1 . Some of you who are reading this may think my situation isn’t as bad as it sounds. If that is your conclusion, let me______ you otherwise.

Today, before I left home to accomplish something in town, I ______ something that had been on my bucket list like forever. I learned to split!______, I did not learn in the way that most do. As I came out of the bathroom, I heard my phone ringing. I ______ towards my room. Suddenly, a little bit of water on the floor made me ______: the leg before gave out on me and soon the leg behind gave in to the pressure. There you have it; the perfect way to split!

Then, I went to a restaurant feeling like a woman in her 80’s and I was definitely______ like one: I got a seat ______ to me by a young man at my age as well as many ______ stares and smiles from others; one kind gentleman asked if I was suffering pain in my ______ and if I needed help to move around. Certainly, I respectfully ______.

Anyhow, my expertise in the field could easily make me the president of ______. I have gone so far to embarrass myself. It won’t ______ to tell you another story.

Yesterday, my parents had some guests over for a family gathering. Everything went ______ until mom gave dad the eye meaning ‘You tell some stories now’. Much to my despair, but the ______ of his listeners, he told a story about my childhood!

In a hurry to get away from all the laughing, I ______ myself and headed for the kitchen. Instantly, I gave the audience a live example of my many ______. Not realizing an object on the floor, I fell head first. All the chat stopped and I quickly ______ to my feet. As I rushed upstairs towards my room, a guest stopped me and told me to ____ my dress down! Now I finally knew why I felt ______ air at the back.

That’s enough. I have given you much to ______ about. Now, I need somewhere private to lick my wounds.

2 . I was lucky enough to have many great teachers. However, one in particular ________ what I am today: Lin Robbins, my 8th-grade reading teacher.

Miss Robbins’s ________ was infectious. She was always smiling and had boundless energy. It never felt like she was ________; she seemed to just want to share really cool things with you.

Miss Robbins gave me a novel one afternoon. It wasn’t a(n) ________ .She just said, “I think you’ll really like this.” She was right. I immediately ________ with the hero and I felt a little less alone.

This ________ me to start writing, and I haven’t ________ since. After I moved on to high school, I would still ________ and share my works with her, lots of which were ________ short stories about dog detectives, but she read them all, and told me two words: Keep ________.

She had a ________ at the back of the classroom with an open policy about borrowing books. Often taking a book to read, she wasn’t shy about ________ her passion for literature with us. Besides, she had the ________ to find out what you needed to improve.

Now being a writer, I’m grateful that Miss Robbins ________ whatever in me, and that she gave me the gentle ________ I needed to become a writer.

3 . Recently, the dog my aunt had been keeping for almost 18 years died of old age. So _________ was the poor lady that she kept telling others not to raise a pet, saying she wouldn’t have had to _________ this much grief if she hadn’t kept the dog.

For sure, the loss of something precious is in no way a _________ experience. But, despite my _________ for her, I was somewhat frustrated about her nagging (唠叨). By saying her _________ words, she was in fact increasing the _________ rather than reliving the happy hours she had spent with her dog, the heartfelt _________ whenever she would stroke (抚摸) its furry head, her _________ nights when the dog was around, and the many other sweet _________ .

I myself have also had dogs that I’ve lost three __________ . But still, I am now __________ another one. Knowing that I will one day lose him simply makes me __________ the time we have together. Having an __________ to have something special before losing it is a blessing. It __________ us that the things we hold dear will not be with us forever, teaching us to __________ the present moment and to live our lives to the fullest.

7 . In order to control kitchen waste, I started composting (制作堆肥). We have a small backyard and I knew we needed a ________ that stood no chance of attracting rats or other animals that would make us ________ neighbors. I landed on a compost container, which can reach temperatures high enough to ________ practically anything my kitchen produces. I spend a few weeks learning how to ________ use it.

Dealing with our food waste made me think a lot harder before ________ to it. It seemed ________ to fill the garbage bin with perfectly good vegetables, so those went into a bag in the ________. When berries, pears and bananas got too ________ to eat, I froze them for making drinks. Cooked foods and meat and cheese can turn into an unpleasant ________ on a compost heap (堆), so those leftovers became my first ________ for weekday lunches. Composting was one change that ________ my day-to-day behaviour.

After focusing on getting food waste out of the garbage bin, I wanted to ________ single-use materials. Now, my family of five puts out just one bag of ________ per week, a lighter load made up of snack bar wrappers and used tissue and the ________.

All you need to make ________ changes to your own kitchen is a little bit of effort and a solid game plan.

8 . Michael and Kelsey from Alabama got married last November. While Kelsey was saying her vows (誓言), she did something that ________ everyone. She signed her vows in American Sign Language (ASL). The bride did this out of ________ for Michael and his deaf parents. While they did have an interpreter for the ________, she wanted her vows to be coming ________ from her, not only by word of mouth but also through ________ . Kelsey already told Michael about the ________ of signing her vows. He loved it and thought that his ________ would really appreciate that. Kelsey found the answer she was looking for and ________ to the next step — never talk about it so Michael would ________, and he did. That’s how this effort became a surprise.

Kelsey ________ tried to translate her vows to ASL using an online translator, but she ________ that she might sign them wrong. Then, she had another idea! Kelsey ________ Michael’s aunt, who can hear but is ________ in ASL because her husband, Michael’s uncle, was also ________. “I asked her to record herself signing my vows and ________ it to me,” Kelsey said. “She readily did so, and I used that video to ________ over and over for weeks.”

When the handsome groom ________ what was happening, he smiled and cried. His parents were also very ________ by this surprise. Now, Kelsey is ________ a member of the family, and she has   ________ how much love and respect for her new family.

10 . When I was born, one of my shoulders was higher than the other. _________ I was disabled.

The bullying(欺凌) started in the first grade. Everyone _________ it’s funny that my neck was so small. The days in school were _________ for me. Children laughed at me for “ not having a _________ ” almost every day. The emotional pain was _________ . I would come home from school and cry myself to _________ most nights. Later, my parents put me in karate(空手道) to build my confidence and to be able to _________ myself. They also inspired me to write to release the _________ I was under.

These gave me the _________ I needed to partially feel at peace. I started writing poetry to express my __________ and took part in poetry contests. When I was in the eighth grade, bullying __________ . Everyone began to admire me.

All the hardship and pain I’ve experienced would __________ a regular person, but I feel like my purpose on earth is to __________ every barrier in my life. I’ve been through __________ but with the help of family and friends, I __________ it.

My story is yet to end but I think it’s important to __________ my experiences because there may be kids out there who are __________ the same problems. I want to tell them things will be better one day if you __________ it. I want to tell them love yourself no matter what other people say, because if you don’t, then they’ll be __________ .

I hope my story can __________ them.