Marmi, my big sister, was eagerly looking for a pup (小狗) to look after and love all her life, so she would ask Mummy many times for a pup of her own, but the answer was always no. You see, my mum is not very fond of dogs, never has been, and always says they're too big a responsibility. She's just not a dog person. Well, that didn't stop my sister from looking or hoping for a dog. She used to search online for her favourite breed (品种). Until one day Marni found some Cavapoo pups advertised for sale. She immediately showed Mummy and begged to go and see them. Not sure how my sister persuaded her, but to our surprise, Mummy said we could go and have a look at them but not to get high hopes. Marni rushed everyone in the car before Mummy changed her mind. Off we sped to the advertised breeder's house which luckily wasn't too far. We got to the house and I bet I could hear my sister's heart dancing with excitement. As we rang the doorbell, we could hear cute little barks coming from inside. We went in and saw lots of little black pups excitedly jumping around. There were other people there too, so we needed to choose one fast if you know what I mean. It was rather crowded but the breeder let us hold and cuddle (搂抱) the pups. The breeder handed a little confident pup to Marni. The little pup seemed an old friend with my sister. But after a lot of cuddles, Mummy said we had to go and would have to think about it.

As we were walking towards the door, the little pup followed my sister.

The little pup made a mess (杂乱) of our home.

2 . In 2017, I was diagnosed (诊断) with Type 1 diabetes (糖尿病). And then I was told that I couldn’t drive for a few weeks until my blood sugar levels had________.

Driving was a________very soon after diagnosis for me. I needed to get to the chemist’s shop for my diabetes medicine and get to hospital appointments, but at first couldn’t, for having been told not to drive. I didn’t want to be a________, having to ask for lifts all the time.

I found it really________to be unable to drive, but things settled down after that and seemed to be________for a while. ________, to my surprise, I had severe hypoglycemia (低血糖) last year and wasn’t able to________it myself. I called an ambulance and was taken to________, where I saw doctors and nurses I didn’t know as none of them were connected to the diabetes team who usually cared for me. That’s where my________began. They advised me not to drive on the basis of this disease. They told me to call the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and________what they’d told me to them. This led to my licence being canceled.

I couldn’t________all that had happened. It seemed________. I needed answers and________, so I phoned the Diabetes UK Helpline number I got from their website. They________I was right in thinking that the DVLA shouldn’t have________my licence based on this hypoglycemia, according to the law. With their help, the DVLA sent me a letter admitting making a mistake. I got it back in six weeks.

3 . Just weeks after being named the Hero of the Year, Nelly Cheboi traveled more than 7,000 miles to bring her award home. Far from the lights, cameras, and celebrities who surrounded her at the gala (晚会) event in New York City, Cheboi was _________ by her own heroes: the students she serves in rural Mogotio, Kenya.

“I felt a lot of _________ just bringing the award to the kids,” Cheboi said. “For me, and for the community here, it really means a lot to be celebrated.”

Like many of her students, Cheboi lived in poverty (贫穷) from childhood, without _________ to education. Cheboi watched her mother work _________ so Cheboi and her sisters could _________ school. She saw education as an effective _________ to end her own poverty. In 2012, Cheboi _________ a full scholarship to Augustana College in Illinois and began her _________ in computer science. “The only tool I had at the time was education,” Cheboi said.

After graduation, she taught her students computer skills and helped them have Zoom calls with NASA. She’s found job opportunities abroad for them. She has brought professional, and _________ support to her community in Africa. “Digital skills provide __________ opportunities,” Cheboi said.

She owes her success to her mother, Christina. “I’m constantly __________ occasions to show people this is Christina Cheboi and she happened to have four daughters. She’s worked really hard to raise them.” When Cheboi’s name was __________ as the Hero of the Year, the first face she saw from the stage was that __________ one. “I looked at the audience, and saw my mom __________ at me,” Cheboi said. “This was someone who had no idea that all her hard work is going to __________ something.”

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.

8 . My father often works very hard. And he has __________to see a film. Here I’ll tell you __________about him.

One afternoon, when he finished his work and __________ go home, he found a film ticket under the __________on his desk. He thought he __________to have not much work to do that day and __________ was quite wonderful to pass the __________at the cinema. So he came back home and __________finished his supper. Then he said __________ to us and left.

But to our ____________, he came back about half an hour later, I ____________ him what was the matter. He smiled and told us about ____________funny thing that had happened at the cinema.

When my father was sitting in his seat, a ____________came to my father’s and said that the seat was ____________. My father was surprised. He took out the ticket ____________ looked at it carefully. It was Row17, ____________. And then he looked at the seat. It was the same. So he asked her ____________ her ticket. She took out the ticket at once and the seat shown in it was Row 17, Seat 3. ____________? What’s the matter with all this? While they were wondering suddenly the woman said, “The ____________of the tickets are different.” So they looked at the ticket more carefully. After a while, my father said, “Oh, ____________, I made a mistake. My ticket is for the film a month ago. Take this seat, please.” With these words, he left the cinema.

9 . In the summer of 2015, Brian Peterson and his wife Vanessa had just moved to Santa Ana, California. Outside the couple’s fourth-floor apartment, a homeless man was often yelling (叫喊) on the street corner, sometimes keeping them awake at night. Peterson would pass the man on his way to his job as a car designer, but they never spoke.

One day, Peterson was relaxing in his living room, reading a book about the power of love in action, when his quiet was influenced by the homeless man. Inspired (赋予灵感) by the book’s message, Peterson made an unexpected decision: He was going to go outside and introduce himself.

In that first conversation, Peterson learned that the man’s name was Matt Faris. He’d moved to Southern California from Kentucky to look for a job in music, but he soon fell on hard times and ended up living on the street for more than twenty years. “It was the strangest thing to me,” Peterson thought of their first conversation. “I saw beauty on the face of a man who probably hadn’t had a shower in close to a year. And his story, the life inside of him, moved me.” And even though Peterson, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, hadn’t picked up a paintbrush for about eight years, he found himself asking if he could paint Faris’s portrait (肖像). Faris said yes.

Peterson’s connection with Faris led him to form Faces of Santa Ana, a nonprofit (非营利的) organization focusing on befriending and painting portraits of homeless people. Peterson sells the portraits with the owners’ permission and puts the earning into the organization, which helps many poor people.

10 . When I was 15 years old, I was a straight-A student. I was always _______ with a great group of friends, and I would hang out with them every weekend. Then I moved to a new place just before high school and everything _______ overnight.

While trying to _______ to my new surroundings, I also started the tenth grade. Going to a public school in a big city, _______, was harder than before.

I didn’t _______ well in class. Although I tried hard, my mind would go _______ the moment I attended the exam. All my _______ didn’t pay off, and I failed somehow. As a result, I became _______ and turned to video games.

My English teacher noticed what I was _______. He suggested I should go to the after-school classes for the kids who needed help. ________ to get a passing grade, I went. And that’s where I met Oliver. ________, he became my best friend and I was back on ________. And little by little, my ________ improved. It seemed that reshaping myself in a new environment wasn’t that terrible as ________.

As the year progressed, I made many friends and won many awards as well. Looking back, I see that my depression (沮丧) slowly disappeared. Having a friend really ________, even more than video games.