1 . In the late 19th century, there was a poor farmer in Scotland named Fleming. He was ________ and always ready to help others. One day when he was ________ in the field, he suddenly heard a cry for help in the wetland nearby. It ________ that a boy was trapped in the wetland. Seeing the mud up to his ________, Fleming immediately jumped into the wetland and ________ to save the boy. The next day, a brand-new ________ from a distant place stopped at the farmer’s door. An elegant gentleman got off the carriage and ________himself as the boy’s father. The gentleman brought the farmer many precious gifts ________saving his son, but the farmer refused. He ________ that saving others was what he should do. It ________ that the gentleman saw the farmer’s son playing in a dirty suit. He thought about it and said to the ________, “In this case, I have a ________. You saved my son’s life and I want him to ________ the best education in Britain.”The farmer agreed ________. Later, the farmer’s son graduated from St. Mary’s Medical School in England and became the ________ Sir Fleming Alexander. He is the inventor of penicillin (青霉素), which has saved ________ lives. Years later, the gentleman’s son caught pneumonia. What saved his life? Penicillin. Who was the gentleman’s son? Churchill, the prime minister of Britain during World War II.

This story tells us that the simple and kind Scottish farmer’s ________ in saving others without ________ any return, brought his own child a good opportunity. And because of his child’s achievement, he ________ the gentleman’s child, who became British prime minister of World War II. The kindness of an ordinary farmer ________ changed the whole world.

2 . The doorbell rang one mid-December evening. I frequently had unexpected visitors in those early days after my husband’s ________. But when my 6-year-old son opened the door, nobody was there. ________, on the doormat was a box, tied with a silver ________ and a note that said “On the First Day of Christmas...” A mystery.

Sam had died that fall, ________ me the single parent of our two boys, 6 and 8. My sons and I had already ________ to deal with Halloween, and Thanksgiving without Daddy. Still, I was afraid of Christmas. How could December have ________ without my husband?

The next night, the doorbell rang again. Another ________ came, decorated with the same silver ribbon (带子) and ________ the same card reading “On the Second Day of Christmas...”

For the next couple of nights, my boys waited near the front door to see who was leaving the gifts, but the bearer would always choose the moment they left to ________.

I didn’t know who the secret Santa was. But there was one thing I did know. In those dark days of ________, somebody was shining a light our way with a simple but ________ message: “You are loved.” It was such a strange feeling, to be left in darkness on the one hand and drawn so firmly toward ________ on the other. I believe hope will make a(n) ________.

After 11 days of offerings, we weren’t sure what to ________ when we approached home on that 12th night. I trusted there would be ________.

5 . Nothing seemed to be going well. We were ________ in rush-hour traffic. My 3-year-old son was singing along with Phil Collins from his seat. But I was not in the ________ to sing. My manager had just told me that, despite my ________ performance, he did not foresee giving me more responsibilities in the near future. The message really ________   me.

His decision planted a seed of ________. But I reminded myself that I’d already ________ I could be, as a working mother, an ________ scientist on a tight schedule. The past 7 years had witnessed, as a part-time university ________, I’d made full use of every minute and won all my colleagues’ respect. My work never ________ the research team.

With little expectation, I ________ the three senior managers. One did not respond. One had nothing to offer. The third invited me to chat. He ________ listened to my story, and then told me I was ________ to join him in building a vaccine research unit. I answered in ________ that I knew nothing about vaccines. He said, “You will learn. You will make it.”

A few ________ nights later, I decided to take a chance on the ________. The worst thing to happen was that I would fail. But I already felt like a failure, so why not ________?

I soon discovered a new passion. My career path with the unit ________. I took on more ________, developed new skills, and led fantastic projects-all because of a ________ that I’d felt forced on me. It ________ me out of my comfort zone and further than I was willing to go.

6 . You may be familiar with the essay called Peach Blossom Shangri-la (《桃花源记》) from your Chinese textbook. But do you really understand the meaning _______?

When Erer Suansuan, now a postgraduate studying radio and broadcasting at Peking University, first read the essay in high school, she didn’t _______ much about it. However, after _______ it again one day in college, she _______ that there is more than what she first saw in the 320-word text.

For example, Suansuan’s found that three key images _______. One is the peach blossom Shangri-la, which appears in many other poems, paintings and plays. Second goes to the unnamed fisherman, as he’s a _______ of the special group of hermits (隐士). Suansuan also _______ the “cave heaven” in Taoism with the “Allegory (隐喻) of the Cave” by ancient Greek philosopher Plato to tell the difference.

People become _______ when growing older, with comprehension ability _______, Suansuan explained. She could now read the same essay from a new ________. It’s become much more fun and________ to her. She now wants to share her fresh ________ on these essays in Chinese textbooks with more people — by making videos.

Before that, Suansuan would extensively read ________ related to the essays. She also paints in her videos to make them easily ________. For a 10-minute video, she may draw up to 80 ________.

Since May 2019, she’s made over 50 videos, seven of which are about the ________ stories behind texts in Chinese textbooks. The rest are about learning ________ and other works of literature. These have ________ her over 1.5 million fans on Bilibili, many of them teenagers. They have ________bullet comments and messages, saying she’s made their school life more interesting.

As Suansuan puts it, the two things that bring her the most happiness are learning and creating; making videos combines both. Challenging as it is, she will ________.

8 . Rejection doesn’t always hurt. Sometimes rejection may _________ a more certain path to our final goals.

This year football fans have been watching to see how Joe would _________ in the playoffs(季后赛) this season. Joe dreamed to play in the National Football League (NFL), but his journey wasn’t a(n) _________ one. He applied to several colleges, but none _________ him. Later, he got into Ohio State, but he sat on the _________ for three years. Ohio State had a great football program and coaches, who didn’t think Joe had _________. But Joe thought differently. He _________ Nebraska and got rejected once again, but he didn’t quit. Then he applied to Louisiana State University, which accepted him. The rest is history.

Joe became the Heisman Trophy _________ during his senior year, then he was admitted to the NFL, and later, his team participated in the World Championship.

Joe’s story reminds us that there are _________ paths to our final goals and that it __________ strong endurance and determination to reach them. No single __________ is going to prevent you from __________ your long-term goals. Be sure to__________ the pain that comes from disappointment and face it bravely. Try to focus on goals rather than the __________ outcome of being rejected and remember that the hurt of rejection comes from how we __________ it.

9 . I cleared the dishes from the kitchen table, with Mama following close behind to carry our tableware to the kitchen. There was no stopping her. Despite everything, she still wants to _______ , I thought.

My mama had _______ in moving around and had lost much of her speech to Parkinson’s disease. After a recent fall that left her with a broken arm, the _______ suggested she use a wheelchair. It was _______ to see her like this. From the time I was a kid, Mama had always been an active person with a positive _______ . I could still see her in my mind, cooking and cleaning in the house I grew up in, sometimes humming (哼唱) while _______ .

Now I did my best to _______ her like she’d done for me. I made the long drive as often as possible to _______ her and help around the house. Independent as ever, she never _______ working. “You’ve done ________ , Mama,” I said when she took the towel to clean the table. Where does she get the ________ ？

I turned on the tap to wash our dishes and noticed a ________ coming from Mama’s direction. I turned off the running water. Mama was humming! I ________ as she moved around the table, her happy song filling the room. “What’s it that you’re humming, Mama?” “Count Your Blessings (常怀感恩),” she ________ with a smile on her face.

________ , it was where Mama’s strength came from. There was no stopping her from being thankful, always.

10 . While taking a 20-hour train ride along the edge of the Taklimakan Desert in northwestern China, I had the kind of humbling, educational, and above all else, wonderful ________ with a local that all travelers long for. A young Chinese man ________ me on the train. My ________ friend spoke virtually no English, so I happily took the ________ to practice my Chinese.

Over several hours, he would tell me about how he had ________ a two-year professional school to quickly find a job ________ highways in order to help support his family. Perhaps the most ________, however, was the fact that this man spent hours studying every day after hard physical labor. Without batting an eye, he would ________ a translated Emerson passage before asking about the literary influence of American ________ as a whole. ”And what do you all learn about Russian authors?” I ________ him asking at one point.

It would have been easy to ________ my assumptions about this highway builder who had never been more than a few hundred miles from home. But this highly informed, ________ , and admirable person prevented me doing so. In the course of a couple of hours, he ________ me just how much one can gain from ________ with an open mind, and a willingness to ________ with locals from all walks of life.