actually started, I met a kind, old Nigerian man. He gave me the best travel_______ I ever received: “Be like a student on your way around the world.”

It sounds _______, but it really changed my mind about travelling. He helped me _______ that travel is about learning and observing different _______. “It’s far too easy to go into a new country for you and believe your ways are better. But if you study, ask questions, and _______ to learn from the locals, you’ll have far richer _______, ” he promised me.

On other trips since I was on my tour way to Cancun, I didn’t know the man so I was just a________. I only stayed there for a week to see the sights and places of interest and then left. The culture didn’t ________ me. I left the cities and towns without really ________ anyone or anything. Those people and things ________ in those very places to which I had paid a visit.

This time, I promised myself that I would be a ________ student traveller. After seven months of ________ travelling from Cape Town to Cairo, I returned home. Having a student-like attitude helped me learn a lot. This trip satisfied me more than any other trip ever did to me.