2 . An 84­ year ­old American woman, Janet Fein received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas last week. Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. When she was in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After ______early,at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary. After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her five children. She then had several jobs______she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to______during the retirement.

She worked for 20 years on earning an associated degree, which she received in 1995. But Fein told the AP she also ______to earn a bachelor’s degree “with all of my heart”. Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and ______ take free classes at public universities in Texas. State officials say about 2,000 people used the ______last year.

Even with all of her life experiences, she said she ______ reading, writing papers and learning new things. “With each class I ______knew a lot, but I wanted more. And that made me happy.” Fein kept going to class even as her health conditions ______. During her studies, it became ______for her to use a walker (拐杖) to ______and she required oxygen. She even ______knee problems. So, instead of going to the university, Fein took online classes to finish the remaining part of her degree requirements. She never showed (a) ______of giving up even with all of her difficulties.

Many people set the ______of graduating from college at a very young age while Janet Fein waited a life time for her chance to reach that goal. As the saying goes, it’s never too late to learn. Learning can help people live a______life.

3 . Life can give you so many choices and opportunities, but in the end it is up to us to take the first step. It’s _________ to turn your back on the rest of the world after experiencing a lot of pain.  

Before becoming involved with Hestia (a charity founded in 1970), I often felt that I just wanted to be left _________. I then volunteered to help distribute Hestia’s newsletter. I was _________ a small amount for my involvement and it was a great financial help at the time. During this time I met some wonderful people — staff and other service users within Hestia and it _________ that I actually had a good time. I felt respected and appreciated for my _________. If I had not decided to help out, I wouldn’t have realized the benefit that I gained both financially and _________.  

I was still unwilling to become more _________ though. However, when I realized that sitting within the four walls of my room wouldn’t help much, I knew I had to _________ myself. By helping other service users I started feeling _________ about myself and throughout it all I have ____________ my confidence and created good and lasting ____________ with other people. This has encouraged me and given me strength to take on other ____________ within Hestia.  

I later learned about other volunteering opportunities at Hestia and ____________ in the reception area gave me a sense of belonging. After a while I joined the finance department where I was part of a team and where I was shown ____________— something I was not ____________ to. For the first time I felt I could be “Me”.

4 . Tom came from France. It was his first visit to England, and he was looking forward to his first journey on London’s Underground Railway. And against his friends’ _______, he was determined to travel_______.   

He entered the station shortly after five o'clock in the afternoon. This is a_______time to travel in London, _______crowds of people go home from work at this hour. He_______to join a long line of people waiting for tickets. When at last his _______came, he had some difficulty in making himself understood by the ticket seller. _______, he got the right ticket in the end and by asking people the way, he also found the right platform (月台). It was_______with people.   

Unfortunately, he did not_______to get on the first train, but he was able to move nearer to the platform so as to be in a better________to get on the next one. When this train came in, Tom was ________forward onto the train by the push of people from behind. The doors closed and the train moved off. He was unable to see the________of the stations where the train________but he knew that the station he wanted was the sixth stop along the line. When the train reached the sixth station, Tom got off, feeling ________that his journey had been so easy. But he suddenly realized that he had come to a station he had never________. He explained his trouble to a man who was standing on the platform. With a smile on his face, he told Tom that he had caught a train going in the opposite(相反的) direction.

5 . When Jim Grant spotted black smoke coming out of a building on his way to work, he_________his car to call 911. Then he_________a U-turn, circling back to take another look.

Pulling up to the building, Grant saw flames（火焰）shooting out of a second-floor window. Not seeing or hearing any fire engines_________, Grant rushed to a side_________and ran up the stairs.

On the second floor, he_________every apartment door. "Get out!" Grant shouted, No one_________and he assumed that people had already_________. Reaching the end of the hallway, though, Grant_________a half-open door. He kicked it wide open, finding a_________woman in a wheelchair with a little boy and a tiny baby. "Let's__________!" he screamed. The woman looked at him in confusion and said something about changing her clothes. Grant didn't wait, clutching（抓牢）the baby to his chest and__________the boy alongside, Grant ran down the hallway. When he was__________outside, the only__________in sight was a policeman. Grant told him about the__________and they rushed into the smoky building.

Thanks to them, a family was saved from the fire. Grant and the policeman were honored for their__________.