It was the day of the big cross-country run. Students from seven different primary schools in and around the small town were warming up and walking the route(路线)through thick evergreen forest.

I looked around and finally spotted David, who was standing by himself off to the side by a fence. He was small for ten years old. His usual big toothy smile was absent today. I walked over and asked him why he wasn’t with the other children. He hesitated and then said he had decided not to run.

What was wrong? He had worked so hard for this event!

I quickly searched the crowd for the school’s coach and asked him what had happened. “I was afraid that kids from other schools would laugh at him,” he explained uncomfortably. “I gave him the choice to run or not, and let him decide.”

I bit back my frustration(懊恼). I knew the coach meant well—he thought he was doing the right thing. After making sure that David could run if he wanted, I turned to find him coming towards me, his small body rocking from side to side as he swung his feet forward.

David had a brain disease which prevented him from walking or running like other children, but at school his classmates thought of him as a regular kid. He always participated to the best of his ability in whatever they were doing. That was why none of the children thought it unusual that David had decided to join the cross-country team. It just took him longer—that’s all. David had not missed a single practice, and although he always finished his run long after the other children, he did always finish. As a special education teacher at the school, I was familiar with the challenges David faced and was proud of his strong determination.

The Meredith family lived in a small community. As the economy was in decline, some people in the town had lost their jobs. Many of their families were struggling to make ends meet. People were trying to help each other meet the challenges.

Mrs. Meredith was a most kind and thoughtful woman. She spent a great deal of time visiting the poor. She knew they had problems, and they needed all kinds of help. When she had time, she would bring food and medicine to them.

One morning she told her children about a family she had visited the day before. There was a man sick in bed, his wife, who took care of him and could not go out to work, and their little boy. The little boy -his name was Bernard-had interested her very much.

“I wish you could see him,” she said to her own children, John, Harry, and Clara. “He is such a help to his mother. He wants very much to earn some money, but I don't see what he can do.”

After their mother left the room, the children sat thinking about Bernard. “I wish we could help him to earn money,” said Clara. “His family is suffering so much.”

“So do I,” said Harry. “We really should do something to assist them.”

For some moments, John said nothing, but, suddenly, he sprang to his feet and cried, “I have a great idea! I have a solution that we can all help accomplish(完成).”

The other children also jumped up all attention. When John had an idea, it was sure to be a good one. “I tell you what we can do,” said John. “You know that big box of corn Uncle John sent us? Well, we can make popcorn(爆米花), and put it into paper bags, and Bernard can take it around to the houses and sell it.”

6 . Molai grew up in a tiny village in India. The village lay near some wetlands which became his second___________. He learned the value and beauty of _________ there from a very young age.

When he was 16, Molai began to notice something _________ happening around his home. A flood had hit the area earlier that year and the _________ it caused had driven away a number of birds. _________, the number of snakes had declined as well. He _________ that it was because there weren’t enough trees to protect them from the _________. The solution, of course, was to plant trees so the animals could seek _________ during the daytime. He turned to the _________ department for help but was told that nothing would grow there. However, Molai went looking on his own and __________a nearby island where he began to plant trees.

________ young plants in the dry season was ____________for a lone boy. Molai built at the __________ of each sapling(幼树)a bamboo platform, where he placed earthen pots with small holes to____________ rainwater. The water would then drip(滴落)on the plants below.

Molai __________ to plant trees for the next 37 years. His efforts have resulted in 1,360 acres of naturally-grown land that has become home to many plants and animals.

7 . For most people, having things stolen feels like an offence. Robbie Pruitt admitted that he got ________ when he discovered the theft of his mountain bike last September. But soon enough, his ________ took a turn. After letting go of his anger and frustration, he found himself on a road to sympathy ________.

For Pruitt, a keen bicyclist, the first thing to do was ________ his stolen bike. But when he went bike shopping, he found few available, which got him thinking: What if the ________ of bikes was Covid-19 related, and what if the person who'd taken his bike really needed ________ to get to work?

With that thought in mind, Pruitt ________ a plan and posted it on the community website. He ________ to fix bikes free of charge for anyone who needed it. He also asked for unwanted bikes, which he would repair-again ________. And then he would donate them to folks who could truly use them but didn't have the ________ to buy one.

The day the post went live, Pruitt received thirty ________ bicycles. Then came more than 500 ________ for detailed information. By the end of 2020, Pruitt had repaired more than 140 for donation or to be ________ to their owners.

Pruitt tries to give his donations to families that are ________ struggling. ________ simply satisfying a material need, he has provided an opportunity for kids in his neighborhood to learn how to fix their own bikes.

In addition to ________ skills, Pruitt's lessons teach teamwork, encourage self-worth, and promote feelings of community. ________, the kids have gained a sense of accomplishment.

"It's a really great ________ for kids,“ said a neighbor in an interview with the local newspaper. "Pruitt is certainly providing a ________, but it's not just the bikes. It's the relationships in the community. It's the ________ that he can make on people."

8 . The day I met Hani Irmawati, she was a shy, 17-year-old girl standing alone in the parking lot of the international school in Indonesia, where I teach English. She asked if I could help her improve her English. I could ______ it took immense courage for the young Indonesian girl to ______ me and ask for help.

“I want to go to a US university,” she said with confidence. I was surprised.

I agreed to work with her ______ a volunteer basis. For several months, Hani woke each morning at five and caught the city bus to her public high school. During the one-hour ______, she studied for her regular classes and finished the English ______ I had given her. At four o’clock in the afternoon, she arrived at my classroom, ______ but ready to work.

When I met Hani’s family at their ______ little house, I realized they would never be able to afford the expenses of a US university. Hani’s enthusiasm was ______ with her language ability, but I was becoming more and more discouraged.

One day I received the announcement of a(n) ______ opportunity for a major US university. After reading the requirements, I knew Hani couldn’t meet the qualifications. I told her that there was only a ______ chance of her getting the scholarship and encouraged her to be more “realistic” about her dream. But she remained ______.

“Will you send in my name?” she asked.

I couldn’t ______ her down. I completed the application, with the painful truth about her academic life, but also with my ______ of her courage and perseverance.

Three weeks later, just before Hani went to Jakarta to take the Test of English Fluency, she received a letter from the scholarship association. She had been ______.

I leaped around the room, overjoyed and shocked. Hani stood by, smiling. I realized that it was I who had learned something Hani had known from the beginning: It is not intelligence alone that brings success, but also the ______ to succeed, the commitment to work hard and the courage to believe in yourself.

10 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a______is my mother's favorite.

I was only two when the______occurred. We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and _____to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief______to dash across the lawn (草坪) — and hit a large maple tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off the trunk and______on my backside. Mom______me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I______myself up and kept right on going. Mom always______here that, as many times as I______across the lawn after that, I never again______into that tree.

Mom loves to use this story as an______. It reminds her that children don't enter life______to take risks or unwilling to______again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that______as I grew older. When I______my major life decisions，I was still that little girl tearing full-speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents' home to look for a______, Through years of______, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high-need students.

We are almost certain to get______at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don't sit in the grass and______. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be worth it______.