1 . Julian is a 26-year-old grassroots artist. With a bold and humorous style, his creations have earned more than 6 million ________ on several social media platforms and sold more than 60,000 pieces on the video platform.

However, Julian’s ________ to art was not easy. He was born in a poor village. At the age of 6, Julian began to teach himself to ________ by using waste bricks to practice on walls due to the unaffordability of art supplies. Despite facing ________, including the disability caused by an injury at the age of 11, drawing remained Julian’s passion.

________ the increased popularity of short videos, he could ________ his works online, gradually gaining success. Julian's life also got improved by selling paintings. His dreams, however, are even ________. “My goal is to share my work with more people and I also want to ________ and motivate them with humor,” Julian said. Many of his paintings reflect his journey of ________ obstacles. For Julian, it seems that the inspiration for creation is ________. In his eyes, any scene or word can be a source of inspiration.

Some media called Julian as “the Grassroots Picasso”, but he modestly rejected the ________, saying he is just a “painting hobbyist”.

Julian hopes to engage in more exciting adventures, including organizing exhibitions at home and abroad to encourage more young people to ________ their dreams. “I always believe that it is ________ to learn to persevere. If you love something, then put in more ________. The experiences we have are ________ the foundation for the future, and we will always leave our mark.” Julian said.

2 . Monique Marshall knew she had to do something for her mother after her stepfather passed away. Monique’s mother, Karin, who is 84 years old, was living in her apartment in New York City ________, about 2,500 miles away from Monique in Los Angeles.

Monique ________ she had to do something for her mother. ________, Monique’s husband, Demille, was all on board, willing to do anything to ________ Karin in her advanced age. That’s when Monique and Demille brainstormed with their friends and neighbors, Pierre and Carmen, who happened to be ________.

After much thought and planning, they ________ a solution of a “glam garage (豪华车库)”. Monique and Demille decided to turn their old and drafty ________ into an apartment space for Karin. But as is always the case with any construction project, they encountered ________. However, it was nothing too big that kept them from completing the ________. And the results are ________!

Karin is in love with her new living space and new city. When Karin first ________ into her glam garage apartment in Los Angeles, she couldn’t ________ her eyes.

“It was overwhelming,” said Karin. “I was so ________. Monique had done all the furniture. I didn’t have to do anything.”

What a wonderful and ________ solution that came about because of love, care and ________.

3 . With more free time after completing her examinations, Rachel, a 16-year-old student of the School of Science and Technology, Singapore, decided to bake for friends and family. She was surprised when they came back with a lot of positive ________.

Then she read some ________ stories of people who stepped forward to help others with whatever talents they had. And that ________ her to use her baking skill to help the less fortunate.

Last year, she started making and selling the Bear Cookie and gave most of the ________ to Global Village for Hope, which is a local non-profit organization that has set up more than 100 community ________ in villages in Thailand. These projects help to ________ the less fortunate with money for food, better education and drinkable water.

So far, Rachel has ________ almost $6,000 from her bake sales.

“It can be really ________ at times but I find it all really worth it when my ________ tell me that they really enjoy my cookies. To my surprise, many customers ________ extra money on top of what they paid for the ________. This was really heart-warming as I never knew that I could use my cookies to ________ someone’s heart and inspire them to donate too,” Rachel said. “Growing up here, many young Singaporeans can ________ a good education, something—that not every person can get. I ________ believe that every child deserves a proper education. I feel that at 16, I should also do my best to give back to ________. If I have the ability to help others, why not?”

4 . With ADD (注意缺陷障碍), I could look straight into your eyes and not hear a word you’re saying. I could _________ to be listening to you but my mind was somewhere miles away.

In middle school, I took Language Arts with Mrs. Smith. That first day, she told us her rules. Then I knew I had better “_________” myself. So I told her I might need to take home some reading assignments because my _________ is better in a quiet setting and asked her if I could use my word processor at home to do written assignments because my “fine motor skill (精细动作技能)” problems made my _________ look messy. However, she refused, saying it was _________ for my classmates. The result was that each paper came back with Mrs. Smith’s flaming red X’s.

One day, again I asked her for _________ to complete the written assignment at home. But she still refused my _________. Therefore, to prove to her, or rather to myself, that I could do the work under the right conditions, I took the assignment home __________

That night, the story, which had seemed so _________ in class, became quite clear to me in the __________ of my room. It was about Louis Braille, a __________ boy. During his time, society prevented the blind having much of an education, but Louis Braille “defended” himself. He developed a reading system of raised dots for the blind, __________ him to read like his peers.   I was like Louis in my class. I was made to learn like the other students.

I used my word processor to set down my thoughts and explain myself __________Louis and many other famous people different in their learning styles and abilities, hoping Mrs. Smith would finally understand me.

As Mrs. Smith handed my paper back, I found an A instead of her usual X. Below were her __________ red penned words, “See what you can do when you __________ yourself?”

5 . Mauro Prosperi is a police officer who gained worldwide fame after getting lost in the Sahara Desert in 1994. Mauro ______ the 1994 Marathon of the Sands in Morocco, a six-day-long race in one of the ______ environments on the planet.

During the ______, a sandstorm caused Prosperi, then 39 years old to lose his _____ at last. One day after going off track, he found himself in an abandoned house in Algeria. In order to ______, he killed and at e bats. To make himself not thirsty, he was ______ to drink his own urine (尿), and lick dew (露水) off rocks.

______ he would never be found, he cut his wrists with a pen knife from his supplies. ______, it was such a dry heat that the ______ clotted (凝结) and he would go back into the desert and ______ to find help. For nine days he ______ through the desert and ate insects. Finally, he found a small village. From there he was flown to a ______ , where doctors said his liver (肝脏) had almost completely failed.

Having traveled 180 miles ______, Prosperi lost 35 pounds in body weight during his race in the ______; it took several months before he could eat solid food again. But he has remained a(n) ______ runner and even returned and completed the race in 2012.

6 . My world changed when I was visiting my best friend Becky three years ago. Her dog had _________ a litter of pups and there was one puppy left when I arrived.

The puppy was so _________ that I still remember Becky saying, “Don’t get too _________, and I know you aren’t into a dog.” Unexpectedly, a few days into my visit, it _________ that this little puppy was coming home with me! I called him Timmy.

When getting home, it was very clear that my two cats were not so enthusiastic about the new _________ to our family. It took a while for the three of them to find their _________, and, for me, having a puppy really took some time to adapt to, who was always so _________ and wanted to be everywhere I was. I couldn’t believe how _________ this little puppy was on my time and love. In spite of that, there were _________ times when I wondered if I’d made the wrong decision — especially when he put __________ in my clothes. I soon learned that I couldn’t __________ things on the floor — nothing was safe from those little teeth!

Timmy is now three years old and I love __________ at the parks with my best buddy. He still follows me around like a __________. Wherever I go, my little man, who has got the best __________ that wins everyone over. I can’t __________ him not being right at my heels now.

7 . After three decades of teaching, Jim Stanley, a chorus and piano teacher at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, Atlanta, is getting ready to retire. But before he goes, there was one thing he wanted to do: __________ with some of his former students for one last performance. That wish __________ on May 13 with a heartfelt rehearsal (排练) and alumni (校友) concert at Cartersville’s auditorium (礼堂). Video of the rehearsal was captured and quickly went __________ online with 2 million views and counting.

Stanley __________ the idea of inviting his former students back to Cartersville last year, __________ this would just be a good__________ to reconnect with those kids reaching adulthood.

Little did he __________ at the time that a small group of 20 to 25 alumni would quickly balloon into a __________ of nearly 100 former students, some of whom __________ back to Georgia from other states and as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia to give Stanley a tremendous send-off into retirement.

“I choked up a little bit. But I tried to keep the __________ from flowing.” he added. “It was __________ an emotional day for me and I think for a lot of the kids too. We were all in a __________ place.”

Stanley was __________ to become an educator himself after taking a chorus class in the ninth grade and credited his own chorus teacher for the __________ he needed to pursue the profession. He hopes he has made a positive __________ on his students over the years.

8 . Being named the valedictorian (致告别辞的最优生) would be a massive accomplishment for any high-schooler. After all, it’s _________ given to the student with the highest _________ in their class.

For years, Martin Folsom and his mother have been homeless. While they had a _________ over their head occasionally, they spent most of their time being homeless. When they stayed in a _________, it was usually crowded and noisy. For someone in high school who needs to _________, the shelter is not a perfect environment.

Despite being in and out of homelessness throughout high school, Martin was determined to _________. But this Floridian teen did much more than that. By staying _________, Martin graduated from high school. He was also _________ the valedictorian of his class. Especially given his _________, that’s quite an accomplishment.

When asked how he __________, Martin said, “It __________ gave me a shock in my chest a little bit, but it was a good feeling. It means a lot and it gives me a __________ that all I’ve done and all I have accomplished was worth it.”

All kids who think they can’t __________ the challenge should pay attention to Martin Folsom’s story. He had nothing, but that didn’t sway him from doing what he needed to do. He’s a true __________. Martin deserves to be praised for his __________ accomplishment.

9 . Jeff Ohs is a California firefighter. About more than twenty years ago, he rescued a two year-old Xavier Huber from an extremely hot house fire. Today, in an amazing ______ , he gets the chance to meet the son of the man he ______over twenty years ago.

It seems as if that wasn’t special enough. What makes this even more incredibly ______ is that Xavier’s son is the same age he was when he was rescued.

Posting a photo of him as a toddler (学步的儿童)in Jeff’s arms side by side with a present ______ of him, Xavier wrote, “At that day this firefighter, Jeff Ohs, saved me from that building. He brought me back to ______. Now more than twenty years later, he is holding my two-year-old son. I wouldn’t be here without him.”

Jeff ______ Xavier on a bedroom floor during a search and rescue of the ______ and flame (火焰)-filled house. After ______ him to safety, the firefighter performed life-saving CPR, giving him a second ______ at life. Xavier had spent nearly a month in hospital before he fully______ .

Over the years he has never forgotten what the firefighter did for him. And while he couldn’t ______ Jeff for saving his life, he did vow (誓言)to make the most of the life he gave him. And he seems to be______his promise. Now, with time goes by, the little boy is a grown man who is thriving and has a______of his own.

As for Jeff, it’s a day______burned into his memory too. As it turns out, Xavier wasn’t the only thing to come out of that fire. Besides, a lifetime______was formed out of the flame.

10 . Linda likes to knit (针织). Since she suffered a stroke (中风) five years ago,_______has been a way for her to focus her mind and keep her_______busy.

Every day she knits a snowman and she sells it for a pound. Every_______goes to the local Children’s Hospital. The first year she knitted 160 snowmen, and then she got to 200 and she made another 200. At the moment she has knitted over 800_______.

Linda’s stroke took most of her eyesight away and made her almost_______but nothing can stop_______. She’s just handed over a 300-pound check to Derian House,an organization for charity (慈善机构), which offers care to children across the North West of England. It costs nearly five million pounds a year to _______ care like this. Less than 10% of that comes _______ the government. For the rest they depend_______donations (捐赠) like Linda’s. Every penny is important to the organization. So it doesn’t matter how much money people________to it.

Derian House exists to make money for seriously ill________and their families and to help them in their most terribly________times. So it’s easy to see why Linda will always be________her knitting wherever she is. “Every time I pick up a needle, I’m________the children, and that’s so important to me,” said Linda.

This Christmas angel (天使) is going on Linda’s tree, but there are some who would say that the real________is Linda herself.