2 . Stephen Glenn is a famous scientist who has made many important medical breakthroughs. He once was interviewed by a reporter asking him why he was able to be more _______ than average people. What set him apart from others?

He responded that it all came from a(n) _______ with his mother when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he _______ his control of the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling the _______ all over the kitchen floor, making a sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of _______ him, she said, “What a huge pool of milk! Well, the _______ has already been done. Would you like to play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”

He did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, you have to clean it up and _______ everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that?” He took a sponge and together they cleaned up the _______ milk.

His mother then said, “Here is a failed experiment in how to _______ carry a big milk bottle with two ________ hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a successful way to carry it.” The little boy learned that if he ________ the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without ________ it.

This ________ scientist remarked that it was at that moment that he knew ________ were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, what scientific experiments are all about. ________ the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.

A friend of mine, named Jack, received an expensive car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Jack came out of his office, a street urchin (顽童), called Tom, was walking around the shining car.

“Is this your car, sir?” Tom asked. “Yes, my brother gave it to me for Christmas.” Jack answered.

Tom was surprised. “You mean your brother gave it to you and it cost you nothing. Sir, I wish.…” He hesitated (犹豫). Jack thought of course (路线), he knew what Tom wanted, but what Tom said surprised him greatly.

“I wish,” Tom went on, “that I could be a brother like that.”

Jack looked at Tom in surprise, and then he said again, “Would you like to take a ride (搭车) in my car?” “Oh, yes, I’d love to,” Tom answered. After a short ride, Tom turned and with his eyes shining, said, “Sir, would you mind driving in front of my house?”

Jack smiled a little. He thought he knew what Tom wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big car. But Jack was wrong again.

“Will you stop where those two steps (台阶)are?” Tom asked.

He got out and ran up to the steps.

Jack got out and lifted the boy to the front seat of his car.

4 . When I first entered university, my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me a new English dictionary. I was _________to see that it was an English-English dictionary, also known as a monolingual dictionary. Although it was a dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one but, to be honest, I found it extremely_________to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and still not fully understand the meanings. I was used to the_________bilingual dictionaries, in which the word are_________both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt_________to make things so difficult for me. Now, after studying English at university for three years, I_________ that monolingual dictionaries are_________in learning a foreign language.

As I found out, there is, in fact, often no perfect equivalence (对应) between two _________ in two languages. My aunt even goes so far as to _________that a Chinese “equivalent” can never give you the __________meaning of a word in English!__________, she insisted that I read the definition (定义) of a word in a monolingual dictionary when I wanted to get a better understanding of its meaning. __________, I have come to see what she meant.

Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a(n)__________ number of words, around 2,000, in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am __________exposed to (接触) the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas. __________ this, I can express myself more easily in English.

7 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

9 . Taking a photo of something admirable is quite fascinating. A few weeks ago, I _________ my parents and took a photo of something they kept, something I would _________ as a pretty big wonder. At first glance it might not look like much. It’s just an _________ leather brown suit case. But to me, it’s _________ what a wonder looks like.

You see, that suitcase is the very one my dad brought with him when he _________ the United States from Turkey 50 years ago. He left behind all his friends and family, _________ that his dreams of becoming an engineer would come true. That suitcase carried my dad’s most prized _________ — dozens of black-and-white photos from home and his science and math textbooks.

As a kid, I was hardly _________ of the suitcase. It lived on the top shelf of my parents’ coat closet. I _________ paid much attention to it, though. It wasn’t until I got __________ that I actually asked my dad about it and looked __________, finding tons of photos and the letters my parents wrote to each other, back and forth between the U.S. and Turkey.

That’s when I realized how __________ that old suitcase actually was. It’s a visible __________ of the hardships that my parents went through, as well as all the wonders that they __________: how they found love, how they built a successful career and how their dreams came true. Above all, it’s a __________ of dreams and hopes of a family.

10 . A few years ago, I was leaving the doghouse where I worked only to find a baby goat. The doghouse’s owners are known animal _________, and I figured someone abandoned him over the fence. The kid was visibly nervous but stood perfectly still as I _________.

I’m an animal lover and I’ve brought home many animals, but never a goat. The kid was too adorable to _________. I named him Quincy, and with the help of some _________ friends, bottle-fed him in my bathroom.

Quincy proved to be intelligent. When he was about a week old, I _________ my fingers on the floor and said “Lie down.” I was amazed when he _________. I was even more amazed when he did it three times in a row. A quick study! Quincy learned to lie down, bow, and turn in a circle _________ . He jumps in the back of my SUV when I say “load up,” and spends the day _________ with my dogs.

I love to train animals and often take my dogs to _________ where they can perform their tricks. Quincy did his first show when he was just six weeks old. He knew only a few __________ then, but he did them __________ and never misbehaved.

Now he has a whole __________ : He’ll shake hooves, come when called, walk on a leash (拴绳) and wave. Quincy can even “read” his tricks off cue cards, which always earns the most __________.

It’s hard to believe that the kid __________ wanted turned out to be one of the smartest and most good-natured animals I’ve ever had. He’s by far the __________ of my bunch-just don’t tell the dogs!