1 . Antarctic stories are always filled with mystery, exploration, adventure, ground-breaking science, tragedy, and triumph. Some Australians who have been back from Antarctica shared one of their tales of adventure, bringing a _________ of the coldest and windiest place on earth to the wider population.

Journalist David Killick, also a(n) _________, was one of five people on an expedition (远征). One of their jobs was to _________ wooden buildings built between 1911 and 1914 by _________ Antarctic explorers, which need regular maintenance to _________ extreme weather conditions. Taking advantage of the 24-hour _________ during the Antarctic summer, Killick and his team camped in tents to carry out the protection work.

“My job was _________ the communications equipment, cooking and observing the weather.” the 54-year-old said. “Everyone needs to be multi-skilled because everyone _________ three or four different jobs.”

Killick said _________ trips to remote Antarctica came with risks, it was exciting to be in a new environment, far from the familiar __________ of daily life.

“What you miss and what you don’t miss are both amazing.” Killick __________. The phone doesn’t ring and there’s no __________ to social media. There’s no money, and nothing to spend money on. All we have to __________ is falling through the ice or being attacked by a seal.

Like many who have been to Antarctica, Killick continues to return to the mysterious place. “You better yourself a lot, especially your ability to keep a __________ mind under difficult circumstances. Besides, the landscapes here are so astonishing: the blues, the greys, the whites, and the red sunsets. Every day is just a different set of __________ beautiful experiences.”

2 . I entered the cat section of the shelter, observing all the ears turning as my footsteps echoed (回响) down the hall. Then I was _______ to a cage with a large message written in red marker: “_______, He Bites!” The slim, brown cat was _______ in the back of the cage, but as I looked inside he opened an eye and smiled—sort of—showing two tiny white fangs (尖牙).

The young cat, less than a year old, quickly _______ and came to the front of his cage, loud purring (咕噜声) coming out. I wanted to touch his long, soft fur (毛皮) but I remembered the sign and hesitated. I had never _______ a cat with a warning label before. He continued purring as I _______ stuck my index finger between the _______ and touched the soft fur behind his ear. Then he _______. The purring stopped.

I didn’t move my finger _______ he’d move faster than I could. I waited to see what he would do. One paw (爪子) was lifting slowly as if to hold my arm in place—I ________ so he could give me a good bite. I prepared myself for the ________ but then the purring began again.

For half an hour I stood at his cage letting him get used to me ________ him. In the end he did not bite me, much to the shelter manager’s ________. I took this wonderful cat home and for seventeen years he stood by my side—biting when necessary, but purring much more ________. If I had listened to that warning and ________ him by, I’d never have known one of the best friends of my life.

5 . Our family moved to Texas in 1996, when my husband Jerry got a job in a factory as a pipe-fitter. We lived in a small mobile home. When the job in Texas ended, he was out of _________. Months went by. Rent was _________ on the mobile home.

“At least we would have a nice _________,” I thought as I drove the girls to the supermarket on Christmas Eve to buy some food. Amanda was two years old and Kimberly was five years old. In the supermarket, I was _________ by different items. The _________ wrapped with shiny paper looked especially beautiful. I wished the girls weren’t _________ by them. Kimberly _________ alongside the cart with excitement. “Maybe she forgets this Christmas,” I thought.

_________, we got to the checkout counter. When we wheeled the cart out, we saw a wall of Christmas trees, each waiting to be _________ so its branches could __________ in a special spot at home. “Look, Mom!” said Kimberly. “Sweetie, we can’t get a tree this year,” I replied. Amanda was too young to have any __________, and Kimberly seemed to be calm, but I felt terrible. We pushed our cart through the parking lot. Halfway to the car, Kimberly stopped and pointed, “Look, Mom! That can be our tree!” At first, I wasn’t sure what she was pointing at. Then I saw a pine __________ lying on the ground. I couldn’t say no again. “Okay.”

I said. “We will bring it home.”

Back home, I found a coffee can to __________ it in. Kimberly collected some rocks and filled the can. While I made dinner, the girls colored some stars and bells. Jerry __________ their artwork for the tree. We set the display on the table in our tiny kitchen. “That branch was a lucky find,” Jerry said when we sat down for dinner.

__________, it was luck. My family and I celebrated many other Christmas holidays with real trees later, but it is the Christmas in the mobile home that we all remember most.

6 . Lexi Reed weighed 485 pounds at the age of 25—a weight that was quite ________ . Danny was overweight himself even though he came in at 280 pounds. But, the ________ part of everything was that the couple were both gaining more weight on what they already had with each passing day. Some of the daily activities, no matter how simple, became a real ________ for the couple. However, after celebrating their first ________ in 2016, they decided to make a positive change in their life.

The couple was making many plans to ________ in the new year 2016 like many other people around the world. They made a New Year’s resolution. But, it was not ________ to many that were made, as they decided to ________ a challenge that would change their lives forever--and for good! So many people make promises to themselves and others that they don’t really ________ , but the Reeds were not about to act like the others. Theirs were bound to come to ________ .

It was completely unknown to the couple that people were actually ________ them online when they started their journey. Their ________ attracted lots of attention, and people cheered them on. Lexi kept her friends and family ________ with her progress through Instagram. But they were yet to receive a major________ of their lives: They were ________ in a popular issue of People Magazine known as “Half Their Size”. Before long, the couple’s story had become a real ________ .

7 . Hearing the Olympics were coming to Vancouver, I decided to go for its voluntary work. I’d forgotten what it was like to put myself out there to make friends. I was glad I didn’t have anyone I knew with me because I wouldn’t have met Callie ________. Taking the risk of sitting by her started a ________. I still keep in touch with her.

As night fell before the opening ceremonies, I was stationed outside the MMC. Accents from all over ________ my ears. The games seemed to ________ the whole world. Suddenly, I could see people running toward the harbour. I turned to Callie, “Isn’t that the way to the torch (火炬)?” We looked at each other and started to run. My heart pounded as I sprinted. The air seemed to be ________ with everyone’s excitement, like a kind of electric energy pulsing through us. I’d never felt a(n) ________ like it before. Then, fireworks ________ into the air above us. Their bright colors glittered against the dark sky. I had ________ the lighting of the torch many times on TV, but to actually see it ________ was amazing. When the last of the fireworks ________, there stood the Olympic torch unveiled (揭幕) in all its ________ with its flames licking at the night sky.

Even now, I can still remember the heat from the torch. I had been one of the ________ MMC staff to walk underneath it while it burned. A beacon (灯塔) of ________ for the future. I stood for a moment right under it, listening to the ________ voices of my new friends, and I knew I’d made one of the best ________ of my life.