4 . Brianna was just 12 when her mother became severely ill, allowing her to know what it was like to care for someone else. Although many members of her family were nurses, taking care of her mum was what influenced her the most and helped her decide to become a nurse.

After she didn’t get into UW-Eau Claire’s nursing programme the first two times she applied, Brianna began exploring potential careers. She took several business classes, but quickly realized that business wasn’t the right choice for her and her real passion was in nursing. She applied for nursing again and finally started the nursing programme in the fall of 2019.

She was just months into her first semester as a nursing major when she hit the next bump in the road. Brianna became extremely ill, with symptoms ranging from difficulty breathing to a high fever. Eventually, breathing became so difficult that she had to go to the emergency room. Therefore, Brianna could not attend classes for the rest of that semester, focusing instead on regaining her mental and physical health.

While Brianna was still in hospital, she already had connected with fellow nursing majors as well as professors, who worked closely with her to make sure she stayed on her courses. Those connections made all the difference when she was trying to stay on track to graduate despite her illness.

In spring, COVID-19 added additional obstacles to her college journey, forcing her to find new ways to manage her time. What’s worse, she was also unemployed when stores were closed, making it more difficult to pay for college.

Despite all those obstacles, Brianna graduated successfully in December 2021 and has already planned for what comes after she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing.

5 . I remember my first day to go to a new school in the 2nd grade. My dad accompanied me to the bus stop. As we waited for the bus, I just held his hand________, but it still couldn’t remove my clear sense of fear and anxiety. The moment finally arrived when I had to________this new environment at a school where I had no friends, no________teachers or classmates. It seemed everything would be full of________.

The school bus pulled up. I turned around and________to my father. As I boarded the bus, my________continued to grow and I turned around once again to make a farewell gesture to my dad. When the bus pulled away, I couldn’t help________.

Being lonely, I was a little________in the classroom. I glanced out of the window and I really expected to see his kind figure. To my________, there he was! He stood there, making the shape of a heart to________me and mouthing to me, “Everything will be okay.” It was________to me that my father had seen me crying so he________the school bus. He wanted to make sure that I would get and stay there________and that my first day wouldn’t worry him.

With his________, I’m now studying in Princeton University. Today is Father’s Day, and I want to say that love is not about changing each other but________each other.

6 . It was 80 years ago when I wrote my first letter to Paul and Renee who lived in France. I was keen on learning languages, so I was ________ when my French teacher assigned us pen pals.

It was quite a thing to get a letter from a ________ country, so I looked forward to ________ their reply. They weren’t particularly good at English, so we were all writing in French, which helped me acquire a good ________ of the language.

I decided to go to France on holiday in 1949 to________ them, but Paul was called up by the army, and Renee was away skiing. The family ________ me warmly, and I visited several times in the years that followed. The first time I met Renee, she picked me up at the station, and we hit it off straight away.

I never got to meet Paul. Renee ________ to me and told me that he had died ________ after leaving the army. Renee and I continued writing to each other, and our ________ became deeper. We talked about our families, our favorite pastimes and our ________ in life. Renee never married and worked as a nurse for half her life. As I continued to visit, I got to know her whole family, ________ her aunts and uncles, and distant cousins all over France. I was so ________ into their home life that I never felt like a tourist.

I’m 93 now and I ________ write to Renee. She has difficulty writing now, so she phone me to reply. Most people don’t seem to have the time for letters anymore, but it gives me great________ to write. My correspondence (通信) with Renee has offered me a wider ________ of what’s happening outside the UK. More importantly, this is the most enduring friendship I have ever had.

Ali and his younger sister, Zahra, lived with their parents in a poor neighborhood. Their mother was very sick and their father was struggling to find a job, and they had only a little money with which to buy food. As they had not paid the rent for several months, the landlord was breathing down their necks.

One day, Ali took Zahra's shoes to a shoe repairman to be fixed, but he lost them on the way home. It wasn’t until he got home that he realized he had lost the shoes. He was afraid that his parents would be angry and disappointed, so he begged his sister to keep it a secret. Zahra agreed and the two decided to share Ali’s running shoes. Zahra's school hours were in the morning, so she would wear them first. After school, she would rush back and give them to Ali. He could then run to his school, which began in the afternoon. Although he ran as fast as he could, Ali often arrived late and was warned by the school.

Ali heard about a long distance race that was held for the boys in the city.When he learned that the third prize was a new pair of shoes, he decided to take part. He ran home excitedly and promised his sister that he would win her the new shoes.

The day of race arrived. Ali had a strong start, but halfway through the race he began to get tired and his legs began to ache. Getting more and more exhausted he thought only of Zahra and his promise to her. Dreaming of the new shoes he would win for his sister gave him strength, and he stayed right behind the two fastest runners, determined to finish third. Suddenly, as the finish line drew near, another runner collided(碰撞) with Ali from behind and he crashed to the ground.

Ali looked up and saw the other boys rushing ahead.

Filled with delight, Ali walked home quickly.

The road to success isn’t so easy, and success rarely happens overnight.

Actually, a lot of highly successful writers have     1     (previous) faced rejection. Take J.K. Rowling     2     example. After a total of twelve rejections, Harry Potter became a global success, with over 400 million books     3     (sell) and translated into more than seventy different languages. Another example J.D. Salinger started writing short stories in high school. Even when     4     (serve) in the US Army during the Second World War, he carried six chapters of The Catcher in the Rye with him and worked on the novel throughout his war service. And although it was a time     5     women were not encouraged to become writers, all three Brontë sisters became famous writers.

Basketball player Stephen also got some doubts from many people. They thought he was too weak and short     6     (follow) in his father’s footsteps. But he didn’t give up because playing basketball was his dream. His creativity and perseverance made him the Davidson’s star player. He performed beyond everyone’s     7     (expect) with his accurate shooting and continuous efforts. After receiving the Most Valuable Player award, Stephen     8     (explain) his philosophy: What he wanted to do was just be himself. Inspiring others to believe in     9     (they), he showed that anything is possible.

So on the road to success, while hard work, self-belief and a touch of luck play     10     part, perseverance is the key.

10 . Zhao Yuan, who was a dance teacher, lost one leg in an accident at the age of 24. ________ she had to use a wheelchair, and leave her ________ position and started to make a living in business. She opened a hotel in her hometown and used some of her earnings to help ________ for the college cost of 13 poor students.

In 2020, she set up an offline sales platform called Good and Fresh, which mainly sold goods produced by Zhao’s disabled friends. ________ the pandemic (疫情), however, Good and Fresh ________ making money, so Zhao ________ online sales instead.

She became a livestream host on social media platforms, ________ the sales of goods like brown sugar, sweet potato flour and honey that her friends made. Although Zhao Yuan, who only had one ________, had to deal with her own disability, she had made her business succeed in creating a ________ in e-commerce (电子商务) and had helped more than 2,000 other ________ people sell agricultural products. Everything she sold came from 55 agricultural centers around the province ________ by the disabled. She had also trained 57 hosts, all of whom were disabled.

With the ________ of her business, Zhao has set up the Good and Fresh Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co., of which she is ________. She is planning to ________ another 1,000 hosts, and hopes that they will also be able to achieve their personal and social ________ through work, just as the way she is doing.