On a hot September afternoon, Peter and his friend Isabel were on their way to the library. When they passed by Tubman park, Isabel suggested cutting through it to get to the library. As they entered the park, the sight of the swings and the merry-go-round brought back a flood of memories of their childhood spent there. But now everything looked so old, sad, and dirty. Litter lay on the ground next to an overflowing trash bin. There were still young schoolchildren playing there but they had to avoid the trash that littered the playground. A little boy told them that the city took the other trash cans away and the remaining one never got emptied often.

As they headed toward the library, the two high school students wrinkled their forehead. In the library, they met Mrs. Evans, their kind­hearted fifth-grade teacher, retired yet still passionate. Mrs. Evans listened as Isabel and Peter eagerly explained what they’d seen. Finally, she recommended them to go to the Go Green, a non­profit organization whose goal is to protect the environment, for help. “This group is good at raising money for projects just like yours,” said Mrs. Evans. She promised to present their ideas to Go Green. Hearing this, their face lit up.

Two main tasks remained ahead: researching ways to clean up the park and preparing a convincing speech. As Isabel was good at researching while Peter always had a talent for speaking, they worked together quite well. Isabel learned from a science magazine that a new type of trash bin can squeeze the trash down without being emptied often, which saves time, money, and energy. Based on this, Peter practiced his speech over and over again.

A week later, Peter stood nervously at the back of the hall where Go Green was meeting.

After the meeting, Isabel excitedly told Peter the good news.

6 . Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I changed my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn’t covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt, I wouldn’t have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn’t sure what to do. After all, it’s just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That’s when I discovered why my attacker was charging at me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying.

Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate’s sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate’s safety seemed admirable. I couldn’t do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.

Since then, I’ve always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.

The event that stands out in Tom’s memory happened one morning when Tom was only ten years old.He was at home with his elder sister Jane.Tom was doing his homework when he heard raised voices.At first he thought nothing of it since customers in the motorcycle shop directly below their flat often became loud，but he soon realized this time it was different.

“Quick! Quick! Remove the motorcycles from the shop.” someone shouted.Then a thick burning smell filled the air.When Tom opened the front door of their flat to investigate，a thick cloud of smoke greeted him.The motorcycle shop had caught fire and people were running and crying.

Jane，who had been playing the violin in her room，hurried to the living room.They rushed out of the door and along the corridor (走廊) through the smoke.

They were heading towards the stairway at the far end of the corridor when Jane suddenly stopped in her track.She turned around and headed back the way they came.Tom had no idea what she was doing，but he followed her.

Jane had suddenly remembered the lady in her 70s who lived next door to them，who they called Makcik.Jane began banging on Makcik’s door，but got no answer.As the smoke thickened around them，Tom could see many of their neighbors—some still in their pajamas (睡衣)—running for safety.The thought of fear crossed his mind.

“She would have run for safety like everyone else!” Tom cried.However，Jane refused to give up.“I know Makcik’s still inside.” She said she was familiar with Makcik’s daily routine and was certain she would still be sleeping.She pounded against the door.“Go downstairs.Go now! Go!”

Tom noticed the flame (火焰) was reaching up.

Luckily，some neighbors passing by stopped and offered help.

8 . There was a young boy at a beautiful beach digging sands using his plastic tools. While his other friends were playing the whole time, the little boy spent his day_________his sandcastle. He even_________a moat (护城河) using a spoon, a bridge with a_________, and walls for his castle.

After a whole long day, he finished his_________sandcastle until the waves washed his hard work. Holding back his tears, the boy didn’t get mad and_________decided to study the waves that_________his creation.

The boy was aware of the_________and saw it a couple of times already. He already knew how to do things better. He felt no_________, regret, or fear any more whenever the waves came. He just smiled,_________his tools and left. He knew that the tide was beyond his__________and he couldn’t do anything about it. What he could do though is how to__________those situations.

Basically, no matter where you are, the waves of life will always__________you. What matters most is how you behave during those moments and what they__________about yourselves along this__________called life. Keep calm while looking at things from different viewpoints because sometimes all it takes for__________to happen in your life is by looking at things through different lenses!

9 . Agnes Lloyd’s 70th birthday came, but the day went normally. Her husband _______ many years ago. She had not heard from her children for a long time, which was _______.

The last bell of the day rang. She picked up her _______ and walked towards her car planning to buy herself a chocolate dessert although her doctors don’t _______ it for her age. But who cares? It was her birthday, and she _______ it.

The thought made her smile as she _______ her car when a sudden “MRS. LLOYD!” _______ her. Agnes dropped her purse onto the ground. She looked around and was _______ by what she saw.

Her students were standing there carrying birthday signs. She hadn’t _______ they had prepared such a surprise for her. Her student Christian came over, picking up her purse, and ________ her to the rest as they all started singing Happy Birthday.

As the song continued, tears ________ in her eyes. As they finished the song, small pieces of coloured paper began flying all over the place ________. But that wasn’t the best part.

Some of the students parted and her three children stepped out holding a birthday cake with two ________ that formed the number 70. “Happy birthday. Mom!” They exclaimed together, and that’s when Agnes lost her ________ for the first time.

Don’t forget your parents, ________ your life gets busy. We need to act and remind them that they are loved.

10 . Since young, Aisha Ismail has said she let labels (标签) define what she could be. “I was a black girl, from a refugee (难民) family,” Aisha said. “It seemed_______I was only allowed to_______in this predetermined box.”

After a high school chemistry class_______her to think about a career in science and gave her confidence in the field, Aisha learned to live outside_______and began making big plans for her future. Now she is about to begin her freshman year at the University of California, planning to become a professor.

Born and_______in San Diego’s City Heights neighbourhood, Aisha is the daughter of a Somali refugee couple._______some might say Aisha’s success happened in spite of her background, she would say differently that her experiences shaped her and inspired her to be a(n)_______, promising undergraduate that she is today.

When Aisha was eight years old, her mother got a job by studying hard back in school in order to_______the whole family. That made Aisha realize that education could make a_______to one’s life.

“I always want to be the________girl for my family,” Aisha said. “In my opinion, you have to not even do your best but two times better than everyone else. Thus I always try my hardest.”

Aisha’s efforts________. The summer before her senior year of high school, she was________to the American Chemical Society Project SEED Programme. “She brought both enthusiasm and focus,” Botham, a researcher at this research institute, recalled. “She arrived every day ready to work, ready to learn and ready to rise to new challenges________whether or not she had done anything similar. That was why she was selected.”

When asked what advice she would give to others like her, Aisha warned them not to underestimate themselves. “Don’t tell yourself that the scholarship is too________or this programme is too competitive or I’ll never get into this school,” she said. “I was not sure whether I could make it until I started seeing the admission letters________in.”