2 . Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus during rush hour. The bus was filled with cold, tired people________ with one another. Two men________ at each other for an unintentional push. An elderly woman got on, and nobody offered her a________. Anger was in the air; no________ could be found here.

As the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver’s words came from the speaker. “Folks,”   he said. “I know you’ve had a(n)________ day and that you are depressed, but I will________. When each of you walks by before getting off, drop your________ into my palm (手掌). My route goes right by the Hudson River, into which I’ll________ them.”

It seemed as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing, their faces shining with________. The passengers who had been________each other’s existence were suddenly grinning (咧嘴笑) at each other — is this guy serious?

At the next stop, just as________, the driver held out his hand, palm up, and waited. All the________passengers performed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. The driver________the same action at every stop that followed.

Occasionally we may sink into a grey world, but someone can ________it like a ray of light, showing us hope. What if we are the light?________, anyone possesses the power to shine on others’ dark days.

The frightening day of our diving test was here. Our parents thought we were lucky to have an Olympic-size swimming pool at the school. My mom stressed that the swimming pool was one of the best in our city. But I didn’t feel happy about it at all. Instead, I felt afraid of the swimming pool. It was mainly because I was terribly shy.

I was so shy that I always sat at the back of the room in class so I’d not be called upon to read. As for the present physical education class each Monday morning, I would work my way to the back of the line forming at the diving board so I would not have to practice the dives.

Now, it was another Monday morning - the morning of our diving test. My blood ran cold when the teacher Ms. Robbins announced that we would be graded for our final on the most difficult dive- the jackknife. And she added, “This diving test is important. The one who fails has to spare time in the following Monday mornings to practice diving in this swimming pool and attend this test again.”

My body kept shaking with fear as the line to the scary diving board shortened. As I watched, each student seemed to perform the challenging dive effortlessly. And shortly I would have to attempt something that I had never even practiced before.

Then I remembered someone telling me that when you picture yourself doing a skill over and over, it’s just as effective as physically practicing that skill. So I watched carefully as each classmate jumped at the end of the board once, added a jump for height, folded their body in half to reach for their toes, and finally straightened out like an arrow for going into the water. After carefully watching for a while, I was actually in a state of surprise, because all of a sudden I realized that it was possible for me to perform these four steps of diving.

Eventually all classmates except me finished jumping. The teacher announced that it was my turn.

With my heart knocking wildly, I walked down the diving board towards its end.

Knowing I failed, I climbed out of the pool, embarrassed.

4 . Misty Copeland spends most days twisting, spinning and _______. She practices and _______ the graceful movements of her art. When she isn’t performing she is practicing. When she isn’t practicing, she is stretching. She takes classes almost every day. She takes care of her body so she doesn’t _______ it when she goes to work in a ballet theatre.

“I treat my body with the respect that any musician would to their _______.” says Misty. “I love my body,” she adds.

Was she _______ confident? Actually, she was a _______ girl and avoided the spotlight. But Misty loved music and movement. When she was thirteen, Misty’s teacher suggested she _______ a free ballet class at the Boys&Girls Club. For two weeks, Misty sat on the gym bench watching the class, afraid to _______. Finally, she gave it a _______. At first, she felt ________in the class. She didn’t know anything about ballet, and she was ________ than most of the students. Over time, ________, she began to enjoy the lessons. She discovered that her body — especially her long legs and flexible muscles — was just ________ for ballet. After the class season ended, Misty received a scholarship to a nearby dance studio. Most ballerinas (女舞者) start their training much younger than thirteen. But Misty’s natural abilities and hard work made her improve quickly.

Over the next five years, ballet was Misty’s ________. She practiced, performed, competed and attended ballet programs. “Performing was my favourite part because I felt ________ and open onstage,” she says. “For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.”

Chase counted his new year gifts one more time as he put a robot-shaped eraser into each envelope. “Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two.”

“Do you have one for everyone in your class?” Mom asked.

“Yep!” Chase said. “I’m ready for the party tomorrow!”

When Chase got to school the next day, he saw a new girl in his classroom. She stood near Ms. Robins and looked around shyly.

“This is Eva,” said Ms. Robins. “Will someone volunteer to show her around today? “Chase raised his hand since he liked showing the new kids around and helping them feel welcome.

“Thanks, Chase, “Ms. Robins said. “Now let’s get down to our work.”

That’s when Chase realized he didn’t have a new year gift for Eva. No one else would have one either. Chase pictured his classmates’ desks covered with gifts while Eva’s desk was empty. He felt sad about that.

At a break, he was careful not to mention the party as he showed Eva around the playground. At lunchtime, he walked Eva to the lunchroom, still worried about what would happen at the party. Eva had brought a packed lunch. so Chase showed her where she was supposed to sit and introduced her to some of the kids at her table.

While eating, Chase suddenly remembered that kids often included candy hearts with the new year gifts they exchanged. This won’t be a New Year’s Day for Eva with no gifts. But as he sat down at his table, an idea flooded into his head. He whispered it to the kids around him. Soon everyone at the table was nodding and whispering.

When they were back in the classroom after lunch, Chase told Ms. Robins about their plan. Ms. Robins smiled. “That’s very thoughtful, “she said. “Let’s go for it.”

It was math time, so Chase invited Eva to study with him. He made sure Eva sat with her back to the room so she wouldn’t notice.

Meanwhile, her new classmates were busying working on something.

“Here’s your new year gift, Eva. It’s from everyone,” said Chase.

6 . In the summer of 2018, I decided to do a solo expedition (独自探险) across Antarctica. To get some ________, I did a two-week training course. I learned all the ________: how to camp in the snow, how to pull a sled and what clothing to wear. In October, I flew to Antarctica from Punta Arenas. I’d allowed 70 days, which would make it the longest ________ one-way expedition across Antarctica

I only took ________. I didn’t even take a hairbrush. The first few days were ________. The winds were about 60 mph, and my sled weighed 120 kg. Even if the visibility is good, you can’t ________ much — it’s a white horizon. I was on the move for 13 to 15 hours a day.

Then, I found the conditions to be much worse. There was more sastrugi (雪脊) and it felt colder. The last 40 hours were really hard. I ________ about 14 times every two hours. As a result, I fell behind ________. In the end, I ________ 922 miles and fell more than 100 miles short of my goal. Towards the end of my trip, a helicopter flew to pick me up. The ________ I felt when I saw the dot in the distance was unbelievable.

It took me a while to be ________ of what I’d achieved, because I had failed to reach my ________ goal, but I’ve learned it’s ________to move the goalposts. I don’t agree with the idea of conquering (征服) somewhere. You treat places with ________ and hope they’ll allow you ________ passage.

10 . When Roosevelt was a kid, his doctors claimed that he was too weak to live a normal life like most children of his age. They strongly recommended him to avoid participation in any physical activities, fearing that it could worsen his health condition and potentially lead to his death. Their opinions implied that he would face up to a life full of all kinds of limitations. Instead of permitting their limiting beliefs about what he could do and achieve, he chose to live a meaningful life.

Despite his doctors’ strong suggestions that he remain inactive, he didn’t want to be a carefree observer of the world as it passed him by. He was determined to force himself to be active. Roosevelt had daily adventures in the woods as a boy.

He continued to play sports when he got to college. In fact, he didn’t just play, but he excelled in both boxing and rowing, both of which require astonishing levels of strength and endurance. When Roosevelt graduated from college, his doctors were still not completely sure about his health condition. They still believed that he would be putting himself in serious danger, because his heart problems had not improved. They firmly believed that it would be best to find a desk job for him after completing a college degree. Once again, Roosevelt decided to challenge himself to his physical limits by living an extremely energetic adult life. In about every field he took part, he would aim to push his physical limits. Impressively, he was excellent as an explorer, a hunter, an author, a soldier and a politician.

Eventually, Roosevelt went beyond the mistaken limitation upon him and lived an amazing life.