1 . Hey! You have a hairless spot on the back of your head! " Mom’s alarmed cry hit me like a shock.

I tried to shrug it off. “It’ll grow back.” I worked to sound________.

At first, the loss was minimal. ________the spot with my fingers became the top priority every day. No new hair, smooth as an egg. Weeks later, the spot was a little larger and there was still no________ of any hair poking through the skin. I began to________but continued to try to be cool about it.

As days went by, my hair started to fall faster and more. ________my fingers through it, I would stare at the alarming quantity of hair in my hands, wiling this to________happening to me.

We went to see a doctor, who diagnosed my condition as alopecia (脱发症) . He recommended an injection to try, which would be________to the head skin. I underwent several costly injections over a few months, but in vain.

________the injection began to trouble my sleep, and we finally had to stop the________My hair still didn’t grow back.

I had to wear a wig to school every day, worried it might slip one day and that everything would________Though aware that I should________the fact to my friends, I was scared, not knowing how they would handle the information. ________ hesitantly, I told them what was happening after days of struggle. To my surprise, they all thought nothing of it. This was a(n) ________for me.

I came to realize that what had happened was not my fault, and not something I should feel________of. I am learning that being bald doesn’t change who I am, and if I don’t let it affect my self ________then other people are much more likely to accept me as I am, too.

2 . One day, I was standing on the boat when a very large female leopard seal swam by. I put on my diving gear and got my camera. I was ___________. My mouth was dry. At first, I couldn’t even move. But I knew it was time to___________this mysterious creature.

I jumped into the freezing water. Immediately, the seal swam toward me. Then she put my entire camera—and much of my ___________— into her mouth. Although the seal was putting me at risk, I tried not to ___________ any fear. After a few seconds, she let go of my head. She ___________  me a few more times and swam away. Then she ___________ with a live penguin. She even tried to show me how to___________it. She tried to push the penguin into my camera — she thought the camera was my___________! The seal thought I was just another large animal, and she was trying to___________me, I realized.

By now, she didn’t seem very____________. She stayed by me for four days. One time, she noticed another leopard seal ____________ behind me. She made a deep, threatening sound and ____________ the other seal away.

Those four days were the most incredible experience I ever had as a wildlife ____________. I got some amazing pictures. I also learned that animals do not always behave the way we____________. My relationship with this powerful and ____________ animal will stay with me forever.

3 . How do you pass the time during your subway commute(通勤)? Scrolling on your phone? Listening to music? Or just staring at the _______ ? Sabrina Bahsoon, a 22-year-old girl who now lives in London for her college education, turns the subway into her _______ .

Her self-shot videos of energetic dance routines _______ on London’s subways have quickly _______ TikTok, making her an overnight sensation(轰动). Her _______ has sparked a trend, inspiring others to be confident and do what they want regardless of what other people think of them.

_______ in Malaysia, Bahsoon developed a confident character. While listening to some music, she felt like making a short TikTok video on the subway on one typical commuting night. But with no _______ willing to help her, she finished the short film dancing to a joyful song, alone and _______ .

Inspired by Bahsoon, many viewers soon left friendly _______ to praise her bravery and confidence. Some also shared their own “Tube Girl” ________ on social media. This concept has gradually become a(an) “________” about embracing self-confidence.

However, some described her behavior as “________”. But these “haters” do not ________ Bahsoon at all. ________ , she thinks it is quite normal for girls to enjoy and ________ themselves on their values. “Just be yourself, ” Bahsoon told BBC News.

4 . Early on the morning of October 13, LaPierre was heading to the Chicago Marathon on the city’s Blue Line L. The ______ was full of energized marathoners. Before long, LaPierre noticed a man moving from passenger to passenger, asking for spare ______ . His behavior struck LaPierre as “really strange,” especially the way he stared down anyone he felt hadn’t ______ him enough.

At the Cumberland station, most of the passengers suddenly ______ the car, LaPierre rushed out to see what was going on, only to hear ______ people shouting that the man asking for money was, in fact, armed and ______ people.

As the armed man hopped onto the next train gar, LaPierre followed him. “I could not ______ knowing there were innocent children and people just trying to get to a ______ ,” he says.

The man turned and saw LaPierre, his head down, bull-rushing him. Although the man was far ______ and younger, LaPierre crashed into him and managed to press him ______ the closed door. “Once I got a few feet from him, I knew he wouldn’t be able to react fast enough to ______ me, ”he told the Chicago Sun-Times. The two men fought for the gun—and their ______ . The man tried pushing past him, but ______ , LaPierre grabbed the gun and handed it to a passenger. Then the police poured into the train, and LaPierre let them ______ . He had a marathon to run.

This was not the first time LaPierre had jumped into a(n) ______ . A few years back, he helped prevent a drugstore robbery. “I just happen to be at the right place at the right moment,” he says.

5 . A sudden illness took away most of Rebecca’s hearing when she was only six years old. Afterwards, she says her ________ went too. Unable to listen, she ________ to communicate with the great help of her family and friends. Rebecca felt lonely, but she did not ________ herself. She says her biggest concern was ________ to live like a normal person. She taught herself to

read lips, and learned to speak confidently without being able to hear herself. ________, she found the right place to flourish (茁壮成长).

Today, working at the Qetan Sewing Center, Rebecca rediscovered something she greatly ________: a sense of belonging. “The center has a really ________ impact on me in terms of being able to meet people. The environment is ________, which helps you move forward,” says Rebecca.

Better still, Rebecca has also found a professional outlet. “I’ve always been ________ the arts. Drawing and logo design are major parts of our work. I ________ this very much,” she says.

Rebecca says her ________ of self-discovery is not yet over. Every day, she is seeking to ________ herself. “Open your mind to the ________. Take positive ________ to achieve your goals. Keep an eye on your future.”

The way that Rebecca lives her life demonstrates this idea that you can achieve your goals ________ you stay focused.

7 . I was eleven years old standing outside in just my underwear (内衣) while I saw our house burnt to the ground. A few minutes earlier I had been sound asleep in my bed when a _______ woke me up. My nana’s _______ was just next to my brother’s and mine. A fire had broken out there and awakened her. Hearing her shouting, my older brother _______quickly. While I was walking difficultly in the _______ and darkness, he ran from room to room _______ everyone in the house. The house, however, was over 50 years old and made of wood. Before we could _______ anything, the fire destroyed it.

I stood there _______ when the fire destroyed my books, clothes, and toys. I watched _______ while my mom cried and my dad sighed (叹息). I _______ what was going to happen to us since we had ________ all of our things. As I looked around, though, I ________ something for the first time: The things that ________ aren’t things. I saw my older brother running to get ________. I saw my nana and dad sitting together and my mom ________ our little dog. I realized at that moment that we were all ________. Everything that was essential (必要的) had survived the fire.

10 . People often drop into a gloomy life and are unable to get rid of the mood.

There once was a poor and discouraged salesman, _________ every day that there was no platform for him to display his ability and the fate was often pulling his legs.

On Christmas Eve, every family decorated their houses _________ lanterns. But he was alone sitting on a bench in a park and _________ the past. It was on the same day last year when he was also drinking his Christmas day away _________, without new clothes, new shoes, _________a new car and a new house.

“Damn! I have to spend this Christmas day with these old shoes again.” he _________ and began to _________ the old shoes. Suddenly, he found a young man in a wheelchair passing by him with his hands painfully pushing the _________ forward. It _________ him that he was so lucky to have shoes to wear while that man did not even have the __________. Afterwards, the salesman did everything with a calm mood and cherished every opportunity to __________ himself. He worked hard and tried his best to make progress every day. Several years later, he __________ changed his life totally and became a millionaire.

If you look all around, you will __________ there are so many people who were born disabled in the society but they are __________ in life and never complain about the unfair destiny. They are also not to beg others’ alms(施舍). __________, they constantly strive to make themselves stronger and more __________to serve the society. __________, we should feel ashamed. We are born __________, but we complain about our colleagues and — dissatisfied with our jobs.

Maybe all of us would feel afraid when we __________ we have fallen into such discouraging state of life, but worse is that you even do not realize you have fallen into such a __________ situation.