1 . I have had no interest in football for as long as I can remember. While my classmates played, I _________ to stay in the library. I never _________ the passion for the game and would throw away the sports section of the newspaper, as if it _________ the rest of it. As I grew up, I proudly wore my _________ .

But occasionally, whether in a taxi or when meeting a friend's father, I found myself faced with a _________ opener like, “Terrible season we’re having, eh?” or simply, “Who do you support?” My heart sank, knowing my response would unavoidably _________ them, despite their good intentions.

I realized that my _________ had closed off many conversations, outings, and even potential friendships I might have _________ enjoyed. Although I couldn't change the fact that I found football boring, I began to regret being a(n) _________ .

Then I became a father. I didn’t want my boy to __________ this valuable social experience, so I took him to watch the Lions play. During those matches, we sat close to the field, surrounded by families who had a genuine __________ with the players. My kid’s questions kept me somewhat __________ in the game. Slowly, I started to__________ for the Lions.

During one victorious match, we even met David, the Captain, who happily __________ for a photo with my son. __________, I had an answer to the question,“Who do you support?”

2 . Three years after getting lost in an unexpected snowstorm in Sheffield, a cat named Oscar has been reunited with his family.

After Oscar’s _______ in January 2020, his owner Katie Salt checked CCTV (监控) put posters up around the area and _______ the word on social media. They also reported him _______ to Petlog with whom he is microchipped, and contacted various shelters and vets in vain. In a press _______ from the Kennel Club, Katie said, “We _______ concluded he must have died during the snowstorm, but we still scanned our _______ everywhere, whenever we were out driving, and to be honest this never _______ .”

Three years later, Katie received a _______ from a vet to say that they had Oscar—he had been living in a garden just six miles away! The garden’s _______ had been looking after Oscar and when Oscar was ill, this kind man, who possessed the garden, took him to a vet for ________ , where they found a microchip and were able to finally ________ Katie. Now ________ , he has been enjoying warm cuddles with his long lost family.

Bill Lambert, a spokesperson for Petlog, said, “We’re so ________ that Oscar and Katie have been reunited. Their story shows just how important it is for owners to ________ their pets, keep their contact details up-to-date with their microchip database, and to ________ hope no matter how much time has passed.”

3 . When The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern begins, we meet George Pratt the day before New Year. ______, George finds himself on a bridge outside his small hometown considering his life a complete waste. Suddenly, a ______ man appears. The two characters ______, and we learn that George believes he is just an ______ banker with a family doing the same thing every day, and wishes he had never been born at all. Hoping to teach him a ______, the man grants George his wish.

After the man ______, a confused George Pratt travels back to town. Nothing appears ______ until he walks by Hank Biddle’s tree. The tree should have been damaged from the time George ran his car into it. But in this moment, the tree looks ______. Soon, George discovers the town he knows so well doesn’t know him at all.

As George walks around town, he notices he is a ______ to everyone. Not only that, George learns that the lives of his family have taken a turn for the ______.

First George learns that his beloved brother ______ because George was not there to save him. The loss of George’s brother continues to bring enormous sorrow to their ______ parents. Later George finds out that Mary, his wife, ends up in a difficult ______ to someone else.

George realizes these dark changes may stay forever unless he does something. He returns to the ______ to find the man and ______ for his life back. Once again, his wish is granted. The story closes with George racing back home to embrace Mary and their children on the New Year.

4 . The fear of rejection is one of my biggest fears. Keeping myself in a ______ bubble (气泡) and doing what I can perform well were my favorite. But I had to step out of the bubble eventually, with the first important out-of-my-comfort-zone ______ being applying for college.

The ______ of my first college rejection is still fresh. I remember grabbing my phone trying ______ entering the password to the application website. When the letter started with “Thank you for your ______”, I was cut to the quick.

This fear is ______ elsewhere: from a job market or when asking someone out. Compared with rejections in workplaces, being ______ in social occasions sting (刺痛) even more. At least the former mainly comes in email or phone call form, but social rejections are all terribly ______. Each rejection felt like a ______ reminder of “you’re not good enough”. Because of this fear, I ______ so many opportunities to grow.

Luckily, getting over the fear takes just a shift in _______. So next time, think this way: ______ rejections does not mean you’re not good enough, but that you’ve tried your best for the time being. This optimism will ______ the pain of a rejection.

This fear will never truly ______, as everything we do has rejection attached to it in some way. Uncertainty is ______, but without experiencing the scariness, we would never grow, would we?

5 . Leadership is not just the ability to lead a team, it is a journey of selflessness.

“Alright, class! We are going to work in groups to create a mind map!” Mrs. Low said. “This is a great________

for our group leaders to prove themselves worthy of that ________.” Mrs. Low then raised one of her________ with great expectations. The class burst out ________. Rita and John glanced at me warily. I raised my head________, the gleaming badge (闪耀的徽章) with the words “Team Leader” on my ________. I took out a piece of paper and pointed to John, “Hey you! Make a list of the stuff that we have learned.” John did not________; he simply bit his lip, muttering, “Is this really leadership?” I turned to Rita, “And you! Start drawing the mind map!” Rita angrily slammed her hand on the table. She________, “Why do you have to be so bossy?” It was as if I was standing in front of a mirror, looking at my________, wondering if I was proud to see how I was behaving then. Questions stuffed my mind until I felt it was about to________.Suddenly, Mrs. Low tapped on my shoulder, and explained, “Leadership is not just about being a leader. It is to serve others, not yourself. It is a(n)________journey.” Her words had lit a light bulb in my brain,________all my confusion.

Taking a deep breath and________my pride, l dashed to John and Rita and apologized. Their annoyed expressions________smiles. The following time witnessed our________cooperation. It didn’t take long before we finished the project. Deep down, I recognized that this was just the start of my lifelong journey to become a true leader.

7 . As I walked to the market this morning, I saw an old man with a dirty scarf covering his face seated in front of a shop. His clothes were _________ and his hair under an ill-fitting cap was long and messy. I decided he was a beggar. I made a mental _________ that I should give him whatever change I had after _________. A few feet away was a young man lying on the pavement obviously _________ and no one who passed by _________. I thought it was some good-for-nothing drunkard who had _________ all his money on alcohol.

Back to the beggar, I handed over all the _________ change to him. He hardly _________ my eyes, but shook his head. I _________ and pushed it into his hand. As I stood there satisfied over my great act of __________, the old man slowly got up, walked to the tea shop nearby, and __________ a sandwich and a cup of hot tea with the money I gave. He then went back to the young man, helped him to __________ and eat. Noticing I was still there watching, he explained that boy had not eaten for two days, which was why he __________ on the pavement.

Suddenly I felt so small and admired the non-judgemental __________ of a man who has so little compared to me. He was truly charitable even in a far less __________ state than me.

8 . After ending a mining season in Colorado in 2018, Todd was ready to get back in the game. Gold mining runs in his ________. Jack, Todd’s father, mined for gold in the 1980s, but never struck it ________. Now, Todd is more determined than ever to make good on his father’s dreams.

This time around Todd is ________ his life savings into a run-down mine located nearly 100 miles north of Nome, Alaska. ________, after years of greenhorn crews, worn-out equipment, and little to no results, Todd can’t afford any ________.

Hit by the recession (经济衰退), Todd Hoffman decided to take the biggest ________ of his life and headed north in search of gold. ________ with little more than a dream and devoted crew, Todd learns gold mining in a ________ way. Conditions are dangerous, pay dirt (矿石) are never ________, and disaster hides around every corner.

In order to make his dream a reality, he’s ________ his closest family and friends. Joining Todd in Alaska will be his father Jack and his son Hunter along with an experienced crew of ________. For Todd, it’s more than just finding gold — this could be Todd’s last ________ to set up his family for generations to come and share the wealth with his friends who’ve ________ by his side over the years. This is Todd’s time to prove he has what it ________ to hit the ultimate mother-lode (终极矿脉). One thing is for sure… the ________ is on.

9 . Every Christmas, my mom would fill our stockings with small toys and candies. At the very tip of the stocking, the very _________ thing that we would pull out was an orange. For years, I hated the tradition. It was _________ to pull an orange out of my _________ after uncovering so many fun and delicious treats. An orange wasn’t special. I could eat one any time of the year, and it was just _________ room that could have been filled with more candy.

When I was thirteen, I _________ asked my mother why she put oranges in our stockings. She _________ my grand-father had grown up very poor. His father had a brain tumor that left him blind and _________ to work, so his mother relied on _________ from the church to take care of her seven children. Every Christmas, a local church donated a basket of fruit to their family. This was my grandfather’s favorite day of the year because it was the only day when he could eat fresh fruit. The oranges were his favorite because they _________ like sunshine. When he grew up, he always __________ to have a bowl of oranges around at Christmastime so he could __________ his favorite Christmas memory with his children.

When my mom finished telling the story, I felt __________. In my rush to collect as much candy as possible, I had __________ to be grateful. Now the orange at the bottom of my stocking is a __________ to be grateful for the beautiful Christmases that my parents gave me and for the hard work they did that ensured I could have a（n）__________ any day of the year.