2 . It was the selection process for a Ph.D program. The 2-day interview got off to a(n) ________ start when the professor I most wanted to work with was so ________ by my competitor’s presentation that he gave her a high-five. I reminded myself there was more than one spot to be filled, and headed to dinner. There, my future adviser found me. “It’s ________ of you to apply with such a track record,” he said. “Don’t ________ visiting my lab tomorrow.” I wasn’t sure whether to feel ________ or teased (取笑), but I knew I needed to impress him to have a chance.

The next day, in the room full of my ________, the professor invited me to the microscope. Accidentally, my finger got caught between the two buttons of his shirt and made the shirt open. The others were frozen with ________, but I kept calm and ________ the situation. I apologized and then turned to the science.

Years later, I asked my adviser why he ________ me, even if my track record was ________ and I had made a fool of myself. “That’s simple,” he replied. “I was looking for a troubleshooter who won’t ________ at a time of crisis. And this is exactly what you ________.” At that moment, I ________ that maybe the obvious troubles during the interview happened not to me but for me, because otherwise I would have had no ________ to stand out.

Since then, when facing ________, I’ve managed to stay positive.

5 . William was one of my students. He is very positive. Each child should plant sunflowers as a class _________. Planting sunflowers was _________ for many students, _________, the growing part much less so. It took too long to see results from daily watering and most kids had little _________ for it. They lost interest and forgot to _________ their sunflowers, but William didn’t.

Even though he _________ with his reading, he never once complained (抱怨). Still, I couldn’t help but _________. Despite his strong determination, William’s grades were poor. I _________ if he’d be able to pass. _________, to my joy, William entered into the third grade. And though I was happy for him, the worry __________. Would third grade be too tough for him? About a month into the summer vacation, I __________ to drive by the school. I wanted to know how the sunflowers were. I saw William’s sunflowers must have been at least 12 feet tall. They were strong and they faced the sun.

This is what it __________ to be a teacher. Please __________ belief has planted in our children and do our best to work for it. At that moment, I knew I didn’t have to worry about William. I’d seen that special seeds __________ inside him. Others would too. One day, he’d bloom and __________— just like his sunflowers.

A little girl was worried that the Tooth Fairy (牙仙子) would not find her lost tooth on an airplane. Captain Josh stepped in and saved the day.

On a recent flight (航班) from New York to South Carolina, the 6-year-old girl Lena lost one of her bottom teeth. During the flight, she fell asleep on the plane, and when she woke up, the tooth was gone.

Their flight from New York to South Carolina was their last flight on a long travel day from Norway. Lena and her mother tried to go back through the security checkpoint to search the plane for her tooth, but it was 2 a.m. and the security was closed. Seeing Lena’s sadness, Captain Josh Duchow offered to write a note to the Tooth Fairy to explain the situation.

“Dear Tooth Fairy, Lena had a tooth fall out on her flight to Greenville. Please take this note in place of her tooth. Captain Josh”

Lena’s mom, Lauren Larmon, shared the pilot’s act of kindness on the Internet. “In a world which is full of bad airline stories, United Airlines came through when Lena fell asleep on her flight home and woke up without a tooth. Very worried that the Tooth Fairy would not show up because the tooth is somewhere on the airplane, the pilot saw Lena trying to go back through the security to get her tooth and helped her out. Thank you, Captain Josh! I’m sure that the Tooth Fairy will accept this note in place of a tiny tooth.”

Afterwards, Lena learned the Tooth Fairy had written back.

Two months later, a new tooth was coming in.

7 . A huge smile ________ across my face as I heard the shave (剃刀) near my head.

After seeing a family friend shave his head in Dad’s ________, I knew it was the right thing for me to do. When my dad died, I was ________.

Once a week, Dad would take me out for frozen yoghurt before we ________ to the local gym, lay down in the cool grass and listened to Coldplay’s songs. “Look at the stars,” he’d sing along, “look how they shine for you.” Dad was so ________ and funny. We were best friends.

When I ________ to shave my head, The Leukaemia Foundation (白血病基金会) wanted to share my story to raise ________. I was happy to help, went on TV and talked about it. As the day for the shave ________, I was so excited.

Mum helped to ________ the shave at a local cafe with other participants. But a week before it, we had to ________ it because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I still want to shave my head,” I told Mum.

We decided to set up a live stream on the Internet so it could go ahead with friends watching on. My family took turns shaving my long hair as my stepdad Michael read out encouraging ________ from the community. “You’re an inspiration, Tanisha,” one had ________.

After 25 minutes, my hair was all over the floor and my head was ________ bald (秃的)! Next day, I found out that I’d raised just under $3,500, which was a great feeling.

My dad was an incredible person and I’m so happy I did something he’d be proud of. Hair can grow back but Dad can never be ________. If I can help prevent just one family going through what we have, it would all be ________ it.

Despite coming from a wealthy family, Adam and Cody were kind and helpful. Everybody intown knew their parents, but they preferred to keep a low profile(低调).

One day, Adam and Cody sat on a bench in a park. They held up a sign that read, “Please help.” They also set up a table with some items which they had put on sale. A homeless man usually sat on the bench they were on, but he was nowhere to be found. People gathered around them to see what happened.

A woman went up to them and asked, “Are you two okay? Why are you out here asking for help?”Adam admitted that they were there to help their friend who was currently in hospital.

Concerned, she secretly took a photo of them and sent it to their father, Peter. When he received the picture, he immediately left his meeting to pick up his children. However, when he arrived at the park, he was shocked by what he saw. Dozens of people had lined up to put money in a box and purchase items from the two teenagers.

He approached them immediately. “Adam, Cody, what is going on here?” he asked.

Cody was frightened, but he answered, “Sorry, Dad. We didn’t want you to see this, but we had to do what we could. A few weeks ago, we were walking home from school when we saw a homeless man named Carl sitting on this exact bench. We want to help him.”

“We have been bringing him tea and sandwiches every day, and he’s been so grateful. We’ve also been spending a couple of minutes with him every day exchanging stories. He is such a kind man, Dad. Yesterday, we had food to bring him but he was not on the bench. We walked to the abandoned shack(简陋的小屋)he lives in, and found he was so ill.” he explained.

Deeply touched by his sons, Peter joined the line.

The next morning, Peter went to the hospital with Adam and Cody.

10 . Xia Boyu is a 73-year-old Chinese mountaineer. He successfully climbed to the top of Mount Qomolangma on two artificial legs. Xia was a professional soccer player before he got into the Chinese national ________ team. During his first ________ to climb Qomolangma in 1975, Xia gave his sleeping bag to one of his teammates,________ he could resist (抵抗) the cold. But in the end the extreme conditions on the mountain ________ his legs from the knees down.

At the beginning, Xia was unable to ________ life in a wheelchair and having to say goodbye to his career as a mountain climber. He was confused and ________, but his passion for life was ________ again when he met a foreign medical expert who told him that artificial legs could help him walk, run and even climb again.

Xia made numerous efforts to climb the mountain again. Since his artificial legs cannot give him a ________ for the land while climbing, Xia relies ________ on his trekking poles (登山杖), which he holds in his hands firmly (紧紧地).

“Sometimes the paths are very slippery and I can easily fall if I don’t notice it right away.”

But Xia has never given in. He ________ that after losing his legs, he did not want to be defeated and that he wanted to ________ himself to continue to climb mountains. In 2018, Xia successfully climbed to the top of Mount Qomolangma, becoming the world’s ________ double amputee (被截肢者) to climb to the top.

With his very life, he ________ the distance between humans and Mount Qomolangma and let everyone see the ________ of never giving up. He is a true ________.