3 . Elsa Desmond knows she is not going to win a medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics. But she is ________ as the first women’s luge (无舵雪橇) Olympian from Ireland. She was the 26th to ________ the line in the first run of the women’s race on Monday night, ________ than any of the other athletes, which did not ________ her. She celebrated with a large smile on her face.

Although she did not win in Beijing, she has already won some ________. She had been given many reasons why she could not compete: she is too short, she did not start ________ at a young age, and she could not balance a(n) ________ job with competing in a sport. The biggest difficulty simply might have been that Ireland did not have a luge organization. So, she ________ one herself; she had to ________.

And now, ________, she is a luge Olympian. “I’m a doctor in general surgery, I have all these really visible challenges, but I think everyone has worked as ________ as they can to be here.” She has delayed parts of her job to compete in the Olympics, but her ________ gave her the time off. And her co-workers are becoming big luge fans, extremely proud of her.

Desmond has ________ two demanding jobs: sliding a few months out of the year and living a life in medicine. There was a(n) ________ last season when she had to take important medical examinations in hotels in Germany where other sliders were staying. “I had to ________ signs on my door saying ‘Do not disturb, exam in ________’ in about six different languages.”

Desmond got the ________ of representing her country in Beijing, and being one of two people ________ Ireland’s flag during the opening ceremony on Friday. “I don’t think I can ________ words how excited I was to lead out the team. I really hope that I can make my country ________.”

4 . Within five minutes of meeting Olivia Ports, I knew she was a special teenager.

I knew before she_________her guitar and performed a song. I knew before I found out how a (n)_________she was born with changed her childhood. And I knew before her mother told me Olivia performed recently in front of 1, 200 people.

In addition to her_________musical talent, Olivia is just so friendly, funny and_________to those who made her first show such a success. “She doesn’t want the story to be about her,” said Olivia’s mother. But like all children_________chronic (慢性的) diseases, the journey she has been on has made her stronger. Olivia admits she’s not like many kids of her age._________herself as a ”little bit crazy“, she acts older than she is. She was born with a compromised immune system (缺乏抵抗力的免疫系统). When she realized she would have to_________her beloved gymnastics, she took up her mom’s old high school guitar and_________herself to play. ”I had to have something to do with so much_________time,” she said. It was during a hospital visit that she met Classical Blast, a popular band that invited Olivia to__________them as a guest performer on their Christmas__________Their encouragement gave her the courage to begin playing at public__________in the area, and she was soon a regular on stage. It was yet another treatment that__________her most recent performance. Recovering in her room for 15 days last Christmas, Olivia saw first-hand “how sad ill can be” for children to be in hospital during the__________That’s why this year, Olivia decided to do a benefit (义演), asking guests to bring toys that could be taken to young__________.

Speaking of her future, the high school senior plans to__________a year off after graduation. She wants to__________for college with the goal of opening a music school for those with health__________. “When you__________your life with things you love,” she said, “it makes every day more__________”.

5 . The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary( 保护区 )________ by charity is now open to the public by appointment only, where the wild horses live in freedom under long-lasting protection. I called ahead about stopping by to ________   some 2022 calendars. After discovering that the Choctaw pony( 乔克托小 马 ) Imagine, was May’s   calendar girl, along with her mother Tahiyah,   I was________, and   wanted to share a few more calendars with my friends, I sponsor(赞助) the pony Imagine annually, and have the________to name her.

“How many________ do you want?” asked Susan, the president, and executive director of the   Sanctuary. I thought for a moment,________ in the sunshine through the transparent glass roof of the office, where Susan and 6 staff members were busy________ the documents needed to operate the 11,000+ acres of ________   area for hundreds of horses. Through the bank of windows, I could see a     herd of horses off in the________.

“Four. No. How about five?” I replied, trying to do the ________ in my head on how much that would be. “Do you take a check?” “Oh, I forgot my checkbook!” I laughed. “Credit card?”

Susan straightened the small pile of calendars and________, “How about we give   you these     calendars? They are our perfect introduction to our mission of________the awareness of protection.”

________, I took a deep breath and bargained, “How about if I________ to the Hay and Cake Fund?”

We   both smiled. Such a clever exchange of ________! It is in ________   that we receive. We   gave for the sake of giving and any reward was unexpected.

We   even went to ________   Imagine. With   her distinctive markings, she was easy to ________.   She’s________ and is bigger than her mother now. She was happily grazing( 吃草 ) in the same herd I had________ while in the office.

6 . When our restaurant business failed, we headed north in a camping truck to Texas, hoping to have a “fresh start”. At the entrance of Palo Canyon State Park, I _________ a job advertisement hiring park hosts. The position offered a _________ permanent campsite in the park, and in return, the _________ served as a link between the park’s guests and the rangers (护林人). It was the perfect _________ for the hopeless me: a rent-free place to _________ our lives. We entered the park and I made an _________ for the following day.

The park was crowded, so it took us some time to find a(n) _________ site. That evening, after finishing dinner, my wife saw two skunks (臭鼬) walking toward our table. We _________ climbed onto the table and, for the next four hours, waited for them to _________ our camp.

Having __________ that night, we were confident that everything else would be __________. The next day we met with the people who ran the park. They explained our __________ and gave us a beautiful campsite. __________, that evening, we learned about the canyon __________. They were strong and cold, rocking our little camping truck __________, and we lay shaking in the dark until the winds __________ away.

During the weeks that followed, we learned to survive in our __________. There we sat closer together reading and talking. For a time after our business __________ I thought I might lose my family as well. Now I found myself thankful for all the __________. Building a successful business and then losing it had left very little time for building a successful __________. We had walked the trails and climbed the can yon walls. And we had become a family!

7 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a _________ is mother’s favorite.

I was only two when the incident happened. We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and _________ to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief _________ to run across the lawn (草坪) and hit a large tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off (弹开) the trunk and _________ on my backside. Mom _________ me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I _________ myself up and kept right on going.

Mom loves to use this story as an example. It reminds her that children don’t enter life if they are _________ to take risks or unwilling to _________ again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that _________ as I grew older. When I __________ my major life decisions, I was still that little girl tearing full-speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents’ home to look for a __________. Through years of __________, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high-need students.

We are almost certain to get __________ at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don’t sit in the grass and __________. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be __________ in the end.

8 . I was walking my dog Snoopy one evening while the last light of the setting sun _________ the clouds purple and pink. I looked up at the sky and smiled. After a minute Snoopy started _________ at her leash. She was more than ready to head inside for a bowl of dog food and a bacon   _________. I wasn’t quite ready to go in, however, so I _______ her. I was waiting for my friends the Little Blinkers to appear.

It wasn’t long either _______ I saw them switching their lights on and off. They were fireflies, of course, also known as lightning bugs. Over all the years that I have lived here they have never failed to appear at this time during the summer. They have never failed to _______me. They have never failed to make the world a little brighter. It has always been such a _______ too knowing that such wonderful creatures can shine their own light and make the _______ meadows look like the starry skies above. They make me want to share my own light as well, even if it isn’t that bright and even if it does _______ to blink now and then.

Robert Fulghum wrote, “I know some people who ________a lot of light. Because they have absorbed a lot of light themselves. They shine.” I don’t know how much light I have ________the years, but I do know that I won’t keep it ________ under a basket. I will shine it. I will share it. I will use it to ________as much goodness, love, joy, and wisdom into this world as I possibly can.

May you always ________ your light as brightly as you can. May you always share it with others as well. Remember that you are not asked to ________the whole world up. What you need to do is just to make your little corner of it a bit brighter.

9 . I’d never been to a Day of the Dead festival before. As my dad and I looked around for seats, I _______ Marco, my best friend, hurrying toward us. “Hi, Mr. O’kane,” he _______ my dad. Then he turned to me. “Nate! Will you help me?"

“Whatever you need,” I said.

Marco threw me parts of a _______ : Mexican sandals（凉鞋）, a straw hat, a cane(手杖), a gray wig, and an“ old man” mask（面具）. “My cousin couldn’t_______ !” Marco’s voice rang with worry.

“It’s part of a traditional dance” he said.

“You expect me to dance? ” I _______ . “I don’t dance!”

Marco smiled. “It’ll be fun. And hurry! We’re _______ late.”

“ We’re going to do a lot of stomping(跺脚). Slow at first. Keep one hand _______ on your back, like an old man with an ache.” added Marco.

The speakers _______ : “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for The Dance of the Little Old Men!”

“Be quick,” Marco _______ to me to follow his lead.

We all began stomping slowly to music. I could only see ________ the small holes of the mask. I continued to stomp, trying to ________ what to do. I leaned on my cane and kept a hand low on my back. After a few minutes of dancing like that, my back ________ started to ache.

The music ________ . And we stomped quickly. Performing with Mexican sandals was ________ . People laughed as we hopped and kicked, but after a moment the laughter turned into cheers.

Marco gave me a thumbs-up. As the audience clapped for our group, I said to him happily, “You were right. That was ________ .”